Shhh! Sneaky Blogging!

I’m perhaps a bit too busy at work to be actually making this post, but, screw it, I’ll buckle down after this.
I have so much news! First, York is complete, except for the zipper. Here she is in all her glory. Yes, the sleeves are the right length. Yes, I agree, they look long.

I am excessively proud at how well I finished this sweater. The set in sleeves look pretty much exactly like they should, the seams are not bulky, and best of all, everything matched up. The collar is nice and stiff, and no holes were it joins the body. I know the sweater looks a bit tilted, but that’s because of how I laid it out. The sides match, I swear. It needs washed and blocked, and I need to preshrink the zipper.

Or so the nice knitting list people told me. I need to thank the nice knitting list people. I’m a bit terrified of inserting the zipper - I can’t even find one that seems to go. I did buy a navy blue one, but now I think perhaps I should go with cream. I did find a nice orange one that matched, but it wasn’t a seperating zipper, the damn thing. I may need to make a trip to Jo Ann Fabrics and see if they have more options than Hancock Fabrics. I looked in both the one down the street from me, and one in Council Bluffs, Iowa. They had the exact same zipper selection.

The Hancock Fabrics in Council Bluffs did have yarn, while my local one does not. But its just Lion Brand stuff, so I wasn’t that excited. They did have their Susan Bates needles and accessories 50% off, so I bought some random stitch markers, a size 8 needle that I needed NOW, having not packed one (oh, the horror), and some other random stuff.

After I finished York, I started back up on my second Sad Sack Sweater. The back and the front are now finished, and I just started the sleeves.

I’m using Rowan Recycled Chunky, which is discontinued. It’s a little hard on my hands, and linty, but I love how it knits up.

I also gave into the Elann Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed sale, and bought 14 balls in Tartan, a lovely greenish-brown tweed. I just keep petting it. I’m going to use it to knit Lara, from Debbie Bliss’s Alpaca Silk book. I ordered the book from KnitPicks yesterday - there are several designs I really like in that book.

Speaking of Elann, they put more Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran up today - the colors as of this writing are already fairly limited, but I didn’t see what they originally offered. My monitor at work sucks, so its hard to see colors, but based on what I”m seeing, I like my Tweed better. I’m a little worried about how Lara will work up - the yarn might not be sleek enough. But, I still love it, and I bet Lara will look great a little “rustic”.

And, for the final picture, we have the door prize I won during the Knitting Beyond the Hebrides Virtual Conference.

It was the mascot of the conference, and I love her. It’s a signed print by the artist, no less. I should frame it.