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Significant headway was made on Caedmon over the weekend. And I even have pictures to prove it! Did my first two steeks and realized that they really aren't things worthy of crippling paranoia as I was once prone to think. I just gave it a look, said "what the hell" with a shrug, and started snipping. So far, I'm generally pleased with the way everything is turning out. My only issues are with the neck opening, which is barely big enough...and all because I didn't want to abstruct the lovely little cables. Sure, I could have waited until the cables had moved out of the way, but I was tired of knitting and wanted to finish the body ASAP! Besides, the sweater is way long enough already.

Anywho, this sweater is a sweater of many firsts: First steek, first baste, first sweater done completely in the round, first gussets, first spit join, although it was a contributing factor in my second hangover. Taught myself a lot of new techniques, many of which I had read about in the past but never bothered myself with putting into practice. And now for the picture show (as always, feel free to click on the picture for a larger version):

Here we have the front of the sweater, as it lay just after I did the bind off at the neck...


...and the back


Here we have a close-up of the neck shaping. You can see what I meant by not wanting to interrupt the cabling


And here is the birth of a collar:

First I basted with some waste yarn and here's a picture of that.


And then the collar all sewn in. Of course the sewing in of the collar made the neck opening a smidge more tighter, but like a good pair of shoes, I'll be damned if I don't figure a way to get in it somehow!!!

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't post a picture of the shoulder seam:

The only bad thing about this shoulder seam is that sans sleeves I've got that Joan Crawford hanger in the coat look. Fortunately the sleeves, once knitted, will pull down the shoulders to match the natural slope of my shapeless non-existent shoulders. But I still would have preferred the look of drop shoulders for the added diminuation.

And now I'm working on the endlessly dull sleeve...19 inches worth of endlessly dull sleeve. Okay, enough Caedmon pictures for now. He'll probably not resurface again on my blog once he's finished and not a moment before then.

Knitting circle is such a wonderful concept and establishment. You have a bunch of knitters sitting around for two hours knitting and chewing the fat. It's a great place to go for one who is having technical issues. It's also a great place for one who has grown tired of talking with the incessant voices in their head. It's also a great place to go to knit outside of the house without worrying about someone asking, "can you knit me something?" However, it's a horrible place to go if you blush at the slightest hint of an off-color suggestion.

Being one to make an entrance, I arrived fashionably late (after all, except for La Traviata the prima donna always makes her entrance after the shmuks have sung their aria and dawdled through their choruses)... but as I was saying, I arrived fashionably late to hear the following sentence: "You know, I think it's Alabama where it's illegal to buy vibrators." Of course, this conversation moved on to discussing how womens underwear of the 1800's were crotchless, and then on to the prostitutes that walked around with carpets so that, when propositioned, they could commence with business immediately. Of course we talked about other things, like how SEPTA, the mass transportation company in Philly has the coglioni to suggest getting rid of a few transit lines (that I use quite often) and then in the same breath mention how they are going to raise the fare. We discussed how New York ain't the same city that it was...post-9/11 and post-Giuliani. Pre-9/11 it was a bustling theatre town where the restaurants were always packed just before a show. Pre-Giuliani it was a city with a bustling red-light district...meanwhile, the Rudy G. moves Mickey Mouse into Times Square and then takes one of those Times Square hookers and moves her into the Gracie Mansion. Ironic? Certainly...but therein lies the hilarity of it all. We also talked about the chocolate symphony, and why the hell someone would need a house with 51 rooms, and we also discussed whether this benefactor who owns the 51 room house has a lover (and believe it or not, I didn't ask that question). Nevertheless, just hearing the sex part of the discourse last night, how could one even think to say that knitting is a grandmother's sport that must be done in the confines of a rocking chair?

But I also learned a new technique of joining yarn with spit. Not quite as dramatic as I had envisioned it to be, but very efficient indeed. In the words of Auntie Mame: "Spitting distance? ... How vivid!"

Woohoo!!!! Less than 30 rounds to go...I think...I hope

click on image for larger view

As you can see, Caedmon is no longer the neglected red-headed bastard stepchild that he was for the past two odd weeks. Will I finish the body this weekend? Hell no! However, by Wednesday is a great possibility...and this is what I have to look forward to...

My first attempt at steeking. Now, there are two possibilities: 1) Attain a place in history next to Imhotep's first pyramid, the prototype for all of Egypt's pyramids...or 2) go down in history like the Hindenburg, Lusitania, Titanic, etc...disatrous wrecks all of them!!! I'll follow Wendy's instructions and hope for the former.

Oh, and lookie at what else I decided to throw in:

No, it's not a spout, it's a gusset! But that would be an interesting idea for a future sweater design: The Strawberry Pot. No, I'm not suggesting strawberry flavored canibus, but the terra cotta pots that strawberries are typically grown in. But back to the current disaster... Now, ask me, why the hell did I do the gusset in Rice Stitch? As if anyone is going to see it...and besides, with the increases, you can't even see the definition of the stitch anyway. Hmph.

