Progress

I thought I'd write an update about my father's sweater. I very happily knit in the round for 16 inches to create the bottom part of the sweater up to the underarm/sleeve shaping. I put half of the stitches aside and am now knitting back and forth on two needles. Here's what I have so far:

I've noticed that my knitting looks different--in the picture you can see where I switched from knitting in the round to regular knitting--and that my guage has changed! I kept using #7 needles for about 6.5 inches (I was so close to being done with the back of the sweater!) when I decided that maybe I should investigate the discrepency in appearance. My gauge was off and had to rip out all of those hours and hours of hard work. When I was knitting in the round, everything looked so much more uniform...my stitches were so nice and even. Now that I've started knitting back and forth, it looks choppier and I've had to go down to a #5 needle to keep it 4 sts/inch. Is this because I'm holding the yarn differently? Or because the work is heavier and no longer being supported all on one needle? *sigh*

I just hope it all looks the same when I wash the finished garment. I want this sweater to turn out nicely so my father will actually wear it... (By the way, the sweater is a darker black than it looks in this picture.)

Yarn Harlot

I'm reading Yarn harlot: the secret life of a knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and it's fabulous!

I'm about half way through and can relate to so many parts of the book. At one point I had to read a passage out loud to my husband because it's exactly what the two of us do (she is freaking out because her knitting is not going well and he tells her he doesn't understand why she thinks she likes knitting. She responds that she doesn't like knitting, she loves it and then compares it to marriage, saying you don't toss in the towel just because you have a few troubles). It's so nice to know that I'm not the only one who has these experiences! I'd like to keep writing but I better go work on my dad's sweater, which by the way is turning out very well. The yarn knits up beautifully and I really like knitting it in the round rather than in four pieces. I'm about half way to the armpit...

Dad's sweater

I started working on my Dad's birthday present, a black V-neck sweater with Handwork Cora yarn. I swatched a few days ago and started the K2 P2 ribbing for the back piece of the sweater when I realized that I'm using Denise Interchangeable needles and could work most of the sweater in the round by connecting some cables. I ripped out the little I had done and started over, casting on 192 sts. It's a little awkward since men's sweaters are so big but I think it will save me some hassles later on. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I won't confuse myself up at the arm holes when I have to stop knitting in the round!

I won't let myself start any more projects until this is done because my dad's birthday is in less than two months. Wish me luck. :o)