I Can't Decide...

I need your help. I can't decide on which buttons to use to finish my Baby Surprise Jacket. There are three different options. Since Fred(necks)burg isn't exactly a metropolitan area, I'm limited on my choices. All of the buttons were purchased from Joann Fabric. Please disregard the cat hair. For larger images check out my flickr page. Here we go,

Option #1



Here's a close-up of the buttons:



Option #2



Button-y close-up:



Option #3



Button Close-up



I'm leaning towards Option #2. What do you think?

Mail Time!

Do you ever have one of those days where you come home from work only to find a package on your doorstep but you have no clue what it contains or where it came from? Today was one of those days. I came home from a crazy day at work to find not one, but TWO packages on my doorstep. And they weren't lackluster packages full of things as mundane as school books or the such, but they were knitting related, and one was full of bright yarny goodness. Oh yes, this was a great surprise.



Over a week ago I ordered some Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock mediumweight in "sherbet." Its intended use was for a EZ Baby Surprise Jacket for a friend's daughter who is due in August. (More on that later). I also ordered a back issue of Interweave's Knitscene, the Fall '06 issue specifically. Why you might ask...for this:



The Central Park Hoodie. See this whole Ravelry thing is throwing me for a loop. I am seeing SO many incredible sweaters there that I.must.knit.NOW!! The problem: it's like 95 freaking degrees outside! Virginia heat + swamp-like humidity = wrong season to knit a wool sweater. The list of sweaters that are on my brain right now is seemingly endless. Rouge. Central Park Hoodie. Licorice Whip. Salina. Button Me Up Pullover. I can go on like this all day. I've knit 1 7/8 sweaters (notice I didn't say 2 whole sweaters, I'm cheating on Wicked even though it is pretty much done) and I have a feeling I just won't be able to stop. I'm addicted to knitting sweaters...in the summer...in Virginia heat. I've lost my mind.

In other knitting news, this has been occupying my time lately:



It's Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket from "The Opinionated Knitter." There has been a recent wave of these popping up all over the interwebs and I (the follower that I am) have hopped on the bandwagon. Originally I had planned on knitting this up in the STR I had purchase specifically for this project (see above) but after reading more about it and figuring out that it would result in a newborn sized sweater I wimped out. I mean newborns in Virginia do NOT need sweaters in the summer (see above). So instead I went to my LYS which equals Michael's craft store since I don't have a LYS (another gripe about living in rural Virginia) and purchased some Bernat Cottontots. It's a worsted weight 100% washable baby-friendly cotton. It might be baby-friendly and washable, but it looks like crap already and it isn't even done yet. The yarn is pilling uncontrollably and I am having huge problems getting all the stitches to look nice and even. I'm hoping a nice soak in the sink and an appointment with the sweater shaver will ease my worries.

In non-knitting related news, my favorite singer/songwriter Josh Ritter has announced his new album due at the end of August with this great sneak peak clip:



I am super psyched. If you get a chance to see him play live, go. It is well worth it.

And lest you think I forgot my Feline Photo Friday (like I did last week) here is Maggie wishing you a happy weekend.

Sneak Peak

Last week I blogged about Wicked and how I have made extensive alterations. Here's a sneak peak at the turn Wicked is taking.



Yes, it is a cardigan!! I took inspiration from Flint Knits kick ass wicked cardigan. It's not perfect, I still haven't fixed the saggy sleeve, button holes need to be reinforced, and it still needs to be blocked, but it is now totally wearable.



More on my new favorite sweater after it is officially finished!

Feline Photo Fridays - 100 degree Edition

So it's nearly 100 degrees outside and the AC is broken inside. I'm dying. The kittles still enjoy the sun though.



Felix soakin' it up.

Off to Pittsburgh (Plus Feline Photo Friday)

Well, I'm off to Pittsburgh for our engagement party plus my brother's high school graduation party. I imagine this is what our kittles will be doing all weekend:



When we aren't home they lounge on the bed all. day. long. I'm sure they are excited, I know I would be if I was a kittle and had an entire weekend to sleep!

Have a great weekend everyone! Next week brings the promise of a new FO!

Ravelry, A Future Frog, & An Almost FO

So y'all have heard about Ravelry right? Well, after checking my email account obsessively for weeks I finally got an invite! Of course it happened after I stopped checking my account 5 times a day. I got an invite Friday and didn't check until 10:15 pm Monday night. Of course I found it 45 minutes before my self imposed bedtime when I was supposed to be redding up (cleaning up) the living room. Of course for the last hour I have been checking out the awesome website and poking around adding some of my stash (which I started to photograph weeks ago) to my notebook. I have to honestly say it is incredible and well worth the wait and all the hype it has been receiving. My screenname on Ravelry (as well as Flickr) is 3tuxedocats so don't hesitate to add me as a friend!

On to other knitting things. The last three weeks have been consumed by a new obsession. This:



Any guesses? It's Wicked! I was so impressed with the Zephyr Girls' Rusted Root pattern that I had to knit me another one of their awesome sweaters. I am loving it so far. I am knitting it with the turquoise Shelridge Farms worsted superwash wool I picked up at MDS&W. I love, LOVE, the yarn. It is soft, squishy, and a great deep very slightly shaded turquoise. But I'm not making the standard pattern. I have altered it greatly. But more on that later.

Here's where the frog comes in. I am making a 3/4 length sleeve version and as much as I love this pattern I am having major problems with the sleeves coming out ginormous. Now, I had a similar problem with Rusted Root, and while I know I have chunky arms, they're not THAT chunky! This is only my second sweater, and my first long sleeved one. The first sleeve I knit I did not decrease for the sleeves at all (the pattern doesn't call for any sleeve decreases) and I had to rip back. I thought I ripped back far enough, but apparently not, as the sleeve is still huge at the top and more fitted around my elbow. Now normally I would rip this back now, but I have to have this sweater for the weekend. J and I are heading up to Pittsburgh for our engagement party thrown by my awesome parents and I am planning on wearing it. This leaves no time to rip and reknit. Luckily it does not look too out of place on, it is just a nagging flaw that will drive me nuts until I have a chance to fix it after the party. Luckily I figured out a series of decreases for the other sleeve (with lots of math, not usually my friend) and it fits like a glove. I'll have more on this and a proper FO post next week. Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend!

ETA: As promised here are the sleeve photos. God, I can't even look at the deformed one! It is that bad. First, the good one. The one with mathmatical decreases that slightly tapers to the elbow and fits perfectly.



And here is the, uh, not so perfect one.



Don't say I didn't warn you, I told you it was bad.

Feline Photo Fridays A Little Lulu

This is LuLu, aka Delaney when she was little and liked to hid behind the microwave. Thank god she doesn't do that now!