Kinda Sheepy

That, ladies and gents, is my Olympic Sweater in all its glory (unchanged), and my sheep at feeding time. I didn't have the heart to "fix" it. Instead, I've been busy convincing myself I like it just the way it is. The sleeves don't stick out from my jacket sleeves (which is actually quite important to me) and the neck I can live with if I wear a shirt with some kind of collar underneath. So there. I'm loving my sweater. I followed the pattern and everything (for the most part), which is very rare for me. I have a bookcase full of pattern books but they're used more for inspiration rather than gospel of the actual pattern.

I am thrilled I can post pictures again. Here's another:

Annie is a sweater hog. Probably why I don't wear black too often.

Did I mention I have another SPCA cat in the house? Again? This one is a sweetheart. He's a true rescue. Some woman brought him in after finding him on the street, and boy oh boy, he was in rough shape. His feet are a total mess, but he manages fine with a quirky kind of limp. And mild mannered. Wow. Nice after my last experience.

Less Than a Thousand Words

A picture is worth a thousand words, so they say. Since blogger is having issues with uploading my pictures, you'll have to be satisfied with my words. My apologies.

No sooner had I managed to lay the sweater down to take a photo, did Annie flop herself on it demanding pats. Apparently she's figured out how to get my undivided attention. (I think I need to clip her claws!) It doesn't take much imagination to conjure the disaster that a cat kneading a stranded sweater could turn into.

Anyway. There. The sweater is done. Now, sometime before another millenium dawns, I will take it apart. Yup. Take the machine stitched sleeves and shoulder seams out. I knew that rushing through the finishing process was going to end disastrously. I just wanted to get it done so badly! Now I pay the price. Did I mention that I'm not quite happy with the neck either? I'll tink that too. The sleeves need an extra 2 or 3cm. Same with the shoulders which will give me the extra depth for the neck, as well.

Revelation of the highest order: although scary sounding, there is absolutely nothing earth-shattering to steeking. Just make sure the machine stitch length is set to tiny, sew nice straight lines (I confess to sewing double lines) and cut in between, avoiding the machine stitching. Nothing to it. The knit facings are kinda cool to boot. Those must be stretched out while sewing to avoid bunching once the sweater is right side out.

I am trying to turn over a new leaf. Finish the myriad of unfinished projects I have on the go. Remember the wool blanket for hubby? Although it's grown, it has been sitting collecting dust on my sewing table. Which should also tell you that I haven't been sewing at home either. Everywhere I turn there are socks to finish or start their mates, sweaters that need assembling, mending for the family, sewing projects that have been cut out but not sewn, and cross-stitch.... The list goes on. Around Christmas I was cruising blogs, and someone had actually made a list of all their unfinished stuff. It was long. It was very brave of them to compile such a list. I am not that brave. I'm afraid that such an undertaking would drive me straight to a nice crystal glass and a bottle of wine (or two!). So now I am going to stop procrastinating, and do some knitting or crochet or sewing or cross-stitch....

Wine anyone?

I'm Back

What a trip it was! Driving to Ontario and back in 8 days.

Things I learned this trip:
1. I miss my family. (But not enough to actually move closer.)
2. The Harlot and Lene can keep their Toronto traffic, thank you very much.
3. Libraries in actual cities have MANY more books than my town library could ever dream of.
4. All boys love G.I. Joe. (My son fell in love at first sight.)
5. Cities have better yarn shops with much more and yummier yarns!!
6. My cats still love me, even though I made them sleep out in the barn while I was away. (The sheep needed company, is the way I look at it.)
7. Driving with kids requires patience and good drugs.
8. It's always fabulous to come home, even a messy one with piles of laundry waiting to be done.
9. The last stretch of a long drive is always the longest.
10. I miss my family.

P.S. I finished my Olympic sweater. Pictures tomorrow.

Almost there

Both sleeves are done. Now the worry begins. Truth be told, I've been worrying for a few days now. Steeks. Cutting knitwear with a sharp object seems so WRONG. But if I want to wear it tomorrow, I better get it done. The cutting, sewing, weaving in of ends, knitting a neck band... Maybe it's just too much. Maybe I really don't need to wear this sweater-wanna-be tomorrow. The temperature has been steadily rising, you know. Or maybe I should take inspiration from the Yarn Harlot and open a bottle of wine. Liquid courage. Don't look at me like that! It's not like I have to drive anywhere today! And if it all starts to resemble a train wreck, I can blame it on the wine. That's the ticket. Yup, I now know what I must do... cheers!

Injury

As requested by Lene, my injury.

