off the needles!

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i have about 97 ends to weave in, but it’s off the needles—woo-woo!

and now i can confess.

a couple of weeks back (okay, or maybe a month back) when i had it off the needles to rip out part of the lower tier i tried it on. i shouldn’t have tried it on because it was one of those PMS days when i felt dumpy, my ankles were swollen, and i hated the world (i know—who would ever suspect me of being cranky . . .).

well anyway, i hated it. it felt clingy, heavy, and the stripes, in the PMS mirror, made me look giNORmous.

and that severely cut into my enthusiasm for finishing it. oh, i made excuses about all sorts of other interferences, but really, it was an i-hate-myself-in-it issue. i kept picturing how it would look on me in blog pictures and everyone saying, “the skirt looks great, but what makes her think she should wear THAT?”

it was the PMS talking, but tell me—why does PMS keep talking long after it’s gone? HUH??

so last night i tried it on for length before i bound off, and guess what?
we love it! it is SO cute! it’s got that flirty little flair i wanted without being swirly or wide.
just wait til you see it!!
i came out in it and david broke into a smile. poor thing. he doesn’t get to see me enough in skirts. i’m a bit self-concious about them. long story.

and then, even though it was already 1:30 am, i was hell-bent on binding off and finishing it so i could wear it to class today and test its tenor as a keeper of shape. and the next thing i knew david was pulling it out of my hands and shaking me awake to tell me to go to bed. oh well.

that was a bummer; now everyone at the yarn shop will have to wait til next week to see it. i also have to make an i-cord drawstring for it, which will supplant any sock knitting for today, i think.

AND it needs a good steaming. and those ends. ay, ay, ay.
you can kinda see in this last picture that the brownTreXX sox are growing. that is, you can see it if you are a completelydevoted fan of this blog who examines each and every picture in minute detail. ah, such is the fate of the desk sock.

one of the reasons i missed my self-imposed deadline of finishing the skirt last night was that i really wanted to ply that pumpkin tweed singles i spun the other day, before the humidity killed the active twist. when i saw that the alpaca swatch i made needed no blocking to take a shape (see the last post), i began to suspect that my singles might react the same way.

if you don’t know what i mean, well, it’s a lot like setting your own hair (or not). humidity in great quantities will help set the twist of spun wool very quickly. so, if you spin some that you plan to ply later, it could very well lose its ability to twist back and ply if you leave the singles on the bobbin in a humid environment too long. often you can get it back by plying it and soaking it really well, but it’s still a guessing game as to how much plying of the dead singles is right.

fortunately, the few days i left this one did not seem to hurt it much. it was a little less springy than on monday, but it plied well enough

and that’s it for today. i am however already comtemplating my next skirt—that’s how psyched i am about it. however, i will wisely wait til i actually wear the first one to make that decision. because if it’s a big saggy mess, i’ll make me a nice little summer cardi instead with that watermelon silk classic.

14 thoughts on “off the needles!

  1. OOH…….so pretty – bet it looks GREAT on you!
    Can you wear it to class 2 weeks in a row??? I’ll miss next week….

  2. I can’t wait to see the picture of you wearing the skirt!

    Love the pumpkin tweed yarn. I’m thinking it’d make a great woven jacket.

  3. Looking forward to seeing the skirt in person. Can’t believe it would make a 95 lb person appear heavy!!!
    Great job, once again! I KNOW READERS will want you to publish this pattern too!!!

  4. ok, pellknit, i tried to reply but your mailbox is full!
    where are you and wht are you knitting?
    and pell, i never weighed 95 lbs. ever.

  5. The skirt is simply fab! However, after reading the comments here and learning that you are 95 lbs (even if that’s an exaggeration), I’ve decided that I despise you. Yes, I do. You’re awful. It has nothing to do with your size. You just suck.

    (That’s not me talking. That’s MY PMS 😉

  6. hahaha! HAHAHA! HAHAHA-HAHAHA! as if being 95 lbs would make any of us truly happy! i’m pretty sure most of us are in possession of a “womanly” figure, no matter what our size

  7. Love, love, love!!! the skirt! Nice job! I really like the bottom lace part! I like the pumpkin colored yarn too! I am so happy you have this blog!

  8. The skirt IS cute, but it’s that bulging bobbin that catches my eye. Lookit all that yarn you fit on there! 😉 I’m surprised there was room for it on the flyer.

  9. oh anne,

    your skirt is exquisite! so missonni-esque!

    i believe this is how that franchise started: perhaps we could develop a business plan?

    m.

  10. The plied yarn looks beautiful. It’s such a s soft twist that I think it looks really delicate and beautiful – almost as beautiful as that skirt! Great color choices!

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