Just all over the place today

It's amazing the wierd places that one can find inspiration. Last night I was watching Bones, being a sap for the occasional horror movie that I am. Anywho, Pam Grier's character--Pearl the psychic--was wearing an interesting poncho in a very blah neutral color. And then a lightbulb went off. I could do that! But could I do better? Well, I'm starting to run out of knittable Celtic knots... All Celtic knots are inherently knittable since they're nothing more than lattice cabling with a few twists, turns, beginnings, and endings. But it's the charting that gets to become a bitch! And besides, Mercury is getting ready to go retrograde, so I'm not exactly in any position to create any decent designs. (After Mercury goes retrograde I'll probably complain about how we're getting 4 retrogrades this year instead of the usual three)

So no major designing from Saturday until May 20th. Good! At least I can finish the Caedmon! So far, I've finished the gussets, started the armhole steeks and I'm already thinking about what I'm going to do for the neck shaping. Steeks of course. I'm just too damn lazy to actually go from circular knitting to flat back and forth knitting. So, I steek...I showered...but I still seem to steek.

Speaking of steeking...er..uh...stinking (talk about a perfect segue) one of the great things about having a counter is that you get to see where people who visit your site came from. A few from the earthaknit home page, a few from other bloggers' sites, some googles and...a few yahoos. Now, it's the yahoos that I'm talking about...specifically one search in particular. The keywords? Curve cologne slut. I understand that yahoo is notorious for tracking one's internet activities, but what I'd like to know is how they were able to put IP address 123.45.6789 and the EarthaKnittery together with the Curve cologne slut? Yes, curve is my favorite brand (which I usually buy at either Bloomies or Strawbridges). And me being a slut...well, some things are just generally accepted as fact. But...*harrumph*...is big brother watching me? And if he is, I really should stop knitting nekid. (now, erase that picture from your mental canvas *bzzt*)

And last but not least...

Dark Mint-Complementary, my dear Watson!


*Which Flavor Camel Exotic Blends are You?*
brought to you by Quizilla

I'm sure you've all had those incidents when your designs, once knitted, don't exactly match the concept. Well, over the weekend, I had one such incident. You find a yarn that you love, you find a motif that you just adore, you decide to mix the two in what would, under ideal circumstances, be a great marriage of physical and aesthetic texture. And then you end up with blah! I thought that I compensated well for the large gauge of the yarn by using US4 needles instead of the recommended US8. But this is what I was left with:

and...

So, what I ended up with was something that was too big and too small, with unsightly little holes on the top, and a color combination that I'm not too sure that I'd be willing to try again. The main issue that I have with the hat is that, because it is so 'small' it bubbles out when I put it on my head. Then there's the issue of the square, instead of round, top. Am I complaining too much? Hell No! Will I wear this hat in public? Double Hell No! Will I reknit this hat with a different yarn? Keep up to speed with me...I've already finished 20% of it. Will I invest in a good book on color theory? Damn skippy!! Do I think anyone will be willing to actually buy this pattern once it's finalized? *shrug* But feel free to drop me an email, and you'll be among the first to know when the pattern is complete and where you can purchase it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Well, our mascot, the ever hardworking Princess Pandora has finally hit the big 2 today. Yes, on April 19, 2001 this little thing was born. Who knew that she'd be computer literate and sending emails and preparing HTML layouts and Access databases before her 2nd birthday?

Pandora, take a bow and thank all the lovely people for the pleasant birthday wishes.

But pay attention, back to the knitting.....

Of course you all have probably gather that I have a slight addiction to Aran knitting. Last night I was watching So Graham Norton on BBC America (right after Ab Fab) and he decided to show some knitting magazines that the first James Bond had posed in. One of the magazines that he showed was called The Aran Look. Smack dab in the middle of that magazine was an example of the aran look being taken too far. Now we all adore the Aran look for, in Graham's words "the cable here, and the wooden button there". But then he flipped to a page with a lady dressed head to bloody toe in Aran wear. An Aran hood, jacket, sweater, leggings, and boots. Sadly, I googled and found nothing...but believe you me...it was HORRID! Princess Pandora definitely wouldn't like it. But, speaking of the Aran look being taken too far, I made a fish swatch last night that I'm really liking. After I block it and set it up with a few other swatches I'm going to post it on the EarthaKnit Gallery of Knots. This swatch is going to be a hat, haven't decided what type of hat, but I'm going to drop a line to Threadbear to see what they've got in stock that I'd love. Keep your eyes peeled for this design...I just might sell it! LoL

So, what's on my agenda for the day? Well, I'm going to take Pandora out to celebrate her birthday with a nice piddle against a tree. Oddly enough, despite being a female she often lifts her leg when she does her business...I know, TMI! And then I'm going to take her to Petco just too look around (daddy spent too much money on yarn last week...she understands) And then I'm finally going to sit down and knit the green thing, AKA Caedmon. Will I finished at least 1 whole row today? I don't know...but keep your fingers crossed for me. Oh, and yes, that is a piece of Manos tied around Pandora's hair.