Theoretical Thursday + Blogiversary Giveaway!

Welcome to Theoretical Thursdays, where I show you blobs of yarn that may eventually become, uh, things.

It's hot and humid, we're just on the edge of summer, so of course I'm working on two woolly sweaters. And to make matters worse, one is a men's sweater, so it's at least twice as large as any sweater I've ever knit for myself.

I finally finished slogging through the sleeves (they were miserable; I hate sleeves), and got them attached to the yoke, so now I'm working on the raglan decreases. This thing simply must be done by May 31. For this reason, we turned the AC on this morning--I was trying to hold out until June, but a heat wave starts today that will reach its peak on Monday with a high of 91, and I might suffocate under all this wool if I leave the AC off just to make some kind of symbolic point to Mother Nature about her refusal to follow the seasons appropriately.

The pattern is Terry's Pullover, and I'm knitting it out of Beaverslide Dry Goods Merino Mohair. The yarn has a good bit of barnyard detritus in it, but I think that's to be expected with these earthier, homegrown, rustic-type yarns. The only thing that really bothers me about it is that I can't get it to felt. Which seems like something these earthier, homegrown, rustic-type yarns should do quite readily. It's not the end of the world, but it does mean more ends to weave in.

(I feel I need to pause here to mention that the guy in the next cubicle just showed up, and is wearing 8 tons of whatever cologne it is that college frat boys insist on wearing. I feel like I've been transported back to a frat party circa 2001, only there's no cheap beer or body glitter.)

The second sweater is for me, and it's a somewhat cropped cardigan that I'm making short-sleeved, so fortunately that means it's much smaller and less oppressive:

(These photos are just lousy; only 28 days 'til we move to our new home, with a backyard just perfect for knitwear photography!)

The pattern is Miette, and I'm knitting it in the Tosh Mo I received in the Madelinetosh spring yarn club. This terrible photo really doesn't do the color justice, it's a lovely, sage-y silver. I don't know why I decided to knit this now--I really need to accept the fact that it's summer and look for a camisole-type project to keep me busy for a couple months.

And it just wouldn't be Learner's Per-knit unless I told you about something crazy, overly-ambitious and delusional I did. I don't want to disappoint you, so--I signed up for Tour de Sock! Six 9-day stages, six pair of socks. Last year there were apparently people finishing pairs of socks in TWENTY-FOUR HOURS. I can barely squeak out a pair in a month. But the money goes to a good cause, and I get six exclusive sock patterns, so even when I fail spectacularly, I can still look back on the whole experience fondly.

In preparation for the race, I've been working on a training sock:

This is the Crosswired pattern, and I finished sock #1 in about 10 days; sock #2 is languishing. Sigh. I've reversed the main and contrast colors on sock #2, so the cable is black--working the cables in black yarn is not fun. I might be blind by the end. But once I have a complete pair, my feet will be fully Hufflepuff-ed.

The TdS starts June 1, and you can still register!

And speaking of things happening in June, on June 2, Learner's Per-knit will celebrate its fifth blogiversary. FIFTH.

Incredible.

Certainly, we need to celebrate. So, here's a bag of yarn:

Right now, this is my yarn, but I'm going to give it to you. To 3 of you, to be exact (sorry, you have to share!). On June 2, I will divide this bag o' yarn among 3 of my blog readers, to thank you all for your support over the last five years.  

To be entered in my blogiversary giveaway, just leave a comment on this post, telling me . . . hmmm . . . oh, I know, telling me what kind of design project you think I should work on next! More accessories? A sweater? A vest? A knitted catsuit? Whatever floats your boat. Just leave a comment, and on June 2, I will pick 3 commenters at random to win some yarn!