love thursday

Oh what a week it's been! Both the small men are sick with some kind of pre-school borne plague. Yesterday we got a notice home from school that pink-eye is running rampant thru the student body (what kids are left after being hit with the current round of illnesses). I've been rubbing my eyes constantly since getting that notice. ugh

Things are looking up, though! Monkey Boy's fever is down under 100F and he's eating and drinking again. Little Man sounds less like an old Ford engine turning over when he coughs. Our household might actually be climbing out of the well of used tissues, 2am wake up calls and requests for sippy cups full of Gatorade.

In that vein, here's what I'm loving this week:

- my new box of goodies from Rebecca in Belgium (sorry for the lackluster pic, this is all I could get with Monkey Boy being so clingy yesterday):

This is all from the Yarn Aboard swap. Lots of fun fiber (including some from a special breed of sheep called the Ossuem (sp?)). Rebecca had the roving in the plastic bag dyed especially for me by Hello Yarn. Sweet! There were also some lovely stitch markers (already being used) and a bar of delicious handmilled soap (also already in use), as well as a tube of yummy smelling hand cream. A little pink notebook completed the package. Thanks, Rebecca! And thanks again to Amanda for running the swap.


- the rovings sweet Chelle gave me for my upcoming birthday. Also the fact that Chelle remembered it was my birthday (cuz I had pretty much forgotten! LOL), and brought cupcakes to LPK last night for everyone.

- my new Chocolate Fatale soap from WyldeIvy. It's like showering with a big bar of chocolate....yuuuuum.

- finally getting my sewing desk in order (almost). I might actually be able to put my sewing machine on top today. yay!

- the Dearest, just because.

FO report- Veste Everest

FO Report: "Veste Everest"
Started 03/06, finished 01/16/07
Pattern: "Veste Everest" (size 40in) by Veronik Avery in Fall 2005 IK
Yarn: My own handspun; Brown Alpaca and silk plied with Chocolate Cherries roving handdyed by Lori Lawson (alpaca, silk & merino). Approx 850yds of light worsted weight yarn.
Needles: Addi Turbos for the body, Knitpicks Options for the neck and arm bindings
Pattern Talk: Like most Interweave patterns, this one was well written and easy to follow. The cable was a simple series of repeats. I had no problems following the pattern, or making modifications to it.

My Mods: I lengthened the body by about 2 inches by doing extra repeats of the cable pattern on the front. The pattern calls for cabling on the back, but I figured that would be waste of time & effort (plus I'd have to spin more yarn) because no one looks at the back of a piece. So instead I did a simple 6x2 ribbing across the back. I fudged the math a little to make the back the same size as the front, but it all worked out. Since I changed the back, it took me *forever* to finish- I had to do more math to make the neck and shoulders fit the front correctly. I'm so math-adverse that I put the work aside for months instead of just jumping in and finishing it. If I'd done that, the vest would have been completed within a couple of months of starting it, instead of taking nearly a year to finish.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the way the vest fits. The cables look great in my handspun, too.

With all the silk and alpaca, this vest is super warm. I don't know if I'll be wearing it with any long sleeved shirts any time soon! I do like the finished product a lot, though, and it's really cool to have produced a complete garment from my handspun.