99.5%
One more, tiny, little step and this baby is DONE.
I machine-stitched the ribbon in today after work. It goes all the way from the very bottom, up the front, past the zipper, around the hood, and back down the other front. I had just enough ribbon, once I'd spliced this piece together. (Because, of course I went for the swirly option.) There's about 7" left. Had I not had to waste about 6" of it, overlapping for the splice, I would have had enough to put inside the cuffs, but . . . no complaints.
So, what's left to do? I need to hand-tack the ribbon down on the inside edge to keep it tidy. That means more work with a needle and thread and MAY wait a couple more days, but I don't care.
That's it.
I started this eight months ago next week. That's practically a baby! I can't remember the last time any project took me this long. And even then, it would have been a hand-sewn quilt or an embroidery project, not a sweater. It's such a relief to have this (almost) done!
I wouldn't want you to think that, just because I haven't posted in a
week or two, that I haven't been working on my shawl, though. (Shawl #3 from
"Elegance Knits" book 11, you'll remember, in "Curry" colored Zephyr lace.)
So, here's the progress photo. I'm about halfway through the first repeat of chart #2 . . . which basically means I've still got a long, long way to go, but it sure is looking pretty, and you can really see the progress of the lace pattern.
I'm going to need to move up to a longer needle, I think, for my next progress photo--I had to scrunch up one whole side to get you this picture.
In other news, tomorrow is the start of the Summer of Socks. I'm ready, although I'll be starting off with socks that are already on the needles . . . though I WILL try to get a little more done a week than I have been doing. I mean really, the poor things deserve to come along a little faster. Although, since I'm approaching the heel and I only started them in May, they're going much more quickly than my last pair of socks, which took three months.
Really, it's hard to believe that I managed nine pairs of socks in the first nine months of last year. By my usual standards, that's blindingly fast. But, anyway, I will definitely work on my socks tomorrow. Gotta start the Summer of Socks off right, right?
Oh, and our street? Well, the section in front of our house is done, but I had to move my car up the road at 7:00 this morning (in the rain), come home, finish getting ready for work and then walk back to the car (still in the rain) to head to the office. Which hike I repeated in reverse at lunchtime, except that it was sunny and really lovely . . . except for the fresh asphalt fumes. I'm not sure what they'll be paving tomorow, but at least I should be able to reach my own driveway. They were also paving (or had closed for some other reason) the main road adjacent to us . . . which made my Dad's trip out of the neighborhood to the golf course challenging this morning. Then I noticed that two lanes of Rt 46 in Denville had been paved sometime in the last 24 hours. AND Kim--who technically lives in the next town, even though she's only about 3 miles away--had her street paved yesterday, too. I guess it's in the air....
Congratulations on being so close to finishing! The shawl looks very pretty so far. Will that be your main project, along with your socks?
Posted by: Debby | June 20, 2007 at 07:26 PM
Ooooh, it looks GREAT!!!
Posted by: lisa | June 20, 2007 at 08:41 PM
they repaved all the streets ar ound my sons' school less than 2 weeks before school got out. how idiotic is htat? and when i called, apparently i wasn't the only one to complain. one day, i was unable to park near the school at all, and had to walk 2 blocks. i'm not complaining about the walk, but what would have happened if a child had been injured enough to need an ambulance?
Posted by: minnie | June 20, 2007 at 09:53 PM
Wow, the sweater looks great. I like the swirly ribbon. That is a really neat way to finish off the sweater. Can't wait to see it modeled.
Posted by: Sheila | June 20, 2007 at 10:48 PM
Ooh, the sweater's almost done. So close I can feel it. Glad you chose that ribbon, in spite of its short-comings. You really did like it better. ;-)
The shawl is stunning so far.
Posted by: Laura | June 21, 2007 at 04:20 AM
Congratulations on a job well done. I don't think I'd ever stick with a project for 8 months!
Posted by: jessie | June 21, 2007 at 05:47 AM
Yeah! Almost done & the ribbon looks great! I'm going to start a new pair of socks to kick off SOS! Woot!
Posted by: Kim | June 21, 2007 at 10:26 AM
Indeed, that was a long sweater birthing process for you, but it is done (well, very nearly) and it looks fantastic!
The shawl is looking gorgeous too! *drool*
Posted by: Kristi aka Fiber Fool | June 21, 2007 at 04:21 PM
I thought 'road construction' had its own season in some states - like Massachusetts and New Jersey... ;op
The ribbon looks awesome - as does the shawl!
Posted by: JessaLu | June 22, 2007 at 04:17 PM
Of course, I really, really love the color of CI. :) It looks great!
Posted by: Chris | June 23, 2007 at 04:32 PM
The shawl is gorgeous! I have the pattern...you are inspiring ne to fish it out.
Harry waves all eight legs and says Hi!
Posted by: fleegle | June 23, 2007 at 09:59 PM
The sweater is lovely, finishing is not my strong point but it makes all the difference (I know that but still hate it). The shawl looks beautiful but then I'm biased as it's very similar to the one that I made from Marianne Kinzel's First Book of Modern Lace Knitting (I have a photo of mine on May 8th). I certainly wouldn't have fancied knitting it in Japanese
Posted by: Caroline M | June 24, 2007 at 11:59 AM