another knitting blog

Unbelievable!

I can't believe it! I've finished another sweater! Country Plaid Shirt is complete!

This was another almost-completed sweater that had been sitting around for a long time. I've put together an archive page of all my previous CPS posts, but let's review the highlights.

First post: March 19, 2003
Last post (before this one): March 22, 2004

Within that year, I had knit and assembled the whole thing except for one button band. And then I stopped...for almost two years.

Before I stopped, I knit three separate versions of the button band with three different buttonhole attempts. None of them pleased me.

This last weekend, I finally pulled out all the bits again to figure out what my next step would be. I looked at the three substandard bands and decided that one of them was actually good enough. I know stepping back a bit often helps one gain perspective on a problem. Looks like this one took almost two years of stepping back.

So, I took a giant leap forward and sewed on the band, wove in a few stray ends, and sewed on the buttons. [I originally had a big fit over button selection too].

Just like that, I had a finished sweater; and it turned out really well. I'll probably always wear it buttoned, so my wailing and gnashing over sloppy buttonholes turns out to be a non-issue.

I'm starting to have hopes that there are a few other orphans in the pile that will be rescued.

me me me me meme

I usually try to avoid memes (and cliches) like the plague, but this is the first time I've ever been tagged; so, Bev, this one's for you.

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. receptionist at a dentist's office
2. grocery store checker
3. environmental lab tech
4. hearing research scientist

Four movies you could watch over and over:
1. The Philadelphia Story
2. A Room with a View
3. Gigi
4. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Four places you have lived:
1. Madison, WI
2. Austin, TX
3. Takoma Park, MD
4. Portland, OR

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. LOST, ABC
2. House, FOX
3. Creature Comforts, BBC America
4. Almost anything on a science or history channel

Six places you have been on vacation:
1. Disney World
2-6. Five European countries (France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany) in 8 weeks

Four websites you visit daily:
1. Scary-Go-Round
2. The Morning News
3. Television Without Pity
4. The Washington Post

Four of my favorite foods:
1. white cheese (brie, feta, goat cheese, Swiss, mozzarella…)
2. bread and butter, really
3. salmon
4. fresh cherries

Four places you'd rather be right now:
1. at home in bed
2. in a cabin in the mountains
3. southern France
4. northern Italy

I'm not going to tag anyone else; I think this one's just about run it's course anyway. It was fun to come up with some of these answers though.

hooked on a feeling

This is so awesome; I couldn't bear to watch the whole thing at once. No matter what happens, the rest of my day will now be awesome.

Thanks, Christy!!

behind the times

I took this picture last week. I finished this sweater several weeks ago. I meant to finish it before Christmas. I started knitting it three years ago. It looks like it was knit before I was born.

For anyone who remembers, this is the Cables & Lace cardigan that was the topic of one of the first posts I wrote when this blog was just new. As part of my new goal to finish stalled projects, I wanted to have it done for Christmas, given that I started it on Christmas vacation in 2003. Yeah, well, that didn't happen.

This sweater fought me right up until the end: my gauge was initially way off and I had to reknit bits of the back...twice; the sleeves didn't fit well into the arm holes, so I had to reknit 2/3rds of both of them; and for some reason, the first time the neck opening came out about three inches wide [I swear, I followed the pattern...I should have been paying attention instead], so I had to reknit the neck shaping as well.

Unfortunately, the yarn is a lightly spun mohair, silk, and wool blend that didn't appreciate being ripped out repeatedly; and, as a result, my newly finished sweater has a somewhat worn look already. If I were being generous, I might say that it has a vaguely vintage look, as in, it looks as though someone's grandmother knit it in the 1960's and it's been worn every winter for the past 40 years.

The buttons are antler.

I got nothin' else.

Update: OK, I got more.

Despite its slightly used character, I do like this sweater. It's rather soft and cozy. I shouldn't speak so harshly of the poor old dear.

I've pulled a muscle in my blog

Blogging is a bit like exercising: when you haven't done it for a while, it's difficult to get started again.

Christmas socks

The week before Christmas, my sister called me with a request on behalf of my niece.* Did I have a pair of completed hand-knit socks sitting around? If so, would I be willing to sell them to my niece so she could give them to a friend? Oh, and my sister thought that if I had more than one pair, my niece might like to get another pair for her Christmas gift. Apparently, my hand-knit socks are a big hit with my niece and some of her friends.

Hmm, did I have any finished pairs? Well, not that I hadn't already worn myself. However, I did have a few pairs in progress with one sock done and the second all but. I could easily produce a completed pair on short notice without difficulty, provided that the friend wore a similar size shoe as I. I knew my niece wears a full size larger than I do, so she would have to wait for a custom-knit pair.

The luggage for my holiday travel contained a selection of sock yarns from my extensive collection. I gave my niece choice of whichever yarn she liked for herself and her friend. For her friend, she chose a pair of socks knit from beautiful blue Spirit Trail Fiberworks yarn. That one hurt; I really liked that yarn. Nevertheless, I offered, and she chose what was clearly one of the best options. I am now even more eagerly awaiting Jennifer to put the yarn pages back online.

For herself, my niece selected the orangey Woolarina yarn I had succumbed to a while back. This girl has no mercy! Yet, once again, this was my own doing. I knit [knitted?] one sock before returning, and will undoubtedly finish the other by Tuesday.

As you can see, I've given up trying to keep the cat out the photos and have now resorted to using her as a prop.

The knitting I had intended to bring along was the Lorna's Laces yarn I received from Lara.

I really, really tried to turn this yarn into a pair of Jaywalkers, but this yarn was just not happy on US1s at 84 stitches (or 92 stitches). Yuck! I gave up and knit my old standby and got this completely unexpected result. I especially like how the pattern dilates at the heels and toes.

*[This is not the same sister and niece participating in the BFL].