Hola from Mexico

I'm in Mexico City for a week on another field campaign to study air pollution -- certainly an appropriate place to study! I'll only be here for a week and the only knitting I brought was a sock. That's ok, though, because there's a lot more work time than knitting time, and at the end of the day I'm too tired to pay enough attention. So far things here are fine, instruments are running, and one day of food hasn't made me sick, so I'll keep a positive perspective.

I probably won't write again until I'm back on Tuesday, unless I somehow run across a yarn store (how do you say that in Spanish? I do have the yellow pages...) and have to talk about it.

Five-Day Baby Sweater

When I wrote about the baby sweater earlier this week, it really was just a rectangle. But with four more days of dedicated and focused knitting (and one really late night and one really early morning!), it's done!

I finished the pieces last night and got one sleeve on and sewed up by about 3am. I got up at 7:30 to finish that side seam, put in the other sleeve, do the neckband, sew on the buttons, and weave in the ends. I even have time to throw it in the wash (and a bit in the dryer) before I have to head to the shower. Hooray!

(not washed yet)

I pretty much stole the pattern from one I saw in a Better Homes and Gardens Learn to Knit booklet at the grocery store at the beginning of the week.* I made a little sketch at the store, whipped out the Ann Budd Handy Book of Sweater Patterns, grabbed some bright Cleckheaton Country 8 Ply DK superwash, and set to work. Mom even had the cute buttons that matched wonderfully.

(Click for big, but don't look at that sleeve...)

Well, I've done a better job of sewing sleeves, but when it's on, hopefully no one will notice. Next time maybe I won't have to sew them at 2 in the morning!

*I have to say that, although I didn't want to pay $7 for the magazine, I thought they did a very good job of explaining a lot of things that don't alwyas get mentioned to beginning knitters, like increases and decreases, using a crochet hook to pick up dropped stitches that have run down several rows, and probably other things I've forgotten about now. There wasn't much in it that I would knit, but there was a lot more than just scarves! I would have paid $4, which is the price on the Lionbrand site I linked, though, to support a pretty good product instead of just stealing this cute sweater.