If it ain't broke...

fix it anyway.

I've been knitting for a long time and have always knit English-style. I've been wanting to make the switch to continental-style to speed up but wanted to wait until I finished my sweater so I wouldn't mess with my gauge. =) Sweater's done and I can mess all I want now!

So, I headed off to YouTube to see how to go from thrower to picker and chose a small project in garter stitch to practice.

I felt at first like I'd never knit before! But I got the hang of it fairly quickly and have been playing with a couple different ways to hold the yarn, trying to decide which I like best.

I also worked up a couple kitty snakes in crochet.

One in a variegated acrylic and one in bulky white wool, crocheting in pony beads for the eyes.

Then I used a couple packets of Kool-Aid to overdye the white.

I'm pretty happy with the results! Though the acidity of the Kool-Aid reacted with the t-pins I used to hang the snake up to dry, leaving teensy rust spots even though I'd rinsed him well then washed him in Eucalan first. Thankfully, the kitties don't mind. =)

I made it!

I can finally say it... I knit a whole sweater!

That's right, folks, I finished this one. lol

This is the Salem Hooded Sweater (my Rav link) from New England Knits that I started before heading to San Francisco back in January. I came back from the trip with two completed sleeves and about 3" of the bottom hem done (after frogging my first couple inches due to size issues, dang it).

Took a bit of a break to knit another dog sweater, a hat or two and a pair of fingerless mitts... and crochet a couple kitty toys. But last week, I decided I wasn't working on anything else until this came off the needles. I can now move on. =) Still need to pick up a couple of snaps and some ribbon, but ends are woven in, it's been soaked (lavender Eucalan) and is blocked and drying as I type! I think that counts as done. (Better pics once I hit a store)

Added bonus? Total cost: $18 and a little change =D

Next up? Trying something a bit different...