Catching Up To Myself

I started an intricately cabled sweater in August of 2008. Yes, that's almost 2 years ago - thank you for  pointing that out. It was the second iteration - I gave the first one to my sister Debbie. "Cropped Denim Aran Pullover" by Susan Mills, it's a Classic Elite pattern, but for this version, I chose Rowan Denim, an indigo-dyed cotton. Not for the faint of heart, this sweater has three different cable panels on front and back, two of which have an 18-row repeat. The central panel has a 28-row repeat. Keeping track of rows? Priceless. Oh, and it helps to have MANY stitch markers to hand.

I began the sweater, confident that I would finish it quickly - I had, after all, already knitted one, and the second of anything always goes faster than the first. Somehow, however, I only finished about 1/3 of the back before putting it aside for something else. (Oh, bigamous me.) I had every good intention of getting back to it, but it went from project #2, to #3, to #14...,

Well, this summer I pulled it out from a basket that was buried under more recent projects. Its unfinished state had been pestering me, and I knew I could no longer ignore it. As I write, on Sunday, July 11, 2010, the sweater is nearer to completion than before, though it still has a long way to go before I can wear it. I've finished the back, and have cast on both sleeves, which are approximately 50% done.

These photos don't do the sweater justice - the back looks much too wide, but it's a drop shoulder style, so the width will be mitigated when I put the pieces together. The sleeves will also look ridiculously short before sewing.

Okay, that's enough of that. There's lots more catching up to myself that needs doing (socks, a fair isles swing coat I began in 2006, a twinset [not sure WHEN that was launched], a cotton cardigan [also 2006], another pair of socks, ANOTHER pair of socks), but tomorrow is another day.

And now for something completely different, a photo of the orchid given to me by Abe, in its second flowering of the year:

Oh, you should know that I don't spend ALL my time knitting (or spinning). I read, too! Just finished Laura Simonson's Major Pettigrew's Last Stand which was absolutely delightful. A sweet story, but not drivel - the book challenges racial stereotyping, protests greed and avarice, and renounces progress for progress' sake. And the setting? A small village in Southern England. Can't get much better than that! Now I'm reading Katherine Howe's The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. I think I'm about a year behind - apparently this was last summer's "cool read". Better late than never.