Sleeves: The Black Hole of Knitting

Why is it that it feels like it takes twice as long to knit sleeves as it does to knit the rest of a sweater?! I really shouldn't complain, 5 days to make a sweater is absolutely respectable. But I felt like the sleeves took FOREVER (even though I'm not sure they actually took longer than the body). At any rate, the Oatmeal Pullover is now complete:

I used just under 600 yards of MadelineTosh Bulky. I made quite a few modifications to the pattern for a better fit. I added an extra increase round and an extra straight round before separating the sleeves because I wanted about 1 1/2 inches of negative ease instead of 3 inches of negative ease. I also picked up extra stitches under the arm because the sleeves as written are about 9 1/2 inches around...and mine are, well, much larger. I also decreased 1 stitch on each side of the waist for a little waist shaping.

In non-knitting related news, Seth had I ate at this fabulous place down in Eugene on Saturday. We went down to climb at the gym (Seth is headed to Vegas for a climbing trip with his dad and is trying to get "in climbing shape") and went to the Laughing Planet Cafe for lunch. They use as much locally grown produce/ingredients as they can and everything is freshly cooked. I had this ridiculously yummy "bowl" full of mashed potatoes, Tillamook Cheese (from NW Oregon), grilled chicken and sweet corn. Sooooo good. Seth had some crazy bowl with beans, rice and tons of steamed veggies topped with salsa.

We're going to try and head to Bend next weekend to climb at Smith Rock. As long as the weather holds out in the mountains, we should be able to get there without a problem.

And last, but not least:

Remember all the pretty pink flowers on the plum tree? Well, they are falling all over the deck and Sailor gets covered in them every time he is out there! Goof.

Hope you are feeling better!

Love,

Liz