What's this? Go on, have a guess. Why haven't I been blogging for the past three days? I've been far too busy knitting! The Kauni has become something of an obsession, I'm afraid. So here you are - two finished sleeves (inside view). Do you know what that means?
Ta dah!!!!!!!!!!! It's done!!! I am soooo much happier than this photo suggests. I mean, bouncing round the house doing silly little victory dances with a stupid grin on my face happy. This is without a doubt my biggest knitting triumph ever. This cardi was destined for the bin only a couple of weeks ago! What a turnaround! Of course, after I cast off that second sleeve and tried it on in the sheer joy of finishing, there was about another 2 hours' work tidying up all the insides, tacking down facings and steeks and all the other bits I'd cut and sewing in the surprisingly large number of loose ends. I think I made a pretty neat job of it, though - I never thought the inside of the neck would ever look this tidy, when I picked up that haphazard circle of stitches through what had been the chest and shoulders of a much larger cardi! I'm quite proud of it!
Here it is reclining on the table drying off after a short soak in some warm soapy water. I'm not blocking it viciously, I just rolled it up in some towels and pressed the water out, then laid it out flat on a dry towel and patted it gently into shape. I hope that's the right thing to do, this is the first time I've ever blocked a jumper. Unfortunately, I am now suffering incredible impatience for it to be dry so that I can wear it!
I even snuck downstairs and gently turned it over a little while ago, to help the back dry out more quickly... I'm trying to tell myself that there's no chance of it being dry before morning, and I mustn't ruin it at this stage, but it's so hard to be patient!
......unless you're Willow. She can do patience in droves. Any pile of clothes is a bed...
...unless some kind person just made the bed, of course... Aren't duvets improved by a smattering of cat hair? It has to make them warmer, surely?
And to ease the kauni-drying impatience... there's already a thin strip of 2x2 ribbing on the needles!
A whole sleeve!I'm not wild about the orange and green section because the pattern doesn't show up as well, and don't talk to me about the shape near the wrist - I thought I'd decreased enough and worked straight for a bit. I hadn't decreased enough. 
The sleeve didn't actually grow again before the last decreases, it just looks like it has this odd bulge. I doubt it'll be noticeable when I wear it, but I'll make the other sleeve slightly differently. I won't be re-knitting this one. 
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See? Progress. It is. I won't hear otherwise. Ahem. So to make up for the lack of progress there, I thought I'd show you some pictures of things I found whilst rummaging in the stash to find a fifth 3mm DPN. 
Behold! The first sock I ever knitted. It was based on a scaled-up version of a half-remembered baby booty pattern, knitted in Noro (silk garden, I think) whilst I was on holiday in the Canary Isles almost exactly 4 years ago. I'm not quite sure where the curly toe came from, it just sort of evolved, then it seemed right to put a tassel on it. You can tell how happy I was with it: I never made it a pair. 
The second attempt, same yarn different colourway, knitted on the same holiday, with an attmpt to make the toe less pointy. These were both knitted flat, with a seam up the back of the ankle and under the foot. Despite getting a leather sole (for grip, these were supposed to be slipper socks), this never received a twin either. They've languished in the stash ever since, and never been worn. 
An important moment: my first handspun handknit sock. The wool is so stiff and scratchy you could never wear it , and it too is a sad single sock, destined never to get a friend. But it's a landmark, so I can't part with it. Again knit flat, this time with a seam up the front and the top of the foot. 
This one was a few months later: much better spinning, lovely soft merino, and a better shaped sock. Sadly it's never been worn as I didn't dye enough roving to spin two socks' worth of yarn! It's navajo-plied and I love the citrussy stripeyness.
