Even moving as slowly as I am today, I managed to do the crochet edging on The Endless Sweater. I am mostly pleased with how it turned out, but I am not too certain the edging is going to solve the problem in the edges rolling in. I guess I won’t know until I wash and block it. For that fact alone, I haven’t worked in the ends from the crochet work. That way, should it end up not solving the problems, I can still take it out and redo it with a different edge. Actually, if it doesn’t turn out right, I was thinking about putting in a standard sewn facing made out of a stretchy knit fabric. It’d be a lot of work, but it wouldn’t look bad at all. I’m really just hoping the blocking helps, because I am about sick to death of working on this project. I want it done so I can wear it!

Since the kitchen sink is remarkably free of all dirty dishes, I think I’ll go wash it now and lay it out on a towel on top of the washer and dryer to block it. The laundry room is the warmest room in the house, because the air conditioning doesn’t go in that room. I had thought about setting the sweater outside in the sun, knowing that as hot as it is these days, it would dry very quickly, but then I thought about all that pollen and pollution in the air and reconsidered. Not to mention the possibility of bird poop, though I wouldn’t say having it in the laundry room is any guarantee there won’t be bird poop. A few days ago I found bird poop on a blouse I had left on top of the washer. I couldn’t find anywhere birds could get in, and I have never seen or heard a bird in there, but bird poop is extremely unmistakable for anything else on the planet, so there had to be at least one bird in the laundry room as some point during the three days that blouse was in there. I told you the laundry room was less of a room and more like an outdoor area with walls and a roof. I really wasn’t kidding. It’s not at all secure from critters, though we have gotten it closed off enough now that the critters who do get in are all of the small variety. I dream of one day having a laundry room with a real floor, real walls, a real ceiling, and air conditioning. It’s not all that high on the priority list though. I’d rather have a nice bathroom and a spare room that wasn’t full of boxes.

Since it’s almost time to start dinner, which means there will be dishes in the sink again, I better go do the sweater washing now. I’m really eager to see how it finally turns out. I’m even more eager to put it on and wear it somewhere! Also, I am looking for my next knitting project. Getting this sweater done has freed my mind to think of other things I want to knit. I didn’t really want to start anything else until it was done, for fear of it never getting done at all. Now I can go back to knitting little things like purses, gloves, scarves, hats and cozies … the things I really do enjoy knitting the most. So tonight, I’m going to go through my yarns and my favorite untried patterns and pick something to move on to. Lin and I have been taking about going to see his family for Xmas this year (never have done this — oh boy, Chicago in December, will I survive it), and they would definitely appreciate hand-knit woolen goodness … so I better start thinking about it and get started making some warm snuggly things for my in-laws!

And yes, I can’t WAIT to see how Lin and I going to Chicago instead of my family Xmas ordeal is going to go over with MY family. It’s sure to cause some drama … a whole lot of drama.