happy pig year!

[can anyone tell me exactly what this banner says? the lady at the store gave me a rough idea, but i'd love a real translation] we're back from the madhouse which is Bright Pearl on new year's day in Chinatown. p.s. yes, i'm feeling better. thanks for all the get-well wishes!

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Thanks to May for this translation: The saying in the banner means "Everything goes as you hope". More literally meaning "ten thousand events goes pleasingly." Cool. Just perfect.

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new year, new sweater, right? well, i'll do my best to oblige. the pictures are horrible, so apologies in advance.


with my arm stretched out, it shows the raglan shaping.


here. on my bed. flat. ooh! waist shaping!


the only clear shot of the bunch. see how nice the fabric is after washing/drying?

summary: this sweater came from a rough pattern created by sweater wizard, a lot of trial and error and a wee bit of guessing. i didn't want to think too hard, so i went by eye, and kind of forgot the vertical shrinkage issue. despite this, the body length is just fine and the sleeves are a little shorter than i'd planned, but still very wearable.

this was a knit-to-zone-out sweater and it did the trick. it's also the first sweater i've finished in a very, very long time. and the reason i was able to finish it is that i turned off all expecations of perfection and creating a sharable pattern [sorry, guys -- my notes are horrific] and just knit the damned thing. it's comfy on the body, flattering enough and will help me break out of the knitting wraps only phase. i now want to knit another sweater, but I think maybe a Bombshell might be the ticket - something skillfully written and crafted to flatter, rather than the product of a generic computer program abandoned when it stopped making sense.

[yarn: suss twisted, which i love knit up. it knit irregularly because of the thick/thin nature of the two strands, but when washed and dried in the machine, it turns into the softest, most even fabric. it does take a little attention to finger-feel to notice if you're knitting both strands or have caught only one, but nothing a little crochet hook can't fix a few rows on in simple stockinettte. i'd definitely use this yarn again.]