Okay, so I still haven't put new batteries in the digital camera. Procrastination. Right after my last post, a parcel arrived in the mail from the UK, containing two garments' worth of Colinette yarn! Very exciting! I've wound all of the Lasso into balls and dove into a new project, the "Athena" camisole. Apparently, there are buttons in the back, but they never show you the back of the sweater in the pattern book or specify the size buttons needed. An unusual oversight. Working with the yarn has given me insight on the "morish" description, but it does not inspire me to make more garments with Lasso. It's not terrible, but my hands don't love pushing all those stitches around my old circs. Also, impossible on bamboo needles because it's snaggy. That said, I think I will really like the finished garment.
I'm going on a yarn diet. I have an obscene amount of yarn. Sure, every knitter thinks that about her own stash, but I really don't need any more. Also, I'm trying to funnel the discretionary fund in a new direction: a trip to Canada. The proprietor of a trendy Chicago LYS (like that narrows it down) told me that my favorite band is going to be playing Chicago in the fall. I went to their website and saw that they're playing a show in Montreal in September. I've wanted to go to Montreal for a long time. I used to think that it would be a good warm up for Paris, what with my self-consciousness about my Francophony. Well, I've been to Paris twice now and never to Quebec. So, I did some research online and found a way to do it on the cheap. That's how I travel. So Lewis and I are going to Montreal in September. All of the arrangements are made (again, the internet and Skype) and now all we have to do is go. That part of the trip, oddly, scares me. I don't know why. It'll be nice to go on a trip with Lewis, since our roadtrip to New York fell through last year. I can't even remember why. We're going to travel like a couple of crazy college students: a bus to a bus to a train, then back again. Not that I love spending hours on end on buses, but the going rate to fly to Montreal from my fair city is more than I've ever paid to fly to Europe. I'll bring some knitting and take another crack at Swann's Way.
In other news, I have a faint tan. Well, it seems dramatic to me since I'm naturally pale. I had lunch with Dawn on Tuesday, not thinking about the sun and proximity to noon as we overlooked the river. I got a little sunburn. I have more freckles now. My skin seems to belong to a redhead, the way that it wants to freckle. Maybe it'll die down in a week or two. At least I won't have to waste my time with that ridiculous self-tanner for a while.
The tomato top down cardigan is almost finished. I even found an excellent horn button to compliment its granola side. Well, I shouldn't say almost. I still have to knit the collar, which seems like it could be an undertaking. It's got clever short-row shaping, but I know that I'll need to sit down and really read the pattern before proceeding. When I'll have time to do that is unclear. But I'd like to have it finished soon, so I can get cracking on a bunch of other projects.