Sleeve Update

Getting there, slowly but surely. Good news being that the swelling in my hand is mostly gone (as is the cat!) and I am left with a doozy of a bruise.

DNF

Or at least not yet. I will soon. Honest. Made some progress yesterday. But the defeat was energy-sucking.

Friday evening, there was still hope of finishing on time. Until Friday night.

After work I drove myself to the emergency room of the local hospital. My hand was swelling at an alarming rate. They told me: "...yeah, those cat bites are pretty terrible..." No, really?? A tetanus shot and 3 hours in the waiting room. I was starting to fall asleep. My hand was throbbing. I was getting hungry. And cranky... I'm not good at that hurry up and wait thing. They told me when I first got there I just needed a prescription... Yeah? And? Why was I still there 3 hours later? I rang the little bell and told the nurse I wanted my hospital card back because I was going home. Funny how fast that got a doctor to my site. 'Is it getting worse?' Yes. "Gee, that looks bad..." Really?? I couldn't tell! The first dose of drugs in my system, a prescription in my hand, I was out of there in less than 15 minutes. Had I known....

But there was this Saturday morning:

Resembles a puked-up hairball in technicolour, wouldn't you say?

It started as the first sleeve, about 20cm long, give or take.

Knitting with a swollen hand Friday night must have addled my brain, because where there was supposed to be a zigzag, I had diamonds. Now don't get me wrong, I like diamonds as much as the next woman, but not on my Olympic sweater. So there was that and the freaky-looking increases in a couple spots. Hubby said it looked fine. That's what convinced me to frog the damned thing. Can't trust a man!

As of last night, I have progress on two sleeves, maybe the length of pre-frogged one. I watched Grey's Anatomy and I knit. Grey's has a way of taking the blues away after the disappointment of not finishing.

Now I am off to taking my drugs and knit. This sweater will be worn to Ontario in a week!

Injured Knitter

@$&^&*%!!! I should have left the !#@*^% cat alone. I believed it was starting to settle down, get accustomed to us humans. Yeah, right. It bit me!!! It @#$!* bit me! (It certainly doesn't deserve a cute name like Truffles anymore. More like Demon from Hades!) Broke skin in four places with its needle-sharp little teeth. With knitting time quickly dwindling away, it feels like the proverbial sand through the hour glass, with the last grains within sight. Note that I finally finished the body, although I do not wish to discuss all the ends I have to weave in at this time. Make that EVER. Two sleeves in less than three days. Do-able. Sure. And I'm the Queen of this fairy land. I'm not giving up. As soon as the throbbing subsides in my hand (or not) I will cast on the sleeves. Both. At the same time. Delusional, that's me.

Don't Panic

Progress after last night:

I stopped knitting around 12:30am. I had only half a row to finish of the blasted snowflakes. I couldn't do it. Things were getting blurry. I was tinking pattern repeats. I cut my loses and went to bed. I am almost done the body. So close. The colour change will be a nice break. But the ticker is starting to get to me. I had hoped to have started a sleeve by now. And I have to work this afternoon/evening. A knittin' I will go, a knittin' I will go, high ho, a knittin'.... I am gone!

Knitting Olympics - Day 9

By this time next week it will all be over except for the crying. Not everyone will be crying though. Some people will be in possession of a gold medal because some people are already blocking their Olympic knitting. Obviously I am Not one of those people.

Day 5 didn't see a single stitch.

Day 6 ended with only a half dozen rows knit.

Day 7. I don't remember too much of day 7. Maybe finished a full row after work? Kind of a blur. I didn't get home until after 10pm sometime. And driving in a wind storm slowed the drive home that much more. I did work (I am a seamstress extraordinaire) and did some major kick-ass sewing. Doing alterations for 6 hours when everything goes right is really empowering. Who knew!

Day 8 (yesterday) was full to the brim with little progress made on the knitting front. On the other hand, I did manage to buy a new (-to-me) truck for my journey to Kitchener, ON scheduled over the March break. Now I just have to sweet-talk a neighbour into babysitting the farm for a week. Boy, this is gonne cost me! I then spent a few hours at work that I didn't expect. And to top it all off, I took possession of another SPCA kitten. Removed from a home where 40 other cats were in residence. The old man only said that "things kind of got out of hand and the neighbours were complaining". At least the cats weren't abused. Huh.

So this is my progress at the end of day 9 of these Knitting Olympics. Notice I am not counting the opening ceremonies as knitting time. I was at work. My excuse.

I am starting to worry (slightly) that I might not finish in time. Over half way through the Olympics (according to the Harlot's ticker clock) but less than half in my knitting. I am hoping the sleeves will fly off my needles, when I get to them!