the Taco monster strikes again

Last night, as Dan and I sat on the sofa digesting our pancakes, I set about winding my two skeins of yarn. There weren't any loo rolls handy so I opted for the tried and true thumb method of creating a centre pull ball. Dan obligingly held the yarn for winding when it became obvious it was too stuck to itself to unskein easily. Sooner or later, Taco got involved. First a passive observer, then a mischievous poker and finally a very naughty bear indeed. We made quite the three-some, all more or less tangled in yarn. It would have made a great picture, but as all three of us were tangled up it wasn't an option. Taco got over excited to the point I was forced to give a wee smack to get her out of it. She bore the grudge, you could tell.

This morning as I lay in bed waiting for my turn in the shower, I started making some mini swatches:

When I got back from the shower, I found this:

Caught red handed! The look on her face was priceless. The fact that she knew it was bad as bad can be, but she went ahead anyway... what a terror....

Knitting mode engaged

It's been pretty sleepy over here in my corner of the internet. I have been knitting rather a lot though - and perhaps those two are linked. Reluctant to pick up the laptop again at the end of a long day, but happy to sit with needles while my tired brain winds down in front of the box. There is a jumper for me, socks for dan and vest/tank thing to photograph at some point. For the moment there is this:

This is Furrow by Marie Wallin, featured in Rowan magazine way back in issue 40, circa 2006. It was earmarked for Dan almost as soon as I laid eyes on it. I acquired the yarn piecemeal, whenever I found it on sale. In October 2011 it was packed into a suitcase and shipped as yarn and pattern to Philadelphia ahead of our arrival. In January 2012 I finally cast on. That cardboard grid was my faltering attempts to stop the six strands of yarn twisting together. In the end it was cast aside in favour of the classic "pull from the tangle" method of colour work. 

It is enjoyably rhythmic once the pattern is set in your mind, but the gauge is an eye watering 42 rows to 4 inches. Added to that, sitting underneath it once it got even slightly warm last year was unbearable with all those strands of yarn pulling at you all the time and generally getting in the way. It experienced a hibernation. In January 2013, when it got arctic, it appeared again. I slugged at it almost every evening and surprised myself with the progress I was making. Still working on the back piece a began to flag a little as I started the 24cm after arm hole shaping.... I struck on an idea. An incentive. I resolved that after finishing the back I would reward myself with something fast and dirty. On Saturday I bought these two skeins:

And last night I cast off the back of Dan's jumper. This morning I set about taking a quick snapshot of this bit of fabric I'd finally managed to produce. The only suitable spot was out on the floor. Taco arrived almost instantaneously and announced her curiosity. This sequence of photos took roughly 30 seconds...

It's not 33% of a jumper, it's clearly a Taco bed - look at all those nice inbuilt strings I left for her to chew on! Aren't I kind! Don't worry folks, the jumper was rescued from Taco's naughty claws and stashed safely away.