Nothin' But a Plain Pink Pullover

I have this odd affinity for pale pink v-neck sweaters. I've always got at least one in my closet. The one in the picture above will be folded and shelved right next to its near twin, a store-bought model in cotton with a higher rest on the neckline.

I still have a few minor ends to weave, and then I'll set the seams and neckband, but this one is pretty much in the done column. I love the way it fits. It's very loose and cozy through the body and arms, but the shoulders are exactly right and the length is perfect.

The Specs:
Yarn: almost ashamed to admit that it's wool from Joann Fabrics bought on sale for under two bucks a ball. The brand is Sensations Tesoro, and I must say, this is a really, really nice wool. I had expected to knit a vest with it, but was pleased to see that I had enough yarn for a sweater. Just enough. Just barely enough. There might be ten or twelve grams left over out of the 650 I started with.

Pattern: My own, adapted from the Ann Budd "Handy Book of Sweater Patterns." I started with her template, but shortened the arms and tightened the armscyes. The change to the armscyes was crucial for good fit. The body fit is very loose and fluid, oversized and drapey. I always think that when you do that with the body, the arms and shoulders had better fit properly or you'll look like a little kid wearing her mommy's clothes.

That's 650 g into the "yarn out" column of my stash minder, and I can already predict people will get sick of seeing me wear this thing.

A Baby Snicket

This is the result of last week's third grade basketball tournament. I swatched for St. B again, and then cast on the Snicket socks and made it this far. This is 19 rows of p2, k1b ribbing. I have one more round to go before I can start the pattern.

The yarn is Cascade Heritage, and I must say I'm in love with it. OK, yes, I say that about a lot of yarns. But this time, I mean it extra. It's so smooth and fluid, and the stitch definition could not be better. It feels almost silky, except the hand is all wool, not silky at all. If it holds up to wear and washing, this might very well be the perfect sock yarn. Fingers crossed.

Knitting on size 1US, but I can see dropping to a size 0 for a slightly denser fabric. The yarn is about as thick as Lorna's Laces sock yarn -- in fact, it's a near clone of Lorna's Laces, but without the slightly stringy feel. Don't get me wrong. I love Lorna's Laces and think the hand is excellent. But if you can imagine LL with a bit more spring and a little more slickness, you'll have a good idea of how the Heritage knits.

Fulmar Sleeves, Creeping Toward Completion

On September 23, at the end of my self-declared Summer of Sleeves, the Fulmar sleeves measured to about 6.5". I put them away then and didn't touch them again until just after Christmas. In a month of sporadic but somewhat concentrated knitting -- that is, not a lot of time for knitting, but what little I had went to Fulmar -- the sleeves almost doubled in length.

Kind of makes you wonder what I might be able to accomplish here if I actually, you know, tried.

With St. Brigid on the needles now, I doubt I'll be working on Fulmar much in the near future. New toys are so much fun! But knitting the Fulmar sleeves in January reminded me of how much I really love this pattern and yarn. This sweater deserves to be finished, and I have a feeling that will happen sooner rather than later.

It's On!

Aw, wookit the cute widdle baby sweater! When it grows up, it will be St. Brigid!

I had to cast on twice. The first time, I missed a major cable crossing in row 3 -- I believe I was looking at the wrong chart when that happened. The charts for this are a bit confusing at first. Not dreadfully so, but enough that it would be pretty easy to look at the wrong chart that early on, and not realize what was happening. So that's my theory on that one.

Anyway, botched cable crossing on row three, discovered the problem on row four. Ripped and reknit and got to row eight before taking this picture. I hope to get a little knitting time in tonight, too, and have even rented a movie in a most optimistic, non-Monday fashion. (Pineapple Express, in case you're wondering. I'm told it's very silly and funny, which seems like just the right thing for the day.)

I got a gauge and fabric I liked on size 6 needles, by the way, but am wondering if I might not end up ripping and reknitting on 5s. I've heard other people complain that the gauge swatch was no accurate predictor of finished size, and almost all of them gained inches and inches in width. I figure I'll knit through a few more rows, just to let the cable crossings draw the fabric in as tightly as it is likely to, and then measure. But right now, with only 8 rows knit, this thing seems wicked wide.

Destroyed by a Basketball Tournament

So, today is the "March Madness" tournament for Danger Boy's third grade basketball squad. (Yes, I know, but the gym is booked up for March, and "January Madness" doesn't have quite the same ring, does it?)

