Let's talk about knitting

I haven't been doing much of it lately. That's been a trend for the whole year really. I did have two projects that somehow managed to complete themselves, although at a pitifully slow pace.

So here we go: A Dragon Skin for Dara

I alluded to yarn purchased for a baby project awhile back. You'll notice the date on that post is May 8th. At that time it was known to all that the baby was going to be arriving on May 20th, which she did. I was deluded enough to think that in between my arrival home on May 9th (well really the 10th since a midnight landing doesn't really count as same day) and her arrival into the world on May 20th I would knit, block and seam the sweater. I had visions of visiting Mom and baby at the hospital and whipping out my beautifully executed baby sweater. I had the yarn, I had the pattern, I had the needles, what could go wrong.

10 days. Was I high? We'll just say jetlag was clouding my judgment. It turns out I'm not that fast of a knitter. I did finish the knitting itself in 20 days, pretty respectable for me. Then it took me another month to get off my butt and block it. Than another week or so to get of my butt and seam it, so finally here it is:

Pattern: Dragon Skin Wrap by Angela Hahn from the last Interweave Holiday issue.
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Prima purchased from Webs (I'm really going to miss being able to drive to Webs)
Needles: Size 6, Knitpicks Harmony (this was my first full project on these baby's and I was quite happy with them)
Size: 22 inches, 3-6 months, which is exactly how old Dara will be when it starts to cool down around here.

Notes: The printed magazine pattern chart is incorrect for the size 22" the ML on the Left front side should be a MR. I added the ties before I seamed it all up because I wanted them to block with the rest of the sweater. The SSE that is used is nice for the edging but a pain for the ties, if I were going to do it again I'd go with a regular I-cord. The yarn shed a little color in the blocking process, but a wet blocking did miracles for smoothing out the whole thing. This was a fun, quick knit with an adorable result. I went with the bright purple because it is perfect for the recipient, who is our little rock star.

Ok, I think that's it. I have another, boring-ish project all done as well, but I'm tired of typing so you'll see it some other time.