A sweater-coat! Mostly...

I sewed the coat together on Saturday (and wove in ends while I was at it). When I tried it on, it hung a little strangely, but I think the problem will be rectified with the addition of the collar, the button bands, and the buttons themselves.

I'm still working on other projects that I haven't taken pictures of, and it's starting to feel like my knitting is stagnating. I haven't really worked on anything else in the last month, and I'm frustrated creatively. Two of the projects are in second-whatever stage, and I'm bored. The other project seemed complicated enough, initially, but now I'm bored again and have the chart memorized, too. I'm not really sure how to deal with this knitting ennui, since most of these projects need to be finished soon.

And to finish, a picture of my kitty!

An occupied bed...

... and the pictures to prove it:

I am finally finally FINALLY closing in on the finish line of my Knitting Olympics sweater... just in time for the weather in Texas to warm up for good, I imagine. I feel bad hoping that it will be cold enough to wear this sweater before next November (thank you Texas weather), but I really want to show it off!

Also currently on the needles are my socks from the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Notorious Sock Knitters club. But, since this is a member-only organization, I can't show them to you. Not that there's much to look at, since I haven't even finished the first little bit.

I'm also working on *something* for Mother's Day for my mamá, and I'm trying (not too) desperately to finish a pair of gloves for my roommate for Christmas. (I started them in January. Yes, I feel bad that it's taking so long, especially since the same warm weather that prevents me wearing my sweater-coat prevents her from wearing her gloves. Also I think she might have appreciated having them that day that it snowed here.)

Setbacks and progress

Setback number 1382934:

I found a mistake where I accidentally crossed the purl stitches in front of the knit stitches right at that point that I dropped the sixteen pattern stitches to. It took me three hours on Wednesday night to fix it.

I have made more progress in the last two days than I had in the last two weeks. Don't believe me? Look at this:

Okay, last two days may be an exaggeration, and looking at the photo, I realize that the back and one front piece were completed by Thursday (2/25) and the other front and that one sleeve you can see were finished Friday and today, respectively.

I was thinking that the sleeves might be too short, but I think that since the shoulders will be slightly oversized the sleeves should be fine. At least, I hope they will.

Also, there's almost no hope of me finishing this sucker by tonight. It won't stop me from trying, but I'm not holding out too much hope. I still have the other sleeve, sewing together, knitting the collar and button bands. Plus I never bought the four 1 1/2" buttons I will need to crochet covers for. Did I mention I don't really know how to crochet? I can make foundation chains no problem, it's the rest that gives me trouble.

So far behind schedule...

... that it's not even funny. See this photo? I took it just a few minutes ago. If you look at my schedule, that front panel that's a quarter done was supposed to be finished Friday, and the other (currently nonexistent) front panel was supposed to be done yesterday.

What's the problem? Laziness. And my mom (hi Mom!) came into town yesterday so we went shopping. I'm either going to have to knit like crazy (starting tomorrow afternoon, since I have a paper due tomorrow morning that I need to finish) or admit defeat.

But you know, it is the Knitting Olympics. Maybe I can pull an Ohno and come from behind for the win (or bronze, in Ohno's case)...

A Knitting Olympics Event Schedule

In my head, I have a loosely formed plan for my Knitting Olympics sweater. It mostly goes like this: Finish the back by Wednesday 2/17. That's pretty much it. I guess, outlining the rest of it, this is what it looks like:

Wednesday 2/17: Finish the back. (Possible, but unlikely, as I haven't even started shaping the armholes yet.)

Friday 2/19: Finish one front panel (with a pocket)

Saturday 2/20: Finish the other front panel (with another pocket - details below)

Monday 2/22: First sleeve finished

Thursday 2/25: Second sleeve finished, block finished pieces

Friday 2/26: If the pieces aren't finished, dry them in the oven. Stitch together as instructed. Start collar

Saturday 2/27: Finish collar and one button band.

Sunday 2/28: Finish other button band, make crochet button covers. Wear my lovely new coat for the closing ceremonies.

Progress Report

This is a slightly out-dated photo from my Knitting Olympics progress:

Isn't it purty? I took this photo Saturday night after spending almost all day Saturday knitting (not really. I spent half of Saturday reading, the other half knitting.). This is the back of the pattern I'm knitting, and I'm delighted to report that I have yet to notice any screw-ups.

Since that photo was taken, I have made this much progress:

(Yes, it is the same ball of yarn as in the previous picture.) I didn't work on the sweater much yesterday, since I was sick and tired and reading and doing homework and cleaning the apartment and grocery shopping. I'm rather pleased with my progress nonetheless, and will continue knitting after I do my homework for tomorrow.

The Christmas Yarn Fund

Okay, that's not REALLY the name of the savings account (though maybe it should be). The savings account itself is called Short-Term Savings, of which Christmas is one of those things that needs saving for in the short term.

Anyway. I decided after last Christmas that I should save up about $400 for Christmas for this year (which, retrospectively, seems a tad excessive, BUT better safe than sorry). By "after last Christmas," I mean literally the day after Christmas. I also decided that I wanted to have all that money in place by November 1, so any shopping that needed to be done (for non-knit presents) could be done at my leisure.

There are only two people (currently) on my Christmas present who don't want/deserve knitted presents. (By deserve, I mean that they appreciate the present upon receipt, but then I never ever see them wear it, so why waste my time and yarn?) These two people have agreed that non-knitted items will be under the tree for them, so don't go feeling sorry for them. That leaves nine people (family members and my best friend) who will be getting knit Christmas presents. As you mathematically-minded people might have realized, $400 for 11 people is kind of INSANE - at least for a college student. Which is why I used some of the money for my Knitting Olympics project.

The nice thing about knowing what I'll be making for people for Christmas 2010 is that I can do things like save up a little at a time for presents, and I have lots and lots of time in which to MAKE those presents, which is really the more important thing. (Fun fact: I didn't finish Christmas 2009 presents until... ah crap, I still have one more present! Ah geez. Hopefully by the end of February.)

The whole point of this post is that by thinking ahead (way, way ahead), you too can get a handle on Christmas 2010 presents. I'm currently saving $33.33/month for Christmas presents, and I am free to withdraw that money any time I'm ready to start another present. Also, I have a schedule in place for making stuff, and I have to make only one present a month from March through November to have everything done on time. See? Nice and relaxed.