Spring Knitting

So, Tempting is moving right along. I hit 14 inches of ribbing last night, put some of those stitches on waste yarn for what will become the bottom of the sleeves, set the main body aside, and started on the sleeves.

The sleeves. *sigh* I hate double pointed needles. Hate. They make my hands hurt; however, I am going to commit myself to making these sleeves on dpns because I need to get used to using them. Last time I used them, I gave up and learned the Magic Loop technique because my hands were feeling tingly with dpns. That's a cop out. I'm sure it's just my hands getting used to doing something new. I remember how much they hurt the first week I was knitting, so I need to just suck it up and forge ahead. It's actually only three inches on each sleeve on dpns, then I join to the body and knit in the round, so, there's really no reason to bitch about it.

On the hemp shirt for my friend, T, front: I got the yarn and pattern yesterday (no picture of the pattern, in case she happens to find my blog)! woot! It's good timing, too, because I'll finish Tempting this week, and I'll need something new to do. I wound up one hank of the hemp and remembered why I need a ball winder and swift. Yeah, I got a little tangled, but I worked it out pretty quickly. Have I mentioned I really like untangling yarn? That is not sarcasm; my knitting buds are well-aware they can toss me their gnarled messes and I will gleefully dissect them for hours.

What else? Hm. I have a bunch of Knit Picks Sierra in charcoal that wants to become a sweater. If I start soon, maybe I can finish it before it gets cold again. hehe. Haven't picked the sweater yet. At first, it was going to be Banff, but now I am not so sure. I have The Yarn Girls' Guide to Beyond the Basics and there are some simple sweater patterns in there, too. Also, someone has told me I should get this book, The Sweater Workshop, so maybe I'll do that and make my own. It would be nice to really learn about sweater construction rather than just follow one pattern.