A Little Yarn On The Side

It's finished, blocked, furred, the ends are woven in, and it's wrapped and ready to go. Theo is in mourning. This is the second sweater I've made from Elann's Shawl Back Shrug pattern, which can be found for free here . It's definitely one of my favorite patterns, and I used 6 skeins of Elann Peruvian Quechua DK-weight alpaca. I'm distinctly proud of myself this month. I have finished two projects, and have not yet cast on a new one. I am choosing to view this as personal growth rather than a reflection of having run out of room in knitting bags for any more projects. I cling to what I can. Instead, I have chosen to continue working on the plum scarf (and Daniele is right--I do seem to be having a purple lace obsession lately), which is this far from being done: It will be a decent-sized scarf, I think, but it will definitely be done when this yarn is gone because I don't have any more and don't remember what it actually was. I have narrowed it d...

Bright and early this morning, I added the ribbing to the shrug, and with Theo's "help," washed and rinsed it-- which is very thirsty work-- blocked it and finally got Theo away from it. which I'm sure is only a temporary situation. Nothing excites him so much as blocking knitting or something without a layer of cat hair covering it. There are still about 3 loose ends that need to be woven in, but I like to do that after blocking--I always think that there's less chance of causing any tension problems that way. Tomorrow I'll wrap it up and ship it off to the birthday girl. As hard as it is to believe after the Marathon Mohair Monster that is the Lady's Circular Cape, I found myself missing working on lace, so this long suffering scarf has gotten some attention this weekend. I started it sometime last year, but have never been very excited about working on it as the lace pattern is a bit too fussy for me to have memorized, so I have to sit with the Barb...

Totally flattened by this silly cold, I spent yesterday in bed with Vicks, both cats, the BBC production of Middlemarch , and the Top Secret project, which left me well rested, smelling of menthol, dreaming in English syntax, and with this: Top Secret just needs ribbing done around the edges and some severe blocking, and it will be done & on its way to the recipient. I believe it is safe to post this now as I don't think the new owner follows my knitting blog too closely. I have never been good at keeping gifts as surprises anyway--I'm always too excited about them. Recipients are probably lucky I don't open their gifts for them! And, the new stash depletion totals: 65.5 balls and 9388 yards of yarn used so far this year!

OK, and I'm working on the Top Secret project which I cannot post pictures of until it is done & in the recipient's hot little hands. But Top Secret will require just about HALF the yarn of the Mohair Monster, so it's all good. And it isn't mohair, which is even better. I need to get back to the Hibiscus for Hope test knit, but I think I have about a week left on the Top Secret project which really needs to get done and shipped--then I can go back & do some edits for the test knit. Which probably works out for the best, as I'm taking cold medicine and math and tiny needles are probably not a good combo for me right now. The next attempt could result in something truly outrageous--like a "willy warmer" or other things my knitting is a bit too G-rated for...... The worst part of the cold (besides envisioning a willy warmer), is that I didn't get my celebratory white chocolate martini to celebrate finishing the Lady's Circular Cape! Dang ...

HALLELUJAH! IT'S DONE! IT'S DONE!!! IT'S DONE!!! And a quick shot while wearing it, which won't be seen again until late fall or early winter, as mohair is much warmer than it looks. IT'S DONE! IT'S DONE!!! IT'S DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 6 months and 1475 yards of yarn. I am now going to find something to do with the largest needles I own. Anyone tried knitting with broomsticks?

Thanks largely to all the moral support and insane amounts of caffeine, I have finished the very last swoopy and have finished most of the remaining edge. All that remains now is the rest of the front edge, the last corner, and half of the neck edge--all of which requires less knitting than one of those dang swoopies. Finally the thought of being done with the Great Mohair Abyss is enough to motivate me to work on it. It has taken 6 months to get this far! Granted, I can't seem to manage project monogamy, but I have managed sporadic monogamy and it has still taken 6 months . I'm not sure when I'll be able to face lace again without shuddering, but that might be another 6 months. And some therapy--I wonder if there are counselors who specialize in mohair?

OK. I have endured 1362 yards of mohair--500+ of it contained in the mind-numbing, soul-sucking edging that has gone on forever. It is down to the final swoopy and the final ball of yarn. After 4 cups of coffee, and a promise that I could work on the floral dress & skirt when I stopped shaking, I joined the final ball of mohair and..... I'm halfway through the final swoopy. There is still a front and half a neck edge left to do, but there will be no more balls of yarn after this one!!! That thought is keeping me going. And sheer, absolute bribery: