I would like to post and say that last night (Sunday the 25th) I finished February’s FO. Rambling Rose is DONE! All I need now is buttons. But it’s done, and fits not too badly.
There are short rows at the back neck, so you don’t get choked by the sweater (good). But I think there might be too many (for me at least), as it bunches a bit, and give me a bit of a hunch. That may come out with another block.
I started pentagon # 5 today at work. I don’t have the laziest job in the world anymore, I actually had to do stuff today. People are finally starting to move into ‘my’ lovely empty office, so this job will probably end on Friday. sigh.

I just went through my closet, and added stuff to the giveaway pile. All but one pair of my shorts are in there. Funnily enough, the ones that fit are the ones I would’ve said are the smallest. Well, I guess they’re tighter in the leg than the others, but there’s space in the waistband. All the others I could only actually do up around my waist, and I prefer to wear them closer to hip level. sigh. They used to fit. I should be too hard on myself though, two of those pairs I used as uniform shorts (we could wear non-school issue, if they weren’t too short) at school, and I know I’ve put on weight since then. Healthy weight. So that’s:
- 3 pairs of shorts
- 7 sweaters/shirts
- 3 shirts put into my ‘to alter’ pile, for when I make friends with my sewing machine.

I haven’t taken anything anywhere, but I have been adding things to my donation box. I keep a box in the bottom of my closet, so there’s always a place to put stuff I don’t want.
I went through my T-shirt drawer today, and ended up adding 5 tank tops to the box, and retiring a few t-shirts to painting/messy stuff shirts.
Also added a candleholder, an old phone that was here when we moved in (it was on a high shelf and had been forgotten about).

Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get out and drop those off somewhere.

One of my New Years Knitting Resolutions was a finished object per month this year. I had included bits of a sweater as objects, as I can get very busy with shows. January I managed two objectss, Clapotis and Odessa. February’s? Hopefully an entire sweater!!
Tuesday night I finished the entire body of Rambling Rose. I soaked it in a sink of water, and it’s been drying on a towel since then. Tonight, I start the job of seaming the arms. I’ve been practicing my seaming with my next project: the Capecho. More about that later. So yes, tonight my goal is the neckband, and if I can do a button band per weekend day, I’m great! I just need to find buttons. I never thought I could finish a sweater in one month, but my current job is to thank for that.

Monday night was the first class for the Vogue Capecho, which I much prefer to call my Sand Dollar Cardi. Capecho is just an ugly word. I cast on and did the first few rows of one pentagon that night. When RR was blocking, I took it to work, and I ended up deciding to rip out and restart on smaller needles. I had the exact stockingette gauge on size 9 needles, but it was looking a little loose. Then, after finding some finished ones on the internet, I realised that this needs to be as small as I possibly can, so now I’m working on 7s. That makes each pentagon 4.5″ on each side rather than 5″ for the extra-small. Seeing as the only one I saw on the net that looked the way I want mine to look was done in DK weight, I’m a bit worried. But, I’m on pentagon #4 now, so we’ll just see what happens.

I’m in a clear-out-y mood. I found EarthChic’s Seven Things blog the other day, and it inspired me. I have a lot of stuff. Sometimes I feel guilty about having so much stuff. Giving 7 things away every week for a year? Not sure if my pack-rat self could manage that though. I could if I counted each book and T-shirt as one I guess. I also see this project as a way to be more organized. Can organizing a cupboard count as one thing? I think so. In my permutation of this anyway.

So today, I’m making a start. I am going to take a whole bag of books to a local used bookstore, and when I get home, I’m going through my clothes.
Also, I’ll be stopping by the knitting store I haven’t been to yet. A knitting store withing walking distance! How cool is that?

Also, I’ll be mailing off something I sold on eBay. I’ve sold a couple things in the past week, they can be my first things:

1. MASH DVD box set lot (Seasons 1-4)
2. The Knitting Goddess by Deborah Bergman
I’ll update later with what the bookstore takes.
UPDATE:
3. Well, me being me, I forgot to even count the books before I left. But I left with a very large carrier bag full (10-12 books), visited two used bookstores, and only came home with 3 that no one would take. (I also bought 3 books to fill in some serieses, but we won’t mention that)
4. Friends, Season 1 successfully sold.

It’s the weekend. A long weekend to be exact.
Most weekends I’ll sit, watch some DVDs, knit, read a bit. I’m not entirely sure what I’ll do this weekend, as that’s what I’ve been doing at work for the past week. And, I don’t want to exhaust my collection of stuff to watch, as I’m going back for another week.

I finished the annoying intarsia cuff of sleeve #2 today, should probably finish that tomorrow or so. And then… the yoke!

I’ve finished the combined back/fronts piece of my Rambling Rose. Now I just need to knit the other sleeve, then join all the bits together and knit the yoke. I even took the time just now to weave in the ends on that body piece. I even looked up on Knitty how to properly do it, because usually I just weave randomly and hope it doesn’t show or come undone.

