Hello SSKers! I was wondering if anyone was still knitting out there...yay April :) I've been quietly knitting away...I started on this the other night and am loving making it! It's kinda goofy but I've been wanting it for awhile... here's the Knitty link for it

*I* think it's lovely and cool but I know other people will tease me about my "half a sweater" like they did when I made a little stretchy half a poncho wrap thingee a long time ago, which I still wear but it wants to ride up all the time, cute as it is! I'll have to get a pic of it. It's fine if you want to stand around with your arms down all the time...ha! I'll have to try to wear it again this week and see what I think. If it still bugs me, I'll recycle the yarn, I guess.

I'm knitting it out of my very first handspun (well, the first stuff that's any yardage!) I've been wanting to do something with it and I figured that I had about 400 yards but I think it's actually closer to about 600...Mom plied this for me after I spun it on my boat anchor Ashford Turkish (my first spindle) and it's some crazy stuff! Not noticably thick/thin in the knitting though. I hope I have enough...and I should, just barely! It passed my eyeball test and Mom's too so I'm not very fearful. Look at me, knitting on the edge! Wheeee! I can fudge it under the cowl or whatever part with another yarn if I must but I don't think it'll come to that. It's going to force me to learn a cable cast on as well...always a good thing, forcing me to learn a new technique, since I own a yarn shop, I feel as if I must learn these things!

Not super soft either but I'm not a wool-itchy gal and I think with washing, it'll soften up a lot. It's a wool/mohair, which is what the pattern calls for (the bulky Lamb's Pride stuff) and it worked up perfect to gauge and everything. Yay me! How cute, to wear it with a t-shirt because sometimes I really need that whole layer thing at work and when I go to people's houses. Great for spring and early fall with a tank, like it's shown in the photo. And it's different, unique, and I think I'll feel cute wearing it. How fun to just knit sleeves...and I adore how the cuffs are so long and come over your hands a bit. That always makes me feel sexy for some weird reason.

CRAPPY PICTURE ALERT!

It's striping up in the knitting, which I totally didn't expect from this yarn so it's going to be a little on the wild side :) Sorry about the pic...takes forever for the damn sun to decide to come up! Sheesh...this is what I hate about winter here...eternal darkness in the North! No sun till 8-ish and now with DS time, it'll be dark at 5:30. Depressing! I had to use a flash, even though the sun has risen...just blah yuck out there right now.

I finished my Fib wrap and it's YUMMY! I have it at the shop and will write up the pattern this morning and take photos at work. I'm going to give all the SSKers the pattern free, too, so if you want it, EMAIL ME!

I've finished the YUKON SOCK! Well, I have to Kitchener the toe and wash it. And hope like hell it's gorgeous enough for me to want to cast on another one. I normally don't have SSS (second sock syndrome) but this thing was quite an adventure on size 1 needles! I tried it on and it looks gorgeous with the lace pattern...what a shame to hide it! I have to buy a pair of loafers or something so people can see all that work! I have such huge calves though...ugh...all that horseback riding in my formative years.

Just a little tip for those of you who are like me...stressed out all the time over housework and that was seriously cutting into my fiber/knitting time. I can't relax and enjoy when my house is a disaster. My house used to be pretty orderly but then came the business and it all got just out of control. So, I decided to sign up for the FlyLady thing and while it seems goofy, it has totally changed things for me so far! It's awesome! You get these emails with little 15 minute tasks to do, there are zones to work on each week, etc. and it honest to goodness works! Everything around me is just feeling so much better...my house is starting to look really nice, I'm not stressing at all, and my brain has been orderly for days in a row, which was a real problem for me before. I confess, I don't do the shoe thing like she says. But I DO shine my sink...and as ridiculous as that sounds, it makes me feel as good as she said it would! My bedroom is organized, my laundry done, my bathrooms clean, my piles of paper are mostly gone, I don't wake up to dirty dishes anymore, my face is well moisturized, my teeth flossed every night and I'm happier! My chipmunk's nest (to borrow a phrase from Tasha Tudor) around the couch with my knitting, spinning, patterns, books, mags is still a problem but I feel like I'll get to that one day soon. Just thought I'd share because this was really bringing me down for so long. I don't keep a journal or anything like that yet, just use the emails to help me figure out where to start and to organize the way I do things.