PinkPurlGrrl

Sit down and I'll tell you a dale (of Norway)

Once upon a time, waaaaaay back in early June, I started a sweater for a Baby yet to be born.  I got off to a great start; learning how to knit with yarn in both hands, and how to follow a pattern that was pure chart.  It seemed like the sweater would knit itself, I wooshed through the body watching marathons of DVR'd television.  Then something happened, the mojo started to drain away.  Just three weeks into the sweater I went  into a stall, and nearly crashed and burned.  It was hard work (just ask the prez) to keep battling away at the top of the body.  I ran into trouble with the arms (needed dpns, and I hadn't ever tried Fair Isle on dpns).  I had to set goals, and finally demands just to move it closer to done.
At the end of August, the baby was born.  Sweet little Noah, a berry of a boy.  The sweater, however, continued to gestate.  I completed the body and the arms, tossed them in a ziplock bag and went on to other things.  I think it was the steeking that had me flummoxed.  Baby Ull is superwash, it wouldn't hold together unless I really stitched down the sides of the steeks well.  My hand sewing isn't anything to be proud of, but my sewing machine skills are even worse and I was afraid to accidentally bunch-up the fabric and ruin it. 
Noah turned one month old at the end of September.  He aged another month in October, and dang it if he didn't keep right on growing through November.  It was the imminent holiday visit to my Mother's (who lives near Noah) that made me fish it out and contemplate the end.  I think I picked it up and put it down for two days before finally calling in sick to work (cough, cough) and finishing the sweater.  I sewed steeks and carefully cut them.  sewed arms to body and stitched down the seam facings. I picked up stitches for the neck and front opening, and I knit them like a pro.  I found the little frog closures that I had bought with hope back in July, and fastened them on with the last little bit of blue yarn.  I gently steamed the sweater, showed it off proudly to Leslie, and wrapped it in yellow and green tissue paper, then packed it for the trip to Mom's.

My gauge was off, it will fit Noah when he's two or three.  Keep growing little man.

No Promises, I promise.

Lately I have been thinking of things I'd like to blog about, only to remember that I don't blog anymore.  I suppose that could mean that it is time to get back to blogging.  I won't promise that I'll be posting on a schedule, but I bet I can try for at least once a week or so.  One thing I had to do to restart this blog was get rid of the post on Best Choice Windows.  I don't want to feel that yuck every time I open my blog.  I do not feel any less strongly about how poorly they treated me, and I will still warn people away from them.  I did save the post and comments and have put a link to the PDF in my sidebar.  If you have navigated to my blog looking for information about them, please read it and email me if you want more information.

Seems like there should be some knitting content hmmm?  Here is what kept me busy this last week: Evelyn Clark's "Swallowtail Shawl" (Interweave Knits: Fall 2006). I picked up a skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk at Village Yarn and Tea last week (OK, I picked it up and put it down, picked it up and put it down, repeat, repeat, repeat - then said "oh, what the hell" and bought it). I cast on at 5:00pm last Sunday, and cast off at 11:00am today - exactly one week later.  It is an easy, yet entertaining knit.  The Sea Silk was really nice to work with (not tight like I would have expected).  I love the colors and the shine.  The most fun is the magic of blocking; I've included a before picture just for scale.  I was worried that I could run out of yarn, the pattern calls for 397 yards and the Sea Silk was just 400 - but I had several yards left over.  I was probably a little under gauge.