Here are the colors of Norwegian sport wool I'm using for the Dale baby cardigan with the bunnies, carrots, ducks, and garden tools. I'm done with both sleeves and am waiting for needles to finish the body. I'm planning on doing the steeks differently this time - wrapping the yarn around the needles several times at the steek areas and then knotting the yarns together. I figure this will hold up through any kind of treatment.
I heard that at the end of Sally Melville's new book she lists 10 things about knitting she wished she learned earlier. Here's my list - I hope other bloggers compose a list also.
10 THINGS I WISH I LEARNED EARLIER ABOUT KNITTING
1. How you finish an item matters as much or more than all the rest of the knitting put together. Do not get so excited about finishing a project that you rush the seams and yarn ends and do a bad job.
2. Never be afraid of any new knitting technique - jumping out of an airplane is scary, kitchener stitch is not.
3. Don't get caught up into knitting on demand for others. You won't be happy if someone wants you to devote all your knitting time to knitting plain socks for their sock drawer.
4. If you ever see an Alice Starmore book you don't have for a good price, buy it immediately!
5. Knitting done very late at night always means a lower-quality product. Save the fancy stuff for during the day when you can see better and you're well-rested.
6. Do everything you can to make reading charts easier - enlarge them, get an Ott-Lite, buy a music stand, get a magnifier, etc. There is no knitting design worth destroying your eyes over even if you start to feel like an old lady with all the remedial gadgets.
7. Almost everything in knitting can be redone so you never have to worry about screwing something up and wasting a nice yarn (except for mohair).
8. If you get the impression while you're knitting something that is is going to be too short, too big, too tight, bad color combo, etc., rip it out immediately rather than wait. Trust your instincts - they're almost always right.
9. Don't get hung up by what people say about your knitting. It is something you do for yourself, a way to express yourself, that not everyone understands or cares about. So what?
10. If a project is bugging you, take a break or abandon it. It is wrong to force yourself to knit something you aren't enjoying. You should ALWAYS enjoy the process of knitting.