Yay, sweater is finished!

So I got my tonsils out....and from my lack of blog postings during the last three weeks, it wasn't easy.  Nor was most of it spent cozily knitting while I watched old movies.  Most of it was spent laying in bed, with me counting the minutes until I could take my next dose of Vicodin.  And when I finally did feel up to knitting, I was back to work and thrown back into the chaos of my life.

So...my plans of finishing my sweater and then making a doll "or two" was a bit of a joke, really.   But alas, I finally did finish the sweater, just in time for Easter!  I was planning to wear it to church, but as it turns out it was too warm for it.  Thank God for small favors, as this has been a really miserable spring.  But here's the finished product (and a story):

And the moral to the story is....

So when I bought the yarn for this sweater, I was so excited to start it that I read the number of skeins incorrectly.  I was reading the skein count for the "size small" sweater and not the "size large" sweater.  So as I was finishing the first sleeve, I ran out of yarn.  Okay, simple enough, at least the yarn (Lion Brand Tweed) was mass produced and available at my local Wal- Mart.  Only when it isn't.  My trip to Wal Mart yielded zero skeins in the "orchid" colorway.  As did my visits to three more Wal Marts and two Michaels.  Oy.  Then, last sunday out of desperation, I ran to the local Meijer, figuring that I'd give it one last shot before I frogged the whole thing and cried buckets.

Meijer had two skeins left.  And they were marked down, too.  I grabbed them like there was a line of little old ladies fighting for them (there weren't by the way).  I must have looked like a maniac, running through the store gleefully like I won the lottery.  

Oh, and I also spent nearly $200 buying a bunch of other things I really didn't need.  But since Meijer is a Michigan company I felt it my civic duty.

And the moral to that story is...read the directions.  Twice.  And circle the number of skeins needed.  

I've started christmas knitting, which I'm sure seems like sheer lunacy to non-knitters, but this is how we roll.  I'm hoping to givve some really great handknits this year, much better than my christmas of hats that I don't think anyone in my family enjoyed.

Tonsil Recovery Knitting

I had my tonsils out yesterday--boo hoo!  About a week or two leading up to this, I went on a stash-busting binge, to free myself of some Lion Brand Homespun I had bought to make two blankets for two friends..And of course I didn't take pictures of either blankets.  I'm hoping that my friends will when they get them.  It's what I call my "loopy blanket"--this is what it looks like:

These are so easy, fast and fun to make!  I made one for my dear friend Stacey and another for my dear friend Patty.

I have the next two weeks off to recover--and I will need them.  Right now I'm blogging but I won't remember doing it tonight because I'm on so much Lortab....but that's fine.  What I'm really sad about is two weeks of no karate--I got everything signed off for the yellow belt test, which takes place on Sunday.  I was extremely bummed, but at the end of the day, everything happens for a reason.  I have one more month to perfect everything, to remember everything, and I will also help Lulu on her purple belt test.

So while I'm recovering I'm working on the Jacket, Deconstructed by Lion Brand.  It will be for me--I have to go to Seattle at the end of the month, and am very eager to wear this with some Calvin Klein suit separates.    I'm also planning on making a doll or two, as they are very easy..

That's all for now...back to sleep.