Houston, we have sleeves!

Yeah! Sleeves are done and the rest of the SBS has been picked up and knitted. The picking up and knitting was really tricky for me to get done. I had the back on a lifeline and the fronts on seperate life lines. Some of the stitches had pulled through and were buried so that I had to get a tiny crochet hook and dig them out. At one point I had a crochet hook, a darning needle, a size 2 knitting needle and a stitch holder all poked in various spots trying to get those stitches lifted. Then I messed up on the back...instead of slip, k2tog, psso....I did slip, slip, k2tog, psso....And of course, I knitted way past it before I stopped to look it over. My clue was that the numbers weren't coming out right. But for some odd reason, I just kept on knitting. And once I realized my mistake I spent several minutes trying to figure out a way to ummmm, shall we say, cheat. I hate tinking back!

It fits a little snugly, but that's ok, I think. I know that I can block it out bigger. Right?

I love this yarn. It's so soft and just looks gorgeous! I think the body will go fast because from here I do about an inch straight and then start decreasing. The final part is to pick up all alround the outside edge and knit on an edging. The thought of that scares me so...I just try not to think about it. Just call me Scarlet.

Ready for Sleeves?

I think I'm ready to put the sleeves on seperate needles and knit them up. I am excited about this but realized yesterday that I'll have to cut my yarn (I'm using a cone of yarn) then estimate how much I'll need for one sleeve and ball it up. I'm nervous about starting the sleeves because I'm not 100% sure how wide the back is. I guess I should put it on a piece of scrap yarn so I can get a good measurement. And then there's the blocking to factor in. This will be a learning experience that's for sure. If it's too big for me, I don't know who I'll give it to.

The New Vintage Capelet is coming along quickly. I've done about half of the decreases so it shouldn't be much longer. I think I will take it with me this weekend to work on in the car. I should be able to finish it. I need to get another pic of it.

Becoming a Better Knitter?

Hmmmmm. Well, after 2 1/2 years I do think I'm entering a new phase in my knitting. I've noticed lately that I seem to be faster and stuff looks better....stitches are neater....could be that Zephyr DK yarn....

But, more importantly, I think I'm developing a sense of what I actually enjoy knitting. And it's surprising me. A year ago I was all about triangular shawls. Loved 'em. Couldn't get enough of 'em. And they are nice. But. What drives me to drink about 'em (aside from my use of 'em way too much) is that they get bigger and bigger and it's so hard to determine how much yarn you'll need to do one more repeat or even the bind off. And it's just depressing for the rows to get bigger. So, now I still love shawls. Just not the triangular as much. Hmmmmm.

Ok. Lost my train of thought. Hold on...Oh yeah. And I used to hate doing hats but thought they were required for new knitters. Now, I like them because they're quick ways to try new stitches. For instance, I'm doing Smariek's 3 hr cable hat just so I can try cables again. But, I still hate dishcloths and think they are lame.

So, I am really enjoying the New Vintage Capelet (google it). It's fast, looks awesome and it frickin' decreases rather than increases. Yay! But really, I'm amazed at how fast this is going particularly since I am doing other projects too. Of course, it's on US 10's and ww yarn so should go fast, but trust me, a year ago I would've been struggling with it. And the other thing that I love about it is that it's the only pattern in my files that has stood the test of time. What I mean is that I saw this pattern like 2 years ago and loved it. But I knew I couldn't do it. So I saved it. And by golly, I still love the way it looks and love knitting it. And now it's easy peasy! How cool is that? Way cool!

I am really feeling verbose tonight. So, I'll continue. My other fav project: Shawl-Back Shrug from elann.com is totally awesome. But only because I have someone who is there to help me with it. She's there in the wings and I never would've started it without that knowledge. Thanks Vicki!! But so far, it's not too hard and it looks great! Again....the yarn - Zephyr DK. Love it! Now, I know this pattern is going to eat me alive when I get to the sleeves. But, for now, I LOVE it!

I was going to write some about the lace articles in Interweave Knits Summer 2006 and Fall 2006. But, I'm getting sleepy. So, I'll save those for another day. But, seriously, they are great articles. And I just felt so validated reading them. Because a lot of the information in them was stuff "I know" but seeing it in print by someone who knows their shit means a whole lot. And they gave me confidence in my abilities. Cool!

I'll leave you with a website that I found today and it is great!
http://www.knitmap.com/ You enter the city or zip code where you want to find a yarn shop and it'll tell you the ones nearby. As far as I can tell, it's all user contributed data and I think it's awesome!

Progress Report

I have been knitting on the New Vintage Capelet and I really love it. It's going fast. I am finished with the lace portion at the bottom and am a few rows into the straight ss portion. I also love the big honking ball 'o yarn from Canada. It's soft and so far there have been no knots! I have no idea why that is underlined and I cannot figure out how to remove it!

I've also done my swatch for the Shawl Back Shrug from elann.com and have cast on for it. I'm using Zephyr DK in Real Red and I love this yarn! It is so soft and the stitches just look gorgeous which is saying a lot for this yarn to make my stitches look good!

I am really thinking that blogging is a huge waste of time and may quit soon. I could be knitting ya know! Or napping or cleaning house....nah!