Buh Buh Buh Buh

Feeling totally braindead, probably inhaling too much acid dye....let's get that out of the way: shop update this Thursday (tomorrow) at 9:00 p.m.....

In knitting news: I'm still working Silken Scabbard - tried it on and it's probably entirely too small, so it'll probably be a gift. (I'm not taking volunteers for receipt, sorry - I have a plan that will hopefully make someone's YEAR.)

Since that sweater now apparently won't be for me and I am The World's Most Selfish Knitter, I immediately went in search for a sweater for me. I started and abandoned the Fireside Sweater. I strongly and wholeheartedly recommend knitting it RIGHT NOW if you are an extra-small or small, but maybe consider reworking the charts a bit if you're any larger - in a medium, it didn't look quite as way-cute as the pictured extra-small, and I didn't feel up to modifying the charts to suit my tastes. To be sure, this is in no way a slight against the designer - she designed an adorable sweater and it's a baffling undertaking as a FIRST DESIGN (holy crap!) and it was written for additional sizes in a totally sensical way, it just created too much reverse stockinette and not enough cable for my taste and while it would be pretty easy for me to make a couple of adjustments, as is part of the charm of knitting, I'm feeling thick-headed and dull and not up to doing anything but blindly following a pattern. (I do not at all enjoy people who gripe about designers on their blogs, so to be clear - NOT A GRIPE about the pattern or the designer. The pattern is clear and the sweater is beautiful. My preferences are just obnoxious, that's all.)

So instead I'm going to attempt Silver Belle. I thought about casting it on....that cast-on....it's a LOT OF STITCHES. I may finish it in time for next year's cold snap. I've swatched, and then the guilt of not working on Scabbard got to me and I picked that back up. I'd show a progress picture of that, but really it's still just a big lump of grey knitting. Maybe when I finish the body - which should be soon - I'll get a shot of it.

ETA: Aw, hell. Well it seemed like a real great idea, but as Amanda points out in the comments, it ain't true. Thank you, Amanda! That's what I get for sharing a forward without checking its validity....and you wouldn't think something about soldiers would be a hoax. Shame.... And now for something completely different: It's about time to start your holiday cards. This suggestion went around at work - probably at your work too - and I wanted to share, even though it's tantamount to blogging a forwarded e-mail. It's worth it. When you write up your holiday cards this year, please consider setting one aside for a recovering soldier. I'm sure we'd all agree that they're always in our thoughts no matter what side of the war fence you land on, and they deserve heaps of respect and warm thoughts.

Send your holiday wishes to:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington , D.C. 20307-5001

Happy knitting!