Winter is Coming!

Thank whatever you like to thank for the fact that Summer has broken and it's becoming cooler. This has prompted a few things from me:

1.) More knitting. Barbara's BEAUTIFUL sweater is whipping along. I have almost half a sleeve done. Then it's just another sleeve and it's done. Pretty neat for not knitting on it all summer, eh? (and no...it is not the Pewter Coat. We don't speak of that anymore.)

2.) I have planned knitting up to my ears. This is the time of year when I get hyped up about knitting lots of sweaters (not that this isn't the case any other time of year, but right about now, all my common sense regarding what can and cannot get done in a certain amount of time goes right out the window. Three more sweaters by Christmas? No problem!)

3.) Dreams about alpaca sweaters knit in the round. If there was any doubt that I was a knitter, I think it's gone now.

4.) Washing sweaters. I am currently handwashing all my delicious wool sweaters (all store-bought, by the way, since I only have one I've made for myself and it's already clean) so they'll be ready for wearing. I am having an inordinate amount of fun doing this. This is perhaps due to my recent purchase of some Eucalan wool wash which DOESN'T NEED TO BE RINSED. Need I say more?


Speaking of sweaters, most especially sweaters for ME, I have started a Wisteria after seeing the gal over at sock pr0n knitting one with her own HANDSPUN YARN. Color me jealous. Anyway, not only did the cables appeal to me, but it's knit top down, in the round. Just like my last sweater for me. It's going to be great. I'm enjoying it immensely already.

Still speaking of sweaters, I purchased two books recently: Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting without Tears and Barbara G. Walker's Knitting from the Top. Now, previously, I had scorned the former because knitting did not make me cry. I am more the kind of person that needs a book titled Knitting without Violence. Well, this was before I discovered what a GENIUS that woman was and now after my dream of a seamless hybrid sweater (that alpaca one, remember?) I felt the need to purchase it so I could start planning my alpaca sweater. This is where my delusions of getting lots of sweaters done comes in: I would like to have this sweater to wear this year. HAH! Did I mention I still haven't purchased yarn for my father's sweater?

So...sweaters are on the mind, as you can tell. This may be due to the fact that all I remember of last winter was COLD. MIND NUMBING COLD.