Return of the Typewriter

I think it's a bit ironic that even while I post an entry to this blog, originally created for my sisters, I have unearthed the electric typewriter from the closet and restarted the letter to my sisters from 2006 that was still in the typewriter. I love the sound of the lever hitting the paper. The smell of the machine oil brings me right back to that 7th grade typing class, where you had to figure out how to center titles on the page by making a mark and backspacing 1/2 of the title. To really add to the anachronistic use of the typewriter, I managed to find some erasable bond at a yard sale, and actual carbon paper. Yup, I write to both of my sisters at the same time, using a carbon. I would guess it drives them nuts.

Also this weekend, I may have ended my run of Finish-itis. I completed the grey vest from last spring (?) which I abandoned in a fit of pique once I realized that while I'd decreased for the armholes, I'd neglected to open up the "V" for the vest. Bah. Once I dusted it off, however, I realized just how close it was. And now it's done, and it's not half bad. It's not fantastic, I don't love it & want to kiss it and call it George (to quote the Yarn Harlot). But it doesn't suck, and for many things, that's probably good enough.



I still need to find a zipper for the Ribbi Cardi. I found the right length, exactly the right color, and... It's not a separating zipper. D'oh! I was SO delighted to have found the color and found the length that I completely missed that one, small detail. And I have a little less incentive to drive this sweater to completion because once I sewed it all up, I paraded around in it and I realized... the Colorado Knitaly is, well, kind of itchy. I have plans to wash it, crossing my fingers that it will soften up, but I'm a bit stuck on whether I should find a zipper first, or if I should just toss it in and hope for the best. Lead thought is to baste it to get it ready for the zipper, so if it stretches, it stretches symmetrically, and then wash it.

I'm just about ready to stick the non-separating zipper in and be done with it. Bah.

The next challenge? I'm getting to the body on the Olive Branch Hoodie that I'm modifying into a pullover. Should I have stuck with the cardigan? We'll see... stay tuned!