Allow me to introduce...

...a finished Arwen. Yes by crikey, I finished it last night just as ER was coming on, which really is pretty good timing. My neck is extremely sore today, but I think it's worth it! I am really quite pleased, not only with how it turned out, but with myself for being able to jigger the pattern into a pretty wearable sweater in my opinion. It looks nothing like the original pattern, but I think it'll do. We'll just have to wait and see what the intended recipient, my sister-in-law, thinks.



For the collar, I knit four inches of 2:1 rib, plus the cables on either side. Once I reached four inches, I cast off the cable on either side on alternating rows and knit another four inches of the rib, folded it over and tacked it down. I was a few inches into the initial ribbing when I realized that, unlike the cable panels, it wouldn't be reversible (that's the coolest thing about this pattern...the reversible cables...they look the same on both sides...it's genius). So that's why I did the fold-over thingy. It also makes a nice stable collar that is likely to keep it's shape and stand up, rather than stretch out and flop all over the place.



I'm fairly confident that the overall fit should be pretty good, but I'm a little concerned about the length. The length looks great on the dressform, but on another person it's a whole different story. I'm sure it'll be fine. Anyhow, I really enjoyed knitting this sweater. It challenged me a great deal without being overly difficult, and I think I've gained new confidence in my knitterly instincts. I can definitely see knitting myself one in the not too distant future. I will not be using the same yarn however. It seemed to have stopped 'bleeding' after a good wash, so I'm going to go and give this sweater a nice little soak and another gentle block and see how it makes out. After that, I'm going to try and get the dye off of my finger nails!

Until later...

Recommended Viewing....

Michael Moore's SICKO was released on DVD yesterday. Watch it. Maybe watch it twice. Go ahead. I'll wait here. When you're done, perhaps you'd like to join me as I pack up and head for France. Or possibly Norway (it'll make sense once you see the movie).

I have to admit, I'm not in a terribly bloggy mood, but I wanted to share my progress on Arwen, so I thought I would stop in for a minute.



Hard to believe I didn't use a flash for that photo. Anyhow, both fronts are done, as is the back. I've grafted the shoulders and am almost finished the second sleeve.

I decided finally to go with some collar shaping around the neck. I'm definitely not going to have enough yarn for a hood, so I've opted for a collar instead. I plan to carry the cables up the edges still and then do like a 2:1 rib or something. We'll see how it plays out.

I had some hem issues on the right front. It was way too big and my sewing job was terrible. Never knit beyond tired. So I ripped that back a bit last night and fixed it. I'm much happier.

I don't have much on the agenda today and as the constable is working another night shift tonight, we may cash in a lazy day, which would mean I could finish this sweater by tonight. That would be lovely. Then it's Merry Knitmas to me!

Anyhow, I'm feeling a little brain dead. Perhaps I'll be more articulate at a later date.

A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall...

Battened hatches?

Check

Extra batteries?

Check

Charged up flashlight?

Check

Candles, water and some extra food, just in case?

Check

Extra blankies 'case the power goes out?

Check

And the most important detail of all...got some knitting?

Check and check. T'would seem we're all ready for Noel.

I'm back to working on Arwen, which, after having done the
Classic Cable in the toddler size is flying right along. I'm on a bit of a cable jag at the moment. Since I brought it up, though I really shouldn't be showing it here as it is a Christmas gift, I just can't help myself.



I'm in love. It's the perfect little sweater. I highly recommend the pattern. And I did get it done in just about a week. I started it on a Friday evening and finished it the following Sunday evening. This bodes well for my upcoming Knitmas (I'm copyrighting that term if it hasn't been already) projects, which, if we lived in a perfect world, would already be done by now. But of course I don't come up with anything until a month before Christmas.

I'd take a WIP pic of Arwen, but it's really quite dark in here cuz apparently the world is about to end, so you'll have to wait on that one. A black sweater in bad light is just a crappy picture. Wait, I think I did take a picture the other day, when I was playing with my stash...



That's what I have so far...left front, one sleeve, and the back. I've said before that the only thing I've kept from the original pattern was the cable. Everything else I'm doing on my own. We'll see how it works out. Things might get dicey once I get to the collar area. Arwen is supposed to have a hood, but I'm becoming less and less enchanted with that idea all the time (which might have something to do with the fact that I'm not sure I have enough yarn).

I've also finished another pair of grey work socks. I'm not going to go to the trouble of taking a photo...just close your eyes and picture grey work socks. I used every last scrap of the grey superwash that I bought for these socks, which means I got three pair out of eight balls. I don't know if that's good or not. They were only 50 gm balls, but rather nice yarn, so I hope they wear well. One gentleman already took off with his, and I still need to do two more pair for the other, so I think for the remaining pairs I might change it up a bit. Perhaps I will do blue-grey work socks.

A little knitting triumph on these socks; I finally figured out what I was doing wrong with regards to grafting the toes. I'm either a little stubborn or a little dense (or a little of both) but when I try something and it isn't totally right, I just end up doing what looks close enough. Until that drives me crazy and I try again to get it right. All of my toe grafting looked almost right, but it wasn't entirely invisible, like it should be. So I tried again and finally have it down pat. I tried explaining all of this to the constable, which evoked the following response; "Is that how it's supposed to be done?" he asked when I held up my correctly grafted toe, beaming as I did so. "Uh-huh" I replied. "Well then I'm very proud of you." And then he left for hockey.

Sub-tropical storm Noel hasn't hit here yet, but it is getting chillier in here by the hour and the wind has started blowing. Today would be a good day to hunker down and watch movies, but I think we're going to try and take advantage of the hubby's time off and get the livingroom in the house insulated and drywalled before it gets too much colder. That and the dvd player is on the fritz. Which means that I'll be subjected to untold hours of PS2. Good thing laptops are portable.

To my NS neighbours, stay safe and warm. Catchya on the flip side.

Until later...