Everybody out of the pool!

When you are knitting a sweater sleeve with two different balls of Koigu, what are the chances that the colors will pool? Apparently much higher than you would think, because I had to knit the same 20 rows or so no fewer than four times to outwit the yarn and it's burning desire to pool. Attempt number one- involved only one ball of yarn. Pooled. Attempt number two- use the same ball of yarn, but work from both ends. Pooled. Attempt number three (see photo!)- get a new ball of yarn involved this time. Really pooled! Attempt number four- go back to two ends of the same ball, adjusting yarn part way through to prevent pooling. Finally! Sheesh.

That is the thing about designing your own stuff- you have to be completely willing to rip out and re-knit a lot. Because there is no one to check your pattern but you. And sometimes, that is just not enough. Especially if you are me. Last night, I knit and knit and knit to finish sweater sleeve number one. I majestically arrived at the last row (thinking how I am going to cast on the next sleeve and get an inch or two done on that one before I go to bed), and think "gee, that looks really wide..." Umm, yeah, that is because it is 40 stitches wide instead of 30, like it is supposed to be. Poor. Math. Skills. (PMS). If you start with 76 stitches, and you need to end with 30 stitches, and you have 50 rows to accomplish that, how many decreases do you need to do, and how often? Sounds simple, huh? Eventually, I did get the sleeve done. At, like, one in the morning.

So yesterday I went to a yarn swap and knitting party at my friend Charlotte's house. The plan was to bring yarn that you had and did not want, and swap it (hopefully) for someone else's really excellent yarn that they had and did not want. And the leftovers go to charity. What did I bring? Doceur et Soie (itchy- 8 skeins!), Elann Peruvian baby Cashmere (leftovers- 9 skeins!) and some other random stuff. What did I get? Mmmm-nice... two skeins of Artfibers "Scrimshaw"- one in pinks (in the picture!) and one in blues. It is hand dyed bulky cotton- who knows what I will do with it.

Finally, guess what I won yesterday on eBay? Knitting needles! Ooooooh aaaaaahhhhh..... not just any needles, but two-colored button top needles. How cool am I? They are coming from Australia- why is it that all of the super cool knitting needles live in Australia? Go figure.