it's time to post the pics of the finished EZ february sweater!
yarn: RY cashsoft DK, lavender (1.2 balls)
needles: US6 denise needles
pattern: february sweater from the knitter’s almanac by elizabeth zimmermann
i'd just like to say that i'm sorry these photos are total crapola. looking at them now i realize that taking them under the ott-lite is just not as good as daylight, but dude, when do i ever see daylight anymore? i wish that i had time to play with the images in photoshop a little before i upload them but that's just not possible. i'm always cramped for time nowadays. i guess this'll have to do until i'm home during the day again (or summer comes back to this neck of the woods.)
anyway, so this pattern was super easy. like i said before, i decided to do the body first and then go back and knit the sleeves. for the sleeves, i cast on an extra stitch on each side for seaming and i'm glad i did this. next time, though, i will not slip the first stitch. it wasn't as substantial as using stockinette for seaming.
the button band
i also took veronique's advice and slipped the first stitch of every row with the yarn in front to give it a nice edging. i like it!
aawwww!
and these are the cute buttons i got at the point (god this photo is so crappy i'm almost upset about it.)
anyway, so that's done and i think that it'll fit the peanut if she's big enough. it looks really small to me but bedtime bear is swimming in it!
so i'm going to cast on for the brooklyn handspun trifecta tonight: hat, mittens, and socks for the peanut with this lovely yarn. oh, and i also had one recent stash enhancement that's totally within the limits of KFYS2007 because it was a gift from my good friend melani. i'm going to save the bamboo and knit up a top-down raglan after the peanut is born for the spring.
oh, and i just have to make one comment about this whole boston hubbub that's going on right now. i'm really dismayed and disappointed at the government for blowing this marketing campaign out of proportion. they are making total asses of themselves and making all of america look like stupid imbeciles with nothing better to do than overreact about nothing. but i really can't say it better than wil wheaton, so why don't you just go over to his blog and read what he has to say, and check out gothamist's commenters as well.
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why is it that time is flying so much faster as i'm getting older? the other day on the F train back home from work, i was sitting and staring into space because i had finished my book and was too tired to knit. it's these occasions where i notice the people around me and have my "new york moments". for example, i was eavesdropping on this trio of youngsters, a couple (boy and girl) and their guy friend. the girl says, "i just turned 15! i can't believe YOU'RE 17. god, that's soooooo OLD!"
*silence*
really, i nearly burst out laughing but stopped myself because that would have indicated that i was indeed eavesdropping. the inanity of that statement left me speechless. i don't feel old and yet i'm twice her age! kids. geeeeez. i can't believe that i'm going to have a baby that in a few years time is going to think that i'm OLD and so uncool. it makes me laugh.
so january is almost over and i'm almost at 34 weeks (with a due date of march 15th) and time is flying. just to keep you up-to-date and all, here's a quick state of the knitting recap.
almost done!
the EZ february sweater will be done before february! amazing. it was so quick and took just over 1 ball of cashsoft DK (it was exactly one ball for the body and then some for the sleeves.) here the sleeves are blocking and tonight i will seam them up and weave in the ends. if i'm lucky, maybe i'll sew the cutie-patootie buttons on that i bought at the point on friday.
getting closer...
the 3-hole shawl is chugging along, of course. i'm just about to start the repeat where i put in the 3rd and final hole. then it's 7 repeats of the pattern, the garter stitch border, bind-off, and block.
the pirates hat is blocked and it looks ok to me but definitely will not fit my dad. it fits me nicely and fits KP very snuggly which means it definitely won't fit my dad as my dad's head is bigger. on to plan B which is a hat and mitten set made out of the lovely chocolate brown debbie bliss merino aran that i have left over from this project. i plan on casting-on for mom's mittens later this week. let's hope that i get both parent projects done before the end of february.
over the next few weeks, i'll be updating you on the state of our apartment as well. i'm a big fan of apartment therapy and have decided to take on revamping our apartment in anticipation of the peanut's arrival (don't freak.. we've been working on it for weeks and i just decided it was probably a good idea to take pictures and document it. i'm not tearing down any walls or anything. just switching out furniture, moving it around and making room.) stay tuned for before and after photos and what i've bought on my budget to get everything in order.
on a blog related note, mint 2.0 came out yesterday and i immediately installed the upgrade and screwed a bunch of things up as i usually do. i think that everything is back in working order now but you may have seen a lot of RSS updates and corrupted feeds over the last day or so. my apologies. we should be golden now.
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i was feeling a little bored with my knitting projects so i decided to get started on the elizabeth zimmermann february sweater from knitter's almanac this past week. what a sweet little sweater! and EZ's instructions are so basic that i felt like i could interpret them in any way i wanted to.
after making it through the yoke of the sweater, i decided that i would divide for the sleeves and knit the rest of the body first before going back and knitting the sleeves. this is what i've done on several other top-down projects and it feels the most natural way to me. i will still knit the sleeves flat and seam them up though. it seems like too much work to knit them in the round (or maybe i'm mistaken??) the gull stitch pattern of the body is nice though i still can't seem to memorize it. my mind is thoroughly gone.
to illustrate, i was in a meeting yesterday at work where i was unable to complete my sentences. i would get near the end of a sentence and completely blank. thankfully, two other women in the room have had babies and totally understand. i still felt like an idiot though. i had to leave early, go home, and nap till 7PM because i was just too exhausted to be useful. this third trimester is kicking my butt.
anyway, after my long nap and some falafel, i knit on the pirate hat last night and finished up the lining!
i had to stripe in a big swath of white because i was running out of black yarn but i did end in black so that when i stitch down the lining it won't show through. i'm still very hesitant about liking this hat. i have a bad feeling it is not going to fit my dad. i don't think that i got gauge (i'm too chicken to check) and, though i'm sure blocking will even out the stitches, i don't think it's going to add anything to the size. if it doesn't fit, i know someone i can give the hat and mitten set to who will appreciate it, but then what of my knitting for dad? i'm going to have to come up with plan B me thinks. i will be stitching down the lining and blocking this sucker tonight to find out.
the 3-hole shawl is back in business this week. i received my 2 extra balls of noro in the different dyelot and they look exactly the same as the others so i've started knitting on it again. i'm two repeats away from the third hole! then it's only 7 more repeats to the end. i have a feeling it'll be done by mid-february then i just have to figure out how to block the darn thing. it's HUGE! i'm finally going to have to invest in a plastic tub for knit blocking and i believe this one will be blocked on the bed. it's definitely too big for my blocking board. i have to say that i love it, though. LOVE IT! it's like a big blanket and every time i pick it up to knit on it it makes me happy. i need more projects like this.
i'm contemplating starting on something for me once i'm done with the 3-hole shawl. i'm thinking about doing a top-down short sleeve raglan with the yarn i bought at artfibers in san francisco (the yarn on the left, zodiac). something for the spring when i get my body back. once i'm done with the february sweater, i'm going to start on a 3-for combination knit for the peanut: a hat, some mittens, and some booties all from the brooklyn handspun i bought a while back.
by the way, there's also a lot of good inspiration in the spring interweave knits coming in late february! i see a couple of things i would be interested in making with yarn from the stash!
p.s. thank you to everyone who dropped by (and de-lurked!!) to wish me a happy birthday! you're all the sweetest and bestest of internet buddies. i wish i had the energy to get back to each and every one of you and if i didn't, please accept my apologies! it's not only been very busy around here getting ready for the peanut, but i've also been low on energy. know that your birthday wishes mean a lot to me!
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