Sleeves Perceived

I’ve had a bit of time to work on the Men’s Sweater, and I’ve all but got the body finished.

Just about an inch more of regular knitting, then I think I’m going to take the short row tail-lengthening option, and then it’s on to the sleeves. I’ll have about 5.5 balls out of my original 16 left at that point. I’m a little worried that I’ll have enough to finish, but I had breakfast with the designer this morning (I love writing that!), and she assures me that I’m good. Fingers crossed. This fits me about like I expected, although it’s a good thing the 6x1 ribbing provides built-in give. I don’t really need it right now – but it’s nice to know it’s there. Ahem.

I’ve only finished one more Christmas Ball since the last post – Handcraft Border. It’s the second in the chapter called Tradition. The description says that it reminds the designers of patterns in Eskimo sweaters. I can kind of see that. It also has a bit of a runic look to me. For such a simple design, I made a LOT of mistakes while putting this one together. I always seemed to be getting a row ahead before realizing that I should have added beads, and right here in this picture I can see a white stitch that is terribly distorted. Still, I’m having lots of fun making these – they only take a few hours each, and I’m a little ahead of my one-a-week schedule despite my slow start. Maybe after I get the sleeves started on the sweater I’ll tackle another one.