What Everyone Needs

Check out this knitted digestive system! Follow this link for more photos. [via Craftster]

Armed and Dangerous

I finished the right front of the Cutaway last night and pinned it down to be blocked. I was able to start in on the ribbing of both sleeves and am getting ready to do some mindless stockinette stitch. I am really happy with the fabric of the Merino Style yarn. It's a bargain and it looks good. The only problem I encountered was with one skein where several knots appeared within a few yards of each other. I got all of them to appear on the wrong side and since the sweater is black, I figured you couldn't really see them anyway.

Weekend Update

I finished the left front on Saturday and it's currently blocking. I started the right front last night and should be able to have that done some time this week. Then it's onto the sleeves.

PS In local news last week, we found out that IKEA is coming to Portland in 2007. Over 200,000 suqare feet and two floors...

Progress

I seem to have gotten a lot of knitting done yesterday. Before I knew it, I was binding off for the armholes on the Cutaway. It looks like I'll have a few more inches to go before the entire back is done. I did several hours worth of knitting on the Drunken Argyle the other night and am still trying to finish the first third of the chart that I am working from. I work on it intermittently throughout the week, hours at a time. I got a couple of good tips regarding all the bobbins and putting them in a box, like in this Magknits pattern. However, at this point, I'm just going to keep the bobbins hanging since I've become rather adept at navigating them all!

Another Project

When I needed a break from the Drunken Argyle, I cast on for the Cutaway and got a few increase rows completed. So far, I'm really liking the Merino Style. It's very easy to knit with and is very forgiving.

In other local crafty news...PDX Super Crafty Book Release Party

This free show (21 and over only) at the Doug Fir on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. celebrates the release of Super Crafty, a book with over 75 how-to craft projects from four local crafters: Susan Beal, Torie Nguyen, Rachel O'Rourke, and Cathy Pitters. It will also feature music from Rebecca Pearcy (of Queen Bee Creations), Roy Tinsel, and Millions of Birds. AC Dickson will be hosting and giving away fabulous prizes: handmade delights, books, and t-shirts from Super Crafty, vinyl by Queen Bee, coffee from Stumptown, tickets to upcoming shows at Doug Fir, and much more. There will be goodie bags with cool handmade treats for the first 100 people in the door, so stop by early!

Surprise

I finally got my Merino Style in the mail yesterday. I had forgotten that I had ordered it, so it was nice to have a knitting surprise waiting for me when I got home. I completed my swatch last night and got gauge the first time. That's always a bonus. The yarn is quite nice to work with. It seems weightier than a DK yarn and it's very sturdy. The finished fabric feels slightly felted, but is very soft. I can start casting on for the Cutaway today.

Standby

I didn't really do any knitting over the weekend because of the Portland Marathon. I'm still waiting on my Knitpicks Merino Style. I hope to get some quality knitting time on the Drunken Argyle tonight while watching Lost.

Slow But Steady

I have finally gotten into an intarsia rhythm with this knitting project. Last night, I worked on this project for about three and a half hours. I think I only got about 10 rows done, but it felt good to be making some progress. I think I've hit the halfway point on the first of the three charts. Woohoo!

Memry and Flickr

Memry is Memory using Flickr images. Play it here with my finished objects. Very cool! [via kottke]

Style

I went to The Naked Sheep, a new LYS in my neighborhood, to look for possible yarn options for the Cutaway. Unfortunately, the yarns that I would have liked to use were at least $7 a skein. That's a little steep for my budget. So, of course, I turned to Elann and Knitpicks. There were a lot of appropriate yarns on Elann, but most of them had only one color choice left. They also have a lot of new stuff coming out in mid-October, but I can't wait that long. Instead, I opted for the Merino Style from Knitpicks. I got 10 skeins in coal for a whopping total of $22.90! That's only $2.29 a skein!