Knit, (tink tink),

So I did a little more on the Lady Sweater, I tried it on and it rocks. I had to tink back (that's knitting backwards as in to undo your knitting for you non-knitters). When I do a lacy pattern I prefer to tink back but when I undo regular no-patterned knitting I just take out the needle and rip it all down. Painful but fast. But this was about 7 rows and 2 1/2 hours (because I was watching Moving Up on TLC), and at a few points I actually dropped more stitches and had to go back further. I am so happy I did now. There are no discernable mistakes anywhere as far as I can see now.

I took a trip to the LYS store yesterday, I had to go to a different one because the one closest to my house was shut for the holiday. The one I ended up at is truly beautiful and has a lot of yarn, very little of which I am familiar with. I think I need to branch out and try some new stuff. You won't find me using too much outside of wool, but there is just so many different kinds and I love it. I even have a newfound affection for sheep. I got my cool buttons, which I put on my sweater already for fitting purposes, those rubbery stitch markers I like, the Fall 2008 Interweave Knits, and a bottle of Eucalaln wash. $51.00 later, gosh, I was like what the hell just happened? I do know that I like expensive buttons.

Someone told me a long time ago never to use Woolite on my hand knits. The lady at the LYS reminded me again, so I am just letting you know that she said, "You might as well use Tide on it." I assume it will strip out the lanolin from the wool and abuse the fabric also shrinking and felting it. Just don't do it, OK?

I also found this sweater from last year I almost finished for Jack, but got messed up on the collar and hibernated it. Pulled it out, found the solution extrememly easy and finished it. Guess who it fits now. Thomas! It is an adaption of the Cobblestone Pullover and calculated based on the Elizabeth Zimmerman EPS system. I loved the way I just knocked it out, except for that collar thing in the end. I think I just worked furiously fast on it last year and got really frustrated when I was all burnt out at the end. It's made of soft and awesome Encore Worsted, the best cheap yarn ever ever ever. It probably looks cheap to most but lots of times I cannot tell it is mostly acrylic. It is defintely better than what store bought sweaters are made of at Tar-jay these days. He absolutely loves it and even folds it nicely when he takes it off. A mother's proud moment.

February Lady Sweater

OK, so now I am working on this:

I was not happy with the Blissful jacket, the collar had a mistake in the directions and I could not figure out how to make it right on my own, plus it looked like it was going to be too short, so I was all in all a little depressed about it. I can't wait to turn that tweed into little sweaters for the guys, they really want me to get going on those. I'm knitting it in Manos Wool color #29, I am enjoying this and it is the first thing that doesn't seem to make the vargated wool look too hippie-ish, which is a look that I cannot pull off no matter how hard I try. The gull lace pattern is pretty easy and fun to do.

Blissful Jacket

Here is the Blissful Jacket by Debbie Bliss from Interweave Knits, Fall 2005. I have had this yarn for several years, gifted to me from my Fairy Godmother. I really did not know what I should do with the yarn until I saw this jacket. I did the back of the sweater 2 years ago, and did at least one of the fronts, but I must have thought that I messed it up (I did not understand the collar directions and nervously frogged the front piece or pieces, I cannot remember if I did both of them). In hindsight, I think I did fine, I just panicked at the time. So, I am further than this picture now, I have done all of the parts, pinned and blocked, and seamed the shoulders and I am now doing the collar. Well, there is a mistake in the collar directions, but I figured out what to do. I did the first collar point well enough and continued on the rest, but I accidentally forgot to section off the second collar point and now I have to rip back about an inch of rows on the rest of the collar, no biggie! My only concern is the armpits, they seem high, and the length seems short, I may have to re-block and try and stretch the lengths out more. I will have to see if once it is seamed together if the armpits are comfortable, the width may make it more comfortable than it looks to be right now.

I am totally slacking off today. I forgot how to discipline myself to do actual work. I am a detestable lazy and spoiled person who has the nerve to think her life is hard, ever! Today, I just needed a quiet house to catch up on work and create. Right now, I feel like going to get a bite of lunch and procratinating a little more! I know what that means. It means I have no energy for the tasks in front of me. Time to get back into the proper time management quadrant!= not urgent and productive. At least I know better to pick up the knitting until this work is done. I am starting to get the comments from the spouse about all of the knitting I have been doing lately. Got to hide it better...