First, I have do decide what I’m going to do with those sleeves. Looking at my yarn supply I don’t think I have enough to do the vertical lace pattern. It goes all the way to the neckline, and I think I’ll run out. That leaves me with the sleeve scallops in cream. Or nothing in cream at all. But no, I think I’ll do the cream at the cuffs. If I get enough done tonight, I may even be able to join everything tomorrow!

My progress so far! The big piece grows slowly, so every now and then I have to remind myself that I am knitting fronts and a back all at the same time. It’s about 9″ long so far, it has to be 14″ before anything else happens.

I’ve got stitch markers dividing fronts from the back, and marking where the different colours would be, were I doing it that way. It’s just easier than making sure I’ve only purled 15 sts, instead of 16 or anything.

With the lace pattern unstretched, it measures 27″ all the way across. I think it’ll be a good fit, as the yarn will block a bit wider, the lace stretches, and there’s a button band too. Yay!

In the lower-right photo (here’s big) you can see a line of knit stitch in the garter triangle between the two leftmost scallops. I could have put that in pattern, but I decided to do it that way to have a phony seam type thing. Although, when I got past the scallops I decided I wanted the reverse stockingette to be completely smooth. I’m fine with it, it can be a design feature.

As for the sleeves… I did that one, but I think the next one I do will have the scallops all red, and the vertical panel in the cream. Then I can decide which way I want it. I will have knit 3 sleeves in total by the end of the sweater, but I’ll survive. Any thoughts on which sleeve will be better?

Oh and a while back I said I was novelty yarn-free. Here’s a pic of what I donated:

Blogging from work, where I’m still all by myself.
I’ve been powering away on the Rambling Rose cardigan (no pics, left camera at home). I’ve made a few changes that should affect the fit for the better.

Before I cast on any pattern, I always do a Google blog search to see what other knitters have to say about the pattern. It helps me find out about issues and errors, and makes the process easier. I also get to see other people’s opinions. The opinions on this sweater were not so hot. Everyone thought the sweater was much too small for the model, probably because it only comes in two sizes, 30″ or 43″. I would guess the model is 36″ ish, so what you see in the magazine is 6″ of negative ease. Now, I don’t think it looks terrible. It stretches out the lace pattern so you can see it, it hugs her curves, albeit a bit too much.
I am 34″ on a big day, so I’ve already got an advantage on her. I am also knitting the body in one piece (the pattern has right front, left front and back all separate pieces). This helps the sizing because the stitches that normally get eaten up in the seam are now adding to the circumfrence. Those 4 stitches (one of left front, two on back, one on right front) add almost another inch, so I will have 3″ of negative ease. I think this will work out.

I have one sleeve done, with the scallops at the hem in cream, the rest of it in red. I am knitting the body entirely in red (yay stash!). I’m undecided on if I like the scallops in cream or not. I only have two balls of the cream. I was thinking sleeve scallops, button band and neckband in cream, but now I’m wondering if instead of the scallops, I should do the vertical lace pattern on the sleeve in cream. The straight lines may tie the button band in better. Then again, I don’t know if I have that much cream yarn.

I really like how it looks so far, I love reverse stockingette.

WEATHER REPORT: -21C on the walk to work this morning, close to -30C if you factor in windchill. I was toasty warm! Why? Well, apart from snowboots and a down coat, I have handknitted wool Jaywalkers, thrummed mittens, and Clapotis.

So, second day at the ‘dream job’. Still having fun. I brought in some DVDs today, M*A*S*H and Darkwing Duck. It’s still good, but I find to keep from going insane I do have to jump around between knitting, reading, Spider Solitare, Minesweeper.
Yesterday I discovered Facebook and hopefully that’ll help me stay in touch with some old friends. I found everyone from university friends, to elementary school friends.
Today I found an interesting thing on the BBC news: 5000 year-old couple, hugging. Awwww.
I’ve got one sleeve done for Rambling Rose, and started (and finished) disc 3 of season 5 of M*A*S*H. Now I think I shall put on Darkwing Duck and hole-punch my script. And then start on sleeve #2. I don’t know if I brought enough of the contrast colour, but we’ll see how far I get. Oooh, maybe I’ll weave in the ends of the intarsia. I hate doing it, but I am just bored enough right now.

Ooh, haven’t listened to my iPod yet today either. I’ve been listening to CraftLit, as I’ve finally caught up with all the other podcasts I got to so late. Now CraftLit is the only one I’m behind on.

Think I’m still working here next week, but with more to do. Like assemble and label file boxes. I’d rather be bored.

Okay, so I may have mentioned that I quit the bookstore. I have been waiting for a call from the temp agency I signed up with. I got that call today, and let me tell you I have my dream job now. For a few days at least.
There’s this company. With an office. They are opening a second office. Second office is not open yet. BUT, they need someone to sit in said new office, just in case someone calls.

I have been encouraged, nay, instructed to bring something to do to amuse myself. I have two books and my knitting (Rambling Rose). And possibly some sudoku if I can fit it in my purse.