sleeve saga

Guess who knit about twelve inches of sleeve before deciding that it's probably not wide enough?

Yep.

Me.

Fortunately I'm ahead enough in the quota that I still kind of rock.

However, this pushes my playing-with-other-yarn-date even further into the future.

Ah well. Did I mention that I got five-dollar leopard flats yesterday? Rack Room Shoes is my new best friend.

getting cocky

Who's about three inches into the first sleeve?

That's right: I am.

Rock on, me.

(And no, this industry is in no way connected to the fact that I bought some linen yarn yesterday and I'm dying to see how it knits up. The sooner I get this blue madness finished, the sooner I can play in the Euroflax.)

still knitting blue stuff

The blue sweater is scooting along nicely. There's no point in pictures: I'm working on the front now, which is basically just like the back.

The reason the sweater is moving along so quickly is that I panicked last week and imposed knitting quotas, basically three inches a day. I'm not allowed to do anything fun till I get it done. So I get up and I knit an inch, and then I do an inch at dinner break and an inch at night. You would not believe how quick you can finish an Aran sweater when you've got goals and quotas--and no boys to distract you. This may actually be the key to my current knitting success: the fact that I've been separated from all my friends. I'll be reunited with most of them in a week or so, so I really need to haul ass on the sweater. But I've got three days off coming up, so the front will be finished by Tuesday, and I'll then get going on the sleeves.

And I have a feeling I'm gonna be buying yarn tomorrow. I don't need any yarn, but I do need a treat. My current show is a soul-sucking piece of crap, and my God, do I deserve a treat. I have to lead the audience participation section. I deserve all the yarn I want. Too bad I'm not being paid enough to afford all the yarn I want. Ah well. I'll pick up a little something, because also, when I'm reunited with the friends, there will not be any yarn in walking distance, and I need something to pet while I'm in Galveston.

now with pictures!

So here's the blue thingie I've been working on. Not bad, huh? The front will have a slightly wider honeycomb pattern, and probably a few more purl stitches between the honeycomb and its basic cable neighbors, but other than that, I'm really pleased with it. It's knitting up very quickly, and it appears to be the right size. And I believe I'll have enough yarn. (Did I mention that yesterday? It's so hard to remember what I've said. Sorry if I'm repetitious. Enjoy the blue.)

I kind of love these superimposed wave cables. You know I'm gonna make myself an Aran sweater next (because omigod I'm having so much fun making this one) and it'll probably have quite a few of the same motifs. Because I like them. Don't worry, I'll mix them up enough that we won't have mother-daughter sweaters. I'm too old for that.

living on the edge

1. Watching hockey game.

2. Drinking beer.

3. Knitting Aran sweater.

4. Clearly insane.

tangled up in blue

So yes, I have internet access, but I can't get blogger to work at home, only at the coffee shop. Pain in the ass.

Anyway, because I am a contrary sort of person, I've started on the massive blue Aran sweater. There was an ugly moment earlier in the week when I was trying to get the cables to line up with the ribbing, and getting really pissed off, and my iTunes shuffle decided to play me Tangled Up In Blue. How did it know? Is Apple that all-powerful? I've got it sorted out now, and it actually looks quite nice, though I think I'm going to change things just a bit for the front of the sweater. I don't think my mom will care if her sweater's not entirely matching. I wouldn't. And I'm starting rehearsal for another show on Monday, so I don't really have time to undo and re-do. Not if I'm gonna get this thing done by the middle of July. Actually, it's going really quickly, so it'll be fine--I just don't want to take any chances.

My pink stockinette madness turned out pretty well--I should have made the neckline a bit smaller, and may still do something to it, but otherwise it's just a big sort of 80's influenced sweater that will keep me warm in Texas air conditioning this summer.

LET'S GO PENS!

You wouldn't believe how much knitting you can get done during a hockey game, especially if you're doing circular stockinette. I've almost got a pink sweater finished.

And now that I've got my own computer again (yay!) and reliable internet to go with it, here's a shot of my spring masterpiece, the Stanley Cup:

It's a little wiggly in the picture, but you get the idea. I just made a small sparkly one that's pretty sweet, too. There will probably be pictures to follow. Once I take them.

As for other knitting news: the yarn store in town has closed--but one of the stores on our quaint town square has a decent selection of yarn. This is bad, having nice yarn only a block away from me. That's right: a block away. I should just have all my paychecks sent there. I've already bought some cotton yarn whose name I can't remember, because I need a washcloth, and well, since I have no car, it'll seriously be faster and easier to knit one than to hitch a ride to go buy one. No one really wants to drive a lot, given gas prices. So I bought some green, and am knitting it up.

My next big project will be something for my mom's birthday. Like I said, I really want to make something big, complicated, and Aran, but I feel that the weather really lends itself more to something cotton. Actually, the yarn shop has some lovely Louet linens, which I would buy in a second if I knew how the stuff would behave. It's too pricey for poor little actor me to just buy some for kicks. Even though I know my mom would adore something made out of the navy blue.