Knitting Musings

Finished Sweater, Minnesota, and Some Jello

Last time I managed to sit in front of the computer and update, I was struggling to finish Monarch of the Glen in time to wear it to Minnesota. I decided to do a turned-down collar and graft the live stitches to a row of picked up stitches on the inside of the collar - for this pullover, I wanted the collar to be nice and stretchy. Of course, since I was essentially making the shaping up as I went along, I had to do this part twice. I think the worst was taking out the first round of grafting...

With the neckline FINALLY properly shaped and grafted, it only remained to weave in some ends and graft the underarms. Monarch accompanied me to Late Night, where I attempted to finish everything up. Unfortunately, a few other things got in the way of the last bit of grafting...

Exhibit 1 - Crazy Yarn Hoarding Behavior.

Exhibit 2 - Adorable Dog Under Knitting Table (or, more likely, in arms demanding snuggles).

So instead of finishing up the sweater on Wednesday night, I finished it up at the airport on Thursday morning. Thanks to TSA, I even had to gnaw off the ends with my teeth since I couldn't bring scissors with me. Fun times!

With one project down, I turned my attention to Alpine Lace... I definitely got a few strange looks from my fellow passengers as I carefully unpacked my cone of yarn, set it up under the seat in front of me, and started knitting.

The lace enjoyed the flight, and enjoyed the view (and the beer) in the Milwaukee airport.

Eventually, we made it to Minnesota, and spent some lovely quality time with S' family. Friday and Saturday morning, however, were reserved for "playing tourist." We didn't have a ton of time, but we managed to visit S' alma mater, the state capital building (awesome tour, by the way!), and one of my favorites - the Como Park Conservatory. (Freudian slip? I keep calling it CORMO park... I wish!) It was beautiful! We wandered through the Sunken Garden...

... almost had to physically carry my dad out of the Fern Room (he really REALLY likes ferns!)...

... and we lucked out that it was the very last weekend the outdoor Japanese Garden was open for the season!

The beautiful garden and the cool temperatures combined for a photo shoot....

Monarch of the Glen Aran

Pattern: my own, based on a sweater worn by Duncan on the BBC show Monarch of the Glen

Yarn: Cormo worsted, Fox Hill Farms (MDS&W)

Notes: I loved working on this sweater. I am thrilled with how it turned out, and am proud that I took the time to rip out and re-do when something didn't turn out exactly as I hoped. I knit this sweater in pieces, leaving live stitches at the neckline for the collar. After seaming up the raglans, I knit the collar (turned hem, grafted) and finished sewing the seams.

Before the "second reception" on Saturday, we headed up to Stillwater for some pictures - which resulted in another finished object photo shoot as I realized I never properly photographed the Debbie Bliss Silk Shrug I finished AGES ago!

And the reception in Minnesota? SO MUCH FUN. And look! Jello!

When we finally got home, the animals had (according to them) NEVER EATEN AT ALL. And they'd gotten no attention. Yeah, right!

Cricket seems to be sleeping, but really, she's fainted from hunger. She just happened to conveniently faint right in that lovely sunny spot in the living room...