I can't get that song out of my head now!



T-shirt sweater from Ella Rae Book One in Alchemy Synchronicity

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easter basket

What goes with yellow peeps bunnies and purple easter candies?

easter dress

My pink alchemy sweater! All my photographers were too busy (read, not in the mood!) to take pics, so I've only got blurry self-portraits for you.

hold still

hold stiller

It's positively yummy!

It's almost marathon time! We usually watch every year from one of the points in the last couple miles of the course where the route runs through our neighborhood. You can see the buildings where the finish line is downtown, you can yell to the runners that they're almost there, and there's good eats! With the marathon so close, it's easy to start thinking of things in marathon terms. And I'd say that my synchronicity top is just about at mile 25.

The last sleeve is ready to be set in and I've even done the edging on the neck already.

This is exactly the point where Rosie Ruiz would jump in and claim victory!

... would so be done by now. But I still have one sleeve on the needles. Dang all these limbs! I can't wait to wear this top. I just know I'm going to love it so much, I've gotten ahead of myself again by pulling out the cotton angora for my next t-shirt sweater. Now I just have to keep myself from bringing the new yarn to the playground today.

Must work on sockapaloooza sock, don't start next t-shirt sweater yet, work on sockapaloooza sock, deadline knitting, don't get distracted, must set good example for knit-along, put that cotton angora down....

For one, I'm usually chilly and don't wear tanks unless it's really hot, and then I don't want to wear my knitted tanks and sweat in them. Then there's the whole I spend my entire summer on the playground issue, and this fabulous silk/merino tank would be a little out of place on the playground. And lastly, I can much more easily fathom a $160 sweater than a $80 tank. Plus, what would I do with the other four balls?? Nope, it's getting sleeves and it's going to be fabulous!

But I do have another t-shirt sweater planned with some Debbie Bliss cotton angora I have in the stash. I have even less of that yarn than I did of the synchronicity, so I think I'll do 3/4 length sleeves. Maybe I'll work my way down to just a tank....

hot curves

hot pink

Front and back finished and sewn together for a little try on. Now for some sleeves....

(and a new earworm: "ole, ole, ole, ole....How you feeling? Hot, hot, hot!")

Oooh, I love all the shaping in this t-shirt sweater pattern! Clearly, this is the front of the sweater. The pattern has you knit the front first. No idea why - there's nothing in the construction of the back that refers you to the already-knit front. Whatever, it's gorgeous!

I did fiddle around with the neckline a bit to make it a nice smooth scoop neck. As Monica pointed out, you can't see the neckline at all in the pictures in the book. I thought it already had a rounded neckline, but the decreases called for actually make a straight diagonal line on either side of the center bound off stitches. Blech.

Not blech-y of course is this synchronicity yarn. I am flying through this pattern, loving every second knitting with this yarn. I'm almost tempted to slow down so I can enjoy the yarn more, but I really can't wait to be wearing this sweater. With all that shaping, I think it's going to look awesome!

Since I really should keep knitting continental and rest my still twinging right hand, I've tossed my two current projects in the unfinished works pile for now (good thing too, since hubby's zip raglan and my jinxed cork sweater were giving me nightmares anyway). With the dead weight projects ditched, I figure I'm free to start something new and fabulous. I mean, the monogram baby sweater is already awaiting finishing and I need a break from the glisten cardi and its tangly ribbon yarn. Soooooooo, you see, I really have no other choice than to start knitting the hot pink synchronicity yarn I got last weekend at Purl!

We only found eight skeins in the rich berry colorway that caught our fancy and eight of these wee little skeins ain't a whole heck of a lot. I feel confident that it'll be enough to cover me without being indecent, but it won't stretch for a full-length, long-sleeve sweater. I'm hoping it might just be enough for this t-shirt sweater from Ella Rae Book One. Wide neck, three-quarter sleeves, cropped length - that's awesome yarn-skimping styling! And look at how gorgeous it's knitting up!

ooooh, I wish you could feel this

The synchronicity is just as delightful to knit with as I'd imagined. And I'm right on gauge knitting continental (yes, I swatched - that's like twice in a week!).

mmmmm, waist shaping - more yarn saved!

I'm totally psyched about this project. The only probelm: now I'm gonna have that dang Police song in my head forever.