Could It Be?!!

What? A FINISHED project?!!

OK. So it's a hat. But I think this probably marks only the 2nd finished project for 2010.

But it's a mighty fine hat. (Well, I think so anyway.)

Malcolm graciously agreed to model the finished piece.

"No, not really. I'm just to tired to protest."

I finished "Dahlia", one of three designs included in "Hattrick" from Virtual Yarns. I haven't blocked it yet; I'm still looking for a right-sized plate to form it on.

So happy! Love love love! The colours are just beautiful, and work so well together. It satisfied my urge to work on a stranded project, and should keep any more stranded urges at bay until the weather cools a bit. Or so I say. I've been itching to start work on "Donegal", and after all, when it comes to casting on something new, I'm not one to deny myself. I've made that quite clear in the past. *sigh*

"Wow Malcolm, that hat really suits you."

"Really? Oh, thanks Gandalf! Do you think Mom will let me wear it? It's so soft."

"I can't see why not."

I really want to thank everyone for their kind words and wishes re. my polycythemia. I appreciate it so much! It's been a confusing and demoralizing time for me, but having so many friends wish me well means a lot. I had some blood work last week, and my blood counts are starting to come down, which is a positive sign! I have to continue going every 2 weeks until he's satisfied I'm on the right dose, and the medication is working. So far, so good...

"Hi Sasha!"

"Hi Gandalf! Hi Atticus!"

"Do you want to come in and play for a bit? I'll ask my Mom."

"No, I can't, I'm waiting for my Dad. I think we're going for a car ride!"

"The car?!! Oh wow! That's so cool!"

"Sasha, you need to play with your girlfriends, not those dweebs. I'll show you how to groom your paws! It'll be awesome! And we can have a snack too. And then watch Animal Planet, and have a nap! Yay! OK!"

Brian, Sasha's Dad, says that Sasha must have some cat in her, because she's always grooming herself like one. The funniest thing is watching her clean her face - by licking her paw, and rubbing her face with it.

"I'm just a one man wolfpack. Yup. That's me."

(If you haven't seen the movie The Hangover, do yourself a favour, and watch it.)

Have a great week everyone!

"Yeah! Have a great week! I'm just gonna be chillaxing, looking out the window, tryin' to catch bugs and stuff."

Well Hello There!

What do we have here??!

Why, it's a COMPLETED St. Aula! Finished yesterday, and blocking in the photo above. I will take a nicer picture once it's dry, but I really wanted to show her off. I couldn't be happier!

Those familiar with the design will probably wonder about a missing piece - the hood. I was never 100% sure I would add the hood. Luckily, it's the last piece to be worked, and I had already completed the neckline when I decided to give it a go. I worked a few inches of it, and then pinned it to the neckline. It fit fine, however I found it to be a bit bulky around the neck. As I was not blessed with a long, graceful neck, I decided that having the bulk of the hood under my chin would not look particularly flattering. Not to mention how hot it would end up being. So, hoodless it is.

So, here are some of the details - St. Aula from Virtual Yarns, size Small, knit on 4mm needles. I used Mara as my primary colour, and Machair as the pattern colour. This was not a difficult project at all. Only 2 colours were used throughout, and the chart was only 12 stitches. The one thing I did not like, and really, it's my own issue, was knitting the sleeves on DPNs. It made for a cumbersome knit, and made the whole sweater far too attractive to the Little Dudes. They just loved all these flying parts and needles... Anyway, as I said, that was just my own pet peeve. But, if you do your colourwork sleeves on DPNs, and plan on knitting St. Aula, you may want to learn the 2 circular or magic loop method for them. Just sayin'.

And! That's not all I've been working on.

Doesn't look like much now... It's my selection for the "Knit a Norwegian" KAL that Lorraine and Jewel are hosting in Ravelry. The guidelines are - knit a Norwegian-designed sweater, with traditional Norwegian methods (so, knitting without add-in steeks, for example). I've chosen to knit the "Princess Line" sweater from the book Norsstrikkedesign, mainly because this KAL was not limited to just Dale of Norway designs, and I had the yarn in my stash. This Norwegian (because I just can't give myself a break), is a doosy, and I don't anticipate a quick finish on this one. A thing I like about working from this book? They don't sugar-coat the instructions. It's simply "cast on X, work this sequence, decrease Y on your last round, and then work the chart for your size. Oh, and don't forget to decrease and increase as indicated on the chart." Which is the way I like my patterns to be. A thing I don't like about this book? The charts are TORTURE. This particular design features all-over patterning, and unlike Fair Isle, it does not repeat every X stitches. So, the entire chart for the entire sweater (back and front are alike) fits on less than one page. Enlarge it you say? I've tried, and it's not really working out. Not to mention that the charts are in colour. So. Whatever. I'll figure something out as I go along.

"Hey Mae? You awake?"

"*sigh* I am. I wasn't, but I am now."

"Mom sure gets chatty when it comes to knitting! Do you think she'll teach me to knit?!"

"I thought you wanted to do taekwondo?"

"Yeah. That too, but knitting looks cool! It's all pointy sticks and swearing!!!"

There was a brief incident when I turned my back for 15 seconds, and came back to Malcolm going to town on poor Princess Line. Fortunately, it was early on, but I still had to rip back around 5 rounds of ribbing (or 1500 stitches, as Carrie pointed out...) in order to get all the pulled stitches back in line.

One thing I can absolutely guarantee you though. Atticus will not be using Princess Line as a blanket should it happen to fall to the floor.

"I hear a buzzing. Or is that a voice? You want me to what? Move? I don't think so."

My poor Central Park Hoodie fell off it's hook. If a sweater falls in the hall - Atticus will definitely hear it.

If it weren't for the ear sticking out at the bottom of the picture, you'd probably have no clue what the picture is of.

Have a great week everyone!