Finito!

Hourglass is finished! Woo Hoo!


Pattern: Hourglass sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Knitpicks Andean Silk in Orange - just a smidge over 11 skeins
Needles: Sz US7 Clover Bamboo Circulars and DPNs
Dates: Early January - April 9 (mostly only knit during "24," until I decided I wanted it done the last week of March and I worked on it when I wasn't watching "24.")
Mods: I omitted on set of bust increases to make it more fitted. I also did fewer decrease rounds in the yoke (more on this later).

Thoughts: I love the yarn. Lovelovelove. The color, the drape, the way it feels. Love. The pattern is equally wonderful. Nice and mindless - sometimes so nice. The sleeves went surprisingly fast, and I love the circular construction.

I accidentally didn't do as many decrease rounds in the yoke. When I tried it on (when I ran out of yarn) it seemed to fit very well. Unfortunately, the resident idiot knitter didn't realize that the needle still being in the sweater affected the fit. Idiot. However, it does stay on my shoulders (barely) and doesn't bother me too terribly much (I do worry a bit about my bra strap hanging out, but I'll get over it).


I was very nervous about sewing down the hem on the neckline (I knit down the hems on the sleeves and the bottom). However, the directions in the pattern are excellent. I didn't run a length of cotton yarn through the purl stitches (to mark the row you are sewing to), as recommended. I did, however, put the live stitches on waste yarn, so that it wouldn't be so fiddly during the sewing down part - this was a lifesaver. It was surprisingly easy to sew down the hem, and I won't be intimidated again!

My final verdict? Go knit yourself one - I plan to have another in my wardrobe sometime soon!

One skein short

My grand plans to finish hourglass this weekend were cut down suddenly on Sunday when I ran out of yarn. I had read many stories of knitters running short of yarn on this pattern, so I can't say I'm completely surprised. I also intended to bring the neckline up more, so I guessed that I may need extra yarn for that.

Anyway, one more skein is on order from knitpicks, but knowing how slowly they ship, I probably won't be finished by the end of the week. This sucks, as it is supposed to be chilly on Thursday and Friday, and this would be the perfect spring sweater for those days. Oh well - there's always the fall!

Apologies for the awful photo - shinyish yarn+indoor lighting=bad pictures. And there is no giant white blob on my sweater - just the flash. And this was the best of all those we took. Argh!

Out, but not down

Thank you for all of your sweet comments about my loss. I'm really OK with it - I totally deserved to lose in the first round, when I spent time adding length to my socks, and read 2 books, packed, clean the house, etc. instead of focusing on the challenge. That said, I have a lovely pair of socks to show for my efforts in that round, and I plan to knit the other patterns "in time" with the other competitors, depending on how crazy my life currently is. And it's about to get crazier, but more on that later.

That said, this is the current state of the round 2 socks:


Yep. I was almost to the toe decreases last night when I decided to try them on. Couldn't get them over my heel. So I ripppped. Hey, if I'm going to knit these, and I'm already out, they're going to fit. I'm going to experiment with adding stitches the next time I try, which will probably be next week.

Why not right away? 'Cause I'm on a mission to finish up some things around here.


First on the list is Hourglass. No longer can I stand to knit only on this during "24" (plus I usually have a ton of schoolwork/grades/paperwork/etc. on Mondays, so I'm always "making up" the time later in the week. Kinda takes the fun out of it.), and I want to wear it before it is 90 degrees outside! I idly cast on for a sleeve this weekend, during some of my "makeup time" and I couldn't put it down! Voila - one sleeve finished! I have big plans to finish up this sweater before the end of the month. I'll cast on for sleeve #2 tomorrow, and I don't expect it to take long. It sure would be nice to have another finished sweater, especially since I kinda signed up for the sweater-a-month KAL, and so far I've only finished one sweater. One behind already.

I also spend some time on the Regia Bamboo sock - got it through the heel flap so it will make nice car knitting this week. The girl has a softball game tomorrow night, so I expect it to see some action, and hopefully it will be done by the end of the month as well.


Oh, and the pirate hat is finally blocking - a FO post to come as soon as it is dry.

Next up on the finishing list will be the grey scarf, some socks, and hubbo's sweater. But I will be starting some spring/summer knits. As soon as Hourglass is done. More on them to come!

Hours to go before I sleep

This is the current state of the hourglass sweater - a few inches away from the armholes. The astute among you will remember that this is my "24" sweater - something to knit (and hopefully finish) during "24" this spring. I thought I was doing well, but I'm afraid that the sleeves will take longer than I anticipate. That said, I am an hour behind on the sweater as I was too tired to work on it last Monday. I'll make up the time sometime this week, but right now I'm trying to finish up a pair of socks before it becomes March!