hands up, they're playing my song

sweaterfolded, originally uploaded by pirateygoodness.

When I finished the body of my Garter Yoke Cardi, back in the middle of June, I knew that I wanted to set it aside for a while.

(Originally, this was because I thought I’d need my 4mm circular needle for other projects – namely, both my Ishbels and the Featherweight Cardigan. Since sitting down and organizing my circs, I’ve discovered that I actually have seven 4mm circular needles, in a shockingly wide range of sizes and materials. Oops.)

Uh, I don’t know if you know this, but worsted weight yarn on 4mm needles goes super, super fast. I am pretty sure I did not think this was the case when I first started knitting several years ago, but after working on fairly fiddly, small-gauge projects for the past few months, this was like heaven. Instant-gratification heaven. I can’t believe how little time it took for me to take this sweater from just one more unfinished project to very nearly done.

Song of the Entry: Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA (Listen)

i was told we'd cruise the seas for american gold

IMG_8049, originally uploaded by pirateygoodness.

OMGOMGOMG, this is my sweater, just before I bound off for the body. I am so excited about it. It definitely needs some serious-business blocking, as you can tell by the ridiculous, knobbly knitting (I swear, that’s the yarn), but I’ve tried it on multiple times and it totally fits (or will, once it’s blocked and has buttons) and I love the purple and grey together, and like. Basically, this is a very exciting time for me and this yarn. We have worked out our differences and things are going okay.

Please note my kitten on the left. It’s okay to go “aww.”

I’ve been pushing myself to finish the body of this sweater, mostly because I need the 4mm circular for another project that I get to start tonight. I am taking the train to Nova Scotia (26 hours!) on Friday, and I’ll be there for a couple weeks. I’m also trying to do the entire trip with only a backpack, so I’m packing up my needles and a skein of SRK On Your Toes Bamboo to gift-knit an Ishbel, which is infinitely more portable than five skeins of Lorna’s Laces and a fluffy worsted-weight sweater. I probably won’t be posting until after I get back, so – until then!

Song of the Entry: the first three verses of Barrett’s Privateers (Listen)

you're the only one that keeps me singing – la la la

IMG_8038, originally uploaded by pirateygoodness.

First things first: I am knitting my Garter Yoke Cardi like it’s my job and oh man it’s going so well. I am trying really really hard to get through this while it’s still hovering below 20 degrees outside and I can stand to have a giant sweater sitting in my lap, so we’ll see how I do. (I’m also sort of rushing because I hate purling, and once I finish the body I don’t have to purl again for the rest of the sweater, can’t wait.)

This is going way better than my original attempt with this yarn. I’ve tried it on a few times, and it looks like it’ll fit once I block it a little, and the waist shaping works for someone with my short torso, and like. I’m just very pleased with myself, basically. (Even if this is a pretty awful picture of the sweater-in-progress. Apologies.)

Next on the agenda: I did the TTC Knitalong this weekend. There are much better pictures at Glenna’s blog, here, but basically we took the TTC to a bunch of yarn shops and knit on the streetcar and it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. I met amazing people, saw some stores I wouldn’t normally have made the trek to visit, and I also bought some yarn! (Not a lot, just a little bit.) Most importantly, I bought this yarn:

Three skeins of Cascade Eco Wool, plus a copy of The Opinionated Knitter, because garter stitch is calming and mindless and I want nothing more than to spend September to December of this year knitting myself a grown-up sized Tomten sweater coat.

Song of the Entry: Ashley Tisdale – Hair (shh – don’t tell)