Wow. Not since March 20? Where have I been?

I'll tell you where; I've been working and trying to coordinate my move. Yoshi and I are finally getting out of the Giant House of Crazy and into our own apartment (population: 2!). I've been trying to separate two households from one, and right now, my living room looks like a cardboard bomb went off in it. Most fun? Packing up the stash. I realized it all fit into one box with a little room to spare, so I let Yoshi know that there will be some serious stash enhancement in our near future. His only request was that I order online and have stuff shipped to the new address, so we don't have to move anything more. I think he didn't understand the part about the "room to spare" in the box...

Knitting? Well, yeah, a little. I made this giant green shrug-thing. It's completely awkward and I love every stitch of it. The Mel Clark/Tracey Ullman book (Knit 2 Together) has two patterns for shrugs in it, and I have bastardized them both into this bulky thing to keep the air conditioning off me while sitting and knitting. I have resolved to finish the first sleeve today and pick up the stitches for the second one. I am slowly beating it into submission, and you might say the thing looks like a chunky nightmare, but it's exactly what I set out to make, believe it or not. Here's what I did:

Measure yourself with arms extended from mid-bicep to mid-bicep. Knit a gauge swatch. Cast on enough stitches to cover that length. Knit stockinette until the length is slightly more than half the width; bind off. Do a little knitting origami; fold the thing in half the long way, and seam up the sides about halfway, so what you have is like an envelope with holes in the corners, and the cast-on and bind-off edges are exposed. Pick up a pile of stitches from the cast on and bound off edges, and work a little ribbing in the round to tighten things up; I started with K2P1 rib and then decreased to K1P1, just to achieve a little fit. Three inches did the trick for me. Then, where those little holes are in the sides, pick up some stitches and work them in the round until the sleeves are as long as you like. Again, I am starting with K2P1 rib and decreasing down to K1P1, so the cuffs are a bit tighter than the sleeves. Put the whole awkward thing on your shoulders and ignore your roommates who keep asking "is it supposed to look like that?", because it is.

I am a by-the-seat-of-my-pants knitter, can you tell? When I first read Mason-Dixon Knitting, I was so enamored of the cover which read something like "celebrating the give 'em hell attitude of just picking up some sticks and making stuff." (Sorry, not a direct quote; the book is packed.) I'l post a picture (hopefully) later today, when I finish the first sleeve, so maybe the craptastic directions I gave you will make a little more sense.

Anyway, I miss you, bloglanders. I'll talk at you again soon after the dust settles.

Ah, one more thing. For Cygknit. I am so sad about Juniper. I'll never hear the Dreidel Song without thinking Senor Pantalones. I hope you are doing okay.