The bobble cardigan is done, and I could not be any more pleased with how it came out!
I really think this is probably my best finished object to date. All the details look just perfect to me. The measurements came out exactly to the size I knitted, so hopefully that means it will fit my mom OK. I don't think I want to risk leaving this to the whimsy of the US Postal Service, so I will bring it home personally probably no later than Februrary.
Project Notes: Bobble Cardigan, from Vogue Knitting Winter 2004-2005. Knit in Louet Gems Opal merino yarn, color "Cream."

I don't have single complaint regarding the pattern or the yarn. Despite Vogue's reputation for errata prone patterns, I found no problems with this one. It was easy to follow and a great deal of fun to do all the different motifs. It really kept the project interesting. The yarn is likewise delightful: soft, lofty, high quality and a very reasonable price. The only minor problem I had was a very slight bias to the knitted fabric (which doesn't appear to affect the final project), and I'm not sure if this bias was due to the yarn or my own knitting technique.
I decided to throw this one into the Finished Objects for 2006, even though I didn't finish the last seam until New Year's Day. I figure 99.9% of it was done in 2006 :) Next post will have a quick (and belated) "year in review"!

Zippa-di-do-dah, the bobble cardigan is blocked!
Now, hours of crochet "fun" awaits:
This edging is getting rather tedious! To add some excitement, I am pushing to finish before we ring in 2007. Can I get one more FO in this year? Oh, the suspense!

Oh yeah, and it's really really cold here right now:Off to enjoy the three-day weekend!

Just so you know that I do still knit, here is a photo of an almost-finished sleeve (which I actually finished shortly thereafter):
And a close-up of the groovy honeycomb pattern at the cuffs:Just cast on for the second sleeve. This sweater is rapidly coming to a finish...well, it will until I get to all the crocheted edgings, anyway. I have a feeling things will abruptly slow down at that point.

Otherwise I spent part of today busting my butt to clean the apartment...but only got about two-thirds done. I tend to get distracted looking at things (photo albums, pattern books, magazines, etc.) which makes it hard to finish. I also went to the store to pick up supplies for making Christmas cookies and happened to get the last jar of maraschino cherries in town. Phew, crisis averted!

Not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. At least I am taking Friday off AND I get to skip the cheesy department holiday party this Wednesday due to a well-timed vet appointment, heh heh. So not all is bad!

Anyone up for some ramen noodles?Oh no! That's not ramen! That's my frogged cardigan front!LOL! Sorry, just thought this looked really funny! As I said in my last post, I need to re-knit it because the gauge was clearly much tighter than it was supposed to be. Luckily I can whip these out pretty quickly; I've only got about an hour or so of work left on the other (second ) one.

I'll be back after the weekend, hope you all have a good one!

RIP Robert Altman. I have yet to see a number his movies, but I LOVE "McCabe & Mrs. Miller", "Gosford Park", and the television series "Tanner 88" (which is so completely hilarious and also intersting). Chaos, humor, grit, beauty...

Speaking of movies, I forgot to mention that I saw the movie "Graveyard Shift" (based on a Stephen King story) back at Halloween. And while it was a truly atrocious movie (especially the extremely poor attempts at a Maine accent) it was cool in that they filmed it at the Bartlett Yarns mill, which I wrote about back in August. They made it look totally creepy by building a fake graveyard next to it. The best part is that they have some good shots of the mule-spinner in action, so check it out if you want to see how it works. Just be sure to ignore...or laugh...at the rest of the movie!

I finished the first vine on the bobble cardigan.Desi Knitter wisely suggested to try k3tog and pass the remaining 2 sts over to finish the bobble, rather than doing k5tog. Since I already started doing it as k5tog (and since my crochet hook crutch is working rather well), I decided to keep going with it and not risk having them look a bit different. Does anyone know if that would matter? Hmmm...maybe I'll have to do a little experiment to see if it makes a difference.

So far the Gems yarn is delightful. It is definitely soft and springy, although I do notice it doesn't look very even as it comes off the needles. That should come out in the wash though. My only other complaint is that I seem to be getting an ever-so-slight leftward bias in the fabric. I was freaking out about this with my gauge swatch but then I started look at some other finished sweaters, and I noticed that almost all of them seem to do that! Therefore I think it's my knitting and not the yarn. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong...but I like all my sweaters so I'm not going to dwell on it too much.

Well hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving (if you are celebrating it of course)! Don't eat too much...oh heck, eat as much as you want! And have at least two servings of pie!

While not nearly as important as one's first smile, first tooth, or first steps, I am nonetheless very pleased to present my first bobbles:Aren't they cute? I finished the back piece by early last week and was able to start on the much more exciting front piece, which has a bobble and cable pattern that looks like...hmmm...I'm not sure what plant it looks like. I guess some sort of branches and berries? Well whatever it is, it's pretty and I like it!

The only bad part is that the k5tog is a bit straining on my right wrist and arm. I decided to try to use a crochet hook to draw the yarn through the 5 stitches. It is a bit awkward but definitely does not cause any strain, so I guess I'll keep using it. I didn't knit the last few days so as to let the soreness completely subside, but I'm ready to roll again today...the first day of a three-day weekend. Hooray for holidays!

Quincy (aka Mr. Grump-a-lot) has been moping around the apartment for the last month or so, ever since the windows have been shut and sealed. We have to put that plastic stuff over them due to the fact that they date from about 1910 and let in ridiculous amounts of cold air, especially through the little pulley holes (I'm guessing there ain't much insulation in this place either). Quincy lets out his peevishness by yowling loudly and clawing holes in the plastic, which we then repair with clear packing tape. So by December they look totally ghetto. Despite his cranky ways, Quincy does have some peer pressure, erm, I mean a message for his comrade Neko: "You've gotta try some of this catnip stuff, man! It really takes the edge off of having to deal with these irritating humanoids."

It is quite a windy day out today! Great for drying some clothes on our line.You can just barely see the Germany Socks peeking through from the back!

Here's a photo of my current project. This is the "Bobble Cardigan" (pattern #3) from the Winter 2004/2005 issue of Vogue Knitting, and the yarn is Louet Gems Opal in a cream color. I'm actually making this for my mother (hi mom!) and I had her pick out the pattern and yarn. Whenever I knit a gift for someone, I get into a total worry-wart mode that it won't come out "perfect", so at least this way I don't have to worry whether she'll like the style/color.

Here is a photo of my progress from the last week:
Am I cruising on this or what? I must say, if you are starting to feel like sweaters are taking way too long to complete, make a lace shawl first. Once you finish it, everything else seems so quick! I'm not sure how long this after-effect will last, but for now I'm enjoying it.

I'm having a semi-lazy weekend here. I just finished making some catnip mice (sewn) for Quincy and now I'm trying to get the yarn/craft closet back into shape (this closet is not as impressive as it sounds, alas). Good weekend for not doing much, as it is very windy and raw out. And we had a heavy dusting of snow the other night. Winter is here!