Happy Independence Day!

I hope everyone got a chance to see some fireworks. They're really the best thing about the holiday, aside from the extra day off! We skipped the trek down to the Hudson this year and just watched the Macy's fireworks on TV along with the soundtrack. I've seen them up close back when they were off the West Side Highway FDR [edited to correct my late night stupidity--geez.], and they are spectacular, but now that they're on the Hudson, there's no reason to go into the city. We could see them here, if we wanted to. Last year was the first year they did the big display on the Hudson, and it was an absolute zoo down by the waterfront. Since we're in the midst of a heat wave right now, the last thing I wanted to do was stand around in a huge crowd for hours waiting, sweating... You get the picture!

Anyway, just as the USA is a work in progress, I've got a new WIP:



This is the back of a baby sweater. I've been working on it all weekend, when I've had time to knit. AAAnnd I'm about to rip it out. Look at that arm hole! It's HUGE. No, since you asked, I did not check the gauge. I figured that everything would just proportionally work out bigger. But instead, I ended up with an 8" armhole. ARGH. So, into the frog pond it goes! And I'm going to try another pattern--this time, I'm going to do a top-down raglan. The yarn's from the stash--it's leftover KnitPicks Shine Sport from Isabella's skirt. I was going to knit the back in one color, then each front side in a different, and the sleeves in a fourth, but now, I think I'm just going to start in one color, knit until it's gone, then go to the next, and so forth, in fat stripes. Let's hope this works out better than the last time.

I'm also working on the second half of my clementine shawlette, finally. It's been hanging around, half done, for about 5 or 6 months. I love the alpaca silk yarn that it's made from,and I am really enjoying the pattern. I'm not sure why I left it for so long. Anyway, that's now my "at work" knit. On hold is the second of Spanky's toe-up socks. I'm just not looking forward to the cast on. I don't really like the crochet chain provisional cast on. But I'm trying new things. I'm just going to wait on that one until I'm finished with either the baby sweater or the clementine.

And that's it! I think that's enough for now, right? I run a pretty tight rotation of projects or else I end up anxious because nothing gets done.