Cat Sweater Fever

Aaaaaugh!! I've fallen behind on the Cat Sweater schedule!!
[KnitStuff/CatSweater4a.jpg]

Just look at it. I'm TWO ROWS behind at the time this photo was taken (shortly before 7:00 a.m. today). Thankfully, I am now only half a row behind... from YESTERDAY. I must finish 12.5 more rows today to be back on track. Why is this important, you ask?

Because on Thursday, I'll be knitting this in front of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, the Yarn Harlot. And I'd really like to be on the sleeves, having successfully cut the sleeve-steeks and done the shoulder grafting. I'm really hoping to get a photo with her - my friend L. and I are leaving work at noon for a 7:00 appearance. That will probably be early enough to get seats... and either way, it's about five hours of pure knitting time (since L.'s the one driving).

Ahem. Back to the sweater... Right now, I'm (really soon now... I wonder if they'd notice if I knitted at my desk today?) about to start the fifth Row o' Pawprints, which contains the second "Kitty" and the "E" of "Here". And, good heavens, there's a heart in that row, too. Drat. It's really hard for me to be subtle about knitting when my nose is glued to my pattern. Why on earth did I make it this tricky? What was I thinking? Oh, yeah, I was thinking I wanted a good shot at a gift certificate and an autographed book. That heart has to go.... (scrambles quickly into DigiStitch, moves heart up one row). Okay, that's better. That should only give me kittens, instead of flat-out-hives. Must remeber to look at new pattern instead of old pattern...

And yes, I'm a maniac with scissors: I steek. I knit up lovely things, and then hack them viciously apart with scissors - and I tend to do this with Acryllic Things, so there's not even the hope the wool will bind to itself to prevent unraveling of my entire Acryllic Thing in the event of a scissors incident. Steeking gives my mother hives, but she's never had my "Oh well, that didn't work, let's try again" approach to things that don't quite work the first time. (She calls this being a perfectionist; I call it being practical. I think *she's* the perfectionist. For me, things have to be right eventually; for her, they have to be right the first time out of the gate.)

See? Here's the front steek, sort of visible, and indicated by the red arrow. (There are a lot of things in my house, but, honest, random red arrows floating conveniently in the air aren't among them just yet. Not that I've seen, anyway.)
[KnitStuff/CatSweater4.jpg]

Row-of-Pawprints six (now containing a heart and the "R" of "Here") is the last before I begin the sleeve steeks, if I deem the sides of the sweater long enough at that point. If they aren't, then two mysterious rows containing random hearts will be added. Right now, I don't think they're going to be long enough; I like my sweaters to... DRAT.

I'm going to have to figure out if my sweater is long enough BEFORE I start the next row... because I'll want to move up the second "Kitty" and the "Here". Oh, dagnabit!! Where's that ruler? Okay, have ruler. From tight-under-armpit to where I want it on my hip... how convenient, it's exactly a foot! The sweater thus far is 7.25"; the two rows of blocks up to the original armhole-steek constitutes (assuming my gauge stays the same) another 4". That's 11.25" - which is just shy of a foot, and that's before the usual pulling-and-whacking that passes for blocking Acryllic Things. (AAAAA! SWEATER MATH AAAAAAA!) From armpit over bust to shoulder, it's 10" (assuming a .25" seam, which is probably more than it'll actually be).... and that's four "rows" up to the breastbone/neck steek, and another for the shoulders... 10".

Holy Hannah, I must've measured myself before I came up with the Cat Sweater Pattern, because evidently what I've got *will* actually work. *Phew!!!*