Thursday, April 10, 2014

Happy Anniversary from a WIP

For those unfamiliar with knitting lingo, a WIP is a work in progress, and while my wonderful husband presented me with a wrapped gift this morning, the contents of which I am now wearing on my wrist . . .
. . . he's going to patiently wait for his anniversary presents:
That's the other sock in the background (they're being worked at the same time), but both have about six stripes to go.
As for the sweater,
I guess I should be grateful for his building's overactive air conditioning system, because although I only have a dozen or so rows left on the body, I still have to knit two sleeves, so the weather may have turned quite warm before he gets to wear it.
When we got married, fifteen years ago, I was not a knitter; counted cross stitch was my hobby. Being able to finish a project and end up with something that can be used right away, as opposed to framed or put on a cushion, is one of the countless blessings I have discovered with Ian's encouragement. It would be hard to overstate the positive influence of having a partner by my side who believes I am capable of just about anything, and who gives me the courage to try new things. I am thankful every day that I have ended up with the living embodiment of the term "better half."

Monday, April 7, 2014

Living the dream

Ever since I noticed those little sample squares in yarn shops and realized that someone had knit them, I have wanted to be a test knitter. Most LYSs have their go-to people, but thanks to Ravelry, I have found a client. Admittedly, the compensation is not high, but in the end I will have had a chance to talk a lot about knitting, and I will have a graceful new apple green cardigan.
Though you can't see from the gauge swatch, I'm actually about to start on the third ball of this four-ball project, and I'm down to the hip increases. I was thrilled to find yet another way to join a new ball while conserving the most yarn possible (scroll down to the final method).
In other news, Marly's sweater is nearing the end. Sleeves are completed and I have picked up the neck/button band stitches, and I still have two skeins of yarn left.

I'm thinking she'll have a matching hat and scarf, though an adorably enthusiastic boy from her dance class asked me to knit him a sweater exactly like Marly's.