Sleeve one is complete, and I’m really happy with the bracelet/longish three quarter length.

I’m also thrilled with the decision to go down a needle size for the sleeves. I’m realizing that I need to start thinking about buttons! Maybe once I finish the paper I’m writing (due this week).

Also:

Boh says hi. Time to pour the coffee and get back to work.

I turned off the alarm last night so that Boh and I could sleep in — both a reward for some good progress on a paper I’m working on, and preparation for more writing today. (I tend to wake up with the sun whether I want to or not, but today I managed to sleep until 8. Victory.)

This dog did not want to get out of bed.

I managed a few more inches on my third handspun seaman’s cap. This one is made from Southern Cross Fibres polwarth 2-ply in the Boogie Wonderland colorway, and I just love how it is knitting up.

I am feeling way behind on life: thank you notes, holiday gifts, letter-writing, even cooking through my farm share (my winter share starts Wednesday!) — but at this very moment, I’m actually in an okay place with my academic work, and if I can just maintain that, I will be very happy. (Which means I need to get started on today’s writing goal — another 5 pages?)

That’s the goal for my Garter Yoke Cardigan, and it looks like I might make it!

I’m leaning towards a bracelet sleeve length — longer than three quarter, but not so long that the cuff will get in the way of knitting and working. Also, there’s something about a slightly shorter sleeve on me that at least makes me feel like I’m a bit more put together (even if it is only in my head.)

When I tried on the sweater before starting the sleeves, I was concerned that the sleeves were going to be a bit baggy. The pattern calls for knitting the sleeves straight to the cuff — no shaping — so I decided that instead of playing with decreases, I’d just go down a size and use size 6 dpns. (It didn’t hurt that I could actually reach these needles from where I was curled up on the couch at the time…)

I’m really happy with how the first sleeve is fitting, and I think it is time to start digging around for buttons!

I might not post again before heading home for Thanksgiving, so I hope your holiday is filled with people you love and food you enjoy! (And maybe some time to rest and knit.)

On Friday night, I made this recipe with spare ribs from a local farm. They were awesome.

On Saturday, I made creamed spinach for lunch. (Thanks, Deb.)

This morning, I made pancakes. (I’ve posted about them before.)

I’ll have some knitting to show you soon. (I swear.)

I had to completely rearrange my fridge to get this bunch of tat soi inside. Isn’t it beautiful? I’ve been buried under a pile of grading this week (one more paper to grade before I head to campus), and while I do most of my reading on the couch and writing at my desk at the computer, I grade at my kitchen table. I have devised a strategy to help keep me on track, and (big surprise here) it involves food! Having something in the oven — granola, applesauce bread, squash roasting, etc. gives me something to occasionally check on AND a way to peg my progress to a more specific timeline without getting out the timer for each paper. Plus, there is something delicious for break-time.

I made a big pot of carrot soup and let it simmer away while I graded on Tuesday, and I’ve been enjoying the leftovers all week. I followed this recipe!

I also roasted some butternut squash this week while working through my grading pile. Yum!

And here’s a knitting shot. Here lies my garter yoke cardigan. It seemed appropriate to leave it in a big pile, as I’ve really only been able to knit half a row here and there this week, but I am so close to finishing the body. (Like, 4 rows away!) I decided not to use handspun for the bottom edge, as I like the simpler look of the brown Cascade 220. I can’t wait to wear this!

Alright, I think there is enough coffee in my system to warrant the last of the grading. Back to it!

Yesterday.

Today.

Buttoned, the vest is a little swingier (and looser) than I had imagined, but on the whole, I’m very happy with this.

I ended up using less than 5 balls of Jo Sharp Classic DK wool, which makes this an incredibly affordable project. (The yarn was a WEBS closeout.)

Bracken and I are off to campus!

I gave bracken a nice soak and then tried to get a bit more length out of it as it lay drying on these awesome blocking squares. (These are from Knitpicks, and seriously, they cut drying time in half.)

Blocking = magic. Everything relaxed and totally evened out, and I think the length is absolutely perfect. I think Boh agreed, because he kept trying to get in the picture.

Now I just need to sew on the buttons! (Well, first I need to find some appropriate thread.)

I was looking through my button jars for a set of dark brown buttons, but the ones I have are a bit shiny, so I think I’m going to go with the grey matte buttons on the left.

If only I could make such satisfying progress on my writing projects…

I did something totally stupid and avoidable yesterday while knitting on bracken and decompressing from a long and stressful day: I somehow managed to twist the vest around while picking up the ribbed button band/collar border. I noticed when I bound off.

I did not have the heart to take pictures, but I performed the equivalent of open heart surgery on my vest. I ripped out the seam between the front and back on the right shoulder, and then cut the ribbing. In my mind, I had envisioned being able to pick up stitches on both sides, knit, and kitchener (you know, sort of like making a thumb), but since I had to cut my knitting VERTICALLY, that did not happen. We’re only talking about seven rows here, but there were seven separate ends on each side. (Obviously. Just not to me BEFORE I cut.) So I picked out a few columns to get long enough ends to weave in or (ahem) knot, and then I re-seamed the shoulder, and then picked up stitches from the seam edge and knit a handful of rows in ribbing to fill in the gap I had created. Then I did the ugliest suturing anyone has ever seen, and decided that no one will notice. It looks a lot better now that I’ve picked up and knit the stitches for the armhole ribbing.

Now it just needs buttons. The jury is still out on whether this is a flattering style on me. Bracken is getting a nice, hot, luxurious soak as we speak, and if everything evens out a bit (and if I can get a bit more length out of it) this could be a super fun layering piece. Remember my note on row gauge, and how I figured it was close enough? Those might be famous last words. My ribbing is another half-inch or so wider than the pattern calls for, which might make for some awkwardly fitting armholes. Fingers crossed…

So, that’s a bit of a mess, but to make up for it, the universe delivered one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen in awhile.

I love the reflection of the sunset in the windows of the house behind mine. What a way to welcome the weekend!

Apologies for the terrible photos — I realized this morning that I could really use an extra arm to help hold up the vest AND take pictures. (Cleaning the mirror wouldn’t be a bad idea either.) In these pictures, the vest looks super short, but that’s because I happen to be wearing a long shirt with pockets today. In real life, this seems to hit at the top of my hips, right around the waistband of my jeans, and I think that’s what I want.

Unrelated but adorable:

If you’re not going to read that, paws off.

If anyone wants pouting lessons, I’m sure this guy has all the proper certifications necessary to teach beginner and advanced classes.

I uploaded photos from my camera this morning and noticed a theme.

From the top: an impromptu lunch of slaw tartare with red cabbage from the farm, safety pins to keep my favorite jeans modest enough to wear out of the house, and the very pink beginnings of the second bobbin of the Winter Storage colorway I’m working on (my first project with my wheel’s fast flyer).

This rooster needs another cup of coffee!