Monday, September 29, 2008

Unbelievable Relief

I can't believe it. My mind is so hopeful that I'm afraid to believe the truth.

I am done, let's repeat, DONE, with canning for this year.

I'm not doing one more jar, or freezing one more batch of anything. I am DONE.

Hooray! (Doing the happy dance here).



So, in celebration of my new found liberation from the kitchen, I am spending most of my day being completely lazy. I went to McDonald's with the kids, and I'm going to do my best to ignore the new sub-species of fungus growing in my kitchen sink. (Note to self: must remember to put the defrosted meat in the fridge, so the fungus doesn't eat that too. Why can't fungus eat dirty pots and pans so I don't have to see them?) I still have to teach from 2:30 - 5:30, but I'm going to be happy about it and hope that my students can ignore the messy house as successfully as I can.

(I even put my favorite tune of all time, Shenandoah, on my playlist, so if you have the music turned off [Mum] turn it back on and just suffer through it for my sake.)

Tonight I'm planning to continue my theme of laziness, and I'm going to watch one of my favorite guilty pleasures, Dancing with the Stars. While I'm watching that, I'm hoping to finish knitting Handyman's Christmas present, the Sleeveless Hoodie. I'm sooooo close to being done. (This is the front view)

I got the hood knitted and sewn together (15 inches is a LOT of stockinette), and I did one armhole ribbing. Just one more armhole to do, and then it's time for the finishing! (This is the back view.)

Since I've already sewn the fronts and backs together, finishing simply requires sewing in all the loose ends and blocking the hood. I knitted this with acrylic (oh, don't be a snob. Acrylic is great for men who attract dirt from every speck in the nearest three counties) so blocking is minimal. The hood ribbing just tends to curl under a bit more than I'd like, so I'm going to try steam blocking it flat. This picture on the left shows the most accurate color combination. Hopefully Handyman will like it!

Heh heh, if he doesn't, I did happen to notice that it'd make a nice baggy hoodie for (ahem) me.

Pattern Specs:
Pattern: Sleeveless Hoodie from The Knitting Man(ual)
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in Brick and Navy Blue
Needles: Denise circulars US size 5 and 6

9 comments:

Ellen said...

What a nice feeling to be done, huh? Hooray for you!! Enjoy your evening tonight! :)

Danielle said...

Yeah to be done with all that messy tedious canning work1

Handyman's hoodie is really looking wonderful. I love vanna's choice yarn btw, and you know me by now (I'm totally NOT a yarn snob!). I give you tons of credit for all that stockinette, you are a very good wife ;)

Too Little Time said...

The hoody is really nice! Love the colors. Congrats on all the winter provisions.

Leah said...

YAY! nothing like a great feeling of accomplishment! Enjoy it! And your guilty pleasure, too! I LOVE Dancing with the Stars!! :-)

hakucho said...

Don't ever be ashamed of knitting with acrylic!! The sleeveless hoodie is handsome. Your husband will love it I'm sure. Maybe you should make yourself a matching one? You would look very cute..the two of you!

happy knitting :)

WELCOME TO TuttleTime! said...

I am SO happy for you!!!! What an exhausting job. The hoodies looks great. I can't wait til the weather cools off and baby can model the cute dress you made her. You can definitely plan on seeing it when I come up in November! :) Can't wait...hope AirTran hasn't gone out of business by then! :(

hakucho said...

Check out my blog...you just won an award :)

Explore-Science-Beyond-the-Classroom said...

Even on your lazy days you are working like a feind (blogging, knitting, teaching music, hopefully changing diapers...)I didn't turn off the music but it is playing very softly, I like peace and quiet! Can you scan me some pics of Ellie Mae? I am working on a tribute to her for an upcoming family blog. Thanks.

Sereknitty said...

Dare I say it? I LOVE canning!! I'm always sad when I'm done ... sick puppy, I know :)
The Handyman's Christmas hoodie is looking fabulous! My husband is always too warm, so this would be perfect for him ... I'll have to put it in my queue.