Still wet, but complete!

38 Fabulous Lace Inset Cardigan by SweaterBabe.com
Size 13 needles, Knitpicks Decadence Grape (less than 5.5 skeins used).

Pattern: Line by line do this do that is great. Until it gets really foggy on the right front. That was annoying. And the ultra weird piecing instructions. I suggest setting in the sleeves and then sewing up the sides and sleeves in one go.

It is nice and soft and fuzzy, very pretty. I will probably wear this one a lot.

Oops.

Call it 100%. I don't have a needle to sew on the damn buttons. I packed them. Heh. I *might* go to Joanns tomorrow....maybe.

I'm seeing gold.

Its 99.99% done. I need to block it and put on the buttons. And it fits! Very soft, and I can see myself wearing this a lot. Hopefully I'll have a better photo tomorrow!

Just proof that you CAN knit a sweater in 15 days AND seam it, AND move your household across country. Now as soon as my coworker picks up my desk, I'll lay it out to block! Woo!

Figures.

I'm 15 rows from finishing the knitting on my damn sweater. Then I have to sew it up. Think I've gotten a chance to knit the past 2 days? No! Ugh!

Still packing, I have until 8am tomorrow morning :/

Wow, that was fun.

Back fom Stitches. My throat is pretty sore, and I'm having a hard time swallowing (as in, drinking water HURTS and I need more drugs) but 4 benedryls later and a wad of disposable cash made Stitches West quite fun!

Yes, I bought that shirt, though Emily (my knitting buddy from SF) and I decided that zombies could knit if they really wanted to, so ending it with "die" is quite untrue. But I mean really, where will I find a zombie knitting shirt? I'm sure zombies get cold with all that ripped up clothing they are forced to wear.

I bought quite a bit for my Secret Pals! Woo! Unfortunately I was pretty drugged up by the time I made it to Hollis' booth that I forgot to um, BUY stuff that I needed for one of them. Doh! No photos of SP stuff, its secret ya know?

But my stuff isn't!



Hemp! Yes, I bought the pattern too (that I wasn't sure if she was holding down) because the sample wasn't really rolling. I'm not sure I love the lace edging, but I'll work with it. The woman who helped me first was honestly of no use. The second lady who helped me was the designer, and she helped with the math. Super sweet, and I even got a tag to sew in the back. I really liked the cartigan but its knit side to side, and I wasn't really trusting it. Plus, shaping is good.



Have to stop at Interlacements each time I go near an event. $24 for 740 yds of very pretty cotton rayon. Its pretty. I don't know what the hell to do with it (18st per 4") but well, its not really a problem yet, I'm still enamoured with looking at it. I wasn't in love with the regular cotton colorways. Everything was bright this year. They always have a kickass sale bin ($15 for 8-16oz of hand dyed merino) but its always 100% wool. Screw that :P



My splurge. I stopped by Tess' booth. Looking for more of that wicked Alpaca I got from my last SP. The black section was lacking (and sorting by colors REALLY SUCKS when you are allergic to wool, y0), but what was catching my eye? Oh, 666 yards of black fine silk. 666! Black! On sale (still enough to make my heart pitter patter, I mean it wasn't that much of a discount)! This is just crying out to be a shawl or a wrap with some sort of flame motif, or even skull and crossbones. I love it. I'm so goth I bought 666 yards of pure silk to knit something lacey and gothic *staples hand to forehead*

So I came out with money to spare. Which means I can get some needles (to finish off my bamboo interchangeable system), and more yarn. Now to go lay in bed, and make sure I keep breathing. Ugh!

Maybe I should pack.

So I'm knitting too much. I need to pack! I now have the back and 2 fronts done. I just kind of glossed over most of the directions, and it was REALLY damn hard to mirror in certain spots, so I just said screw it and took artistic license.

But I need to pack!

Oh, and riddle me this: I have to make 7 button holes, but only buy 6 buttons. I think I'll go with 7, just to put my logical brain at ease.

The little engine that could?

So, I lazily (is that a word?) finished off the left front of the sweater this morning. I didn't knit at all really Tuesday or yesterday. However, while I've been knitting along assuming I won't finish for the end of the olympics (Go team! Apathy unite!), looking at it, I could.

I really could. I mean, I have 1 front, 2 sleeves and a collar left. 10 days! That's a long time!

