Deadline 19 days

Just when I thought I had pulled it all together, something comes along to throw a spanner in the works. Ahhh, but I'm getting ahead of myself here, so I'll begin at the beginning, and take it from there.

After finishing the solid black socks for hubby, a labour of love most certainly, I thought I would work on the booties, and perhaps the fringe jumper, until I became more certain of what I wanted to start next. I was tempted to start something else, mind you, particularly as I had Thursday night off before going away Friday and Saturday to a Western Action shoot on the other side of Adelaide. But I resisted, and decided I would work on The Fringe jumper while away. Even though it is a HUGE project size wise, it is, for the most part, mindless knitting.

We drove over Friday afternoon, arriving at our rented cabin in Bolivar, SA at around 5:30. I knit on the jumper all the way over. I was talking to Chris about the project I would do next, and he mentioned his mom's birthday which is coming up on June 10th. Now, I've been wanting to make a jumper for his mom, and was thinking about trying to rush one before Mother's Day, but decided I didn't have enough time. Hearing about her birthday, which I had totally forgotten about, I was kicking myself for not realizing this when I was thinking about making a jumper for Mother's day, because if I hadn't finished it, well, I could have just kept knitting and surely would have been finished by her birthday. So, sitting there in the car, I starting mulling over the possibility of getting a jumper finished by her birthday. I had a pattern in mind, and even the yarn to knit it with, but of course, had brought none of it with me, so the earliest I could start would be Sunday. That would give me about 21 days to finish a jumper. Tight, but if I lay down everything else and concentrated strictly on the jumper, it would be done.

I continued knitting on the Fringe jumper that night. If you don't remember, the Fringe jumper is knit from cuff to cuff, and I was on those long rows that reach from the waistband in the front, over the shoulder and down to the wasteband in the back. I realised Friday night that I was getting close to the point where I must divide for the neckline. So I knit like a mad woman, wanting to get the neckline divided and start knitting on the back before the shoot tomorrow, as trying to do all that "on the run" so to speak, would be difficult. I did finish, but with Chris already in bed and glaring at me.

The next morning on the way to the shoot, I broke one of the tips of a cord to my Denise needle set, which is what the Fringe jumper was on. This distressed me greatly, but thank goodness I had extras with me, and also extra stitch holders, so I got all that fixed up on the way to the shoot. I was, however, in a nasty mood about it.

I won't go into too much detail about the shoot. It had been a long time since I'd had any practice at all, and my shooting was abysmal, but then, I shoot for fun more than worry about scores anyway. It was rainy, muddy, cold and yucky and the day went on until it was nearly dark. Standing in the bad weather in cowboy boots for 9 hours...well, I'll let you use your imagination, but I wouldn't call it fun. Still, I wore my knitted pancho, and I did look pretty cute :)


(sorry, old pic, but I couldn't find a newer one)

Sunday was not much better, weather wise, but it was of shorter duration, and after the awards presentation we were on our way home. I continued to knit on the Fringe, and by the end of the trip, I had made an admirable amount of progress on it, and it was a really fun knit all in all.




Now, let me explain a bit about this jumper. Actually, my first idea was to make her a cardigan. There's a pattern in my "Knitting the New Classics" book that is made with bulky mohair. It comes with instructions on making a cardi or a jumper in the same pattern.




I have two lots of bulky mohair that should be enough to make it, but one is in light pastels, which I don't think would be appropriate for a woman her age, and the other is in darker "stormy" blues and mauves and greys. Really pretty yarn I found on sale at Spotlight and bought with last years (or was it year before last?) birthday money. I had actually chosen it for myself...but I can't be greedy here.




The trouble is, it's varigated yarn, and varigated yarn doesn't make good cardi's. It's hard to get the color strips lined up for the two front sections. There's a picture of one in Ravelry, and when I saw that, it dawned on me that with this type of yarn, the jumper would be the best option. It also helps timewise...no button holes or buttons to sew on.

Sunday night I started on the jumper, but I was so exhausted, I admit I didn't get far. Monday morning, I realised that the gauge was coming up too small, so I ripped it out and started all over again using bigger needles. Now, I'm getting a good gauge, and all is going well. I had my two days off Tuesday and Wednesday, and after copious amounts of knitting both days, I'm about 2/3 done with the back. I could have done better, but I did have housework that seriously needed to be done, and today is payday, with the subsequent errands to run. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish up the back by tomorrow, or Saturday at the latest.



So every other project has been lain aside for the moment. No pictures or updates are to be expected for awhile. Nineteen more days until deadline...maybe a few more if Chris can delay the "party" until the weekend after the actual day.

On the good news front, my Peace Fleece arrived today. I was shocked. I wasn't looking for it for another week, but they had sent it "priority" post, so I expect that sped it up. It feels great, on the one hand, to have it here safe and sound, but on the other hand, it's a bit frustrating not to be able to get started with it for at least another couple of weeks.



Along with the yarn I needed, I also ordered a pattern. It's called the Coup D'etat Cradigan, and was only $4. I thought that I might like it down the track, but it's not for this lot of Peace Fleece. I have to see, first, if I can easily alter it to be a bit bigger, as the top size is a size smaller than I need. If that doesn't work, I'll use it to make something for someone else. But by getting the pattern now, I'll know how much Peace Fleece to order for it down the track.

I also got these nifty Peace Fleece sew in labels, just for fun. They were like .30 cents each, and I doubt they added much weight to the package :)



Truthfully, I might delay knitting the Central Park Hoodie even longer. While working so dilligently (and actually seeing progress) on the Fringe jumper, I got a bug to get it finished asap. It is winter here, and it would be nice to see it finished in time to wear this year. Diddo the short row scarf. Then, I MUST get something finished for little Michael before he outgrows them.

So maybe..just maybe...I'll be a good girl and finish more of my WIP's before starting on another project. Maybe.