Knitting Away...

Still working away on the sweater.  I got a bit accomplished last evening, which was a great feeling!  Other pursuits have taken a lot of my time lately, so there hasn't been much knitting going on.  Things should be slowing down, so work on the sweater will continue!  It is coming out nicely, I'm still loving all the rich cables.  I know I've said it before, but it just gives it such a cozy appearance.  Knitting on it has been a pleasure cause it is nice & weighty, it will make great outdoor wear!  My enthusiasm for it is returning.  That is a good thing, it will keep me motivated!

Will I Ever Get Tired Of Hats?!

Above are the last pictures from the last batch of chemo hats.  By far, my favorite is the red hat...out of all the hats from this batch, too! 

Giving credit where credit is due, the inspiration for this hat came from Jewelsladymax.  In her knitting journal, she posted about her mother belonging to a "Red Hat" club.  It made me think that other folks might love a red hat, too, so there it is!  I probably wouldn't have done the whole hat in red if it weren't for that post!  Thanks, Lisa!

We Have Cuff!

Finally, I finished the sleeve on the sweater.  Whew!  I've started the second sleeve, but haven't gotten too far along with it yet.  Its a good feeling, though, so I had to brag about it!  It'll be even better when the whole thing is done. 

I'm posting some more hats pics.  Shown are more helix spiral hats.  One is a heathery pink & cream, another is a brighter pink & white, then a green & yellow sport weight hat.  Unfortunately, the picture doesn't do justice to the colors on that hat.  With the flash, the colors were overly bright, without the flash, they are dark & dull.  Can't win! 

More Hats!

More hat pictures!  Again, these are all helix spiral hats.  Can I emphasize enough that these use a lot of scraps?!  LOL!   My favorite of today's pictures is the dark blue, light blue & pink.  It is just cheery, I think.  Plus the yarns were sooooo soft.  It was a joy to knit up. 

I've been doing really well on the sweater.  I'm almost finished with the first sleeve.  Maybe another inch or two, then the cuff.  I think that posting my lack of ambition was enough to give me a push to work on it.  Its a sorry thing that the whole world could see my lack of inspiration.  But whatever it takes to get me knitting on it again! 

The second sleeve will take a bit of time to show progress.  I'm picking up stitches from the neckline & working my way down.  It will have a saddle shoulder effect.  Trying to figure out which stitches to reverse to make it match the front was a challenge!  Once I got that, the rest wasn't too difficult.  Now if only I can keep myself from making stupid mistakes like crossing the cables the wrong way!  Arghhh!

The Hat Saga Continues...

I dropped off the latest batch of chemo hats, but I made sure to take pictures before they left!  I'm going to post a few pics every few days or so.  There is not too much exciting going on in my knitting life right now, so this will give me something to talk about!  LOL!  Featured in the pictures is a purple & green hat, made with sport weight.  I was able to make quite a few sport wt. hats this time.  Also pictured is a dark & light teal with white worsted wt. Both of these hats are done in the helix spiral.  Most of my hats are done that way now!  Also pictured is a fun mitered hat, each section of the miter is a different color.  It was fun to make & it looks fun, as well.  Cheery rainbow colors should brighten up the darkest day.

I'm still plugging away at the sweater.  Not as often as I would like, so I'm going to have to push myself to finish it.  I haven't made any of the miter squares lately either, because I'm creatively stifled right now.  I have mostly pinks, cream & white, so it makes it difficult to mix different colors.  I need to kick myself to do this as well.  I hate being creatively frustrated like this, cause I just spin my wheels & no knitting gets done.  Once I give myself that "push" over the slump, I'll be back to full force!

Finally, Shawl Pictures

Finally, I'm posting the shawl pictures!  I was able to bribe a few pictures under the threat of no chauffeur service.  My uncooperative model decided to ham it up for the camera!  I'm hoping she'll decide to wear it for a dance later in the school year. 

The sweater is still in my basket, but I haven't been able to work on it very much.  I did sort of start another project, another scrap yarn blanket using small mitered squares.  By starting with only 21 stitches, I'm using up those small scraps fairly quickly.  I've only made about 16 blocks so far, & I've been attaching them as I knit the next block, so no sewing (ewww).  The blocks are small, maybe about 2-1/2 inches, so it will take quite awhile to complete a blanket.  It will be a work in progress, as I get the scraps, I will use them up.  At least, that's what I tell myself now! 

Pain In The Sleeves

Somehow, I must have forgotten how much of a pain in the tookus making cables on double points can be.  My hands keep cramping up & I still have about 6 inches to go, plus the second sleeve.  I took a break yesterday to let my hands rest.  They needed it!  It drove my just about crazy, though, I didn't know what to do with the darn things!  I kept sitting on them to help forget there was no knitting in them. 

I'll keep plugging away at the sleeves, though.  In the end, it will be well worth the effort.  Though it is tempting to start another hat, I've held back. I know I'll just keep going on the hats & the sweater will sit.  I don't want to do that again!  I hate abandoning a project midway, it is too hard to get back to it, for me at least!

So Far, So Good

I did a trial fit on the sweater sleeve...it looks like a good fit so far!  Whew!  I'm working from the shoulder down, so I spaced my decreases further apart than I did the first time.  Its much better now!  I have no idea what I was thinking when I first made the calculations. 

I need to get my lazy self to take pictures of my completed hats so I can get them to the cancer center...and show them off here, too!  I'm also still waiting for a cooperative model for the shawl pictures.  Sometimes I get the feeling that she just humors me to keep me quiet.  "Sure, Mom, I'll model that shawl for ya....NOT!"  I'll keep asking though, till I wear her down! :)