A Hooting Good Time

For my birthday on the first, I thought I'd set aside any startitis guilt and cast on something simple and chunky to balance out all the lace. I thought I'd just start a sleeve as a gauge swatch, and a couple of hours later my ball of yarn was gone and I had a sleeve. This was such a novelty that I was entirely compelled to knit a second sleeve the next day. In fact it went so fast that this is the only picture of the work in progress that I have.

The dog is our newest family addition, and despite the fact she's only been around for a couple of months she know that chewing yarn or mouthing fiber means instant death. (Ok, it means she can't sit on my lap which for her seems to be just as bad.) So we cuddle in with knitting and she snuggles while I spin, even though silk turns out to be her favorite flavor. (shudder).

I have, however, discovered that the training is not yet complete:

(Why my Chia-Goo needles? Why not the cheap, splintery Wal-Mart ones?)

At any rate, my sweater was getting along so well I was sure there would be serious repercussions as the Universe was clearly out of balance. However, I washed the sleeve and blocked it, and it came out just right. The measurements and gauge came together like something out of a story book, and the chart gave me no grief. I added a few rows before the owls since some people had mentioned that they needed more armpit space, got through the owls, and decided to try it on to see if it was all coming together right.

It fit perfectly and I knew I didn't need to change a thing. Except, well. Except it itches.

This is a totally gorgeous sweater. I love it and it fits me perfectly. And I can hardly stand to have it on.

Ravelry project link

I'm going to try a Eucalan wash, and a hair conditioner wash, and any other wash anyone might think would help. But really, even if nothing helps, I'll be brave. I'll buy a long-sleeved undershirt and wear this sweater on the coldest, most miserable nights of winter, and hope that the Universe is satisfied by providing me with a lovely warm sweater that I can't wear and won't sabotage my next project...

I'm heading out to find some buttons for the owl eyes, and once those are on and the sweater doesn't make me want to rip off my own skin, I'll have some pictures of it on me. It's really stunning.