In the last week I have broken up at least ten fights, wrangled a wild animal, and repeatedly used that hackneyed phrase "because I said so". In other words I have been babysitting my nieces and nephew.

Of course that means no knitting. But it doesn't mean no knitting disaster stories. A couple of days ago I woke up around 7:30 and groggily made my way to the living room. I could hear more than one television going, but I was expecting it. My sister brings her kids over very early, while I am still asleep. They are supposed to lay down and go back to sleep for a few more hours. In reality they watch every television in the house and get on the computer, while playing Gameboys and listening to music. It's quite soothing.

I entered the room and spied my nephew sitting on the couch watching sitcoms. I was still half asleep, so it took me a while to realize that the small blurry object running circles around the room was my sister's lovable but untrained new puppy. And the jumble of crap lying in the middle of the floor was my unfinished Venezia, several balls of yarn and a big steaming pile of dog poop.

Now remember, I was still half asleep. I was completely incapable of conscious thought. By the time I came to, I found myself screaming, "Get him out of here get him out of here get him out of here!"
I was using a voice down at the bottom of my register that I had never heard before. I sounded as if I were possessed by the devil. My throat hurt for hours afterwards.

My nephew grabbed the puppy and ran out of the room. I felt kind of bad. I didn't say anything inappropriate, but I have never spoken to him in that tone. That's not to say I have never yelled at him. I have, but I have never yelled at anyone like that.

It's true. There was something about seeing this piece of knitting, which I have already invested hours in, looking as if it might be ruined that just brought out roaring lion in me. In that brief moment I screamed as if it were my baby under a car instead of some very colorful string interlaced in a pretty pattern. I guess I am a confirmed knitting addict after all.

Everything turned out fine. My sweater didn't actually have any poop on it. My nephew was convinced that I was a maniac for a couple of hours, during which he was very well behaved. It wore off after a couple of hugs, and it was back to complete and utter chaos.

In other words, all was well in the end.

Just a quick shot of Venezia...





I am making great progress. I have to say that so far this is the most enjoyable knitting experience I've ever had. Knitting fair isle two handed is also much less tiring. When I knit for a long time I tend to get soreness in my left hand, even though that hand just stays still (maybe because that hand stays still). That has not been a problem at all. I think having both hands equally engaged keeps them from tensing up.

I can't wait to experiment with more of KnitPicks new heathered Palette. I'm thinking fair isle hats and gloves, by the boatload. I'm letting everyone who knows me know now, that is what you are getting for Christmas, whether you like it or not.


I am definitely knitting this this fall (check out pictures 2 and 3)

The first time I saw this sweater on Eunny Jang's blog I was bowled over, but that shot is even more incredible. I love the colors, the fit, the neckline. I am going to save up so that I can splurge for the required yarn. If there ever was a sweater worth $150, this is it.

I have got to make myself take a break from the sweater so I can finish the border of the Forest Path Stole, but it is very, very hard to tear myself away.

So I cast on for Venezia. It's a lot of fun. I am just loving this combination of yarn, pattern and needles. I recreated the charts in a larger, more readable form so following them has been a breeze. Here's my progress so far.

Anyone who has been afraid of fair isle please just jump in. This is my first fair isle done in the traditional fingering gauge. It's both faster and easier than I thought it would be. The pattern is interesting enough that it makes up for the relatively slow progress.

If you are knitting Venezia do watch out. I quickly read through the instructions and started knitting. I knew I would have to decrease, but it didn't occur to me to check until I had knit eleven rows. I was supposed to start decreasing after 2 rows. Oh well, I guess my sweater is just going to be an inch and a half longer than the original.