Look!  It's a sleeve!  Not just any sleeve, but the first sleeve of my sweater.  This is a close up so you can see the handspun personality of the yarn.  I think it will smooth itself out somewhat when it's blocked.  I like the organic look of it.
The Oatmeal sweater has a small cable design on the sleeves but the unevenness of my yarn did not lend itself well to the pattern.  I tried several times before deciding I could live without it.  When I attach the sleeves at the yoke, I'll see if the larger design works out.  If it does, I'll include it.  If not, I'll have a plain yoked, handspun sweater. 

When I set out to make this, I had in mind a "workhorse" kind of sweater. My brother brought Pk a cardigan back from a trip to Ireland and I ended up wearing it.  I literally wore it out.  The elbows were darned and darned and darned again.  The only way to save it is to put leather patches on them and I'm not enamored with that idea.

I wanted a sweater to replace that one and I think this will work.  The material is strong.  This will probably not pill and not pull out of shape.  It's sturdy and I think will last me a long while.  I have some other yarn in a hollyberry color for a more dressy sweater for myself but this one is the sweater of my heart.  It doesn't hurt that the wool came from a farm in MD where they work with disadvantaged children.  It's a good karma garment.

I've started the second sleeve.  It's been so long since I knit with anything but fingering or laceweight yarn that I forgot how quickly things progress.  Since I figured out the stitch count and finagled the numbers, it's been a pleasure to play with yarn I've made myself.

Tomorrow, I'm giving away the first of the baby sweaters.  The mother is leaving work after Friday and her department gave her a small shower instead of an all hands kind of thing.  I'm so glad I thought to ask or she'd have been gone and I'd have missed giving her the sweater I made for her baby. 

The summer here has been challenging but we are getting through.  We've been in a state of preparedness for "fierce thunderstorms" for the past three days but have only seen clouds.  In fact, it's cloudy right now but no sign of rain.  While I don't want the violent storms, some liquid precipitation would be a good thing right about now.

I have Handle With Care tomorrow.  Again.  Already.  It feels like we just did this but I know it's been a month.  Fortunately, there are two other trainers so I won't have to take anyone down.  I have bursitis in my left knee and it's been vocal all week.  I don't relish the idea of having to go down on my knees on the hardwood floors.  I have been thinking of giving this up and letting someone else do it for a few years but I keep going back for the training.  I developed the program at work and I'm reluctant to hand it off to someone else.  Some day but not quite yet.

I am recertified for CPR and Automatic Electronic Defibrillator again.  So, now if someone has a cardiac arrest around me, I can leap in and do 100 chest compressions a minute.  If you've never done this, it's exhausting!  I took the recert class with nurses/technicians and it's much more interesting than the one my coworkers settle for.  If I'm going to be certified in a skill set,I  want it to mean something.

Not much else going on here.  Pk and I are planning a date night down in Atlantic City next Friday.  We'll take an early day at work and then take the train down and walk the boardwalk,  have  dinner somewhere and then take the train home.  It's a great way to go to the shore.  No worrying about traffic and parking and it's a hour long train ride (which we love).  I hope the weather cooperates. 

How's summer treating you?  (or winter if you happen to be below the equator!)