hello again

It's been a while, hasn't it?

Since my last post I finished most of my dissertation edits, save those I had questions about. I also got a postdoctoral fellowship, at a hospital in their early childhood mental health program. I start in September so I've got some time to complete the big D and knit a lot! I had a nice household routine for chores, exercise, etc. established up until two weeks ago when boyfriend caught a nasty cold that lasted about a week. I thought I was in the clear until I caught it a week ago, and I am just starting to feel better aside from some sinus congestion and a cough. I've still managed to make some progress in knitting though.

I finished the Creature Comforts Cardi:

After I seamed it up and finished the sleeves/cuffs, I was a bit frustrated to find it seemed too small. I made the size small/medium (for 34-38" bust) and it should've been plenty big. I re-blocked it, realizing now that the first time I blocked it, I should've really stretched it out; I had gotten the 29" length, but I ended up having to block it to increase the width the second time around (not quite so easy when it was seamed up instead of being a nice flat rectangle). It fits now, though I'm still tempted to take out my steamer and try to open it up a bit more.

It is cozy though! Definitely a nice sweater to throw on over a tee or tank in the spring or fall, or a cool summer day.

 I also have a couple of ongoing projects that continue:

Socks the First, based on Silver's Sock Class. Still taking me forever. I'm half-tempted to rip it out and just work 2-at-a-time toe-up socks instead. (Except I don't have long enough and small enough needles right now, and no budget for new needles right now.)

A cowl (the GAP-tastic cowl) that I will give as a gift if it comes out nicely enough. (I'm a little suspicious of how the Homespun is performing here, but I needed an acrylic for the giftee I have in mind and have no yarn budget right now, so it had to be stash.)

And I decided to do a different sweater than the Tess cardigan. I was considering casting on for it again and went over the pattern carefully to try to figure out the stitch counts and everything so I wouldn't mess it up for a fourth time. Still couldn't work it out. So I decided that in addition to being one of the most frustrating patterns I've ever come across, it probably wouldn't be all that flattering on me. I looked for a different project and found a Cropped Jacket from the Early Fall 2010 issue of Vogue Knitting that would work for the yarn and be far more flattering for me. I swatched and got gauge with size 17 needles, but the fabric is much too loose for my taste, so I'm probably going to use 15s (the recommended size where I'm about 1/2 inch short in gauge) and just figure out the math to get the right sizing....a task I've been avoiding, but probably will tackle today.