Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Progress on Operation Ruffle Removal

As I suspected, a couple weeks away from the sleeve of the shrug has bolstered my courage. Well, that and it took well over two weeks to kick the worst of the flu from the end of February. The last three weeks are a blur, since I spent a huge part of it in the house. Only this week have I begun to feel 100% again, since my energy level is back up and I don't have to take a 2-hour nap for every 2 hours of work. DH kicked it a little faster than I did.

While I was sick, the only knitting I could contemplate was the simple grey lace scarf that I've had on the go forever and might finish by next winter (it's so BORING!! But pretty, I guess). DH has come to accept that his Tom Baker Dr. Who Scarf will not be done until next winter, since it hasn't been started yet.

So, I finally went back to Shimmer the other day, took off the lace cuff I had attached, ripped back another 8 rows (about an inch and a half?) and then reattached it. The sleeve fits much better now, I think it's finally the right length. Ripping out knitting in the wrong direction is an interesting experience, especially when you hit an increase. (Note: The sleeve was knit cuff-up, and I was ripping from cuff-up). I'm quite please with it now, I can't wait to get the second one done and post some pictures. It is also desperately in need of a blocking. I wore it at the concert unblocked, obviously, since I finished it less than an hour before stage time - just long enough to pick out most of the cat hair. The ribbing along the bottom keeps flipping up, backwards. I hope that fixes itself during blocking.

But that will probably have to wait another week or two while I desperately try to finish a draft of my first general's paper. It seems I have promised to turn in the draft next week, on Wednesday March 23. *gulp*

This summer: Grandma's mystery nearly-finished cardigan. How old is it? How long has it been on that cable needle? And what on earth was Gram planning to do with it at the finishing stage? Join me while I try to decipher the clues left behind by my Grandmother and figure out how I'm going to finish the Blue Cardigan that she started in... well, that part's a mystery, too!