Just. All. Wrong.

Independently, all of these things are good. But together, they just don't work.

Case #1

A. Rowan All Seasons Cotton
B. Desire to knit a child's top-down sweater with contrasting-c0lor raglan sleeves in the round

A+B=No. No. No.

The sad part is, this is my second attempt at this. I was sure I had figured it out this time. I could have continued this way, but I would have ended up with twice as many tangles and ends to weave in. Ugh.

Case #2

A. Thrifted, chunky buttons of unknown origin and unknown composition
B. New sweater, blocked and dry

A+B=No. No. No.

The buttons, unfortunately, make it look on the 'granny' side of style. Also unfortunately, I have no other buttons in the house. And tomorrow is New Years.

Let's hope for better button mojo in the new year, shall we? I'm looking for either some dark purple or black buttons for this thing, and until then I will wear it without buttons. Buttons be damned.

Thank you for all of your kind comments and emails about our preschool 'situation'. It does help to hear from people who have been there, teachers and friends. Thankfully he's none the wiser about the whole situation and, I'm sure, will return to preschool in a week very cheerfully. I hope I can say the same for myself.

Sneak Peek

It hasn't blocked yet, but I couldn't wait to post this. I finished knitting the Elderberry Jacket last night and weaved the ends in this morning. After getting frustrated with Imogen, I pulled this baby out of the knitting trunk and realized I might be able to get it done in 2007.

I'm going to give it a bath this morning, block it and let it dry and then put on the buttons. It has been very good for me, emotionally, to finish up this sweater. I really want to wear it. You see, it's supposed to be in the single digits the next few days and I could use a squishy warm sweater to cozy up in.

Also some things have been going on at my son's preschool that I could have never dreamed up. He's apparently become his teachers' target for therapy. This, the second time they have suggested a second therapy for a separate thing, we took him to a skilled practitioner who indeed said, no, your son does not need said therapy. He needs understanding teachers. The truth is, as you might have imagined, he does not fit neatly into the little boxes that the majority of kids do, but that does not always warrant a diagnosis. Yeah he's different. He learned to read by himself a year ago when he was 4; I'd say that's different.

The hardest part for me has been, yet again, wondering if I am an attentive, loving, proactive parent or in denial. When our son was very young, he was exhibiting some abnormal communicative development, and while everyone around me was saying "No, no, he'll be fine..." I pushed to get him into the Birth-To-Three program. I never regretted it. His speech and other communication skills are now advanced for his age. Yes, that may have happened naturally, but I didn't want to find out. Now, having the teachers, out-of-the-blue, say that he needs therapy, and feeling inadequate, like I didn't spot something I should have, that has been emotionally draining.

So yeah, I need this sweater. In more ways than one.

That's a Wrap

I don't have FO photos of the Reader's Wrap, but it has been finished for more than a week. I'll take some photos of it on my mom. Unfortunately, we won't be getting together until New Year's Day, but it's with good reason. My youngest sister just had a little boy and my parents are spending a few weeks there helping out with her oldest, who is 2.5.

So free I felt after that wrap was done! I cast on a sock, and finished it:

I guess I really can't call it a "Finished Object," however, until I finish the other sock. It's made from Duet Sock Yarn (A
Swell Yarn Shop) and the colorway is "Chantilly Lace". Acquired in a swap on Ravelry. I had no idea it would stripe! I do like it. I had been planning these as a Christmas gift to myself, but in my usual manner, I became distracted.

I started an Imogen jacket with the Araucania Nature Wool Chunky from my abandoned Egg Jacket, but in my rush I cast on the wrong size. It's quite an interesting pattern, knit from side to side, but that means instead of looking at the chest measurement for the size you want to make, you need to look at the length first. You can basically make it any width you want (just as if you were knitting "regularly" you could make another sweater any length you want). So I blindly cast on for a 'large' as the chest measurement looked right for me. However, that would make it 31" long, which is longer than I'd like. I'm actually going to cast on for the 'small' size, which sounds incredibly ridiculous, given that I'm 5'10", but it's 25" long and I think that will be perfect for me.

