I finished my blue cable sweater! It is not perfect, but the thing is I gained a lot more practice, and it may be a little wearable. My biggest complaint (which I did not even notice until it was finished) is the length. I wish I had made it longer–I am not a belly barer. The problem can be fixed by wearing an undershirt, but then it does not match the sweater.

So, I finished this on Saturday night while watching Law & Order: SVU and the Olympics. I am not a big fan of finishing projects, but I have to say that the sewing went pretty fast, and was not too difficult.

We woke up early on Sunday and headed over to Rehoboth, Delaware. Kris, his dad, and his brothers went clamming, while his mom and I went shopping at the outlets. Wow, I got a ton of GREAT stuff. I got two great sweaters, a beautiful cardigan, some tees, some cute accessories, and a great book. I had really had my eye out for a nice black cardigan. I was going to make one, but I began to think that it might be cheaper to buy one since the yarn for a quality project like that would cost quite a bit. So, when I saw this cardigan at the store yesterday (for $14.00!) I could not pass it by.

On the drive over there, I worked on this pattern. I have used the pattern as a guide, and I think I am going to change the neckline, but so far it is working out very well. I made some good progress while driving between Delaware and Maryland. I just started the armoholes on the back.

I am using LB Homespun in Boston Rose. This picture is a lot brighter than it is in reality.

So, I worked a lot this weekend! I probably will not have the chance to knit this much in the near future with school starting (in one week!) but I hope to have some time to break away from homework!

Megan and I have tentative plans to visit one of our Maryland yarn shops next weekend, but I could not stand the wait (plus I was in the neighboorhood anyway) and stopped by the lovely and oh-so-groovy Folk Arts Studio in Bowie, Maryland. If you find yourself in this “neck of the woods”, you should definitely stop by this shop! The shop also includes a pottery studio, a cafe, and a great area for waxing poetic and just plain ol’ lounging. They have some ads for local musicians, and really promote community artists. The owner, Kathy, is an avid knitter, and has devoted a good portion of her space to a beautiful selection of yarns. She has a beautiful selection of Colinette (which I am a HUGE fan of), and has an extensive collection of Trendsetter, Fiesta, and Brown Sheep Co. There are also some other great finds… one particular line that I found today was Ironstone. Wow, they have some beautiful stuff! So, I walked out with:

3 hanks of Knit One Crochet Too Tartelette in Wild Cherry and Denim Blue
1 hank of Ironstone Mohair in Seaside
1 hank of Ironstone New Wool in Combo 15
1 pattern (not pictured) for a “self-fringing wrap” They had a great store sample, so I wanted to try it!

Now I am off to finish my sweater! I am sooooo close!

I am not picky about what I knit with… I knit with acrylic yarn all of the time, and there are some yarns that I really like. Red Heart TLC happens to be one of those! See the pretty BH that Carrieoke made with it! So, I stopped by Joann and picked up some TLC in Dark Plum. I have had this overwhelming desire to knit with purple yarns lately… so I got this. No idea what to do with it yet, but it sure is pretty! (Unfortunately the picture is pretty dark, but trust me, it is nice!)

As you can see, I also got some circular needles, and a purse handle set (50% off!) I always love to find good deals!

Kris and I are heading over to Delaware on Sunday for a little excursion. I am really looking forward to it! Unfortunately, the dogs cannot go, but I am sure they will be doing this anyway…

Thanks to everyone who responded to my last post about a knitting group! I am excited about the KnitKnite coming up, and meeting everyone in the near future.

I hope to complete the cable sweater this weekend–I should have some good time on the drive over to the beach!

On the way home from work, I got this idea in my head that I needed to do some more exercise. So, I came home, and got on the treadmill. I turned on the TV (which always makes it go faster), and jogged for about 20 minutes and walked for about 15. I was very proud of myself… I need to do it more often… and there is no excuse not to do so…

Knitting News:
Sleeve Two is moving much faster!

The sleeve is not lying flat in the pic, so it may look a little uneven. I have been working on this sweater sleeve at home. Kris and I have been watching Six Feet Under, which in my opinion, is the greatest, (I also like 24, but that is not on right now) so I have had the chance to knit for awhile. We do not have HBO, but we watched the first two seasons on DVD, and then obtained the third and the fourth seasons by “other means”…

I pulled out this baby and started working on it again. I even took it to work with me… I have a bad tendency to move on to the new cool project and leave other projects behind. I am so close with my Zeeby bad though. I am knitting the gusset right now, and it is super fast and mindless… 8 stiches of garter for 52 inches (I made mine bigger than the model). After that, the strap, then it will be done. I am thinking of adding some embellishments to it. The one in the book has a pocket inside the purse, but I think I may put one outside and make it all cute and colorful.

I am in love with this color… it is so deep! The yarn is TLC, and it is knitting up quite nicely!

I had a pretty nice day at work. My friend was out of town for three weeks, finally returning yesterday. I missed her company! We had lunch yesterday and a coffee break today, and it was really fun to catch up. Then I had lunch with some girls at work that are also in library school, and we had a nice discussion about geeky library stuff, and politics… usually I avoid politics with others, but I knew that we were all in agreement, and I would not be stepping on anyones’ toes. So, as the saying goes: “Fun was had by all”.
One last note… I want to have knitting friends! I have a lady that I always talk about knitting with at work, but our schedules do not match up for us to sit and knit together. Stefanie, who used to live in my hood, told me about a knitting group in B’more that meets at night, but I need something that is more daytime, since I work part-time. I would also settle for meeting at night near my house, or further west (towards DC, but not really IN DC, you know?) I love DC, but it is a schlep to go down there at night and then come all the way back up to Columbia. I know of a SnB at one of the LYS, but after going a few times , I was not feeling it… I felt very left out, and my attempts to make conversation were met with silence or disregard , and I am a very friendly person. I guess I want to start my own group, or join an existing group. Anyone have ideas on how to go about this? Unfortunately, my town does not have a LYS, only craft stores, but is there a rule that you have to meet in a yarn shop?

We just got back from taking Jenny and Bella on a walk… You would think that a walk is the best thing that ever happened to them.

And while we were on the walk, Rusty and Quincy held down the fort.

…and, in unrelated news… Look at these yummy tomatoes!

They are so big and leafy, you can hide behind them (here is Kris doing just that)

Yeah, so not really any knitting news to report, other than I am still working on the other sleeve of the cabled sweater. This one is going faster!