Finished

It's done!!!!! The Noro car coat is finished. I made a few adjustments to the pattern but I still think it is beautiful. I was nervous about the amount of yarn I would have to do the whole coat. Did it shrink when I had to rip it all out and I wet the hanks of yarn?

I was so nervous that I decided to knit the arms in stockinette stitch with a seed stitch border instead of a seed stitch arm. This made the arm width a bit smaller which I wasn't happy about but it still fits. Seed stitch is laborous and takes up a lot of yarn.

I decided to knit the hood in seed stitch which is what the pattern called for, but last time I made it I ran out of yarn while knitting the hood. I had to rip out the whole hood and do it again in stockinette stitch with a seed stitch border.

I used mattress stitch to sew up the seams. It makes lovely seams on the outside but creates a lot of bulk on the inside. I am still not sure I like them.

I also crocheted a boarder around the whole sweater and wrist. I like the way it finishes the sweater, you can't really tell I did it unless you look really, really close.

The sweater fits. It is softer than when I made it last year. I really like it. Now if the weather at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival will cooperate then I will be in business. It is still 89 degrees in Florida so it will be a while before I can wear it here.

Hope you like it.

Getting Caught Up

My last post was a fast one as I had suddenly run out of TIME. I have been so, so busy that I didn't have a second to spare. I am an active person but my schedule was running me ragged. It is amazing when you think you are going to explode because there is so much chaos around you that you can't even think anymore, you are on autopilot.

Life is funny. When you feel you are going crazy because of the pace of your life, life makes you slow down. My youngest son got ill on Thursday evening. He is the first Swine Flu victim I know of. He got sick really fast and had a couple of tough days but is definitely on the mend now. I have had to cancel everything to be home with him. Suddenly, I have TIME. I have had TIME to read the blogs I love, and knit. I have cleaned up the house, and knit. I have called back my friends, and knit.

TIME is so important. How do we get so busy that we don't even take a second for ourselves? I don't mean knitting at swim practice or reading before bed. I mean really carving out TIME each day to do something that is meaningful to you. We get so busy working, cleaning our homes, taking care of our families, our pets, and in my case driving my children everywhere, that we put ourselves last. Then the universe sends us a reminder that we have to STOP. Usually that reminder is when we get sick or someone we loves does. I think I need to remember that I am more important than clean floors and clean laundry.

I am so sorry that my son has been sick, but it has been a nice reprieve for me. It has also been a reminder that when I am on overdrive I really need to take some TIME to just be. Even if it is a few moments here and there in my day. Hope you can find that that TIME, too.

Sweater Update III

There is no time to blog. There is no time to read blogs (that I miss very, very much). There is no time to do much, but still time to knit at swim practice and other family activities. I am making progress, just the hood to go. It is looking good, but feels different than the first time I knit it up. Hope you are having a good week.