You guys are a tough crowd! I thought that the Llamas and alpacas would have distracted you from the pigs. When I posted my entry earlier today it was taking forever to load pictures. But you have been heard!

P4170010details and close ups to follow ……

Tonight is the monthly Spinning Guild meeting! One of our members owns a livestock company and she specializes in alpacas and llamas. She is also a professional shearer and will be demonstrating for us. It should be very interesting and fun to see the animals up close. Ever since that goat workshop, I have been fantisizing about having some livestock of my own ……. of course I have not included the care and cleaning of such livestock in my delusions visions.

a stack of old family bibles seemed the perfect place for these guys ……

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and she’s cl-i-m-bing a st-ai-r-way to heav-en

Let’s start with a FO. I finished my % Sweater Project and wore it to work yesterday. If you remember (and if you don’t, don’t worry it’s not you it’s me – it’s taken forever to finish this project!) this was the no-pattern sweater. I took my gauge, took my measurements and started knitting. After wearing it yesterday, I do believe I will rip this back a bit to tweak the neck. For a change I knit something that it too big! It is a bit baggy right above the chestline, kind of on the outside edge of the armpits. This is somehow all related to the rate of raglan decreasing, but I have to mull it over to see what to do differently. Also, I thought I would really like extra long sleeves. Maybe what I would like is just long sleeves. That extra was a pain in the ass all damn day. So I will actually take a scissor to the sleeves and cut out about an 1″ and then graft it all together again.

Of course, all of the above will happen on some glorious mystical day in the future. Probably when I do, there will be pigs flying outside of the window and a unicorn grazing in my front yard. So here is a particularly lousy picture which shows off none of the aforementioned defects.

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Once a project is off the needles and I am onto another project (details on that tomorrow) I tend to not revisit the finished thing. And this sweater is wearable. But I really do want to figure out the raglan shaping so I will gather knitterly opinions and do a bit of research.

ETA: here is a copy of the reply I sent to Carole’s comment. Despite all my knit-picking, I do consider this project a success.

thanks Carole – I am happier than I managed to convey in my post. This project marks the first time I have taken seriously the relationship between gauge and measurements. In the past I have simply sailed into projects thinking, ‘Oh, I’ll just knit the XL, that should fit’. this approach has been a real crap shoot and has usually ended in tears and recriminations. It has been a real eye opener for me and has made me realize that math really can be my friend!

You are all very lucky that I am not the sensitive type. Otherwise I might think that your silence regarding yesterdays’s lack of pork reporting to have a deeper meaning.

Ann’s brain: Perhaps they don’t like the pigs? Could that possibly be true??

Nah! who doesn’t like pigs? they probably just didn’t notice since they were overcome with jealousy about the goat fibers and were struck dumb by the beauty of that wheel.

Oh and since I mentioned it ……. despite all evidence to the contrary, I don’t always get what I want. And I will not be going to MD to get a wheel. As much as I would love to go to Maryland and keep toying with the idea, I really have no business being there since I haven’t spun a damn thing that I bought at Rhibeck yet.

But let’s get back to the oinkers ……. here is a particular favorite of mine. It is a coin from Ireland and was given to me by my friend Mary’s husband. (oooo, another husband giving me gifts Nancy!) How happy am I that Mary went all the way to Ireland to get a honey?!

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A pork report apology ……. yesterday’s picture was taken with a dying camera battery that would not allow a retake. I would like to tell you that once it is charged I will post another shot, but we all know that’s a 50/50 proposition. Today’s pitcure was taken a week or so ago.

Darlings, the exciting news (besides the gender identifications of my vehicles) is a Robin Russo workshop! I will be delving into the exciting and mysterious world of goat fibers today! My spinning guild – have I mentioned how fabulous it is and how everyone should join?- is hosting a fun filled workshop weekend. Unfortunately I am only able to participate in today’s topic on goat fibers. A friend of D#2 wondered if there was that much to know about goat fibers …… ha! foolish, callow youth.