hanging in the corner with my five best friends

IMG_7979, originally uploaded by pirateygoodness.

You guyyys this sweater. It makes me so happy. I was really, really nervous about starting the yoke, because I wasn’t sure if the purple would look stupid or the math on the owls would work out funny (knitting it steeked, I had to make sure that not only was the yoke a multiple of ten, but it was a multiple of ten before the steek and a multiple of ten after the steek). But I’m, like, 90% sure it looks awesome and I’m a rockstar at knitting. For the record? 33 owls.

Naturally, because the owl pattern is 20 rows long and I am knitting at a much smaller gauge than the pattern calls for, my yoke was too short to start the decreases right away. So I added on an inch or so of garter stitch, which again – I was nervous about it looking stupid, but it works much better than I thought it would. The decreases are going to be an experiment, but we’ll see how they go. I have high hopes.

Song of the Entry: Cobra Starship feat. Leighton Meester – Good Girls Go Bad (Listen)

put your money where your mouth is

IMG_7978, originally uploaded by pirateygoodness.

Clearly, it was a productive weekend. You can tell because I have evidence – the second sleeve of my modified Owls cardigan is done! This photo was taken just before I joined for the yoke, which is going to be in a contrasting colour of LL called “Blackberry,” because this is almost exactly as much knitting as you can get out of the four skeins of grey Lorna’s Laces I originally bought, thinking they would be a sweater.

I. . .am not very smart sometimes.

I’ve started the yoke, as of now, and I’m knitting it up, but fitting 300-odd stitches on a 24″ circular needle is going about as well as you’d expect it to (that is: poorly), so it’s not the most photogenic thing in the world. I’ll see what I can do.

Song of the Entry: Katy Perry – Waking Up In Vegas (Listen)

tell your mom you joined a boy band

IMG_7952, originally uploaded by pirateygoodness.

Whoa. You guys, even I’m surprised at how fast this sweater is going. Less than two weeks of knitting, and I’m already onto the second sleeve.

Part of this is because this one, unlike my last sweater, is several thousand miles of plain stockinette, so I’ve been able to take it to school and knit during class. (To keep me focused – seven straight hours of opthalmology is not my favourite thing in the world.)

Working on the sleeves, I gave up on the original Owls pattern almost entirely, going back to Elizabeth Zimmerman’s EPS method because it makes them fit beautifully. I always waffle, when I make sleeves, over whether or not to put in thumb holes (because I’m the type of person who enjoys sticking my thumbs through the sleeves in my sweater and looking like a sullen emo kid), but I decided not to for this one. Thumb holes are for hoodies, not pseudo-indie-kid round-necked owl cardigans. Probably.

Oh, and I’m still in love with this yarn, especially in garter stitch. I’m suddenly starting to really, really appreciate the appeal of working with Lorna’s Laces’ products.

Song of the Entry: Son of Dork – Boy Band