Even closer

I love seaming! Well, maybe not love it, but certainly appreciate it. Watching the pieces of my sweater come together with a few tugs on that yarn and how seamless that seam looked, was actually kinda fun. Ribby (Ravelry) is all seamed and has button bands and a stand-up collar. I blocked all the pieces and seamed the sides to the back on Saturday, seamed the sleeves on Sunday and attached them to the body. It went a lot smoother and faster than I thought. The only reason I didn't get to the sleeves on Saturday was they weren't dry. It was rainy and damp and cotton ribbing is slow to dry.

I used the 2x2 tubular bind-off on the collar, but realized just as I wove in the last end that I had dropped a stitch while binding off;so I need to fix it, but other than that, all it needs is a zipper. I may run it through the washer before adding the zipper in case it shrinks a bit. I want this to be a sweater I can throw in the wash and not have to worry about. I figure if I shrink it a little before I get the zipper the zipper won't be too long and make it bunchy later. I will post a pic ASAP, but it may not be until after I get a zipper. I think it fits well and the sleeves are a little long, just how I like 'em.

I keep finding things about knitting that totally amaze me. I am so glad there were smart people out there to figure all this stuff out so I can just blindly follow directions and watch the magic happen. I would have to say the tubular cast-on, Kitchener stitch, and mattress stitch are right up there. I love the rolled, sturdy edge the tubular CO makes, and you only have to count out half as many stitches to start. I look forward to starting Wicked (Ravelry) and learning more new stuff!

I made beef stew and Irish soda bread yesterday. I used Guinness in the stew instead of wine and the powdered buttermilk instead of the stuff in the carton. Both turned out pretty well, though my timing was completely off. I should have made the bread before I started the stew, but I was so caught up in finishing my sweater that I did it backwards and the stew was done almost an hour before we really wanted dinner and the bread had to share oven space with the stew so it didn't rise as much as I hoped it would because the oven temp was lower than called for. It was good but I felt sick afterwards, which was probably due to the headache and lack of a real meal all day until I ate supper. Sitting hunched over a sweater for almost 4 hours didn't help either. I didn't bring any for lunch today, which means I need to buy something overpriced on campus. The hospital cafeteria is cheaper and I get a discount, but the quality is not always there.