New Threads

Yay! The dress that I ordered from Urban Outfitters arrived today! It cost $20 and was a pig in a poke, since I couldn't try it on first. Here's a picture of it on a skinny, sad looking model. It doesn't look like that on me! For starters, I have an *ample* bosom, so I fill that thing out! I may have to consider a discreet safety pin in the neckline to make it work friendly. And it's less drapey on me. What you can't tell from their pic is that the dress is made of natural fiber (!), so it's perfect for warm weather. And it will look great with my A/C cardigan, the same color as same of the stripes. That is, when I make said sweater. I'd have a pic of me posing in the dress, except the batteries in my camera died and I still haven't figured out how to get pictures from my phone to my computer. And I'm an A/V professsional! Shameless.
Things are really moving along on A/C cardigan #1, the Blue Sky Cotton sweater. That stuff sheds like crazy, and I've found a few more knots than I'd care to in the skeins. Still, I love it. It will probably be perfect after a visit from the sweater stone. The pattern, by the ever fabulous Wendy at Knit and Tonic has very clever waist shaping. It's knit from the top down, which seems to be her fave construction, so there are well hidden increases in the ribbing at the waist. She seems to be a very clever lady, a word that can seem as demeaning as crafty when used by the wrong person.
What else have I been up to lately? Well, I spoke French at work today, which felt very exciting and cosmopolitan. One of the people I called was Belgian and answered the phone in French. I followed suit long enough to ask for the person I wanted and inquier whether or not he spoke English. He seemed surprised. He also spoke English, thank god, since I'm not sure my French is up to a description of ten ballets! I should practice more. I say that as I am IMing a friend who lives in the French countryside and speaks little English. Asked and answered.
Thanks to Skype, I had a satisfying gossip session with my cousin Stephen. He's always good for that sort of thing. He metes out a fair balance of kind and unkind things about people we know and those we don't. Skype is pretty darn cool. I know I've said that before, but it's true.
I got an email from my Colinette dealers (because let's face it, it's an addictive fiber) saying that the long awaited Giotto will be on its way soon. They're even going to ship the things I added to my order for free. It shouldn't be the case, but I find that sort of customer service refreshing.
This week, I get to rock my glasses all the time because I was exposed to conjunctivitis. Or l'oeil rose, to make it more poetic. The son of one of my friends, whom I just saw over the weekend, just came down with pinkeye. It's highly contagious, so she called to warn me. Very considerate, no? I'm a bit of a hypochondriac, so you can imagine the effect of this warning. It's so hard to tell this time of year, with all the pollen in the air and my neighbor's nightly bonfires of things that shouldn't be burned (trash, chemically treated lumber, a surprising quantity of leaves). So, I'm on the alert for unusual amounts of redness in my general eye area, and suffering sartorially with the specs. No, they're not so bad, but I'm used to wearing my contacts. Also, the combination of the glasses and non-ergonomic phone at work for hours on end can be a bit much. Oh, and that's an old pic, so don't squint at it for a long time trying to discern signs of redness and fatigue. That's just the ordinary amount of fatigue there. It's also Lewis's CDR. I wore mine today and think that it needs the weight of the hood in the back to keep it from being too low cut in the front. And it's too warm for a wool sweater.
I've also starting reading a couple of blogs with high addiction potential. Pink is the New Blog (sorry, too lazy to link, besides, do you really think they'd swap link with me?) is lots of scurrilous gossip, but like you'd hear from some fantastic queen working the coat check at Studio 54 back in the day. Not in 70s lingo. Fabulous! Also, this laugh out loud site, You Knit What?!. Because even knitters are horrified by some of the knitwear out there.

Either the people choosing the in-store music at Borders are really hip, or my taste has become mundane. I was recently at the ubiquitous bookstore when I realized that I own every CD that they'd played while I was there. Neko Case, Jenny Lewis, the Decemberists, and KT Tunstall were all played during my visit. I know, it's not like they broke out the vinyl, but it was a little disheartening. Any illusions of hipness were shattered.
Today was the first summery day in Chicago. Due to the holiday weekend, the throngs on Michigan Avenue were especially large and slow-moving. Not really a haunt of mine, but I spent the afternoon shopping with one of my coworkers. We visited a former colleague who just got into an elite medical school, shopped for sunglasses, went to the MAC store and the Apple store, and had dinner. It was a full day.
The three sweaters in three weeks miracle is not to be. Fuzzy, fuzzy yarn is not what I want to knit at the moment. This is probably due to the weather. It's hard to get really excited about a mohair-like cardigan (though French and styled quite chic) in 80 degree weather. I started a new sweater. It's my How to Avoid the Summer Cold cardigan, made out of the fabulous non-crippling weight Blue Sky Cotton. For when it's too warm out for a sweater and too cold in the office to go without. I understand why other bloggers have declared their love for this yarn. It has a great hand. The fabric is a little denser than I had expected, which has everything to do with gauge, I know. It's an interesting pattern. The raglan "seams" are lacy affairs, worked with yarn over increases instead of knitting into the front and back of the stitches. Very cool.
In other knitting news, I called my Colinette source in the UK, thanks to the magic of Skype. It seemed as though it had been a while since I'd ordered those seven skeins of Giotto to make a jacket (see, addictive fiber!), so I checked my PayPal receipt. This was not a case of short attention-span. I also pondered my many difficulties with mail delivery. So I rang them up and they were very polite and apologetic. The color that I ordered is on back order and they neglected to send me an email. The man who answered the phone (a man in a yarn shop!) had such a charming accent that I was totally mollified. They'll let me know if there are any changes. I've a few other things I can work on in the meantime.
My local yarn shop (well, one of them) had a huge sale a month or so ago, during which they gave out gift certificates for obscene spending. The phrased that differently. They expire on Thursday, so I went over there on Friday to see what I could find. Not much. That's not say that they haven't interesting stock. They just want more for it than I want it. I don't pay retail for Colinette or Debbie Bliss. Life is too short. True to form, I cruised the sales bins and found two luscious skeins of Manos yarn, in a deep burgundy color, 50% off. Fantastic. They're going to be a scarf for a beloved family member. It has been observed that said person already has a scarf, but has that ever stopped a knitter? I plan to ply it with mohair in a complementary color so that it will look fabulous and expensive. That is, when I find the perfect mohair. I'm a bit wary of trying to find something online, since my tomato colored yarn turned out to be much closer to the dreaded burnt orange. I'm not knitting a 1970s dream kitchen! Still, it's not so bad. The mohair has to go with something, which is much harder to do. Guess I'll have to clip a tiny piece off to stick in my wallet, to be carried around to many yarn stores. Or I could just guess at one on the Purl Soho website, sending an email: "Do these yarns look good together? Keep in mind, the scarf is for a man". That might give them a laugh or two.

