Thank You, thank you, thank you

Lace Detail from February Lady sweater.

It was wonderful seeing all the names, getting all the wonderful feedback yesterday.

It was a quiet day for me, I went out to dinner on Thursday, and had breakfast out this morning.. (no cake at either time, but then last Sunday I almost ate myself sick sampling cup cakes!

Slowly the sock are progressing.. the heels been turned, the gussets started, and now back to a single yarn and plain knitting (vs 4 strands of yarn and pattern work) the foot will fly along.

I am seriously thinking of joining a KAL on Ravelry for solid/semisolid sock yarn group.. I have some beautiful solids and semi solids from Holiday Yarns.. (which has just opened a brick and mortar store in Syracuse, NY.--(thankfully a good 5 hours drive away.. since it looks like the kind of rabbit hole I could fall into and shop forever.)

Unfortunately, shopping forever is not in the cards! Last summer (August) I got a part time job that was much needed.. (you know its illegal to discriminate on the basis of age.. but just go and try to prove it—getting a job in my fields (which has largely been outsourced to India ) is hard enough.. being 47, or 53 or (my real age) makes it harder.

When I was hired last summer, I was told it was a temporary position, and that the location I would be working a would disappear in January with the close of the storefront location.
In January, there was a reprieve, and I have had 4 full bonus months of work.

And more to come—since while the death knell has been sounded—my job has not quite ended yet. I have a few more weeks, possible a few months, and then perhaps a furlough, and (say a little prayer) continued employment in a new location.

Guess I won't be wearing the February Lady Sweater next year to keep warm at the old job!

I finished up the first ball of the solid purple yarn, and before continuing, I went to work on a sleeve.

I hate knitting sleeves—and I especially hate knitting sleeves last.. (all the bulk of the sweater to contend with, to knit a boring sleeve?)

I think after I finish 1 sleeve, I'll go back to the body, and then after 1 more skein of the body has been knit, I work on the second sleeve.. and then finally finish the body..

I've tried it on, and I like the fit.. the armholes are slightly snug. (but I suspect they will stretch out a bit with the weight of the body) The sweater is a bit loose.. but I like loose! The color change falls almost perfectly on the natural shoulder line—a bit of luck—and it makes the color yoke quite attractive.

Finally, I did a rare (for me) swap—and I am now looking forward to a magical mystery package in the mail.. (what fun!) --some pretty teal yarn for sure--(will it be perfect for a hat to match my fingerless gloves? Or will it open up new possibilities? And the other yarns? Oh I can hardly wait!