Sorry, can't concentrate... Rhinebeck!

I can hardly believe that one week from right now, I will be either home or on my way and Rhinebeck will be over. Amy and I have been planning for Rhinebeck since, oh... February? I can hardly believe that it's not only October, but Rhinebeck week. I have no idea how I'm supposed to get any work done. Amy and I have decided to become squares, but I don't yet have a decent picture of me with my new haircut. I promise to post one by Friday, so watch this space!

I wish I had started the sweater dress sooner, because judging by the weather here, it might be cold enough to wear it to Rhinebeck! Since taking the picture below, I've completed another repeat, and am just about finished with the back!

I'm not quite sure what's going on with the color in that photo, I don't remember choosing any wonky settings. The yarn is actually shades of brown. I modified the simple cable twists so they mirrored each other, instead of all being alike. The pattern is very easily memorized, and conveniently, the stripe sequence coincides with the diamond cable pattern perfectly. I hardly have to think at all while working on this, which is nice!

I'm two acts in on my first Sidewinder, and it's shaping up pretty well.



There's still some pooling, but I'm living with it! I've been completing one act at a time, which is working well, but since I've been devoting most of my time to the dress, it's slow going.

I love both of these projects, but I don't think either of them are right to bring to Rhinebeck. I'm thinking of a nice, simple toe-up stockinette sock, so I can talk and knit at once. I suppose I'll also bring the scarf, since it's an easy one and has to get finished. I can't wait! Who else is going to Rhinebeck?

Finally!

Yesterday was the Memory Walk, and this is the last you'll about it for another year, but I had to share my final donation.

What's even more incredible than that amazing donation, is that I was not even close to being the top fundraiser at my walk. The third place fundraiser raised more than $2,500! It felt great to walk up to the registration table with my donation, though. I'm already looking forward to next year and hatching plots.

In all of the excitement last weekend, I completely forgot to share my exciting stash enhancements I picked up while at Purl Diva!



I bought two balls of Reynolds Whiskey for a pair of mittens, the sweater pattern that Anna just finished (which I love), and a hank of J. Knits Superwash Me sock yarn in Montana (does anyone actually need a reason to buy sock yarn?).

In other news, I finally casted on for the cabled turtleneck that I've been thinking about ever since I got the Fall issue of VK. I haven't been able to find a picture online, so I snapped a photo of the magazine.



Can you see why my heart palpitates? The subtle color changes! The exaggerated turtleneck! The sheer eighties-ness of it! I can't wait to wear it, but I think I'll have to. Here's where I was at Friday night:



On Saturday, I frogged that back to the ribbing. There were two issues. One was my own fault, but to be fair, the pattern gave me reason not to trust it, which is why I thought one of the cable charts was lying to me and I screwed it up. The second issue gave rise to the first, and has to do with the Beaded Rib on the side panels. First of all, in the stitch pattern guides, it's called Beaded Rib, but in the actual pattern they have written Broken Rib. Second of all, the right side and wrong side have been reversed, which meant that the crappy wrong side was showing up on the right side. I tried to ignore it, and I thought that maybe I was wrong and it was supposed to look like that, but I just couldn't live with it. And come on, I had only done like seven rows with US10.5 needles. Like it would kill me to go back. I'm now past that point again, and everything is looking much better.

Now to work a provisional caston and start a pair of Sidewinders!