Progress

The Classy Drug Rug 2 is finished, and it's not druggy at all. Even though I had 100 yards more than the pattern calls for, I still didn't have enough to do the hood. I had enough to make about half of the hood. Since the yarn is handdyed stuff, I didn't feel like shelling out $18 to finish the hood. Besides, it looks fine without one.
My hair looks really flippy in that picture. It's supposed to curl the other direction, but I find the flip a little fun. Not too Carol Brady, thank god! I'd also like to point out that this sweater looks fine on a lady. Best pal Lewis declared that I should give the next CDR to him, as it would never look good on a woman. I laughed, since it's a ladies' sweater patttern. He wears a lady sweater when he gets up in the morning and has his coffee. I plan to wear mine similarly, though I wore it to dinner at my grandparents' tonight. It will be nice to slip into in the morning, when I want to check my email, read the mail, etc.
I've had two new sweaters in two weeks. I'm not sure that I can keep up this pace. Well, maybe. I've picked up a new portable project: one of my UFOs instead of casting on something new. I'm working on the last piece of my Phildar wrap cardigan, the shawl collar. I really hope that I have enough yarn to finish, since I think that the yarn has been discontinued by Phildar. I can always sew it up with something else (like that pale blue coned mercerized cotton. so much easier to sew with than fuzzy yarn!), but I can't very well knit it in another yarn. I suspect that this is the reason that it became a UFO. It will be really beautiful when it's done, but it may take more than a week.
Did you know that there is an antismoking sidewalk evangelist in Chicago? He works the sidewalk in front of Old Navy on State Street, with a little PA system and some handbills. I encountered him on Saturday, while trying to talk on my cell phone. He was just too much of a distraction. "You can't get into heaven smoking that evil weed" he declared confidently. I looked around for someone with a joint, thinking that pretty nervy considering the police presence and sheer number of people on State Street. Nope, he was referring to tobacco. I don't know how the Old Navy people tolerate him berating people in front of their store. There aren't a lot of people who will stand up for smokers, but a lot of people are turned off by crazy evangelists. Especially ones with PAs.

