I’m in one of those in-between-projects stages where I’m picking up and putting down WIPs, trying to re-engage with the long-term unfinished projects, and organize for the next leap forward. That means swatching (and I’d almost always swatch for something new rather than finish up something that has been sitting and patiently waiting for attention).

This is inspired by the work of Katerina Segerbrand, a Swedish designer I’ll be visiting in June. Her work is simply gorgeous. Think Fair Isle, but with individual motifs blown up to a larger size, and minimal stranded background. My tentative plan is a cardigan with a shawl collar, and the flowers around the bottom just above the ribbing.

I think I’m likely to end up with the daffodil rather than the thistle, since the thistle ended up being too subdued. Also, the daffys are currently up and just blooming in the front yard, so I’m a little fixated on them at the moment (it was a l-o-n-g winter!). More to come as I get a little further along.

Meanwhile, back to finishing Bruce’s yearly pair of birthday socks (his birthday was more than a months ago) and a sweater from Jennifer Dassau’s Knitting Short Rows . It’s the one on the cover (only mine has elbow-length sleeves), and actually in that color (I had the yarn in my stash). I really wanted to embed the process of German short rows in my head, and this has been extremely effective. It’s a very good book, and there’s a benefit to using one of the projects as a tutorial….you won’t have to look it up again the next time you want to use the technique since you will have fully integrated it into your wheelhouse by the time you’ve knit a sweater. If you do have to look it up again, the explanations and diagrams are super.