Swiftastic

First of all: the swift. It arrived and it doesn't suck... but I had to pay $9 in duty. Which does suck. However, even with the duty and shipping and such, it ended up costing me less than $60. Which is definitely low of the suck scale. So after picking it up at the friendly neighbourhood postal outlet, I brought the thing home, put a hank of yarn on, attached it to Toyota the friendly ball winder (the kittehs were very interested in this procedure) and commenced winding. It took me less than 2 minutes to wind a ball of Rowanspun DK, whereas the last ball took me about 3 days because it got all tangled and knotted and I lost 1 or 2 yards due to tangle induced "snappage". So I would say it's worth it. Plus I have at least 17 more hanks of yarn to wind which would have taken me a year using my old "method". I have however, decided to only buy yarn in hanks from now on. Not that I am allowed to buy yarn until I decrease the stash somewhat. Which I can do, now that I have an easy peasy way to deal with the unwound yarn. I am resisiting the urge to wind it all now, but have decided that I'm not allowed to wind any more until I decide what to make with the 426 yards of Rowanspun. Maybe a swift cozy.

In other news, I am lacking in finished objects. This is the problem with sweaters as opposed to...smaller items. I can't remember the last time I finished something. Actually that's not true. I remember finished the dragon scale armwarmers, although I have yet to weave in ends, block and send off to my sister. But for all intents and purposes they are finished...sort of.

At the moment I have 4 projects on the go.

1. The Hedera sock(s). I just realized as I was trying on the first sock, that it is almost finished. Which is exciting as I've never actually completed a whole entire sock. I have even gotten as far as the cuff on a toe up sock, before deciding that I wasn't feeling it and frogging the whole thing. I do apologize for my weird looking toes.



This yarn doesn't really photograph well...ok I don't really photograph well. I shouldn't be blaming the yarn, however there is actually a stitch pattern in there...somewhere. Well at least I know it's there. I'm still amazed at how freakishly long my toes are. I'm wondering if this is what is called a "prehensile" toe and if this means I am more highly evolved than those with "normal" feet. I wonder if I could learn to knit with my feet. Then I could finish these UFOs in half the time.



Hi remember me? I'm the vintage sweater that you are never going to finish. All you have left is the hood, and half of one of the fronts, and maybe a button band depending on how freakishly tight I am. Did you even do a gauge swatch?.... I think you did but it was so long ago I've sort of forgotten. Oh and you should probably block the pieces before sewing together because I am made of yucky Mission Falls and your stitches look sort of really not good. But at least I am washable....or will be if you ever finish me. Oh and and you need to buy a zipper.



Finally, because you had a minor freak out a while back and bought up all the Mission Falls: colour 026, dyelot 4661 in town, I think you will have enough yarn to finish me... and probably enough left over for some matching mittens and a hat.

Exhibit 3. This thing.



The "Airy wrap sweater" from Fitted Knits. I'm making it out of Estelle: watercolours and it sheds like a mofo. I'm not in love with the way the picked up stiches look, and I am planning to steam block it. I hope this isn't going to end in disaster. Also I'm going to make the ties shorted than specified because apparently they stretch like "woah" and frankly the last thing I need is yards and yards of fabric wrapped around my midsection.



I am also working on another thing, that I'm not going to go into, except to say that I have to finish it before resuming work on these things. Sigh the life of a knitter. But because I am hideously unemployed right now I guess I don't have much else to do...except look for a job and read the new Vogue Knitting and the new Interweave Knits that I bought in a (well two) moments of spendthriftery. It's interesting, I've been hearing alot of smack about the VK lately. I guess it's the usual complaint of "lack of wearability, I would never knit that... blah blah blah" but as Sophie so aptly put it "I only buy it for the articles". Truthfully though, there are a lot more things in the Fall VK than in the Fall Interweave that I would consider knitting. If I ever finish everything else I'm working on.