Skimmer is indeed done, ya’ll. And it is everything I hoped it would be, and more. It is spectacular. It is the essence of sweaterness. Here are the pre-wash and block shots:

It fits even better now. There are no “boobs” in the back, and that collar lays smooth. Even my mom likes it, and there was no “but” after her comment. I plan to make another one in a lighter guage, maybe that pink cotton fleece. It’s aged about to perfection don’t you think?

Currently OTH: a little bag to use up the last ball and a half of this yarn.

Hey ya’ll. I have a couple of “don’t forgets” for ya.

1) Don’t forget to click on the “enter here” in the sidebar. and enter to win a free book. It’s a good one!

2) Craft Club will be running on schedule this week, and that means tomorrow. I’m nearing the finish line on Skimmer and it’s oh-so-sweet.

3) speaking of sweet……………stay tuned to your feed reader

That’s four rows on the front and the back. I decided to shorten Skimmer just a bit for a couple of reasons. The short row bust was off by about an inch and I was hoping to shorten the armholes enough to make it a sleeveless sweater. I was partially successful, in that the SRs now fall precisely in to place exactly where they need to be, but the armholes are still too deep for a sleeveless sweater. I still have a couple of options. Ang. suggested that a single crochet border might look better than an I-cord trim, so I plan to do that, and to put a scalloped edge on it. I may be able to fill in the armhole just a bit, using the same technique we used to use on soaker legs. I’ll try it on again after I have the other borders on and we’ll see then.

Hey, here’s a question for you. I have heard abut credit cards that offer discounts, and free airline miles, and gift certificates for this and that thing. How come I haven’t found one that racks up free yarn? Not that I could use it just now, since I haven’t finished my 12 required projects, but just in general, for future reference, like, ykwim? I know it’s maybe an unusual request, but I am an unusual girl. That’s what makes me so special You can go find a normal card there, though. They also have info on prepaid cards, which could come in handy for socking money aside for a yarn blow-out once one has completed the projects required for such a fiber fantasy. ha- socking. Haha, so punny!

ION, if you read this post anywhere but http://www.cassknits.com or in your feed reader, it’s stolen. Some ACFS has been lifting my posts, pictures and all. I’m freaking famous, ya’ll! But it’s a little bizarre to check out your incoming links only to find your own face staring back at you. Oh well. As my mother says, a link is a link is a link, and at least they are linking back!

I’ve done the first three, and tonight I plan to knit. It is well past time to start the sleeves on Skimmer. I don’t know why I haven’t really, because it’s so close to finished now. Really, how long will it take for two sleeves and 8 miles of I-cord edging? Surely no more than three years, right? Part of the issue is that I haven’t quite decided what kind of sleeves it needs. Or maybe I should leave it sleeveless?? That could be interesting! The I-cord though, that’s simple enough, and it would make a fine tv project while I think on the sleeves.

Unless I read. I could read. I have books, both mine and library. Also magazines. I could read.

Here it is. I’d sent it to Ang. the night I took it, and she sent it back to me tonight. Behold Skimmer:

It’s amazing the things I forget, even after all the knitting I’ve done. And everytime I forget something, I have to do a bit of ripping. Today, I forgot which way k2tog leans. Well, the answer is: not the way I need these decreases to go. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiip! The good news is that I had not gone very far, so I didn’t have to rip back very much. And now, I am over halfway done with the other back of Skimmer, thanks to a school day that lasted forever.

I was surprised really, that I didn’t get any knitting or reading done while we were camping this past weekend. I thought I would have long stretches of free time. I made a fatal error there. I forgot that I am still the Mama around here, LOL! Even camping, ther e are no long stretches of free time for Mama. The closest I came was the eveining I was getting increasingly frustrated because the kids were firing off requests so rapidly that I couldn’t get one answered before another started talking. I just excused myself and walked into my room with my timer and a magazine. 15 minutes later, I emerged, ready to answer them, though I still made them take turns, LOL.

What’s that? I seriously cannot remember the last time I knit. It’s not been, like, months, or anything, and I could scroll back through a couple of pages and find out, but I do know that, at least for me, it’s been a long time. I’ve just been busy doing other things: reading, teaching, cooking, living real life. It’s a dilemma, see, for a blogger. I can either write about life, or live it. In some seasons, there just isn’t time to do both, and then we get what we have had lately: Silence punctuated by brief spurts of activity.

The good news is that the forecast looks very pleasant, and I’m hoping to get in a bit of knitting time at camp this weekend. We’ll see how that goes

I got my issue of Interweave Knits in the mail the other day, and finally stole few minutes to flip through it. I just love knitting mags, not only for the patterns and tutorials, but for the ads. Yes, I said the ads. Looking at all those new yarns ….. well, it’s exciting for a girl like me. And the sweaters in the ads! Gasp. They have an entrelac one in one ad that just boggles my mind.

I tell ya, as much as I want to finish Skimmer, this issue has made my hands yearn for tiny needles and delicate yarns. So much lace! And I find myself drawn to patterns now that I would have passed by a few weeks ago before I finally figured out that layering thing. (Yeah, I’m slow. Sorry.) I’m not going to start a new project today, but I am hereby committing to get the back of Skimmer divided. Ladies and gentlemen, start your needles!

Start your needles? Clearly I am still thinking about the NASCAR Sweepstakes I entered for dh. I know he’d be so excited to go to Florida for the Ford 400! Me, I’d go, but I would take my knitting with me, LOL. Maybe hang out with Colleen, even.