I've been knitting lots of lace. The Hanging Garden Stole, pictured below, is now on its fourth repeat. It looks a lot the same, just longer. I've also been working on Birch, from Rowan knitting mag 34. It's not in KidSilk Haze, but in a cheaper, more hefty yarn from KnitPicks. I figured if I used it I could work out the pattern, and my system for working the pattern, without worrying about messing it up. I've also been working on Cozy from Knitty, using yarn my husband got me for our anniversary, Blue Sky Alpaca Silk. It has been a totally sensuous experience. I haven't had a yarn in a long time that felt so nice to work with. And the silk lends a sheen to it that in its off-white color, looks like pearls.

This weekend, though, I really, REALLY wanted to start on a sweater. Don't remind me about the halfway finished Gull Stitch cardigan that is sitting on the needles on top of the bookshelf. I am aware that it is up there, but it just hasn't been calling to me (more like haranguing me). Though I do want to work a more complicated cable, which is why I really wanted to start on Kepler this weekend. However, no amount of swatching (5 swatches, seriously) yielded the elusive 4 stitches to the inch.

I rationalized that if I *had* obtained the elusive 4 stitches to the inch, I would not have liked the fabric anyway, so ha! I need to suck it up and get some fatter yarn, perhaps the yarn mentioned, oh, I don't know, actually in the pattern? Who cares if the one I was trying to make work was just the right color? Who cares if I would have been stash-busting if I used it? Perhaps it is just earmarked for Eris later on and it was trying to tell me so. Of course, now I have 5 swatches so I'll know exactly how it will behave. I keep trying to convince myself that those 5 swatches weren't for naught.

I decided to post a photo of my progress on the Hanging Gardens Lace Stole by Sivia Harding that I am working on. I am using Addi Stumpo needles, size 2, and Alpaca Cloud yarn from Knitpicks in colorway Autumn.

I had a victorious moment today when I completed the first repeat of rows 8-55. It seems like I have been working forever, but have not gotten very far at all! It of course looks like complete and utter shite when it is all bunched up on the needles, but with it pinned out on a towel on the floor I can see a whisper of what is to become. Perhaps I can find comfort in knowing that I have only 64,766 stitches to go to complete it. Hm. Maybe not.

The intention to post about my KO project was there, but I was having camera battery issues, and I wanted to have enough power to take a photo of the thing when it was all finished.

Last week, I finished up the second sleeve, and by Saturday, I just needed to finish the seams from the cuffs to the underarms. I did that this morning when the light was good. I ended up using a different gray wool to seam with because yarn I was using is a single and if I pulled on it too hard while seaming, it would come apart.

Here is a photo of the completed project.

I had enough yarn left over to make a hat!

So, now Apolo and I both have gold medals. Squee!

This is a photo of cumulative progress on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I've been doing sleeves, sleeves and more sleeves. I haven't seamed yet. I'm going to try and block the sleeves before seaming them. I think this will take some moments off my time, so to speak, but I don't think it should prevent me from finishing.

This is a photo of cumulative progress on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I've been doing sleeves, sleeves and more sleeves. I haven't seamed yet. I'm going to try and block the sleeves before seaming them. I think this will take some moments off my time, so to speak, but I don't think it should prevent me from finishing.

Here is a picture of my progress by the end of day 6. According to math, I will finish. However, as I work on the interminable miles of stockinette for the body, it seems as though I'm not getting anywhere!

Some observations from the Olympics coverage I watched tonight:
1) Women's downhill skiing looks like it hurts. A lot.
2) Apollo Ono is my Secret Olympics Boyfriend.

...And the body grows.

I'm back to one needle now because two needles were a bit cumbersome to wrangle in the car this morning. I knitted on the way to work, during lunch, and two hours after work. Now my wrists are tired.

To keep my motivation up, an FO! I took a break and sewed the buttons on this bad boy, a felted cellphone case for a friend of mine. It sat in that "I just need my button sewed on" state for way too long, so I figured what the heck, I'll just get that done.

It's beginning to look like a sweater...

I thought I was never going to get to the end of the raglan shaping! Stitches piled and bunched up on my needle and around 2:00 I needed a break. My husband "went out to get himself some lunch" and sneakily went out and invested in a second circular needle so that I could continue the longest rounds on two circulars (best husband EVER).

This worked out a lot better because I wasn't having to grip so hard to keep the stitches from popping off one needle. After that the last two increases, which resulted in a total of 308 stitches, I divided for the sleeves and cast on midstream (a new skill for me) for the two armholes. This process was truly magical. Now I just have to cruise down the body. It should make good car knitting on the way to work this week.

To start, last night I made an event themed hash brown crust spinach/zucchini/tomato, olive and feta pizza. We "athletes" need to keep our strength up, you see.

When I was sufficiently suffoncified, knitting commenced. I didn't get very far last night-I worked only for about 45 minutes. Today, however, was a different story...I worked for a total of eight hours.

My circular needle is too full to spread out the work all the way, so it doesn't make for all that attractive of a photo. You'll have to take my word for it that this is the Easy Raglan Sweater from the Green Mountain Spinnery Knitting Book. I'm using Mountain Mohair yarn from the Green Mountain Spinnery in color Raven. Perhaps if the sun is out tomorrow I will make a more arty shot. For now the best light is on the bathroom counter.

Things I've learned:
1) A neat way of making cable stitches without a cable needle and without having to take any stitches off the needle.

2) Raglan shaping is cool. I understand how it works now, maybe even enough to tackle BPT again. I'm getting to the point where I have almost 300 stitches on my needle. In the long rounds the hardest part is wrangling and rearranging the stitches on the needle. I think I'm spending more time sliding stitches than I am actually knitting, and am kicking myself for not getting another circular so I could divide in two and work on two circulars in the round. I have eight more increases to do before I divide the sleeves from the body. I wanted to get to that point tonight but it's getting a bit late. I've pushed myself but I don't want to hurt myself. I am at that point where you swear you've knit at least six inches, and yet you measure and the length is exactly the same as when you measured the last time, two hours ago.

Small Kitty says:

Mommy, no more knitting!