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...

Knock out!

The cardigan is done, save for a blocking and buttons! It's soaking in the washer right now.

Huzzah!

Movin' right along

I'm done with the body to the underarms, one sleeve and part of the other sleeve! I'm really enjoying making this, though I might dye it once I finish it and get to try it on in the sunlight. Laceweight held double gives such a nice hand in the fabric.

I don't know what we'll do this weekend, but we're planning a fun dinner for Friday night with my sister and her family. Whatever else we have, I'd really like a good beer. I've been craving a good beer for a while, and PBR just isn't cutting it :)

I still have my diamond waistcoat socks to finish, but this cardigan took over my bus knitting, and it's hard to do beaded knitting on the bus anyway.

Onwards!

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.

Fashion plate

Navy pants, brown socks and black shoes - I am totally fashionable.

Still working on the Waistcoat socks; I decided to try one sock using the crochet hook method to bead, and it's slow going. I also spent all of Sunday at my sister's house painting, so I didn't get any knitting done, except for some darning. DP's socks really needed it.

Beady and bready

DP took me to the store today to get beads - hooray! I got silver, gold, bronze, green and red, which I think will make a marvelous waistcoat :) My plan is to put half of each color of bead in a bowl, and thread them onto the yarn. Hopefully, I'll have enough...and the back of the leg won't be too stiff with all the beading. I'm excited to try this out, and if it looks anything like my imagination, I'll be very happy.

I also just pulled a batch of b-bread out of the oven. I used this recipe, but I swapped out rum for the bourbon. One, I don't have any bourbon in the house, and two, I love rum and bananas together. Frankly, I love rum in anything, but that's beside the point :)

I just need to finish the foot and heel of the second Diamond Waistcoat sock, then I can cut the yarn and bead it up. Goodness, that banana bread smells lovely!

Little bunny's getting fat on bread and honey

I'm eating buttered bread with honey and drinking tea, and it's raining outside. Hooray!

I just finished my March SKA socks, and I love them:



That Eidos yarn is amazing. I started out not liking it, but it won me over. Great stitch definition, nice deep color, and it stands abuse well. I carried it with me on the bus and over at my sister's house for a month, and it's none the worse for wear.

Now I can concentrate on my Smaug socks...but I really need to get to the fabric store to pick up the beads for the sock backs.

I also had a nice meeting today with a woman doing a project for a Folklore class. She needed to interview knitters, and I thought it would be fun to help a fellow knitter (and folklore lover) out. It was! We had a great talk, and even kept on talking after she had gotten the footage and recordings that she needed. It was fun to talk with another person close to my own age about knitting and fiber crafts - especially a real live person :)