I thought this day would never come

I'm not even sure where to start with this, except maybe to just praise Jesus that this is finished.

Maybe bullet points would be best (if you don't want to rehash the history, skip the bullet items to my thoughts of the sweater)

* I started this because I knitted the cover sweater from Hollywood Knits back when the book first came out. I loved the sweater on the model on the cover of the book (apparently the Velma sweater from the memorable live action version of Scooby Doo) and why wouldn't I? The model looks so great, they put the photo on the cover to sucker me in.
* My version made me look like an orange linebacker. Which is impressive because I'm a very meek looking, not even five feet tall, granny-glasses wearing Asian.
* So tired of spending so much money on a sweater I hate wearing, I read Domesticat's blog and saw what she called Cabled Toad but what Adrienne Vittadini called Natasha and what I unpoetically refer to as "The Orange Sweater." Now if you clicked on Domesticat, you can see why I feel in love with the sweater.
* After almost completing the sweater, like a year ago, I discovered to my shock I didn't have enough yarn to finish.
* Thus started my adventures in dyeing.
* I didn't get a perfect match, but enough to fake it (you can see the difference on the bottom photo where there are striations on the back of the sweater.
* I bought a house and remodel plans happened and the sweater got put in bag and placed in some box in the corner of a room.
* I got sick and bored and from one of my days off from work, I went through some stuff and found the orange sweater.
* And I finished it.
* Thank god!

Thoughts about the sweater.
I like the sweater alot and it's definitely in the wardrobe rotation. But I'm not in love with it. Mainly because of the sleeves. They are a little bat wingish. I can modify patterns in stockinette stitches, but when any knitterly details are involved, I'm just not very smart. I would consider it suitable for someone who wanted to learn cables, but it has to be someone who isn't afraid of doing some tinking in order to get it right.

Oh, and it is a must to wear something underneath, unless you are Angelina Jolie. But I think she can wear anything she wants.

Is this enough yarn?

for two sleeves?

i didn't think so either, so i searched frantically for some more of this (since this used to be another sweater that I knitted a couple years ago and never wore, so i ripped it out and i'm sure the color has been discountinued) and i bought, what is described as 'rusty red' from somewhere in england. it should be to my house sometime next week, so progress on sweater is on hold, which means ...

(insert psycho music here)

STEEK, STEEK, STEEK

One of my favorite local yarn shops had a great sale, and when there is yarn on sale, you have to go, no matter how long you were trying to put off "a color decision" (read the air quotes as meaning I was trying to put off actually knitting the project)

a friend suggested i use pink, instead of the orange, but the pink at the store was a little too pepto bismo-y, so i went with this lilac instead ...

i guess if i really hate the combination, I could exchange the yarn ... oh, whatever, i can't fool you people. i really am dragging my feet with this. i'll do some knitting and show you the progress in the next day or so. at least this blog is keeping me an honest knitter.

by the way, my friend beverly found a place online to get 'Road to China' but it seems to cost a lot more than I remembered paying for it. If anyone is interested, I suggest just calling Gene Ann's.