Finishing Touches

Whoa.

I know it's been a long time since my last post, but it's because I have been busy turning this

into this:
Yes, the sweater is done, nothing left but the buttonbands. Which I have never done before. Of course, this sweater has led me to do lots of things I have never done before: knit a cardigan, attach sleeves in a very complicated manner, short rows, and, of course, this:

I think this is the project that has promoted me to the ranks of the intermediate knitters.

And can I just say one more thing about the cables? There were literally hundreds of them. At one point for several rows in the middle of the chart, there were well over 500 stitches on my needles, and constant cabling all the way across. (Tip: Color-coding is a must. And use stitch markers.)

I still need buttons. And I have some concerns about the wonky neckline right now, but I hope it will work itself out in the blocking.

Stay tuned!

Oh, and a Happy Belated Valentine's Day to all.

Taking Shape

Thank you so much for all the kind words on my last post. I read all the comments through tears! It's been a strange week with Annie gone, but I think all of us are starting to adjust. If you are reading this, please take a moment and send out some good vibes for Annie.

ETA: Paul told me this had been updated, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to look at it, but I did. It made me sad, but I am posting it here in hopes that someone local is interested--Annie's Adoption Page.

Ok, now onto long-absent knitting content.

Tangled Yoke is finally looking like an actual sweater! I attached the sleeves last night, after finally figuring out what the pattern was trying to tell me. It was none too clear, and took some time to get it together. And then, with 388 stitches, my KnitPicks cable broke.

The end join came right off the cable, leaving many stitches just dangling. I got those picked up, switched cables (because when I ordered the 40" cable, I forgot they came two to a package, and ordered two packages. Which turns out to be a good thing), and then the second cable did the same thing!

I then put the whole thing on waste yarn, switched cables again, testing them by making Paul pull on both ends as hard as he could, transferred the stitches back on to the new cable, then went on my merry way.

Next up: the cables. Is it crazy that I am attempting this with Fetching my only other previous cable experience?

Most Horrible Weekend Ever

We have had our dog Annie for five and a half years. Last Monday, she viciously attacked little Elly, and the attacks went on all week until Wednesday when we finally decided to board her so that we could all get a little rest.

Elly is ok; there were no injuries.

The biggest problem for us was that two years ago there was a vicious attack and Elly ended up with a gash on the top of her head that went all the way down to her skull and required an overnight stay in the animal hospital and five stitches.

Annie is a sweet, good-natured, beautiful, highly intelligent dog who is loyal, active, aboundingly healthy, great with people, cats, and kids. But it has become increasingly obvious that she and Elly cannot continue to live together. I hear this is a common issue when female dogs of the same age are housemates--but that hasn't made it any easier.

When we adopted Annie in 2002 at the age of two, we went through the Pet Adoption League, which specializes in the adoption of adult animals. They also have a policy that if, for whatever reason, things don't work out, they will take an animal back.

This morning, after owning Annie since October, 2002, we took her back. It has been a weekend of tears, keeping the dogs completely separated, changed plans, and more tears.

Paul requested a photo of him with the camera-shy Annie, and I wanted to post it here, with the request that is any of my local readers are in the market for an amazing dog to join their family, they check out Annie.

after math

i am home from my ltttle surgery thing and i cannot type ery well, so forgive thr typos.. the doctor says this thing was actully in two of my tendons and so required quite a bit of digging around to eradicate. the doctor said he thinkns he loosedn the "shelf" (whatever that is) that runs across the wrist that my tendons were rubbing gainst to cause my cyst, so he is confident it will not return.

i finished my mittne s but now cannot wear them for 12 days due to hti s ginourmous bandae and brace thihgn on m my right hand. it hurts already but i have visodin.

i wish i could start my secon tangled yoke sleeve but it may be a few days before knitting can resumme. i thikn i can kjit with the bandage but i will have to wait for the pain to sbside.

and i have two stitches in my hand! i have neer ever had stitches before so that is kind of cool.

thanks for all the well-wishes. it's not really that bad except i shudder to thik ow dirty my hand will be after being wrapped and not able to get wet fori twleve days!

no posts wihtuht pictures:

my friend dustn, me, my friend kirsten, and my dad finding something hilarious in front of the cathedrap on my wedding day.

Knit Nite

My knitting group meets the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at the Brookside Library. I missed several weeks and so it had been a while since I attended, but I did drag myself out last night in freezing cold temperatures to join the ladies for some knitting and project-sharing.

I had really missed it! Just about everyone is local--like neighborhood local--and so we get a chance to talk about neighborhood issues too, like ice storm debris removal and the demolition of the Camelot (it's now completely gone).

I had my camera with me last night, so I took some shots. So here you are--the ladies of Brookside Library's Knit Nite:

Ann and Eva.

My original sock mentor, Sue.

Cindy and Kathy (whose current post just happens to be about the Camelot!)

The boys of eatsts, Eric and Tony.

The always-inspiring Marianne.

And a silly picture of Eric I just couldn't resist.

In more knitting news, I finished one Bird in Hand mitten and the second is firmly under way. Love this pattern.

And the results are amazing.

The titlular Bird in Hand.

Long Time, No Post

My sister keeps nagging me to post to my blog, but to be honest, I haven't had anything exciting to post about, knitting-wise.

Although, speaking of my sister, I did finish one Endpaper Mitt before Christmas. These were originallyintended to be a gift for her, but I ran out of time and wouldn't have been able to finish the second one. So I decided to keep them for myself.

Love this pattern, but I have yet to cast on for the second. The color is more true here:

There is also sleeve-knitting, and you know just how exciting that can be. Except it's not. It's just lots of garter rib. Although I am about to transition into the plain stockinette section, so it's just bound to get more interesting...

As for future projects, I am just dying to cast on for Kate Gilbert's Bird In The Hand Mittens. They are so gorgeous. I have a little anxiety when thinking about future projects because on the 30th, I am having just minor surgery on my right hand to remove this cyst that has formed there. I really think it is a result of knitting! It's not painful or anything, but it was becoming somewhat unsightly, so the hand doctor stuck a needle in it and drained it (yeah, gross) then told me I needed surgery to make sure it doesn't come back.

In one of those a-little-knowledge-can-be-a-dangerous-thing situations, I started to browsing the internet in search or more info about this procedure and found the consensus is that it can be 10 days to 2 weeks before you can resume normal activity. Which is bound to have a big effect on my productivity. So I am trying to get as much done as I can before the 30th.

Let's see, what else? I had a birthday last week. I got some cool knitting magazines, some clothes, a digital picture frame, and a gift certificate to Stitches from Paul, who knows I prefer Loops, but Stitches is just down the street from where he works, and I just like yarn, so it all works out in the end!

On Friday night, Paul and I went to some friends' house to see another friend, Sarah who now lives in Philadelphia, but was back in Tulsa for a visit. Sarah and her friend exchanged Christmas gifts, and it was so cool because they each knitted something for the other. Here's Sarah modeling her new fingerless mitts:

Later, we went to this art gallery thing and I was walking around trying to get through the crowd when a girl stopped me and said she knew me from my blog. I guess she recognized me from the phot of Paul and me that I posted for Christmas. It was really funny and kind of strange. Hey there, KnottyLady (Ravelry link)!

In other news, Elly needs a haircut.

Have a good week!