It's done!!!!

Look what I finished tonight!

I love it! The only thing I would change is to separate the sleeves a bit earlier - it's kind of baggy around the shoulders. (I could probably have gone down a size.) Oh, and I'd modify the sleeve increases. But anyways, my first sweater is done! Now I need to start swatching for Green Gable. That should go more quickly.

Here's the rundown:
Pattern: Cable Down Raglan by Stephanie Japel for Interweave Knits, Spring 2007
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino in Leaf Green, about 4 2/3 skeins.
Needles: US 4
Cast on: May 26, 2007
Cast off: August 27, 2007

Look what I got!

Here's what was waiting for me when I got home today!











Caddie gave the boxes her sniff of approval.








This was in one box!

And this was in the other!



That's 9 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Pale Yellow (actually a nice light beige) and 6 skeins of Araucania Nature Wool in color 37 (supposedly butter yellow, but more along the lines of harvest gold).

An odd thing to be thankful for

Most people who learn to knit after childhood wish they had learned earlier. I'm SO thankful I didn't start knitting until after college. Otherwise, my GPA would have tanked big time. I'm taking graduate Biochemistry this semester (no, I don't know what I was thinking), and it's going to take some frantic catch-up chemistry to keep this course from kicking me in the behind.

In happier news, I've finished one sleeve of the CDR and started the second. Pics later - hopefully with my first WEBS yarn and my new knitting books!

Still not done with the CDR.

But I'm making progress! I only have a little over one diamond repeat left on the right sleeve. One thing I've figured out, though - next time I do a top-down sweater, I'll do the sleeves before the body. These sleeves are taking so long!

I've got two Mmmmmalabrigo projects on the needles at the moment - a Mistake Rib scarf in worsted Azul Bolito...













...and a Swallowtail Shawl - my first "real" lace project! - in laceweight Tuareg.









Oh, and I got an email from WEBS about my (first!) order. They ran out of the chocolate brown Silky Wool, so I got some Araucania Nature Wool in a buttery yellow instead. I've been craving a soft yellow sweater.

I used my last two Amazon.com gift cards to get two books I've been eying - Victorian Lace Today and Fitted Knits. They should be arriving next week! So should my other major book purchase...*gulp* Not sure what I was thinking when I signed up for this class.

I caved.

So, at the August Knit-In at GYC, I saw that the new fall issue of Interweave Knits was in. This issue had very few things that I didn't want to knit! My favorite was the Tangled Yoke cardigan, designed by Eunny Jang. (Eunny Jang is an AMAZING knitter. I want to be her when I grow up.) Anyway, this cardigan has a beautiful cabled design on the yoke. It uses sportweight/double knitting yarn - Rowan Felted Tweed, a lovely yarn that is WAY out of my budget.

Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, on the other hand, is not - especially when it's on sale at WEBS for $3.49 a skein! And it has the same yardage per ball as the Felted Tweed and everything! That must be a sign, right? So Friday night, I placed my very first online yarn order for 9 skeins of Silky Wool in beige (and another 9 skeins in chocolate - hey, it was on sale!).

I finished the first Jaywalker! It turned out great - I may have knit it a bit long, but it'll be all right. I've started the second one as well, and let me tell you, Magic Loop is fantastic, especially with Addi Turbos!

I can has yarn?

The Gourmet Yarn Company Knit-In last Saturday was lots of fun! Someone made a garish orange and pink toilet paper holder and put it in the bathroom (I swear, it wasn't me!). I got a good amount of the CDR sleeve done. My goal is to finish that puppy by the end of the month.

The Jaywalker #1 is coming along splendidly! I've started the toe decreases. I should have a finished sock by tomorrow evening.

Oh, and here's the Silky Wool I got at the SWAK sale! I'm now kicking myself for not getting more. This stuff is gorgeous.






And here's Mickey, ready for work!

The Jaywalker, the Needles, and the Addi

Once upon a time, there was a Jaywalker sock. It was a happy sock with many lovely colors. It was a very special sock, for the yarn it was made of was sent to the knitter by a friend. It was also special because the knitter started the sock on a vacation. The sock was being knit on size 1 double-pointed needles. Once in a while, the needles would poke the Jaywalker, but the little sock didn't mind. It was just happy to be knitted up into a beautiful sock with zigzagging stripes! Blue, pink, purple, brown, yellow, and mauve, the sock was very proud of itself.


But things weren't always to go well with the sock. Late one night, somewhere between Amarillo and Elk City, there was a snap. No one knew exactly what had caused it, but there was no doubt as to the effect: One of the sock's needles had broken!

The sock was heelbroken. "What is to become of me now?"

The knitter was exhausted from a very long car ride. "How will I knit the sock now?" she wondered. She kept wondering until she got home in the wee hours of the morning.


The next day, after getting a (precious) few hours of sleep, an idea came to the knitter. "Are you a knitter or not?! Why did you get that Addi Turbo if not to knit socks?"

The Addi was a size one - the same size as the sock's original needles. However, there was a slight problem. "Oh no," cried the knitter, "the Addi size one is 2.5 mm, and the double-pointed needles were also size one, but they were 2.25 mm! Will it work?"

But then the knitter remembered a piece of advice from a very wise knitter. "A bit of variance doesn't matter! Just keep knitting!"

The sock was carefully transfered to the long needle, stitch by stitch. In almost no time at all, the sock was back on its way to being finished!









The knitter put away the double-pointed needles in the Addi bag. "One, two, three, three and a half, four...where's the fifth needle?"








And that wasn't the only happy event for the knitter. The same friend who had sent her the yarn for the Jaywalkers had also sent her another box of lovely knitty goodies! There was a lacy bag to hold a water bottle, a beautiful knitted top, some colorful washcloths, a box of Chai tea, a cute little ducky bath fizzer, and some French soap!