Sweaty? No Problem!

Just because I know you can't live without it, how about another picture of my fabulous new kitchen? Huh? Kitchen of the Future!



Here's a view of the living/dining room from the front door:



And here's a view of the fabulous entryway:



I thought I might jazz up this post with a little contest. Here are the rules: 1)pick which bathroom fixture is from our current apartment, and which comes from The Duplex, 2)Choose wisely, and remember - appearances can be deceiving. Also remember - there's a second half of this contest to be run tomorrow, even harder than the first. The first person to get both of them right will win a prize!

Fixture #1:


Fixture #2:


Prize: To be determined, but it will undoubtedly have monetary value of some sort. This means you have to guess. Why wouldn't you? It's just so fun!

On the knitting front, I've got some progress to show you on my Hourglass Sweater from Last -Minute Knitted Gifts. By the way, awesome book. I'm already thinking on the short term for two other projects. The timeliness they give aren't to be trusted, and the yarn they use is pretty preposterous on my budget, but substitutions are possible, and the pictures are to die for. Even new janitor's will be able to appreciate this book. Shameless plug over. Here's a freaking sleeve!



That's my scary face. I was channeling Mr. T.

Seriously, though. This is something I thought was way out of my league. Gauge? Sure, I use gauge. I've used gauge before, like on my socks and mittens. But a sweater? That's some serious mathlete time. Not that it has to be, mind you, but my gauge is way off for this yarn, which is - dare I say it? TLC ESSENTIALS, which is essentially pure plastic. It is, however plastic that I've had in my stash for longer than I should rightfully have had a stash. I've had this yarn since before I knew what knitting really consisted of. I have about 8 skeins of it - I think I had hopes for a blanket or something - and so far I'm pretty sure I'll only use part of one of those skeins for a whole sleeve. You know what that means? I'll probably have enough for at least another sweater out of it. Hurray!

Here's the sleeve with sexy Johnny Knoxville.

And really, I'm not at all opposed to acrylic. After all, some people can't wear wool. Like people who are allergic to it. (I'm not.) Like people who live in the hellish weather that is southern Missouri. And I'm reasonably sure that if I get too warm in this sweater, there will be no sweat soaking through the sweater. And also? I'm not a high-maintenance sort of chick. I barely ever get around to doing laundry. What sort of sense would it make to knit a fabulous sweater that will never be washed? It'd just get stinky. Hand washing? I think not. Not yet, anyway. I'm sure that someday when I reach a higher standard of knitting, I might consider hand washing. Not yet.

I will never ever reach such a high standard of knitting that I shun acrylic yarn, however.