Monitor Dearth Watch = 47 days and counting. Samsung's latest excuse is that they mailed out the thing twice, but each time to a different wrong address, in spite of the fact that my address is correct in their records. Unpleasantness ensued until they conceded that error on their part doesn't amount to $300. worth of liability for each monitor on my part. Since someone at those other addresses signed for the monitors, I can expect that they will now have the joy of paying for them. Which leaves me still without a monitor.

Now, those of you considering purchasing a Samsung product right now are probably taking this sample of exemplary service efficiency into account as a data point in that decision. And you'd be correct to do so...

Hoodie. Possibly Rogue-derived.

Can't put it off any longer. I promised the older daughter that I'd knit her a sweater of her own design. I've gotten back this set of thoughts to play with:

1. Yarn choice: Almedahls Texas, a 100% cotton loosely twisted multiply worsted weight yarn in faded jeans/chambray blues. Slightly marled. It's a yarn sale acquisition from last winter that has been stash-aging a while. Very soft, splits like crazy. Knits up nicely on US #6 needles at spot on classic worsted gauge of 5spi/7rpi.
2. Required shape: Oversize zip-front hoodie, saddle shoulders and slightly belled sleeves.
3. Desired decorative elements: Cables! Especially up the center front and around the hood's edge. Also if possible - the Dragon Skin texture pattern from Walker #2 (p. 136).

Now I've thought about starting with Rogue (a truly excellent bit of design work that I envy). There are some problems though:

1. The gauge of my yarn is wrong for it, but I can cope with that.
   
2. Also it's not a cardigan. I can also cope with that, too. Others have split the front and made it into a zip-up, so I wouldn't be the first.
   
3. The cotton I'm doomed to use is also rather inelastic for this sort of thing, but I've done complex cabled pieces out of the most intransigent of yarns, so I don't think that this one will be too difficult.
4. The thing really isn't set up for saddle shoulders. (I think this point isn't a life or death requirement, and Target Kid will be happy without cables up the arm to the shoulder so long as she's got the cabled cuff detail).
5. Much of the beauty of the piece comes not only from its excellent shaping, and clever incorporation of cable increases into accents, but also from the contrast of the very plain body with the deeply embossed cabled trim. Using an all-over texture pattern like dragon skin would cut into that contrast.

Problem:? How do I either talk Target Child out of the dragon skin texture pattern, modify dragon skin's stitch count/repeat to make it easier to use in a project of this scale; or talk myself into adapting Rogue to use it?? More explorations and/or negotiations are necessary. I'll probably order the pattern early next week, after I've finished swatching out the Texas and playing with Walker's repeat widths.

Here's my initial swatching play of the texture pattern as she wrote it. (Dragon Skin is on the bottom of the thing. )