i'm baaaaa-aaack

I'm sure all of your lives were quite empty without me this last week. Or perhaps, not having my blog to read, you've realized just how pointless and unnecessary it is afterall, and have vowed to stop reading it altogether. I sure hope it's the former. Or at least something in between.

Josh and I had a lovely time in Costa Rica, though not at the Miami International Airport where we wasted many, many, MANY hours of our lives that we'll never get back (our flight to San Jose was delayed 4 hours, our flight back to Baltimore just 1). I wish I could say I knit during those empty hours, but fear of having my knitting confiscated prompted me to check my socks, rather than try to carry them on. Fortunately I had the foresight to keep my knitting in a plastic bag; we had to check our duty free liquor for the Miami-Baltimore flight (because, clearly, a box of sealed liquor bottles with a fresh receipt proving it's been purchased just moments ago is a sinister threat to national security) and somehow, despite luggage being handled oh so delicately, one of the bottles shattered, spilling delicious Flor de Caña rum all over the contents of my suitcase. Anyone who will be traveling to Central America in the near future is encouraged to purchase a replacement bottle (or, say, 8) of Flor de Caña for me. I will reimburse you in cash or yarn. And for those who are more interested in my actual vacation than the trials and tribulations of international air travel, here are my photos.

Now, on to the knitting! Yes, the rumors you've heard are true. Mrs. Darcy is done! Let me piece together one of those fancy FO posts all the cool kids seem to be doing these days:

Pattern: Mrs. Darcy Cardigan

Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Classic AL in slate grey, 7 balls

Mods: None of my own; I copied someone's mods for the armhole decreases because the pattern was wonky for that part

Brilliant thoughts: I've blogged numerous times about Mrs. Darcy, so I'm not going to rehash all the details. The sweater turned out well, but not having taken the time to really delve into the art of sizing, I knit the pattern just as it was written (and it was only written for one size), and were I a more skilled knitter, I think some adjustments for a better fit could have been made. For example, I am, sadly, quite short waisted, and had I thought about that for a second before casting on, I would've moved the center ribbing up so that it actually fell at my waist, rather than below it. I also thought the sleeves turned out quite long, and I have looong arms, so that's saying something. Overall, though, I think it turned out quite well--it may not be a perfect fit, but I wouldn't call it too big or too small, either. So far I've had no problems with the bottom rolling up, even though I opted to skip the crochet around the edge. It's quite comfy and warm, too, so it should serve its purpose--protecting me from the frost chill of my office, year round.

I finished the first sock of the pair I'm knitting for my grandfather, and am about halfway done the second. I sincerely doubt it will be done by the end of the month, but the important thing is getting going on these Christmas projects in advance, so I'll try not to be too self-critical if my projects aren't completed in their respective months.

The second-chance order I placed with WEBS shipped out surprisingly quickly and was waiting for me when I returned home. I now have yarn for 2 more projects: the impossible looking hemlock ring blanket, and the comfort shawl for my mother-in-law. And with 2 swaps wrapping up soon, I should have a few more yarn packages coming to me in the days ahead. :)