Moving

Well, tomorrow the cable gets turned off and then we move bright and early Monday morning. The cable won't get installed at the new place until Thursday so don't expect any posts for a few days.
We appear to be in good shape moving-wise. We need to run to Staples tomorrow and get a few more boxes for those last few items and then we'll be ready.
My knitting bag is still unpacked just in case I can grab a few moments for knitting between packing boxes. I did finish the first sleeve and am on the second. Hopefully I'll have lots of progress to show at my next post.

Paralyzed by Choice

Wow! I have never seen so many buttons before in my life. Windsor Button is definitely the place to go if you need buttons. I purchased these wooden beauties after much deliberation. Thank goodness the staff were so helpful!

I'm sad to report that yesterday at my Sunday knitting group I was on the home stretch with my first sleeve when it was pointed out to me that I had made it too short. Grrrr. I had to frog all the cap decreases and knit a few more inches before starting to decrease again. I hate negative progress days.

Interim project

Well, the cardigan was getting a little difficult to knit while at work (my row counting was suffering) so I switched to a project I had put on the back burner: the Eros scarf. I had stopped knitting this project after a couple of inches because I found it boring and I knew I wouldn't finish it in time for the birthday of the person I am intending it for. Plus, I had knit an identical Eros scarf for my mother last year and this past April had finally gotten around to fixing it (I had first tried to knit it in stockinette, which was a huge mistake as it curled in on itself horribly). The thought of having to knit another Eros scarf so soon did not appeal. The novelty, shall we say, of knitting with novelty yarn had worn off. However, I found this to be the perfect project to knit while at work as it was just straight garter stitch. I was nicely distracted with my knitting and the time flew by. And behold! After 4 days of knitting, the scarf was finished! I am pleased with how it came out. Even better, I now have a Christmas present all ready to go.

Work on the cardigan continues slowly as packing takes up a lot of my time while I am home. I am still working on the first sleeve, though I am almost finished. I plan to go to Windsor Button later today to purchase buttons for it.

Packing hell

Hello from the depths of packing hell. I am moving on August 1st. This is the current state of my living room.

I'll have you know that my priorities are in order though. Look at the only books remaining on the bookshelf. Hey, you never know when you'll need to reference something or start a new project...

In the meantime, between packing up boxes, I am working on the first sleeve of the cardigan. It is coming along, though I am having trouble counting 6 rows and remembering to increase while watching tv.

Oh, and did I mention that I was moving to Northampton, MA? Yes, Webs will be my Local Yarn Store. Heh heh heh.

Multi-tasking

Wow! I made a lot of progress on the cardigan today. I started with only about 6 inches done on the left side panel and now it is finished! It's all about multi-tasking. Yes, I knit all day today while I was at work. You are probably wondering how I managed to get away with this without being fired. Well, I currently work in a museum. Through a series of events involving staffing changes and grants ending and new ones beginning I found myself working as the head digitizer for a scanning project of a collection of priceless negatives. The negative collection is fascinating, but scanning, sadly, is not. In fact, after doing it every day for 7 months, I have to conclude that it is horrendously boring. I have often thought as I set the scanner to do a batch scan and then waited 10+ minutes for it to finish, how much knitting I could accomplish in the down time. I have been hestitant to do this, however, because I was worried about what others might think. While I would know that I was still being productive, others might not. So what brought about this change of heart -- this cavalier attitude towards the opinions of my co-workers? Well, I am leaving the museum at the end of the month and I seriously doubt I can be fired at this point (not to mention that I am an excellent, if reluctant, scanner). Also, my boss is away on vacation. Anyway, out came my knitting needles and time just flew by for me today as I scanned. I would like to point out (in the unlikely event that my boss is reading this) that I still managed to scan 48 images today (my all time record is 50).

Since my cardigan is nearing completion, I have begun to consider buttons. Grumperina recommended that I go to Windsor Button in Boston, which I am planning to do in the near future. What color buttons would work with this cardigan though? My first thought was that wooden buttons would look nice. But I also could do a reddish color to match or complement the yarn color. Or maybe silver or gold colored buttons would be nice as well. Any comments or suggestions??

Cat approved progress

Progress has been made on the cardigan! My blog silence of the past few days was a result of my preoccupation with knitting. As you can see from the picture, one of the side panels is complete and resting on the also completed back. They even match up! I have started on the second panel.

I know I mentioned that this yarn is full of nubbly goodness and has a nice texture, but today it passed the ultimate test of yarn comfort: Derwent the cat. Derwent loves to sit on my lap while I am knitting, which I allow her to do as long as she behaves (i.e. no yarn swatting or needle biting). She enjoys kneading the skein, which is very cute. Her favorite yarn so far is Plymouth Iniecita Alpaca. I'm using the yarn for a scarf/hat/mittens set that is currently on the back burner. If I do not put this yarn away in a secure place such as a bag that zips or a container that snaps shut, she will find it, get it out, and chase it all over the floor with sometimes horrifying results. You might think a plastic bag that has been folded shut is safe, but you'd be underestimating Derwent. Today Derwent stole an opportunity to take a nap on the cardigan pieces and decided she likes the nubbly goodness very much indeed.