Andrea Underway

Ok, Andrea, the bad boyfriend, is behaving very well. Beautiful and light as a feather, it is always greeted with oo's and ah's. Definitely the kind of yarn that when you walk in the room, you've got a stunner on your arm - all eyes turn to you (although, I was more curious about Robin's knitting last night - had the scarf worked? Is the knitting funk over? And, I think she is on the road to recovery - the baby blanket is no longer the f-ing baby blanket, and the scarf is allegedly 16 inches underway. I'm predicting a finished project by the end of the month). And, Andrea takes a lot of commitment -- there's no going back. Like KidSilk Haze, ripping is not an option. If you make a mistake, you just have to knit through it and hope for the best. There are 2 glaring holes in my fabric, but they are apparently only glaring to me, so big sigh of relief. And they say a girlfriend is the last one to notice faults! And while Andrea is behaving in its controlled, no-ripping environment, I still see more problems ahead. Blocking is going to be one big challenge, and now that I'm binding off the armhole, the idea of seaming is scary. If there was ever a question of whether Andrea would need major blocking - that question is answered - oh yeah. Like all bad boyfriends, it will need to be molded, shaped, bent to my will. This piece was all knit on the same size needle, and as you can see at the bottom, the pattern is all bunched up. When pulled to its true length, there's actually 13 inches from the bottom to the armhole. But isn't this so pretty! I'm crossing my fingers that this relationship will indeed be worth it, and my little heart is not going to get crushed.

In other news, I hate to start talking about another project, but, I am intrigued by Yarn Harlot's Knitting Olympics. I'm on the fence. And, not because like Michelle Kwan, I've pulled a groin muscle, I'm too old, I really shouldn't compete, and would be taking up someone's spot who put the time in all year, but because whenever I've knit a project on a deadline - birthday, Xmas, whatever - I've not enjoyed knitting it. On the other hand, the timing is perfect because my niece's birthday party is the 18th, and as anyone who has read my blog knows - I love my niece, but I HATE HATE HATE knitting for children. So, since I've never tried Fair Isle, I hate knitting for children, and I hate knitting on a deadline, I think I might be up for the challenge.

I would have to cheat on Andrea though . . .