Process knitting at its best

Once upon a time, when I was just a fledgling knitter, I made this:

My first finished sweater-type project (not the first one I started. That was a sweater for my 6-foot tall, 53-inch chested father. That was an experiment in fortitude and madness). It was from a Knitpicks pattern, made from Knitpicks Shine Sport. And there's nothing wrong with it, really. Considering I didn't exactly know what I was doing while seaming it, it came out really well.

But I never wear it. Boleros, or any type of short jacket really, don't make a lot of sense to me. The sleeves make it too warm to wear in any season except for the ones where I want a full jacket protecting as much of me as possible.

Plus I'm bored. So, two days ago, that thing became this:

Yarn, ready for the knitting. Ready, in fact, to become the Pea Pod Baby Sweater from Kate Gilbert and Interweave Knits. For my nephew. Who lives in Arkansas, and where he has some use for a cotton sweater, and where I'll never know if the sweater actually gets worn.

I have another sweater that's about to undergo a similar remaking in the near future. More about that later.

I could be a superhero...

This is a flamingo, from the Fibertrends pattern. Bought ages ago, back when I was shopping for yarn for my first hat, back before I even had an inkling of a clue how to make a flamingo, bought so that I had something to aspire to. And now it is made. (You'll have to use your imagination a bit on this. It's not felted yet.)

Stats: 3 balls Lion Wool in Rose, one ball of Lionbrand Fun Fur in Soft Pink, leftover Lamb's Pride Worsted in Onyx, knit on size 10 1/2 needles for the body, and the legs were supposed to be knit on size 11 (8mm). I could only find one of my 8mm needles, so they're knit on one 8mm, one 7 mm.

As with most felted patterns, this starts out huge. Which is a good thing, if one were to exist in my twisted little mind. Because a huge flamingo head and body, waiting to be sewn up, lends itself very well to this sort of silliness.

Flamingo Girl to the rescue!

Once the flamingo is done, it will reside in my office at school, which is desperately in need of some personality and color.

Fireworks and increase rows

Last night was rather nice. While Bradly and I didn't go to any fireworks displays, we did have a view of about three of them from our balcony, plus the idiots with the firecrackers, who were lighting them up in our apartment complex's very small parking lot, with lots of rather expensive cars around. Even if I liked firecrackers (which I don't, since I had an uncle lose a hand to a homemade one), I would not have them around other people's cars. That's just asking for trouble.

On to the knitting. As this blog has demonstrated, I can be a bit of an idiot sometimes. Mainly when it comes to two matching pieces, I don't keep enough records of what I do, so that the second piece bears little resemblance to the first. Case in point: my Lionbrand Jaywalkers. I know that I added more stitches as I went up the leg, but I don't remember where or how. I vaguely remember some complex scheme involving increases at different repeats and rows up the leg, but for the life of me, I don't know when exactly. Instead, I just increased where I felt like it, and am counting on the socks being so tacky, no one wants to stare at them long enough to figure out my increase methods.

As it stands (assuming my counting skills are any good, which I'm not 100% sure they are), I know I need another increase row before the ribbing. I'm just gonna throw it in whenever I bloody well feel like it.

Oh, and a note about that picture: It was taken while sitting at my desk, writing this entry, with my foot propped up on the mouse pad.