Making progress despite all........

I've been busy. Busy with doctors and tests and busy with knitting. I finally finished the Cape Cod sweater for my sister. It became a bit of a trial since I ran out of yarn, managed to find more on Rav and finished with this much to spare! Needless to say, the last few inches were filled with a dread of running out yet again. I love it, love it, love it but am terribly afraid its going to be too big. My gauge was spot on, but it just looks larger than I envisioned. We'll see.

I also finished the socks....a pattern I loved which was faster than lightening to do. Of course, they are also smallish socks which always helps them to zip by. They aren't at all what I wanted (see previous post) but I do love the pattern and have my fingers crossed on the yarn. It was lovely to work with but I'm not sure they will hold up. I don't know that I will become a member of the Araucania fan club...

Next, I've been making squares for the Lovefest Throwdown. Its the most gorgeous cashmere (thanks to our generous kitty) and the "squares" are more like swatches and it's given me the opportunity to try out a whole host of patterns. I've been playing mostly with designs from Knitted Lace of Estonia and I'm loving them all! I have 7-8 (I've lost count) of the total 17 I need to make already finished and am determined to get them done before I start any other major project. I let these people down once before and I won't do it again. The deadline is in April and since I don't know when surgery will be or how soon after I will be able to knit, I want to get them done! No pics to show - they will be a surprise!

My next big project will be a wedding shawl for Alana. I showed her a boatload of patterns and she has narrowed it down to these - the Triinu Scarf (enlarged to shawl size), the Madli Shawl, and the Maikell Shawl - all from Knitted Lace of Estonia as well as Alpine from VLT.

I will be delighted to knit any of them and cannot wait to get started!! It's taking all the restraint I have not to cast on NOW and spend all of my free time working on any one of these beauties, but I'm not giving in! My plan is to use the white Zephyr I bought last year....we'll see if I opt for something else instead. I do love Zephyr though so I'd be hardpressed to change my mind on this, though I did adore the yarn I got from Joslyn's Fiber Farm - Shine. It was luscious with a beautiful sheen. I have to look at the dress again to see what fiber will look best.

I must say that one great thing about doing all these swatches is that I have finally gotten comfortable with nupps! I'm no pro and they don't come naturally, but I can make them and they look damn good! This will be a plus if I opt for the any of the three Estonian patterns...they are very big on nupps! Apparently this is because shawls were sold by weight and nupps made them heavier, thus more expensive. In any case, they don't scare me like they once did, which I'm happy about!

Then there are the walls in the living room which I am working on as energy and time allows. The wallpaper is off. It ended up being a two step process - one dry scrape with the razor blade and then one with vinegar and a clean razor blade. I'd like to shoot the people who think they can wallpaper over drywall without priming! It took forever, but its done and I have one wall has been sanded, primed and mudded. It's going to be a section of wall at a time since it's tedious beyond words to try and skim coat this whole room! But I'm getting there.

Lastly, I bought yarn....bunches more. I am addicted, what can I say? The odd thing is that despite all this lace knitting and drooling over shawl patterns, what do I buy but sock yarn! It really is an obsession since I have more sock yarn than I can knit in a year, maybe 2. Still there's something about the color combinations that just make me lust after them. The only ones that have arrived so far are this gorgeous Koigu and a Jitterbug that this photo does nothing to - it is so much richer and deeper than this with strands of navy so dark it's almost black....damn camera!