Hell, I might even sew buttons on in that time! Hahah, probably not ;)

Its going!

Well, I'm almost done the left front. Then I run into concentration hell for the right front. I'm not looking forward to it. Also, I don't love the lace pattern. This would look so cute with a vine or leaf lace pattern. The lace is kinda boring. I mean, it will look good and all, but its kinda plain.

BUT this is coming along well. There are a few things I'm considering changing, like why would you sew up the side seams, the arm seams and then try to set in the sleeve? Isn't that a bit more work than is needed?

Who knows. Oh, I guess I should start scouting for buttons. UGH. I guess I could do that at Stitches. Its better than sewing in a zipper!

Progress

Elspeth was looking for progress in the knitting olympics. I think most of us are too busy knitting to blog!



I did the back in about 5 hours. I cast on Friday night before my company arrived, and finished it Saturday morning.



This was yesterday. You have to keep flipping pages for the lace rows and the actual rows. I'm REALLY not happy with the fact that the directions say (paraphrased) "oh, and for the right side, reverse everything". Um. I have to keep track of 2 different rows AND reversing everything to make another side AND add button holes. I asked the author of the paid pattern if she had it written out in reverse, and she said I would figure it out when I got to it.

Um. Thanks. Or something.

So as much as it looks like I got a lot done, I didn't. And I might be too pissed off to finish the right front.

And yes, I have done sweaters with this type of explanation. Vnecks and such. You know, that don't have a LOT of pattern and shaping throughout. It doesn't mean that this has to be the accepted norm. Maybe I'm not an "intermediate" knitter yet then if I have such high standards.

At least there are schematics.
Woo.

Doh!

So I'm meeting with friends tonight, and um, packing the rest of the time so I was going to at least cast on at 2pm for the knitting olympics. Because I mean, its more important than work right?

Well, I brought the yarn, pattern and I thought I was set!

Wait, don't you need needles to knit?

Doh!

Looks like I'll be starting Saturday. UGH!

Kittyville Hat

Kittyville Hat, SnB. Lionbrand CottonEase, and Bernat Boucle (this stuff never dies, I swear the ball goes on and on and on). Size 8 needles.

This hat would have taken a few hours, if I had knit on it for any length of time. I didn't add the earflaps, since I would have had to bust into another skein, and well, I didn't want to.

I much prefer ribbed bands, since this hat is a bit big, and it would of made it fit better. Bella was upset that she's never in photos so I dragged her into this one.

Meow!

The state of the onion.

Well, things are going slow around here. I haven't really knit anything since well, last Tuesday. I'm just working on the hat, and I'm convinced its too big.

Its not that big a deal, just something to knit until the Knitting Olympics start Friday.

Packing is going slowly. Ben packs completely different than myself. For instance: I pack all books like minded in a box. pad with plushies and such. So all my herb books are in a box, all my mythology in another and so on. Ben packs by size. All large books in one box, medium books in another, and so on fitting them together like a tetris puzzle. Which means, if I need to find a book without unpacking, I have no fucking clue where the hell he stuck it. With over 20 shelves of books, this is REALLY annoying.

And then I'm left to pack everything else. I had to pack his damn desk crap because he packed "my" books. *sigh* There is tension in the bunny house. And just an fyi, this guy has more clothes and shoes than me. He's in charge of that.

I did pack my knitting books. I didn't want those all messed up. I mean, what happens if I actually finish the sweater for the closing ceremonies? I wouldn't have anything pulled out to knit! I need something small to knit for the plane. That means I need to "unpack" my knitting stuff again. Doh! Well, its only in tubs, no big deal.

And I'm kicking myself for not going to Hollis' Superbowl Sale. Doh! Everyone's hauls look so great! I still haven't talked to Ben about my Stitches "budget" but it will be meager. Damn moving.

Happy dance!

My super cool Secret Pal 7 sent me a package! Hey look! Black yarn! And its awesome! I'm so pleased with everything. Its all so thoughtful and cute! Look! Hair elastics! For me! Not for the kitty! Hell, the bunny likes to hide them too. They don't like traditional pet toys. Freaks.

I love Elegance *sigh* So soft.

Yesterday was really stressful, so this was great to come home to.

Thank you Incognito SP! You rock my socks!