Turns out she has monkey arms, too

Mom arrived yesterday and it was her birthday. True, this sweater was supposed to be for Christmas, but with the impending move I though it would be better to go ahead and gift it.



The timing was fantastic because the snow has been coming down since morning and the thickness of this jacket really takes the chill off.

Mom insists that the sleeves are perfect (thank goodness) so no alterations were necessary. I was wondering how that would be pulled off!

We ended up getting a different clasp that looks much better and not so overpowering as the one that came in the bag. I've made her promise to wear it, but as soon as we came inside she tucked it away to avoid "getting it dirty."

...somebody shoot me!

Monkey arms

** MOM, DON'T GO FORWARD OR YOU WILL SPOIL YOUR PRESENT***

Thank you, friends, for the wonderful comments. How a kind word can help you through a tough day!

It seems I must be the one with monkey arms. After scrunching up the length a bit and letting it dry, the sleeves are a bit shorter. Mom's arms are shorter than mine and some work will still need to be done.

I don't really like the clasp that came in the kit and it will wait to see what mom's preferences are.

She had better wear this darn thing (at least in front of me)!

Cut the steeks!

**WARNING**

Mom, this will spoil your Christmas present so don't peek!

Secretly, I am hoping that my mom's arms have grown about 6". Assuming that she does not have monkey in her ancestry, this is not likely. The arms on her cardigan grew extremely long during the washing and it appears they will need to be shortened : (

This means the steeks have been cut

and the shoulders have been graft together (3 needle bind off, yay!)

Knitting all of the facings was a bit time consuming, but I managed to finish those today.

The sweater has been washed, rinsed, and laid to dry.

The process to make this sweater is one that I've thoroughly enjoyed. Only the fear of the fit looms in my mind. True, these sweaters are designed to fit like a tent, but I was hoping to adjust a bit and make it a tad more snug. These hopes were banished as soon as the washing was complete and it was discovered to have grown during the process.

It will dry completely and then I will decide what to do about those sleeves.

Just WIP's

Gosh! I am tired of knitting the same old thing!

There are 258 stitches on these needles and I broke down and ordered a longer cable from Knit Picks. My hands ache after working on this for too long and I'm hoping that longer cable will do the trick.

Usually, another project is on needles when I'm working on something this intricate and demanding.

Grape Cable Lace was finished (did I show you photos?) hmmm. Not quite sure and feeling too lazy to go check. This is my own design that went out in a scarf to my exchange pal, Becky, last year. The photos taken of the original did not do it justice and this yarn (Valley Farms Lenox) does show off the detail better.

...anyway, a new project was necessary and nothing jumped out at me. After a couple of days spinning my wheels, something evil possessed me to knit socks 2-at-a-time. This is a new technique to me which did not cause initial problems. Frustration has set in because my longer cable is in the Philosopher's wool cardigan and using a somewhat shorter cable with the socks causes a little disruption. The worse thing is that my hands hurt with this project, too.

The yarn is lovely! It is Mirasol Hacho and was sent to me by Ivy whom I 'met' on Ravelry. This book has a few patterns that call to me but I think I will knit them separately next time.

Yes, this post is scatterbrained - this is how my life feels right now. There was a finished project here to share, though.

Thanks so much for the kind comments on my last post (and the others). My niece tried to model the shrug again when we visited last weekend...she is so funny!

nature, knitting and spinning

The gardens are bursting with blooms and the colors are enticing.






For some inexplicable reason there are lilacs blooming. I should do some research and discover exactly why they are blooming, but there isn't time right now.



Toad has been living in this flower pot all summer. I did catch him in the cat's water bowl (inside the garage) one morning. For the most part he stays inside the pot only peeking his head out when the watering occurs.

A bunny showed up outside the porch and we were lucky to find him before the dogs or cat did. A couple of bunnies have already fallen prey to Cat this season, but this little bunny was scooped up into a box and relocated to a safe area in the weeds.

The second sleeve has been complete and measurable progress will slow. 256 stitches are on the needles for the body of this sweater and a row will take quite awhile to get through. Once the facing is complete, I should be able to gauge how much time a row/repeat will take and then calculate how much time I need to spend knitting this to complete in time for Christmas...Mom will be so surprised!
What is on my wheel?
Creamy soft alpaca. So soft it feels like butter running through my fingers. The 8 ounces ball has been divided into 2 ounce portions. One is complete and I hope to get the second finished and plied before leaving Friday for Kentucky.

diversion

Lots of spinning and knitting have been happening around here.

My only daughter is going to be driven 6 1/2 hours away and left at college in two weekends...this flurry of activity is my diversion.

The little hat sparked my desire to do more colorwork so mom's Philosopher's Wool sweater fixin's was dug out.

This is the first sleeve and I will be claiming small victories in knitting this sweater as it may be awhile before the entire thing can be finished. My hope is by Christmas....this Christmas (2008).

The pattern is Fractured Diamonds and it is fun so far. I love the way the inside of the sleeve looks.

There is also a new skein of handspun Corridale.

Lisa held a giveaway months and months ago which led to me winning a hunk of Watermelon pencil roving from Crown Mountain Farms (the pink below)

Once the spinning began, it was apparent that I would want tons of yardage so a quick order was sent to Crown Mountain and this green arrived quite quickly in the mail. Some of the green is still on my wheel and should be finished this week. My FYS named the finished yarn 'Lollipop'

...As if that wasn't enough?

90% Merino, 10% tencil which I call Dominatrix Barbie. The roving came from a fiber day Lisa and I had with Coby at her workshop. You can find it in Coby's Etsy shop, colorway: Guts

Note: Coby's shop is empty today, but keep checking back, she always restocks quickly