In other yarny news, my good friend Mandy (whom I'm insanely jealous of because she lives in NC where it's mild right now) sent this beautiful skein of handspun merino! Drool! I need to find an appropriate pattern for this...possibly a hat, as suggested.

Thanks Mandy. I love it.

And we've embarked on another home improvement project. Our downstairs half bathroom is the only place in the house that still harbors wallpaper. And hoo. Get ready for this ugliness...(shield your eyes--you've been warned)

To top it off, the countertop is wall-to-wall, fake plastic marble swirl and the cabinet is yellow.

So we're stripping the wallpaper, taking off the countertop, determining if there's tile underneath the cabinet (probably not) possibly tiling under and putting in a pedestal sink or maybe leaving the cabinet, painting it and getting a new countertop with sink. We'll see how it shakes out. We've got a week.

Oh, and we're planning a family vacation to Jamaica.

Goodbye 2007! We will think of you fondly, but are excited about the prospects of 2008.

Enough Already!

We have damn near 22 inches of snow on the ground. That's quite a bit for here in the first part of December...in fact someone was reminding me today that we had no snow for Christmas last year. I got very cozy with the snowblower yesterday and the kids played outside for awhile, too.

In fact I do like snow. It's driving in it that I really don't like. I believe that Grandma & Grandpa are getting the kids new, sturdy sleds this year for Christmas, and we will put them to good use. We tossed our old sleds because the pink plastic was cracking and breaking.

It's almost done! Wow, that Reader's Wrap is a fast project. Or maybe it's because I haven't knit on anything else since I started it. Usually I'm bouncing around all different projects. It's motivating to see how much I can get done when I stick with one project, actually.

I had a difficult time photographing the color. It's Blueberry Borscht Peace Fleece and it's more of a dark periwinkle with raspberry flecks. I have about 2 more inches to knit then I'll add the second pocket and do 8 rows of seed stitch, bind off, weave in ends, sew down pockets (how?), block and wrap. Whew. Here's another shot in the sunlight...

I'm about five posts away from my 100th post! I'd like to have a contest of some sort (with yarny goods to give away), so if you'd like to suggest a nifty one, I sure would be happy to consider it. Thanks.

Screeeeeech

No, not a reference to "Saved by the Bell". But rather an about-face on a knitting project that I've been waffling on for months. I started knitting a Cabled Donegal Tweed Vest in August with the idea that I'd give the finished project to my mom for Christmas. The last time I knit her something for Christmas, it was a bulky wool sweater and she rarely wears it because it's too hot for her. So I thought this would be perfect. So I thought. Over the ensuing months, I keep checking out the pattern, eyeing the ribbing. Thinking about my mom...I don't think the deep ribbing on the waist and armholes is a good choice to flatter her body. Plus I realized, too late, that I had only knit the back and half of one front and I didn't think I could get it done in 20 days.

In comes the part with the ball winder.

I ripped it completely out last night.

And I cast on for a Reader's Wrap. I'm slightly altering the pattern by doing seed stitch on the borders instead of double seed stitch and I'm making the pockets ala EZ instead of sewing them on the outside. But I think this should be a pretty quick knit with no seaming. My kinda project.

Oh, I finished an Irish Hiking Scarf for my newest sister-in-law. This was my first Irish Hiking Scarf, and due to the aforementioned time constraint (I also have to ship this to NJ), I doubled Cascade 220 and only knit two cable repeats instead of three and got what I think is a *great* chunky scarf. In four days. This is what actually led me to the Reader's Wrap--I was thinking of knitting four cable repeats and making a 'personal afghan' of sorts for my mom, when I browsed Ravelry and found the Reader's Wrap. I'm loving this idea. I hope the execution lives up to my expectations!

It's a Good Thing

I can be a bit of a homebody when the mood strikes. This morning the boy had soccer, and after that I had to run to the LYS for some black Cascade 220, but we are buckling down, enjoying hot chocolate and each other's company. For the weather outside is frightful. And the knits inside--so delightful.