Finished!

The cardigan is finished and fits great! 







My only issue is that the yarn I used was a bit too variegated, so the cables don't pop as much as they might.  However, I'd make this again, in a solid or semi-solid; that's how much I enjoyed it.

Now I'm back on bus socks, trying to get them done in the next few weeks or so.

I'm also finished with the items for my swap partner for the ASOIAF swap.  Unfortunately, I don't know if I'll get to the post office today, so it might have to wait until Monday to be mailed out.  I really hope she likes the items...I tried to make them reflect Arya, Bran, and the wolves.  I'm always worried about swap stuff - will the person like it, will they absolutely hate it, etc.  I hope that the things are okay.

I had thought of giving her a book of crochet patterns inspired by Jane Austen, but the book was totally panned, so I didn't think it would actually be worthwhile to give.  Sometimes it's not the thought that counts :)

I'm planning my knitting for the Ravelypics, too.  I think I want to try to finish that cardigan I started two years ago.  It just needs the sleeves done, to be sewn up, and the button bands put on.  I love cardigans, but there is something that keeps me from finishing them unless I have some hard deadline imposed from outside.  Ah, psychology.

Decreasing, hooray!

I'm in the decreases, so I'm very excited.  I'm not going to think about how many more rows to go, just that I get to decrease now :)

In other news, I got a cappuccino today from a local coffee shop.  Once a month or so I get a fun coffee drink, and today was the day.  There are two coffee shops by work, both about the same distance I think, but one feels closer.  I keep going to the "closer" one, even though they're pricier and not as good.  The cappuccino I got today was curiously light when I picked it up - it was mostly foam!  I know that it's a drink with a lot of foam, but this is ridiculous.

Tinking, frogging, etc.

Argh.  I was all set to finish the back today, but then I realized I had missed several decreases along the way on one side.  Rather than rip out all those rows, which would have taken hours to knit again, if I could even find where I went wrong, I ripped out just the section that was screwed up.  Problem was, it took a hour and a half to fix.  Hopefully blocking will help the weird gauge on those stitches, but seriously?

At least I'm at the point where I just need to knit 17 more rows to finish the back chart.  Then 5 rows later, I can add the sleeves.  Once I get those sleeves added, I get to actually decrease, which makes me very happy.

What's that about a break?

I've been working like crazy on the cardigan, but the going is slow.  LG around means less time for knitting.  Either I'm playing with her, making food for her, or asleep :)  Seriously though, I've had less time to work on this than I'd like.  I was planning on getting a lot done on Friday, but I had to work late, and then was at the symphony, so the day only included about an hour and a half of knitting time.

I'm hoping to finish the back this week.  I'm on row 60-something, and there are over 200 rows, so I have a ways to go.  I'm really looking forward to the point on row 141 when I get to join the sleeves to the body and actually decrease.  I love decreasing. 

In other news, my brother will be coming to live with us for about a month in June, and then our nephew will move in in July.  It will be interesting to see what living with other people is like again.  We haven't had any long term houseguests for a year or so now.

Eventually I'll have some pictures of the cardigan, but for now, just imagine something that starts out in a rainforesty type blue on the bottom and transitions up to a blue-grey on the top.  The drawbacks of not having 4 skeins of the same color :)

That was a long break

I don't know why it's been so long! 

I just started a cardigan from the DIC Smooshy I bought a few months ago.  It's not the cardigan I was planning, but a test knit.  Those seem to be the only things I finish in a reasonable amount of time!

Work is crazy busy, and likely to get crazier.  LG is growing fast, and I'm constantly worried about her, afraid she'll get sick, hurt, etc.  Argh.

I'm planning on actually posting in May, if only to have a record of the work on this cardigan.  Oh no...I just realized that last May was when my back injury happened, and I was working on a cardi test knit at the time.  Eep!

Spring already?

Even though it's not technically spring yet, we're having warm weather.  I went on a walk with my niece yesterday and ended up carrying her piggyback for most of it.  Blagh - it was so hot and uncomfortable!

I finished the one double heelix sock for DP, but still haven't even cast on the second.  I need some quiet time to concentrate on that heel; once I'm done with that, it's smooth sailing.

I pulled out that cardigan, but I don't know if it will even fit me now.  I need to start exercising again; I haven't done any real load bearing exercises for the past year because of my back problems.  For health's sake, I need to get myself into shape again.  My upper body isn't the problem - work takes care of that - it's the waist down that's the issue.  If only moving furniture whittled one's waist!

LG (Lady Grey) is doing well and growing like a weed.  Her last weigh in was 7.5 lbs.  When we got her, she was about 4 lbs.  Time sure does fly.  She's learned to sit, and to "show me" when she wants something.  Sometimes it's just for someone to come with her to the litterbox :)

We're still working on not scratching people in fun - she knows what "be nice" means - but she's still young, so she gets worked up at times. 

She's really enjoying her raw diet.  Unfortunately, she has a chicken sensitivity, which means that chicken (raw or cooked or in any food) gives her intestinal troubles.  So we're stuck with beef right now.  We might branch out into lamb at some point, depending on the budget.  I'm also wondering about rabbit, but I don't think it's worth buying a bunch of it if she turns out not to like it.

Harnessing

We got a harness for Lady so she could go outside without DP holding her.  It took me a while to figure out how to get it on (we put it on a teddy bear first) but once we put it on her, she was fine with it.  Crazy!  DP clipped the leash on, and they took a walk in the backyard.  She was jumping really high and almost pulling him along!

