A Work in Progress and a Finished Object

Eighteen years ago today, Mr. T and I had our first date. I believe it was the night before Thanksgiving, too. We've been together ever since. I've been with him longer than I lived with my parents. Our relationship is old enough to vote and join the army. Hard to imagine, but wonderful to experience. I especially appreciate how strong our relationship is in light of the marital troubles of more than one couple we know. It's easy to take for granted when things are going well, or even just motoring along on auto-pilot. There have been times that brought into focus the rightness of my choice, both good times and hard, and I'm sure there will be more. We've grown together at every step of our relationship, every transition we've made, and I'm sure that we will continue to do so. Happy 18, love :)

Back to the knitting. I finished up the Simple Knitted Bodice this morning and plopped it into a nice warm, soapy bath to relax and set up. There was one scary moment when I went back upstairs after leaving it in it's bath for a while to discover that a curious cat had accidentally turned on the hot water in the bath tub. The hot water ran right into the tub with the sweater for a while. I was worried that something dire would happen, but no, everything was fine.

I let the water cool a bit before taking the sweater out to roll up and lay flat. It felt so much softer after its bath! Remember, I said that the yarn felt kind of stiff when knitted at the pre-wash gauge I needed to use to get the correct post-wash gauge. I knew from my swatches that the yarn would soften and relax, and it most certainly did.

I didn't have to do much beyond laying it out and smoothing it down to get it to size and shape. As you can see from the pictures, the most I did was pin out the bottom hem to keep it straight and even:


The color looks pretty accurate here, too. I think those lighter streaks above and below the lace panel are from the hot water running onto the fabric, believe it or not. Here's a close-up view of the lace panel:


It's upstairs drying. I'm not sure how long it will take to dry. When it's dry, I'll try to find someone to take some picture of me wearing it. I know I owe you live shots of the Plum Lotus Scarf, too.

This weekend is another bike race, this one organized by Mr. T's team. Plus, Jr. Jr. has a project due on Monday that will require a trip to the craft store and lots of glue. Yay. My knitting abilities do not translate to other crafts, alas.