WooHoo! I finally finished the body on the yoke sweater and attached the sleeves today. But first I decided to go ahead and put in the phoney seam.
It's a little bit scary laddering down an entire stitch straight to the bottom...
But kind of fun too. And hooking the stitch back up was super easy. Kind of makes you feel like a knitting super hero when you try something new and scary and it works perfectly. The look is decidedly subtle.
Non-knitters might not even see that there is a difference in that center stitch. But EZ is right, it does create a super fold line so the sweater lays nice and flat. I decided to go ahead and weave the underarm seams right away since the stitch holders were really annoying and getting in the way. I tried to get pictures, but it's just too dreary to get decent closeups today. But I must say, watching Elizabeth demonstrate weaving on the Knitting Workshop was like a light dawning on me for kitchener stitch. In the past I've always kitchenered with the Knitter's Companion open beside me, following step by step with each stitch. It's very time consuming and requires loads of concentration for me to feel I'm doing it right. Well, Elizabeth takes her knitting off the needles and literally weaves the stitches, in one stitch, out the next, move to top row, in one stitch, out the next, bottom row into 2nd stitch out 3rd, top row, into 2nd stitch out 3rd, bottom row into 3rd stitch out 4th, and so on. It's so simple. I can't believe I've been struggling with this forever and it's easy as pie. Now, I only took two stitches off the needle at a time, I'm not that brave, but I completed both underarm seams in about the time it would normally take me to do one toe on a sock. Amazing. My life is changed. Now it's time for me to seriously figure out what pattern goes on the yoke. I have to knit a few more plain rounds and then it's showtime. Hopefully I'll have something to report on this front next post.
Meanwhile, the library auction was a hoot. My soap basket was a hit. Went for $45! Hope the lucky bidder likes them as much as I do. My sister was totally embarrassing me, raving about my soaps to everyone. Born salesperson that one is. We got into the bidding for the spinning wheel. It was us against another lady. Ultimately it went more than our budget, but it was fun none the less. It was a beauty though. I'm excited to go to work tomorrow and let Elaine know her boyfriend's handwork was a hit.
My obsession with GBS continues. The Courage & Patience & Grit dvd/cd combo arrived this week and was promptly loaded to my MP3 player where it has played nearly continuously. I was hoping to get Chuck on board with the whole celtic/folk/pop music thing, but he says it sounds like hillbilly music to him. So thank goodness for headphones.
I was rather surprised to realize it's been over a month since I posted. The nature of my job in a tax accounting office means the first 4 months of the year are extremely busy and go by in a blur. Most days I work, come home, knit, make dinner, knit, sleep. Repeat. Not much blog material there. But I do have a few things to mention.
Next weekend is the library auction. The boyfriend of one of my co-workers donated a spinning wheel he made. I don't know how to spin, yet, but am sorely tempted to go after the wheel. I haven't been up to the library to check it out yet, but the pictures look gorgeous. Here is my contribution for this year:
Being so completely wrapped up in knitting the EZ yoke sweater, I didn't have the spirit to knit something big to donate. So I opted for a gift basket of my handmade soap and a handknit wash cloth. The washcloth was knit with Lion Organic Cotton in Cypress (I finally found it at Knitting Warehouse). I totally love this yarn. It's super soft for a cotton and the colors are very natural and earthy. It's a little pricey at $5.50 a skein and one skein only made a washcloth with not a whole lot leftover. Not enough to do anything with for sure.
Speaking of the yoke sweater...I'm nearly to the underarms. Another few inches and I can join the sleeves and start the yoke. 
As you can see, the sleeves are now both the same size, the right size I might add. I didn't knit the hem in on the body. I figure the likelihood I'd get it straight was pretty slim so opted to sew it up when I'm finished. I have yet to make a decision on the yoke pattern. I messed around one night, picking patterns and coloring them in on graph paper, but nothing jumped out at me as THE pattern.
I do have one FO to show. Finally finished the Kats paws mitts from January. (I told you I'm enamored of the yoke sweater, I'm being pretty monogamous). But here they are.
Of course, it's now too warm to wear them. But they'll be nice for next year. I think I like the Fetching mitts better, mostly because the yarn is softer. But I like this pattern because it goes further up the wrist into your sleeve.
I've been awfully obsessive lately. I've been listening to Great Big Sea over and over and over and over. Thank goodness for headphones or Chuck would likely have me committed. I'm also totally obsessed with Blood Ties, the new vampire/detective show on Lifetime channel. The show is based on Tanya Huff's Blood Book series (which I ordered the day after I watched the first show). See...
You can check out her blog here and see what she thinks of the show. Apparently only the pilot was taken right from the books. I'm about half way through the first book and can say the show did stick pretty close to it. Except for Henry's appearance. In the book he's short and redheaded. In the show, he's average height and brunette. The books are pretty good so far. A little heavy on the use of cliches. Otherwise, quite enjoyable vampire fiction.
It's a little bit scary laddering down an entire stitch straight to the bottom...
But kind of fun too. And hooking the stitch back up was super easy. Kind of makes you feel like a knitting super hero when you try something new and scary and it works perfectly. The look is decidedly subtle.
Non-knitters might not even see that there is a difference in that center stitch. But EZ is right, it does create a super fold line so the sweater lays nice and flat. I decided to go ahead and weave the underarm seams right away since the stitch holders were really annoying and getting in the way. I tried to get pictures, but it's just too dreary to get decent closeups today. But I must say, watching Elizabeth demonstrate weaving on the Knitting Workshop was like a light dawning on me for kitchener stitch. In the past I've always kitchenered with the Knitter's Companion open beside me, following step by step with each stitch. It's very time consuming and requires loads of concentration for me to feel I'm doing it right. Well, Elizabeth takes her knitting off the needles and literally weaves the stitches, in one stitch, out the next, move to top row, in one stitch, out the next, bottom row into 2nd stitch out 3rd, top row, into 2nd stitch out 3rd, bottom row into 3rd stitch out 4th, and so on. It's so simple. I can't believe I've been struggling with this forever and it's easy as pie. Now, I only took two stitches off the needle at a time, I'm not that brave, but I completed both underarm seams in about the time it would normally take me to do one toe on a sock. Amazing. My life is changed. Now it's time for me to seriously figure out what pattern goes on the yoke. I have to knit a few more plain rounds and then it's showtime. Hopefully I'll have something to report on this front next post.