I'm so happy we have her.  She's just the sweetest, even when she's being bad ;)

I'm still working on the socks I started in January.  For some reason, I just haven't been able to concentrate on knitting.  They're the double heelix socks from Knitty, so after the heel it's just boring stockinette for size 10s...that might explain it.

I really want to finish the cardigan I started two years ago...I just have the halves of the sleeves to go and the sewing up to do.  Again, I just can't seem to concentrate on it.  I want to start another cardigan (or two!) but I will not until I get this thing finished.  Ack!

I have become a cat lady

The cat that we've been waiting for for so many months is finally here!  We haven't figured out her name yet - trying to see what fits the best.

She's a Siberian, so I'm much less allergic to her than to other cats.  DP and I just love her...she might end up being the true lady of the manor.  She really seems to enjoy wool socks - that is, she enjoys attacking them :)

I'm a bit stuck on what to knit right now.  I'm swatching for a lace cardigan, even though I didn't finish the other cardigan on the needles.  I also really want to make myself some mittens, because the weather, while warm now, means that mittens are going to be necessary.  Gloves just don't cut it for really keeping your hands warm.  I also have some yarn coming from the loopy ewe for the first quarter challenge of knitting with silk.  I'm trying two yarns new to me - Enchanted Knoll Enchantments, and some Shibui silk blend in a fingering weight.  I'm thinking of making some more fingerless gloves, either for DP, or for the gift pile.  I say it every year, but having a pile of ready made gifts is a lifesaver.

So, hopefully I'll be able to get some stuff done even with a kitten who wants to play with everything in sight!

Scrubby

I tried a sugar scrub in my shower this morning - sugar, honey and a bit of avocado oil. Wowie - the parts that I scrubbed are super soft and smooth. I may have to start doing this once a week.

I'm almost done with one sleeve on the cardigan, so I have one more sleeve and the collar. I still don't know what I'm going to do, but it may be in garter to go faster.

With the cooler weather coming, I need to make some more socks! As soon as I finish this cardi, I'm going to cast on a pair. Not sure what color or pattern, but I've been sockless for too long.

Knock out, indeed

Guess what happened the day after my last blog post? I took a step out of the bus and threw my back out! It is the most pain I can remember ever being in, and I am still not healed up, though I can go to work. I was out for 5 days, flat on my back, and I can't lift anything over 5 pounds or bend at the waist. ARGH! It's not fun to have time off work when you have to lie on the couch, flat on your back, with a pillow under your knees.

So, I haven't gotten much knitting done. I did sew buttons on the Haymaker, though I will be replacing them with special buttons I ordered from Etsy. I'm very happy with the sweater; it looks great on me (color and fit) and weighs almost nothing. I wore it to work on Friday and to my sister's on Saturday, and it held up well in both venues.

Now for a look:



and



I'm so happy with it! My confidence is up, so I really want to make another cardigan or something great while I have this drive. We shall see...

Waiting

Even with knitting in hand, I hate waiting. Lately, I've been too edgy to knit much...I don't know what it is, but I start knitting and then can't concentrate on it. I'm preoccupied, but I'm not sure by what.

I signed up to test another pattern - a women's cardigan made with laceweight! Don't worry; it's held double :) The yarn I plan to use is a bit lighter weight than called for, so I'm waiting to find out what the gauge is so I can swatch. I have lots of different laceweights just running around, and I think this will be a great way to use them and maybe get something for myself out of the deal. Plus, the deadline will ensure that I actually make the thing.

With Passover and Easter coinciding this weekend, I get Monday and Tuesday off just when I need it. I've been painting rooms in my sister's house on my days off, but I think that I won't need to paint anything this coming week. A nice little rest. DP has a meeting downtown tomorrow, so I'll either come along with him and hang out at a coffee shop (and plug the meter), or stay home and work in the garden. I have to see if my poor crushed berry canes have done any sprouting at all. A big birch branch fell on them sometime this winter and broke most of them.

Well, I'm off to whip up a potato gratin and a chickpea salad for dinner tonight.

Couldn't resist

I went to Crown Mountain Farms' website to look at the colors and found that the superwash was on sale for $5.50 off! I bought another hunk of Light My Fire and one of Knockin' on Heaven's Door. You guessed it: I'm making another Liesl for myself out of Light My Fire, and I ran out of it last night. I'm not sure if I'll use the Knockin' on Heaven's Door for a b-day present for my niece or for something else, but it was so beautiful I just went for it.

I finally finished the green mitts. Yargh. I ended up going without buttons, though I may add buttons as a decoration later.



For such a small project, it gave me no end of trouble. The end result feels great though - extremely springy, and using US0 for the thumb was inspired :) Unfortunately, there were 10 yarn ends to weave in at the end on each mitt, since I kept doing surgery to make things work out. Ah well, I got some good practice in finishing. The little leaf shape worked out well:



Since I can't really work on my Liesl until I get more yarn, I think I may start another pair of socks for DP. We're trying to figure out how to maximize the end of the bright orange yarn, but DP is not into stripes. We may use the grapevines Shaefer Anne, since it's the same base as the orange yarn and should hold up well. The orange socks (circa 2008) are his favorite, and they don't have any holes or runs yet. The addition of mohair and nylon was a stroke of genius by the company.