Knitting Updates

So I started the knitting on No.5 Needles, and decided to rib k4p4... and here was the result, which I decided to rip out and redo because it was far too stiff to be comfortable to wear:


So I tried again, this time using No.7 Needles. Much softer. Plus it's forming a very nice zig-zag design:

And this past weekend at faire, I finished the first skein:

I think 2 more skeins should be enough to finish this scarf, though I might want to make it longer for Silas' sake... he really wants this scarf. Even with my human errors (knit where I should've purled, and vice versa).

And I had a desire to start another project... and with the sheer number of knitting needles I've acquired in the last week, I decided that a case for them would be appropriate... and I've got all this wool that'll felt, so may as well make a felted case, right? Here's the beginnings of it along with the instructions in the background.


That's 82 stitches casted on. 82. And it's entirely stocking stitching, yet somehow it's taking me forever to get through it. I actually began a swatch for this one and found that my gauge was off (too wide and too short), but according to the Knitting Answer Book I bought (at the same time I got the Knitting Rules! book -- thanks for the suggestion Vivienne!), knitting too short for gauge isn't a problem -- just knit to the instructed length. And with this being a felted project, I'm thinking that knitting 1/4" too wide on a swatch isn't going to be a huge deal, especially when the instructions call for trimming the felted wool down to a specified size...

I've also just gone out and bought more yarn for a new project that I'll write about later. I'm excited about it, and I'm a little worried that the whole idea of even doing this new project has proven me to be a knitting addict... ... and I just started! Eek!