The first transport is away!

So, on Wednesday, I sent off the "She's Partial to the Periwinkle Blue" stole to M's mom (and of course a gift for his dad, too). I included a note with instructions to handwash in cool water with mild detergent and lay flat and shape to dry.

The blocking of this stole worked out PERFECTLY. I gently washed it in the sink, then I rolled it in a towel to press out excess water. I put a couple more towels on the futon in the guest room, then laid out the stole and pinned it down using T-pins. I left it for a few days, and when I unpinned it, it stayed right in place. Sweet!

I haven't touched Intolerable Cruelty in a few days. I've been busy. But on Tuesday, I did move it from the needles to a piece of scrap yarn so I could try it on. Wow! It seems to be a perfect fit! Excellent. I'm so happy. :)

Continuing cruelty

Progress is occurring! Yay! I've got a few inches done on the Intolerable Cruelty skirt now. I had finished the first batch of increase rounds, but then decided that I didn't like the increases I'd been using at all. They made me cringe. I decided to frog down to the end of the waistband again. I did that on Friday night, at a small stitch 'n' bitch I hosted at my place. Since then, I've gotten back to where I had been and then did about another 25 rounds or so. I'm pleased with myself for the all this work. Plus, the increases look SO much better! They're pretty much invisible now, and neatly paired on each side of the side seam markers. Whew.

So cruel!

Hooray! I cast on for Intolerable Cruelty on Thanksgiving night! Let me tell you right now: I think I'm falling in love with this yarn. It is smooth and comfortable to knit with, and not at all splitty. The fabric it's making is sleek and softly shiny. Gorgeous! I've gotten the waistband done, and the setup round, and am working on the increase round. I'm quite pleased with the bamboo needles. The yarn is so smooth that even with bamboo needles, it slips along very quickly.

In other news, I ended up giving my mom one of the two mini Christmas stocking ornaments I made: she picked the red, white, and green acrylic one. I've kept the red and white cotton one for my own tree.