I promised, cross-my-heart promised, a really-really-really-mean-it promise, that I would go to this tournament. And just for extra oomph, I called Miss Seven and my godson to ask them to come along. They're pretty excited because their alternative plans for this evening would have been playing in the kiddie care room at the racquet club while their parents get in a game or two. Sugar highs and cheering for little boys who can't dribble, pass, or shoot -- yes, I can see where that would be the better alternative.

So I'm all set. I have little snack bags packed with blue jelly bellies (leftovers from the winter blues party last weekend), Capri Suns, tissues, advil, pirate bandaids, single dollars for the concession stand, notepads and colored pencils and stickers (in case of boredom -- theirs), and -------

Crap. I don't have any socks on the needles.

I can't take the Fulmar sleeves because they're too complicated for that environment. Ditto the Fair Isle bag, which requires charts. I haven't cast on the sleeves for the cabled cardigan, and I need to find my notes on how to do the flippy-uppy short rows in order to even think about it. Branff -- I need different needles. The pink sweater is at the seaming stage, no good for working in bleachers. And the Catherine Parr is too heavy and cumbersome to work on without good supports under my elbows.

That leaves St. Brigid, which I want to re-swatch on 6s. I can do that. It will take me through maybe the first period of the first game. And then what????

No rational knitter would expect any other rational knitter to get through an entire third grade basketball tournament without knitting, would you? Or, to speak the lingo of the day, can I get a by on this one? How about if I promise, really-really-really-mean-it promise, to finish the pink sweater on Saturday before casting on St. Brigid Sunday?

(Ahem. Note to Mr Puffy and other interested persons: I'm thinking snickets.)

That's Two

One of my goals is to cut down on the number of OTN projects this year, and I figured I would accomplish that by not casting on something new until I finish two items. Easy enough, right?

So, I have finished two pairs of socks this year, which gives me permission to cast on St. Brigid on February 1 as planned. Yay! Well, except that now there aren't any socks OTN, and I'll have to finish two sweaters in order to cast on another pair of socks. Which doesn't seem to make much sense somehow. Clearly, I will need to think through my rules a bit more carefully for next year.

Here are the deets:
Yarn: Filatura di Crosa Maxime Print
Needles: Size 1.5US Crystal Palace double points
Cast on: 11/16/08
Cast off: 1/27/09
Pattern: A simple 2x2 ribbing all the way down.

I really like this yarn. Very nice, very cushy and springy and round, much like Dale Baby Ull. I made the legs very long so they could be cuffed and give an extra bit of warmth at my ankles and lower calves. Each one of the color stripes is about an inch thick, so each leg is a notch under 10" long when unfolded. (They are identical in length, to the eighth-inch, but I bent the unfolded leg in the picture to get it to fit better in the frame.)

Now, with that little bit of business out of the way, I must confess why I'm so intent on discussing my "2 projects done before casting on" rule. I just realized today that I have all of the yarn I need to knit the Veronik Avery Fair Isle Cardigan. I promised myself I wouldn't start that until Fulmar was done, and I've been pretty diligent about knitting Fulmar when time and my wobbly knuckle permits. The sleeves are over 9" long now. That's progress. But not enough!

So I'll be good and do what I set out to do, no matter how tempted I am to start the Fair Isle Cardigan RIGHT THIS SECOND.

Speaking of Bastards....

We interrupt this knitting blog to bring you yet another rant about (nim)Rod Blagojevich.

Lookee what the US Congress inserted into the economic stimulus package legislation.

SEC. 1112. ADDITIONAL ASSURANCE OF APPROPRIATE USE OF FUNDS.

None of the funds provided by this Act may be made available to the State of Illinois, or any agency of the State, unless (1) the use of such funds by the State is approved in legislation enacted by the State after the date of the enactment of this Act, or (2) Rod R. Blagojevich no longer holds the office of Governor of the State of Illinois.

The preceding sentence shall not apply to any funds provided directly to a unit of local government (1) by a Federal department or agency, or (2) by an established formula from the State.

In other words, if the Illinois General Assembly fails to convict the bastard on his impeachment charges, Illinois doesn't get to participate in the economic stimulus package. My sense is that, in that case, the state's share of the money will instead go directly to counties or munies. The last sentence leaves that open as a possibility without requiring it. Except that I think it would be unconstitutional to apply this clause exactly as written -- not sure, but it smells like week-old fish to me.

But we'll never know for sure if it's constitutional or not, because it ceases to be an issue the moment (nim)Rod is convicted. Which they damn well better do. Fast.

Go, General Assembly, Go!