I'm wearing this today.

Sarena (shrug)
Yarn: Stupid Lion Brand Cashmere Blend in Camel
Needles: US 8 circular, Tapestry needle
Pattern: Free
Raveled here

It's been a while since I knit anything and my favorite excuse has been that it's too damn hot to be touching yarn and I'm surprised anyone's knitting anything right now because obviously we should all be running amok in our bikinis and drinking icy things with umbrellas in them.

But then, I'm not doing that either. Sad.

And that's because I decided to go back in the water with the evil yarn and needles to knit something. ACTUALLY, I finished knitting something. Perhaps just so that I wouldn't have to run around in my bikini because hellooo. Still though, let's not get distracted.

Please join me while I gape in amazement because this knitting business has been a rare occurrence despite the header up here that's obviously a liar.

Thanks to Philigry, who makes a million gorgeous knitted things at a rate that is just thisclose to nutty, I found a pattern and an FO that convinced me to stop whining about the utter failure of my Hourglass Sweater (I don't want to talk about it) and just get back on the horse that is knitting.

And, y'all, I do not like horses. Big scary teeth, etc.

Anyway, I think the thing she said that convinced me went something exactly like, "This is a great beginner pattern. If you can knit, purl, cast on and off, you can make this."

Yes. My thoughts were that I might as well be a beginner with the shit sandwich I made of that Hourglass sweater, and while I clearly can't do math, stitch a consistent gauge when using two needles of the same size (Addi, I have a bone to pick with you, beotch) or make two things the same size (Sleeves, you're not my favorite either) - I was confident that I could still HOPEFULLY knit, purl, cast on and cast off.

Thankfully it appears that this confidence was not misplaced. And, AND the sleeves are the same length, size and gauge which I think you may realize is a small miracle.

I'm sad that this is a reality of my life.

But I am happy to say that when presented with a project that, by all accounts (Philgry + Ravelry + Berroco = All) is "very easy", I can actually follow the 4 line pattern through 8 skeins of yarn and turn out something that resembles the pattern instead of a big pile of horse doo.

What I'm not happy to say is that I was too gun shy from previous horrible failures to buy yarn for this going back into the water business, so I went into my stash to see if I had anything I needed to use and wouldn't make me want to cut myself if it got jacked up from intense frogging which resulted in me unearthing some Lion Brand Cashmere blend. This sad yarn was purchased during a misguided whim back when one of their catalogs showed up at my house with a pair of awesome "Cashmere Arm Cozies" knitted from this "cashmere" yarn.

And you know how I can't resist fingerless gloves y'all. And that is just what "Cashmere Arm Cozies" really are - fingerless gloves with long arms.

Now, why, after all this time avoiding their prickly nylon-y yuckiness, I decided it would make sense to buy four skeins of their yarn for the purpose of knitting cabled fingerless gloves WAY beyond my threshold of patience, I do not know. But I did it anyway. And then I knitted about four inches of one "cozy's" arm before throwing the whole thing in the WIP basket and walking away.

Because I hate cabling (sorry, I have anger issues specifically with cable needles) and also because I was not so wild about the blend of this particular yarn. Because it's not so much a cashmere blend as it is WOOL (see I can't wear wool) with some nylon (EW) and a scant amount of cashmere (specifically 13%). And, according to my fellow Ravelers, it pills like a bitch.

OH WHOOPIE. Something to look forward to.

So, here is what I learned in class today:

1. Never use Lion Brand Yarn when you could be using Lana Grossa Pashmina
2. I can knit things that don't look like poo
3. Cabling is not for me
4. This is a nice shrug for those days when September thinks it's fall (today)
5. If I try not to think about it, I might get through the day without ripping the 72% wool away from my skin