sweet sweater ISO right buttons to share…

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…early morning cups of coffee,  stretches of reading and writing, long walks in the woods. Must be cute and functional, should be comfortable with handspun and commercial yarn, and available for the life of the sweater. Casual closures need not apply.

I’m heading to one of the local knitting shops today to pick up some test-knitting (I’ll ask if I can blog about it), so I really wanted to finish the second sleeve on my garter yoke cardigan in order to look for buttons! (Serious inquiries only, of course.) I do have more of the matte grey buttons that I used for my bracken vest, and I think those might be a good option, but I want to see what else is out there before I commit.

In tidying up my yarn corner (also known as the explosion of knitting projects near the base of the couch), I realized that I have more than 3 skeins of cascade 220 leftover from knitting this project, which means this was a super affordable sweater: just over 3.5 skeins of cascade 220, plus part of a skein of handspun for the yoke! I bet I have enough to make another. (Whoa there, rooster.)

FO: winter storage.

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Boh really likes handspun. How about a few more?

You’re looking at what happens when a certain rooster decides to clear off ALL of her bobbins: lots of navajo ply practice wth leftovers of fibers past, and a squishy, 350 yard skein of mostly fingering weight 2-ply from some absolutely stunning Hello Yarn finn in the winter storage colorway.

This was my first adventure with the fast flyer for my Lendrum — first of many, I should say.

And this — this is how I can tell that he really is my dog. He just wants to sniff, paw at, and, let’s face it, roll in all of my yarn.

Happy Monday, folks!

boh battles the red vacuum cleaner.

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(In place of Yoshimi and the pink robots, of course.)

Boh faces his opponent.

(This is a new development. Boh used to hide in his box whenever I would get out the vacuum cleaner. Now, he plays his own version of chicken with the machine: he runs towards it or waits for it to approach him, and then squeezes by it at the last possible moment.)

Boh dashing past the vacuum cleaner.

This is absolutely hilarious, and I wish I’d gotten better photos of the whole sequence. It is rather difficult to operate a vacuum cleaner with one hand and snap photos with the other.

Now, would you like to see some spinning?

Yesterday’s time out made it possible for me to sit down at the wheel and finish the second bobbin of this gorgeous Hello Yarn finn in the winter storage colorway.

This morning, I started plying the two bobbins together, and snapped a few photos part of the way through. This looks to me like it is going to be fingering weight rather than laceweight yarn when it is all plyed and soaked, and I’m thinking it might make a lovely shawl. (That will not be for me to decide, however, as this skein is intended as a gift for a knitter!)

It seems my time out has stretched well into Sunday. That’s the trouble with taking breaks: it is so hard to end the time out and jump back into the fray. Maybe after my afternoon yoga class…

time out.

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Today, I’m calling a time out. Time out on reading, writing, grading, worrying. I turned in one of my final papers yesterday, and I’m stopping the clock. The pile of work isn’t going anywhere, and I can get back to it tomorrow.

Today is for laundry, cooking, cleaning, knitting — and maybe I’ll even be able to make time to sit down at my wheel. Happy weekend, folks!

sleeve one.

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Sleeve one is complete, and I’m really happy with the bracelet/longish three quarter length.

I’m also thrilled with the decision to go down a needle size for the sleeves. I’m realizing that I need to start thinking about buttons! Maybe once I finish the paper I’m writing (due this week).

Also:

Boh says hi. Time to pour the coffee and get back to work.

sleeping in.

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I turned off the alarm last night so that Boh and I could sleep in — both a reward for some good progress on a paper I’m working on, and preparation for more writing today. (I tend to wake up with the sun whether I want to or not, but today I managed to sleep until 8. Victory.)

This dog did not want to get out of bed.

I managed a few more inches on my third handspun seaman’s cap. This one is made from Southern Cross Fibres polwarth 2-ply in the Boogie Wonderland colorway, and I just love how it is knitting up.

I am feeling way behind on life: thank you notes, holiday gifts, letter-writing, even cooking through my farm share (my winter share starts Wednesday!) — but at this very moment, I’m actually in an okay place with my academic work, and if I can just maintain that, I will be very happy. (Which means I need to get started on today’s writing goal — another 5 pages?)

before winter?

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That’s the goal for my Garter Yoke Cardigan, and it looks like I might make it!

I’m leaning towards a bracelet sleeve length — longer than three quarter, but not so long that the cuff will get in the way of knitting and working. Also, there’s something about a slightly shorter sleeve on me that at least makes me feel like I’m a bit more put together (even if it is only in my head.)

When I tried on the sweater before starting the sleeves, I was concerned that the sleeves were going to be a bit baggy. The pattern calls for knitting the sleeves straight to the cuff — no shaping — so I decided that instead of playing with decreases, I’d just go down a size and use size 6 dpns. (It didn’t hurt that I could actually reach these needles from where I was curled up on the couch at the time…)

I’m really happy with how the first sleeve is fitting, and I think it is time to start digging around for buttons!

I might not post again before heading home for Thanksgiving, so I hope your holiday is filled with people you love and food you enjoy! (And maybe some time to rest and knit.)

giant bunch of tat soi.

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I had to completely rearrange my fridge to get this bunch of tat soi inside. Isn’t it beautiful? I’ve been buried under a pile of grading this week (one more paper to grade before I head to campus), and while I do most of my reading on the couch and writing at my desk at the computer, I grade at my kitchen table. I have devised a strategy to help keep me on track, and (big surprise here) it involves food! Having something in the oven — granola, applesauce bread, squash roasting, etc. gives me something to occasionally check on AND a way to peg my progress to a more specific timeline without getting out the timer for each paper. Plus, there is something delicious for break-time.

I made a big pot of carrot soup and let it simmer away while I graded on Tuesday, and I’ve been enjoying the leftovers all week. I followed this recipe!

I also roasted some butternut squash this week while working through my grading pile. Yum!

And here’s a knitting shot. Here lies my garter yoke cardigan. It seemed appropriate to leave it in a big pile, as I’ve really only been able to knit half a row here and there this week, but I am so close to finishing the body. (Like, 4 rows away!) I decided not to use handspun for the bottom edge, as I like the simpler look of the brown Cascade 220. I can’t wait to wear this!

Alright, I think there is enough coffee in my system to warrant the last of the grading. Back to it!