...finishing is fun

It feels so great to finish a project. Part of the thrill is completing the thing, and seeing it go from a hunk of yarn to reality. The other part is thinking about what to start next.

I completed the Unbiased Bag (from Knitty) today, done in recycled Himalayan silk. I can't wait to wash it, because the first skein was spun full of hay, leaves, little dirt clods, and unidentified things too fierce to think about. It turned out pretty well, although I did the handle straight rather than biased. As a project, it's super easy, and since it's done in 4 pieces, it's quite portable. Knitting with the recycled silk is an interesting experience. Since the spinning is very irregular, the yarn ranges from very tightly spun-- (to the extent that it has to be unkinked by the "hanging project" method) to very loose and soft. Watching the colors change keeps the simple knitting interesting, and I noticed some color combinations that looked pretty cool, even though I wouldn't have probably put those colors together. I may try another purse in Noro Kuryon and then felt it, if I don't decide to do something else with that stash.

I am finishing the side seams of Garden Party-- a short-sleeved top from the Ultimate KnittedTee by Bryant and Klein. All that remains is finishing the neckline-- an easy crochet with Seville. I knit it in Zitron Incanto's blue colorway(from InStitches), with accent stripes in Katia Seville (from KnitHappens shop) bronze and bronze/silver on 10-1/2's (Denise). I plan to wear it on Monday night to the Sigma Theta Tau dinner for the 100 outstanding nurses in Washington. (Honored! Excited!) The Incanto is a cotton/linen/acrylic/viscose blend that works up pretty nicely. I love the muted blue/grey/tan colors and the shiny wrap thread around the fiber. The Katia Seville is shiny and slippery/slippery/slippery and can ONLY be managed in zipper bags. Many thanks to Holly for that handy tip-- it worked halfway across the shop the first time I used it. It's so slippery, that the ends needed to be tied off in surgeon knots (thanks, Dad), and the ends sealed with fiberchek. I always knit in ends, because my least favorite thing is weaving them in at the end of a project. But the little suckers made it apparent that if I didn't take more assertive action, I'd be in danger of the whole thing unravelling at a most inconvenient time. That being said, I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.

I still have the "From the Top" sweater on needles (pattern by Cabin Fever in a pale maroon heather Princess worsted)-- one of these days... and the second of the "sherbet socks" to finish (Wendy's toe-Up socks from the 2005 calendar in KnitPicks simple stripes. On #2s). Maybe soon. Not now.

But I'll probably start on Made in the Shade-the Fibonacci sequence top from the Ultimate Tee book in GGH Samoa/Samoa Mouline (yummy coral/melon colors) from KnitHappens Online. And when my copy of Interweave arrives, I'll start on the bolero for Julianna in black Debbie Bliss Cathay.

Speaking of Knit Happens Online-- omigosh!!! One of the things that saved me from total credit card wipeout was the fact that the shop is closed for a few hours each day (like when normal people are sleeping.) The yarns are incredible, nearly every needle size that exists is right there, most of the patterns that are hot can be had--- must exercise CONTROL, I tell you-- CONTROL!!!! The site is awesome. Kristine has done an incredible job, and the pictures almost make you feel like you could squoonch the yarn in your hands (yarn pics done by her lovely and charming husband-- and dare I add patient? I only met him once so can't say for sure -but greater love hath no man... than to take hundreds-- nay, thousands (and possibly tens of thousands) of pictures of yarn balls and skeins.) But even shopping my little heart out in my jammies can't substitute for sittin' and knittin' with the great people at the shop who I now count as friends.

Moving on then, the son wants a stocking cap with his frat logo on it (I'll design it, using Shepherd Color4Me in black, red and dark yellow-from KH online) , and the daughter wants fingerless glove/mittens (white Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmarino-from the shop).

I have a few more things in mind, and many more balls and skeins ready to go, but this should keep me occupied for awhile.

Meanwhile-- in the rest of my life, my husband and kids are gathering in Blacksburg to pack up the first of the daughter's stuff for the summer. Her loft has to be down by next week, so DH will get the storage space earlier than planned. We'll still go down in a couple of weeks to do the final pack-out. We're storing most of her things down there-- we'll try the vacuum bag thing, so I'll spend most of my time doing laundry while she finishes exams, so her linens and winter clothes will be ready to go for the fall. Thinking ahead. What a concept. Doesn't happen often.

I needed to stay here-- and a good thing I planned to, because I was exhausted last night after work. That leaves me here to knit, catch up on the tivo'd shows and get ready for a couple of weekend events at work. So Sunday will be a bit of a wash in terms of relaxing, but that's the way it goes.