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Hot.

It’s been hot HOT HOT!

What you’re looking at here- on the right- is a 92 degree temperature recorded at about 4 pm yesterday. Just above it in the photo is an indication of the max temp from earlier in the day- approx 97 stinkin’ degrees. Yeeks!

It was much more tolerable in the living room- where I sought refuge from the insane heat of the afternoon, and knit some sleeve:

This is a fun knit. Cable interest, but not so much that you have to think about it. I memorized the repeat after a couple times through, and now it’s pretty relaxing work.

I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but I’m really looking forward to the shoulder construction stage- I think this will make a really nice EZ seamless hybrid.  And that pattern/scheme/construction technique is just so clever.

Doing this mod required changing the cable on the sleeve a bit. You might have noticed that the pattern photo (previous post, below) shows paired cables on the sleeves, just like on the front.  After looking at the gauge and the cable chart, it became very clear that the double cable was going to be way too wide to be a shoulder saddle. So I decided to just do one cable on each sleeve, the one on the right turning right, and the one on the left turning left.  Ta- Da! Still balanced.

I’m a little nervous about the zipper installation,, but I think there are some tutorials online…Guess I should do some research.

It’s really nice to have a sweater in progress. Hopefully the heat will pass and we’ll get back to wool-friendly weather.

It figures, that the one time I set my mind on a sweater that someone else thought up- it would be one that is out of print and not available on most store shelves.

I was starting to think that I was gong to have to buy the leaflet on Ebay and wait for it in the mail. But hoping against hope, I stopped by one of my LYSs, and sifted through all their baskets and stacks of pattern sheets and booklets, and just when I was about to say “when”, I stumbled upon it:

The Urban Aran- Patons “Street Smart” booklet #500989.

Ah- sweet relief! I don’t have to figure out and chart those cables on my own! I can just figure out how I want to modify it, and get started. Here are the materials (a sampling, anyway):

And here is my little gauge swatch (Isn’t it cute?) It really is square- it just looks warped in the photo. I think that the reason I’m so enamored of this swatch is because it just looks so pristine and neat and tidy, and I can remember when the fleece it’s made from was dirty and stinky and laying out on the driveway after I hauled it out of the feed sack it was stuffed in. Quite a transformation!

And I think it’s going to make a gorgeous sweater-

See Tina’s blog for the background on this one. I think this is an interesting idea.

So here we go-

“following my gut seems to work”

“landlubber, homebody, spinning off into space-”

“all wool is grass- get mowing!”

I’ll try to think of more later.

Right now my mind is consumed by the need to identify a new knitting project.

I’m seriously considering the “Urban Aran“, probably cardiganized, ala Jared.

I love those cables, and it looks like the pattern would be compatible with my aran weight three ply Romney.  (That stuff really wants to be a sweater)

But I really want to do another EZ seamless hybrid. Maybe I’ll devise a way to seamless-hybridize the urban aran. Those sleeve cables would look really nice continuing all the way up the saddles, don’t you think?

Me too.

Guess I’d better get swatching.

Finally! I was starting to think this whole weekend would be wash-out.

We got some work done despite the drear, but I’m continually amazed at how strong an influence the sun has over my mood and energy level. Even if I’m inside.

Right now I just want to go out an soak it up for what is left of my weekend. Maybe read the new issue of Interweave Knits. Or reread, I should say. It came on Thursday, and I’ve pretty much canvassed it it this point.

But I go thorough many stages in my reading of a knitting (or spinning) magazine.

First I flip through, back to front, getting an impression of the patterns. If something really catches my eye, then I may linger over the photos for a while, and take a look at the pattern, to get a sense of how it’s put together.

In stage two, I generally survey the articles- reading photo captions and scanning for items that strikes a chord- a new technique, a featured fiber, etc, etc.

After the initial rush of excitement that a new issue brings has worn off a bit, and I’ve regained my attention span- the third round is where I really dig in, actually reading articles and digesting the content. This stage can get drawn out for a while, especially if I’m mostly reading the mag while I’m eating breakfast.

In the fourth level of magazine review, I’m looking at details- mostly in the patterns. Daydreaming about possible yarn substitutions, imagining various modifications, how I might use that lace pattern in some other project, or sometimes just marveling over how lovely or clever a project is, just as presented.

Then the magazine goes into “resource” status. I start looking at the ads and the links. I get on my computer and visit sheep farms and yarn stores, and think about any trips I might be taking in the near future. I daydream of vacationing in New Zealand or some other wool-rich destination.

I’m on step three right now. Usually I don’t find much of interest in Summer Issues. Lots of cotton and linen, shells and sweater sets. I’m more of a Fall issue girl. Wool, in lots of rich colors. Texture and depth. But there are some things to like in this issue, particularly the Tidewater Wrap, and the Wakame Lace Tunic . I also really like the neckline on the Delft Tiles Tee.

Oh- and here is some more of that sweet Corriedale that I’m working on:

The color is really nice. Cool, pearly shades of gray. What do you think it wants to be?