Nope, Not the Weekend Yet

I don't usually post mid-week, but work has been slow and I woke up feeling a little "off", so I've taken the day for me. Not to worry, I'll be fine; I didn't sleep well last night, had a difficult time waking up and have had an upset tummy all morning; today will be a rest up day and I'll be back at work tomorrow. Hopefully, there will be plenty for me to do. In the meantime, I'll just knit (and maybe go for a walk later).

Last night, I cast off the first edge of the Estonian Garden Wrap... twice. The first time, I used a knitted cast on; you know it, right? You knit 2 together, put the stitch back on the left needle, knit 2 together, etc? Well, that cast off was wayyyyy too tight. I would never have been able to block it to the width of the wrap, so I undid it, picked up the stitches and worked a crochet cast off instead. Now, it's much stretchier and will be able to take the stretching needed for blocking. I don't know why I didn't think of it right away. 

The second edge has been picked up and I'm about halfway into the first Lily of the Valley repeat. This wrap could easily be finished this week. That said, I have no intention of spending all day on it. There are some other things I want/need to work on while I have the opportunity... like the podcast sweater. Acrylic.. ugh!

Thanks to Roslyn and Amy, I have a couple more pictures of our afternoon at the alpaca farm. Amy took the first picture (thanks, Amy!) of the alpaca that liked my toes. I was wearing red nail polish and she, apparently, has something of a foot fetish! That's Roslyn in the background, probably taking the second picture below.

Thanks to Roslyn for this second picture. Again, it's the same alpaca. She was very friendly, giving nuzzles and kisses to a number of us. Thank you, ladies, for allowing me to "steal" your pictures. I appreciate it more than you know. Darned camera batteries!

Just as an aside, I don't usually have problems with the camera batteries. I used Panasonic batteries and, so far, a single set of 4 batteries lasts me close to two years. I wasn't too surprised that the set that was in the camera died; they'd been in use for a while already. The second set had only been charged once, about a week previously. After a second charge, they're working just fine and shouldn't give me any problems now. 

I've decided what I'm going to make with the baby alpaca I purchased at the farm. Thanks to John's suggestion that I make myself a pair of gloves, I remembered the Vanalinn gloves from "A Gathering of Lace", a Nancy Bush design. As you can see, I've already started. Well, I did start, but then frogged this. This was my sort-of swatch. The stitches are back on the needles, but I haven't gotten this far yet. I did find the pattern easy to read and remember, although the colour of the yarn makes it a little difficult to see in low light (which this apartment definitely has). What I did discover, and will change, is that the cuff part of the glove is quite short. I prefer longer cuffs on gloves and mittens, so I'll definitely be making the gloves longer. This picture doesn't show it, but on the inside of the hand, there is a k1, p1 cuff, which will definitely help to keep the gloves snugged up and the palm side is all stocking stitch.

The picture is deceptive. The gloves are knit on 2.0 mm needles (US 1); that's what I'm using. The picture, however, looks like much larger needles were used. Mind you, I assume that the gloves were blocked and they are on hands, which would stretch out the stitches. At any rate, the baby alpaca will become these gloves.

Considering that the gloves I made for myself last winter fit John, I can definitely use another pair of gloves. I'll probably concentrate on the gloves once the Armstrong Fair knitting is done.

Now, I'm off to relax, knit, and enjoy my day.