FO: Thermal

Well, Here it is. Thermal!

Boy, it was sunny today!

Pattern:Thermal

Yarn: Knitpicks gloss in 'dusk'.

Needles: 3mm circs.

Modifications: none.

Notes: I'm in love. it fits just the way I want it to, it's warm and fabulous, and I've worn it two days in a row.

And I love the buttons:

Here's a shot of Thermal blocking: It took three days to dry, and at the end I wanted to wear it so badly I stood over it with a hair dryer for two hours. If I had known that, I might not have wet blocked it.

How excited am I to be finished Thermal?Oh yeah. I'm a dork.

Shoulda Been an FO......

Thermal is complete. So complete, I'm wearing it right now, and have had compliments heaped on me all day by my co-workers, and a woman that I did not know who is also a knitter (we had a great discussion about arm cap shaping). I feel great. Maybe a little too warm in my newly completed sweater, but great nonetheless.

Except... I don't have any photos yet. I am truly envious of my partner-in-yarn, Jen. Not only does she have a boyfriend who loves taking ultra-flattering photos of his beloved, but he's a professional photgrapher. I'll see what I can rustle up later. If I can't find anyone to play photographer (and I'm feeling a little anti-social at the moment- so I think it would be rude to call up someone to come over, take pictures of me, and then tell them to get the hell out), I'll explore the timer function on my camera! Stay tuned.

In the endless joy that is Ravelry, a new knit has just come to light: Gallery Jacket. Modelled and designed by Cirilia.

Now, this project came along at the perfect time for me. I've been wondering why I don't have any green yarn, despite the fact that green is my favourite colour. Why have I no green knits?! I was so enamoured with the pattern, that I immediately went to knitpicks.com to buy yarn for it. I decided to go for a full-blown merino, since I'm not one for angora.That isn't the yarn exactly, (knitpicks doesn't allow you to enlarge it's colour swatches online) but it gives a good idea of the colour. Now, I'm playing the waiting game, and as soon as that yarn arrives, I'll be swatching!

*Note to self: consider green when considering a future project. It is, after all, your favourite colour. It avoids that pesky problem of looking at your purple heather yarn that you got for Forecast and wondering what the hell you were thinking that day....*

The War of Thermal

I know that I'm going to love Thermal to pieces once it's finished. I know that it's destined to become one of my favorite sweaters, there is so much to love about it- the fine gauge, the straightforward design, the classic fit. It's going to be great.

But damn, this has been one slow-going knit. That fine gauge and waffle stitch is obviously the black hole of knitting. I did put it down for a while to work on Central Park Hoodie (which is currently napping, now that my love has switched back to Thermal) but I knit and knit and knit- and it still feels like I'll never finish the sleeves. I'll have been knitting for an hour, and then think to myself, "I must be nearly ready for the next part. I'll measure to be sure." And that's when I discover that despite being very sure that I've gone through the four row repeat dozens of times, the sleeve seems to hardly increase in length at all.
But I do love the way the sleeve increases move up the inner arm, as though they were seamed... And I have no idea why Thermal looks grey in this picture. I know I need to build a light box, because my basement apartment is seriously hampering my photos.

A few Good WIPs

I tend to switch around in projects and Thermal is my affair du jour.
I'm so pleased to be finished the body of Thermal, and I love it. It fits perfectly, and I can't wait to finish the sleeves!
Every now and then, I also do a little 'starfish; portion of the Capecho:

I'm trying to work on this more often now, since I'd really like to wear this in the fall. Presuming it doesn't look like an afghan gone horribly awry. And last up, I've decided that Lady Eleanor requires more attention....

Ah, she's so lovely.

Damn You, Dye Lot!!!

See that? Where the lace and the stockinette meet?

That's my personal hell, right there. I can't believe it. I don't know what to do. Especially since I'm convinced that I had another skein of the original dye lot, and I can't find it anywhere. My mind is playing cruel tricks on me, I tell you.
Now, there is a possibility that the average non-knitter will never be able to see the difference. I'm also *really* hoping that once I thread a ribbon through the eyelet row, you won't be able to see the difference. There is also a possibility that the yarn ages and changes colour-- the stash yarn was at least six months old. Also, I'm hoping that blocking might cause it to mellow, and hopefully decide to be more like it's friend, lace edging. I'm going to persevere, and if worse comes to worst, only wear the skirt at night. In dark, candle-lit restaurants. Which doesn't sound that bad, now that I think about it.

On to happier subjects... I cast on for Thermal on Saturday (see 2 posts below for a photo of me knitting the first rows alfresco), and I'm almost done the first band of ribbing. It's still tiny enough that it fits in my purse, for on-the-go knitting.

I'm using Knit Picks gloss, in 'Dusk', on my new 3mm circulars. I really love this yarn, but I wish it would have been available in more colours (only 8- none of which were a rich forest green, which would have been my first choice). I chose Dusk, a lovely dark, denim-y blue. Now that I'm looking at the photo, i'm falling in love with it all over again. I started to panic a bit about an inch into the waistband, thinking it would be too small, but I bound off the stitches, tried it on, and was pleasantly surprised by how stretchy it was. So I undid the cast off row and carried on.

Public Knitting

Team Knit spent Saturday afternoon in line at the Royal Ontario Museum, to get free tickets to the opening of the new addition, the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. It's been a fairly contraversial addition to the ROM, but I like it. It's gutsy, it's brave, and I think an addition that mimicked the architecture of the original building would be acrylic pretending to be cashmere. I like a good old-fashioned juxtaposition of eras anyway.

So, while in line for the two hours in the blistering hot sun, we did what Team Knit does- we knitted.

Jen's working away at Lelah there, and I'm on the second or third row of the newly-cast on Thermal. I had to put down the Lacy Skirt from Greetings from the Knit Cafe, because I ran out yarn. I checked my yardage when I first cast on, but I'm apparently waaay short. I've stopped just after the lacy repeat, so since there is no way I'll be able to match the dye lot (old stash yarn), I'll have to get something very close, hold my breath, and hope it fools the naked eye.

I'm using Knit Picks 3mm circulars. I love Knit Picks needles-- like Addis, but way cheaper. Here's a recent shot of my newest babies:

That's 2mm, 2.5mm, and 3mm. I love small needles!