Michigan, Go Blue!

I haven’t written in awhile, it has been a very busy fall/holidays.  I am up and running, my oldest is attending the University of Michigan and we are hosting 2 exchange students (which makes our house full of kids mostly teens, 7 of them, sometimes 8 or 9 depending on whether their brother is back or his friend is crashing here).  Needless to say, I’ve been busy.  That hasn’t kept me from knitting though.  I’ve been anxious to share my current big project.  It has been both fun and frustrating.  I promised my son a sweater when he graduated high school so we spent the spring/summer picking colors patterns, colors and yarn.  We did well.  This sweater screams Mac and will be a personal reflection of his school pride.  He wears maize and blue proudly.  It took a while to find a masculine pattern that was modern enough and could reflect his big personality.  I think we managed.  The pattern was bought at a fun little yarn shop in Chicago, and the yarn ordered from knit picks website. What I didn’t anticipate was how confining the pattern would be, it happens to have many color changes, an intarsia design, so I do not carry the project with me which means I have to make time to work on it.  That has been difficult.  I am almost done with the back, finishing the armhole shaping working towards the shoulder shaping….then the front can be conquered.  And for the first time I cannot wait to do the sleeves–they are solid colored, no more strand knitting! I am hoping a yardage meter will help simplify the front but I mistakenly ordered it from my local yarn shop where ordering seems to be very laid back.  I may just splurge and by the ball winding kit from knit picks.  Now to share my work……

First the pattern…..

Guernsey
My project 

Really??

Okay, now I have sunk to a new insane low point. I have finished knitting my first double-knitting project, my checkerboard. Now for the most ridiculous part of it. I don’t like to play checkers. It did not occur to me how silly it is that I actually knit something I really do not like to do. I have a long history of this. If you only knew how many doilies I have crocheted, wash cloths I have knit and sweaters I have made. Practically none of which I have used myself. I say practically, because I must admit to have using a wash cloth or two, and maybe one or two doilies. But in comparison to the quantity I have made and the degree to which I really don’t like them myself, I have to ask myself why do I make them??? To be honest, I don’t even know why. If anyone out there has any suggestions as to why, I am very curious, please let me know!!!! All right, sorry for my momentary, slip into insanity. I just had to share this. It hit me when I showed my niece my checkerboard, and I blurted out that I do not even like to play checkers. Maybe there is safety in knitting things I do not enjoy to begin with, in case I fail, then I did not put too much of myself into it and won’t be too heart broken. Who knows, at least I finished it.