A Nearly FO

I have nearly finished the tank top and there are a couple of things that I am not thrilled about. I lovelovelove the front. The shaping (once I fixed the increase issue) is very nice and fits well with the twisted ribbing. But for some reason the same attention to detail is lacking on the back. I am going to seam the sides up and see how it looks. Because it is cotton, I am planning on machine washing and drying it in lieu of blocking. Thank god for knittinghelp.com because I have never done the mattress stitch before and am petrified a wee bit concerned that sloppy finishing make the entire project spontaneously combust in a huge burning ball of flames in my very hands will prevent me from wearing the tank. Someone out there, please hold my hand through this. I have never seamed a garment before. I dislike finishing and really dislike sewing. Sewing is sewing, never-mind if it is with thread or yarn. An Un-Amazing Lace Update Truly, you have to knit a project for any progress to occur. The Peacock Feathers shawl has fallen victim to my perpetual ADD. I must have at least 6 projects on the needles currently. So much for getting the shawl done this summer. It blows my mind that I have done as well as I have with it so far (knock on wood). I found a small mistake on it last night a couple of rows down but I think I will be able to fix it with a good solid blocking. (a left versus right leaning decrease) I am on the 4th of 7 (8?) charts and am on row 97. That's nearly 200 stitches per row. Every odd row adds 4 stitches. There are ~250 rows including the edging. I must stop thinking about how many stitches that is. RPM I am still working on this slowly. I have finished the gusset and have started the the foot. This is just a filler project until the weather turns colder and I am am jonesing for another pair of wool socks. Odessa Yep, another of Grumperina's designs. As always, cleverly designed and meticulously written. This is for sale at the craft fair this fall. I am using yarn from my stash that is finer than what the pattern called for. I didn't make any changes and so it is coming out too small for an adult, but it will be fine for a child. Felted bag I have started this again. The shape is vaguely based on the Sophie Bag, but with some serious modifications. If it works, I may submit this one for publication. For now, it is under wraps. I have come to the conclusion that part of the reason I had been feeling so crappy about work the last few weeks is partly because of hormones (gotta love the ability to reproduce and the wacked out things it does to the female psyche) but also because I had stopped knitting. I was working on stuff at home and not taking any time to do the things that I enjoy. So, this week I decided that this approach obviously wasn't working and decided to knit some more. Not surprisingly, I am feeling better balanced. Hmm, scientific enough proof for me.