I'm finishing up the crazy continental. At the Knitsmiths (our local knitting group) yesterday I picked up and knit the neckband. The neck turned out to be more of a boat neck than a crew neck. I think that has to do with the number fudging I did and how close-fitting the sweater is around my shoulders. I like it though and the neckband finishes it off nicely, I think. I've really enjoyed sort of designing this sweater on my own and figuring out what I want it to look like and seeing how it worked out. I feel confident that my next sweater (the green cables I swatched for) will fit even better.

I also managed to deal with the other finishing issue: cutting off the bottom few centimeters of the back, which I decided early on was too long. I cut an edge stitch right above where I wanted the new ribbing to start, threaded a smaller needle into last row of stitches before the cut to keep 'em in place, and picked out the stitches below them all the way across. Fun! Now I've got this crazy strip of ribbing as a souvenir, I guess. Or a headband. "Oh, very Bjorn Borg," said Julia! I reknit the ribbing and am using EZ's cast-on cast-off method to make a nice cast-off edge.

Yesterday we also got to see the amazing Dale pillow that Emily just finished. It is so beautiful, it's like you gotta redecorate the rest of your house now beautiful. Seeing it really makes me want to get well so I can get back to the Dale sweater I put aside right before I got this never-ending, now-relapsing cold. Now that the crazy continental is almost finished, it's calling to me. "Come back. Fair-isle is fun, remember!"