mamacate

I forgot my blogiversary but getting older is harder to miss

So I don't think I mentioned that I'd been doing this blogging thing for three years in June.  So now it's three years plus.  Thing is I'm not doing it that much anymore, so I'm not sure how impressed I can be with myself at this point.  It's hard to have something to say for that long.  Aren't you sick of me?

Anyway, don't answer that, because tomorrow (Tuesday) is my birthday.  I'm a rather boring age, 38, but that's okay, because it means I have a little while until I need to start thinking about being 40.

There have been comments from certain quarters about the need to observe the wild sweater in its natural habitat.  My rack, that is.  Well, that's part of the problem.  See it took me a few wearings to really come to terms with the fact that the neckline is too wide and too low, and the raglan is too long and I will probably need to do something involving scissors and weeping and possibly also alcohol.  There hasn't been time to come to terms with it. 

Love steeking, love it, but the downside is that if you fucked something up, you're screwed because you've got yourself one-row strips of yarn there to work with.  Ain't no frogging.  I have evil thoughts that involve cutting and seaming around the shoulder tops but I'm not terribly optimistic.  --Deb has been down a similar road and it hasn't been easy.  I will probably put the sweater in time out for a while and wear it, because it's just barely wearable, but not quite nice--not as nice as I believe it should be--before I bend it to my will.  I'll let you know when I get there, I promise.  Heck, maybe I'll cut it in public again.  Anyway, learn from my mistake.  If you knit the larger sizes, make the neckline WAY smaller than the pattern suggests.  If I rip and re-knit, I'm going to remove a whole pattern repeat.  Did I mention I made the neckline over an inch higher than the pattern called for?  Yah.  Row gauge was fine while knitting, though I haven't had the heart to measure it post-blocking.

Oh right, did I mention a picture of my rack?  Here you go:

I might entertain exhortations to leave it as is, but you'll have to see me wearing it and tugging at it before you can be sure.  Anyway, pretty colors, huh?

In other news, Ellie got a new scarf.  Laura talked me into buying this insane roving from Heather at the Fiber Revival, and when I got home with the skein, which I spun at the Revival, Miss Ellie declared that it would be hers.  She preferred a Faroese shawl, but a quick calculation had me convincing her that a scarf would be a better choice.  A brief negotiation on the topic of fringe had the deal complete.  Two short evenings of knitting, a little fringing, and we've got a happy girl.

Of course, she's also decided that the scarf makes her a rock star.  I tried to point out that she was already a rock star, but it can be hard to talk to rock stars sometimes, especially when they're rocking out.  See?

Just so that my son does not suffer the combined indignities of not being the current recipient of knitwear (don't worry, it won't be long) and of not being featured on the blog in all his cuteness, I give you a picture of a couple of best friends.

Can ya stand it?

In wheel news, I have divested myself of a very well-loved wheel, because someone else loved it better.  The Norm Hall needed to go back and live with Sara, which is okay because it's too similar in function to my other wheel.  I've already used some of the proceeds to pick up a used Schacht, which so far rocks my world.  I'll probably hang on to the Lendrum for travel (maybe...maybe not), but the Schacht could easily become my primary wheel.  I just like spinning on double drive.

I think I'll go do just that.  I need to come up with some solstice gifts for teachers, plus I have a deprived child who has no currently fitting knitwear.

Autum Rosiness

Hey, I took a picture.  See?

That's about 1.9 sleeves.  I've got a few more rows of the second sleeve, then I can cast on for the body.  Now this sounds like more of an accomplishment than it actually is, since they're 3/4 sleeves, and it's a raglan-style construction, so you knit to the underarms of both sleeves, knit the body, and then knit them all together in the round. 

It's one of those patterns that has just the right kind of pacing to keep someone like me going.  There are no overwhelming black hole sections (at least I don't see any)--there's always a benchmark near to mark your progress.  I can't stop knitting it which is a nice change given all my UFOs.  In fact, I think I'll go back to doing exactly that.

To distract you, I'll show you the amazing costume finds from TJ Maxx today.

New Obsession

I saw this a while back and had to have it.

It was a long wait, but it's out now.  My box arrived today.

I've already cast on for a sleeve swatch.  It's love.

Speaking of love, I got my Ravelry invite yesterday (I know, I know, I just kept telling myself I didn't have time for it...until I decided that didn't matter any more than it did for any of the other things I don't have time for).  I've set up a nice little camp over there already, and I'm not nearly done. 

When I photograph the entire stash and put it on Ravelry, that's when you can send the white coat people (which you'll probably do when you see the stash anyway).  For now I'm totally grooving on browsing projects, checking in on friends, and cataloging my favorites.

Life, as usual, is hectic.  I have, however, reserved a seat in the Marcy-mobile for some sort of fibery happening this weekend.  It will be a perfect kick-off to a long-awaited weeklong vacation in what has turned out to be a very busy summer.

Can't wait.  Hope to see you there.  For now, here is a kid pic--it has been a while.  If Robin looks familiar, that's because he is.  Sara was here for a week and the superheroes made the upstairs safe for humanity.  Thank goodness.