Top Down Goes Bottoms Up

I finished the sleeves on my top down raglan sweater. I had that finishing high, the end felt so near. Then I tried it on. It was poochy around the armhole. It added an element of sag where I don't need any help with that. If only I had tried it on earlier! I have a blog-crush on the designer of this garment, so I refuse to have any ill will towards her. It was probably a case of bad math when she scaled the pattern. Well, misleading math, because sizing doesn't follow a neat geometric line. So, I went to her website and checked for errata. Sure enough, the updates to the pattern included a much shorter raglan seam. Damn. Since I adore this project and its pricey Debbie Bliss yarn, I had a think on it and found a way to salvage this thing, short of tearing it all out. What I will do is run a lifeline into the row below the bottom of that deep v neckline, then tear back to it. Obviously, wine will be involved, as half of the sweater will be gone afterward. Then I will pick up the stitches at the lifeline and knit it from the bottom up. I am not thrilled about this, but other solutions do not spring to mind.
I've been having a hard time of it lately, and this knitting setback only seems to symbolic of it all. It's really frustrating.

I have finally finished my Colinette sweater! The long awaited last ball of yarn arrived this week and I put in that final push to get it done while the weather is still cool enough to wear it. This morning, I bound off the neck and put it on for the first time. I love it. The sweater is cozy, with its turtleneck and long, long sleeves, and a flattering color. It suits my personality. My mother laughed when I told her that, but I caught her petting the sweater on my back a few times during the day. She's making a shawl out of Giotto now, so its hand shouldn't be a revelation to her, but a lacy shawl and a ramble-around-the-house pullover can show off a yarn very differently. I think I'll wear it tomorrow too, unless the weather improves.
Colinette yarn is addictive. I have another project out of Giotto in the pipeline, a ribbed cardigan in a lovely purple and blue colorway called Florentine. There's a brioche stitch shell in the new Interweave Knits made out of their Wigwam yarn (which resembles a shoelace) that really caught my eye. That is, until I realized how much it would cost to make. None of my handy British sources carry Wigwam, so I would end up paying $22 a skein. No. Maybe I can find a good substitute, though I can't recall seeing any other yarns with that unique construction. There's also a beguiling tank top in the Colinette Muse book, out of their new Lasso yarn. It's described as having a "morish" quality, a very British phrase that means absolutely nothing to me.
Besides, I'm not exactly hurting for ideas. I've got a few things tucked away in my stash. My other London sweater, with the embellished raglan seams; a cotton wrap cardigan à la DVF from Paris; a mohair cardigan also from France; some Phildar projects; and a few UFOs that wouldn't require massive efforts to complete. I've just got to sit down and sort it all out. I've decided not to start a new project until the current major projects are done. I can check the Colinette pullover off the list now, but the Classy Drug Rug 2 is still in progress. The fabulous cowl sweater is getting more attention now because it feels so close to done. I'm nearly done with the first sleeve, which went pretty fast. The ribbing around the cowl neckline will probably take longer, but at least it will be on circular needles and not on dpns.
I left my knitting at home in my rush to get off to work on Saturday morning and read my book instead. There was more train ride than text, though, and I could only pretend to read for so long. There was a woman on the train who strongly resembled Jerri Blank from Strangers With Candy. Funny and unfortunate. She was wearing black acid washed jeans. How long has it been since the acid wash was popular? Ten or fifteen years? Yikes. There was also a man, dressed in painter's whites, who seemed to want to strike up a conversation. He seemed like he'd be needy and hard to shake, so I answered his questions in a short, icy tone without raising my eyes from my book. I don't want to be a bitch, but I'm tired of getting stuck in conversations on the train. He moved on to the woman sitting across the aisle and received a similar reception there. I'm glad that I rebuffed him, since I later saw that he got off at my stop. It would have been very difficult to extricate myself.
The Mother's Day present went over well. They're beautiful needles and she admired them greatly. I don't think that she'll actually knit with them, which is a shame. She still uses the needles on which she learned to knit when she needs elevens, but I think that she'd love the glass needles once she tried them. Maybe she'll hang them on the wall, but at least she likes them. My grandmother was greatly pleased with the terry slippers that we gave her as a part of a Burt's Bees kit. She needed a new pair of slippers, she informed us, and even put them on while we were there. Seems like a successful present.