Done!

Last Saturday I finished my Shadow-- I ripped out and re-did the collar facing, wove in all the ends, and steamed the seams. I can hardly believe that I now have a hand-made garment. It seems wrong to fold it up and put it in the same drawer as my store-bought clothes, so it has been sitting on top of my dresser.


I wore it on Tuesday. I take so much care taking it on and off-- I have to remind myself that this is a solid garment that will probably last for years.

I do love it-- it's warm and comfortable and the fit is perfect. Maybe if I take some pictures of myself wearing it, it will start to seem more real. Stay tuned.

Pause

My wrists have been giving me trouble-- both of them, so I'm pretty sure it's not knitting that has done it. I'm provisionally blaming physical therapy, which has recently done wonders for my back. But knitting definitely bothers the left wrist, so I'm forcing myself to pause for a few days, and I'm going to take this opportunity to show you what I've been up to.

I started these at the end of January:


As I have mentioned before, I have been putting off sock knitting for a while for fear it would become an all-consuming obsession-- as it turns out, I'm not finding it all that compelling. The self-striping yarn does make me very happy, though. As always.

I can't locate the bag that contains my other project-- White Pine-- but here's my swatch:


This pattern has been in my queue for a while, waiting for me to choose a color. The yarn is Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Flannery Red... I'm madly in love with the color, which is-- sadly-- discontinued. I managed to track down enough for the sweater. Lucky me!

With rest, ice, and NSAIDs-- and maybe some sewing to keep my hands busy-- I hope to be in fighting trim again soon. Still, it annoys me that I can no longer afford to ignore my body's little complaints as blithely as I used to do. My patients have often warned me not to get old...

One step closer

Last night I finished sewing the seams of my Shadow-- a task which took most of the weekend. I actually found it to be an enjoyable process, and it was exciting to see the sweater finally-- slowly-- come together. It almost looks finished but there's still a lot of work to do!

ends to weave in, seams to be steamed...

With any luck, it'll be ready for me to model for you by the weekend. Fortunately for Mainers weary of winter, the weather has been quite warm-- this means, unfortunately, that Shadow will not likely see much wear until fall. At least I will be ready!

Blocking Board

I haven't yet had much to say for myself in March for the simple reason that life is complicated. I did manage to finish knitting my Shadow and on Wednesday I got my block on-- thought you might like to see the results.

Here's the back, all pinned out:


You may or may not be able to tell, but I started a new ball of yarn around the region of the armhole, and there is a shift in the color. I went back and checked all of my ball bands, and the dye lots were all the same, so I'm not sure how to explain it... at any rate, it's barely noticeable and I've decided that I refuse to be self-conscious about it.

I can't help but continue to marvel at the transformation that blocking works on Shelter-- for comparison, here is a bit of the front before its bath:


Here's a closeup of the back:


And finally, the sleeve, unpinned:


All those hundreds of stitches have relaxed and cozied up to their neighbors. The material is cohesive, fuzzy, and about twenty times softer. Mind you, it isn't the kind of kitten's ear softness of cashmere or fine merino-- more like the inside of a well-loved sweatshirt.

Now all that remains is seaming...