Short and Not Sweet

OK, this has been a hard week all around - and especially for knitting. I've had more problems this week than I think I've had in my entire knitting "career" of a whole year and a half.

First of all, I actually trashed the in-process Tartalette Ribbon Tunic and am starting over with the new yarn I got on Ebay. When I was working on it tonight, I was talking too much to Sandy (and drinking red wine) and lost count of a pivotal section of increases - then tried to fix it and ended up frogging the whole thing - with the ball winder, for good measure, to rip it really quick. Then I looked at the yarn (which I had gotten on sale at a yarn shop after the holidays) and noticed how frayed it was compared to the new yarn I'd bought on EBay and decided, I'm just trashing it. I think I was evil-ly encouraged by this thread on the Knitter's Review forum, which I thought was crazy at the time and now I completely understand. Sometimes projects are not worth keeping. So big deal in the grand scheme of things- an $18 loss. Looking on the bright side, when I took it off the needles, I figured I'd try it on, and the medium is definitely going to be too big for a one-shoulder tank (i.e, there will be nothing for it to stop it from falling down to my waist), so I will make the small size on this go-around.

Tomorrow I'm going to a color workshop put on by Windy City Knitting Guild and we're going to knit a miniature fair isle sweater in the round (part one) and then "steek" (or cut it, for the uninitiated) and sew the seams with a sewing machine. I've read about this process but am not totally clear on how it all works, so I am pretty excited about this at least. I still am trying to get comfortable with double point needles (sock knitters are laughing at me right now) and so for now I was able to fit all the stitches around a 16" circular. The 12" ones I bought kill my hands, and I am just not going to be able to deal with them. I bought them somewhere that has a no-return policy on needles, so I am probably going to resell them on Ebay (or email me if you are in the market for addi turbos in sizes 3, 4, 5 and 6, 12" length.) Make me an offer - they were $60 in total (eeek.)

A bright spot is a picture of my sweet kitties, posing with my Debbie Bliss lace/bobble jacket, the ill-fated Tartalette one-shoulder tank and my new Tartalette....

Hopefully tomorrow is a better day!