Works in Progress

I haven't been able to do much knitting lately because I've been busy catching up on other projects.

Right now I'm in the process of re-upholstering my upstairs couch. The covers on the cushions were in very bad shape, with rips in every single one, and one of the cushions has been "branded". Oh well, as Andy says, "If it ain't broke, it ain't ours!"

The material I bought from Joann Fabrics isn't quite what I set out to get. Thankfully I had a really good coupon to use, so instead of paying $95, I got all the material for $35! However, I just couldn't settle on any of the regular fabrics, and this faux leather really appealed to me. I've never done anything with this kind of stuff before, and I'm really hoping it survives the kids (at least for a year!). However, I think it will be easily washable, and it's nice and simple. Andy thinks it's boring (his exact words were, "that color looks like baby - - - -) , but I wanted something plain so I could dress it up with throw pillows that can be changed with the seasons. Plus, we might end up selling the couch, and I didn't want to personalize it too much. I'm rather beginning to like it!

Once I'm done with that I have to re-sew some cushions for some lawn chairs I re-painted last fall. Sewing is a lot of fun, but I can only do it when the kids are sleeping. I guess the whirr of the sewing machine is just too enticing for little fingers, and I don't want to tempt my kids! Hopefully I can finish sewing soon, so I can get back to knitting full-time!

I cast on this men's sweater that I'm going to knit for - - - - - - -. It's the most lovely blue called "Capecod", which I can't seem to accurately capture on camera. It's 100% acrylic, so it's not the least bit itchy, and I'm surprised how soft it is when knitted up. I've always heard knitters scorning acrylic yarns, but I have to confess that I prefer acrylic. It's cheaper and washes better. I used my Joann coupon again (yes, I steal the coupon from all my friends :), so I think I'll be able to knit the entire men's sweater for under $5!

I'm knitting it in the round, and it has a ribbed cuff and then lots and lots of stockinette. I'm actually getting rather fond of stockinette stitch. Since I'm usually multitasking when I'm knitting, it's nice to have a no-con handy (i.e. "no concentration"). However, the chest will have a horizontal panel of cables knitted in a contrasting color. Can't wait to get to that.

I really like everything about this sweater so far except knitting in the round. I know the inestimable Elizabeth Zimmerman loved knitting in the round, but I am beginning to hate it. I hate having to shuffle all the stitches around every few seconds. Arg. Also, it's a bit demoralizing to keep knitting and knitting and not see a lot of progress. The advantage to knitting a sweater in pieces is that it's fun sewing the disparate bits together to see a beautiful sweater emerge! Oh well, I'll just keep plugging away at this one! For now, for lack of a better title, I'll just call this sweater "Cape Cod".

This other little knitted item is driving me nuts. I'm really starting to hate this pattern, and if it doesn't shape up soon, I'm just going to chuck it. Thankfully I'm terribly stubborn (as my Mum is so fond of reminding me), and I refuse to give it up. The skirt has a ruffle at the bottom which has - are you ready for this? - 501 stitches to cast on. 501! (And all of this skirt is knitted in fingering weight yarn. I feel like I'm knitting the world's biggest sock.) Then, there's this intricate little lacy motif that must be knitted for 7 rows before I can get to the skirt. I've already knitted the ruffle once, only to find out I was 50 stitches short. After frogging and cursing under my breath, I re-cast. Here's hoping for better luck this time! This is definitely NOT a "re-con" - at least not yet.