Style 7194

Today I:

• had a piece of toast with cream cheese, lox, and broccoli sprouts with a cup of coffee for breakfast
• am planning a banana for Second Breakfast
• am scheming to eliminate UFOs

I have a lot of UFOs. Really. The list on my sidebar is just partial. I have so many UFOs that the letter on my apartment door should be 51, as in Area 51. It's pretty bad.

I have been finishing a lot of projects lately, large and small: the IK Winter 2005 ballet wrap, the crochet wrap, the shrug. A washcloth. I'm in such a finishing mood, I should tackle to UFOs, right? Clear some drawer space for virgin yarn? Especially since the Great Turnabout is coming - The Time When Wool is Replaced by Cotton in All Things, Except When It's Linen, Hemp, or Viscose. I can't just continue blithely on with my winter knitting through an air-conditionless East Coast summer; I'll have a heat stroke. And besides, I want to do some summer knitting.

Yet I can't just abandon all those WIPs and UFOs. Should I try to finish them up before the heat wave begins? Or should I pick them up again in August, in anticipation of Fall?

I think I'm going to tackle the most straightforward, big projects first. Which brings up Style 7194, aka the Vintage Raglan Cardigan.

Introducing Campus Hand Knits from 1963. This basic v-neck cardigan, Style 7194, with pockets was supposed to be my first adult sweater. Then I realized I was increasing the sleeves wrong. I paused, thinking I'd get back to it.

Then came the Knitting Olympics. And the shrug. And the crocheted wrap and the IK wrap. I think sweaters can be like popcorn: you think you're just going to have one, and then next thing you know, things have gotten out of hand, and you find yourself suddenly holding an empty bag. (Only with sweaters, the empty bag held yarn.) Now, if I hurry, this cardigan will be my fourth adult sweater. (Let's not forget that FLAK I'm neglecting.) It's very simple. I already have the back done, and the only real challenge will be the button flap and the pockets, two things which I have never done before. That and I'm using 100% pure recycled yarn. This sweater used to be a different sweater. A very large man's sweater made from yarn that varies in thickness. Fortunately, Style 7194 is knit flat.

I blocked the back knit-down, and it came out great - nice and flat. You can probably see the variation in thickness on the purl side below. I also have to spit-splice about every fourth row.

I'm going to have this done by June, at latest. Then I can start a summer sweater.

Yesterday, I:

• had the same kind of breakfast as today
• had half a sticky bun for Second Breakfast
• ate two bean and rice burritos with a banana for lunch
• inhaled a mozzarella and pesto panini with a soy latte during S'nB
• had a heart of palm salad when I got home
• had another heart of palm out the jar for good measure
• crocheted and knit some
• finished reading Death of a Ghost... which didn't impress me.