My little girl turned one today! This year has gone by incredibly fast. We are so blessed to have this beautiful, happy baby in our lives.

I took the bull by the horns and finished up the second sleeve for Audrey:

It was a real struggle for me to knit the 2×2 ribbing with Calmer, a very slippery yarn. I use the ring finger on my right hand to regulate the tension of the yarn. By Saturday morning, when I was working on the last couple of rows, this finger had become extremely sore. I really gave it a work out! I’m starting to suspect that my neck/back/arm pain may be related to the amount of 2×2 ribby type projects I’ve been working on over the past year. After I finish the berry jacket, I’m going work on some nice mindless stockinette stitch projects–or lace, or something where I’m not fighting to keep all my stitches even.

I’ve also managed to do a couple of repeats in the lace neckband, which I’m enjoying. Finally. I’m having fun with this blasted sweater. Hopefully, I’ll be able to sew it together next weekend

I enjoyed reading the comments my readers left in the contest entry. At first, the trend was in favor of the berry jacket. I sensed a real streak of practicality in the responses, i.e., why finish something that you’re not sure you’re going to wear and that you don’t even enjoy knitting? Good question. I’m not sure I have an answer, except that common sense has never been my strong suit and I’m terribly stubborn.

I was happy to discover some kindred spirits in this little excercise. Those who answered, “finish Audrey since you’re almost done anyway” or “get Audrey out of the way so you can only have fun projects on the needles” must be able to read my mind!

Because this was so much fun for me and because I appreciate your feedback, I’ve decided to give out four prizes instead of just one. I wish the prizes were more exotic and/or prettier, but ye olde stash is limited, hence, the nice, but serviceable Cascade Fixation. Winners are: Karen, Judy, Theresa and Jaya (heavens, if she really did spend all weekend thinking about this, she deserves it!). Please let me know (imogen@REMOVEspeakeasy.net) what your mailing addresses are so I can send your prizes to you

I’ve signed up. I’ve got the yarn. I’ve got the pattern. I’m chompin’ at the bit to start knitting my sweet little wrap cardi from Rebecca 29:

I’ve even knit a couple of swatches which indicate that I’ll need to go all the way up to US 9 needles (the pattern calls for US 7 needles). So, what’s the hang up, you might ask.

Both of my US 9’s are currently being used for other projects. I’m using one pair for my Berry colored Jacke and the other pair for Audrey, a.k.a. the sweater from Hell.

I had a moment of weakness where I actually considered going out and buying new needles, but then thought better of that. I’ve been working on Audrey for nearly a year now. I’ve been working on the Berry Jacke since this fall. Neither project should have ever taken as long as they have. In the time that I was contemplating knitting another row, Crayonbrain started and finished her pretty Jacke. There’s no way in the world I can compete with that kind of speed, but I should be able to finish one of these projects before I turn into an octogenarian.

So, here’s the deal. I’ve already started working really hard on knitting the last bit of one of these projects. I’m going to finish it before I start the Rebecca wrap. Which one do you think I’ll finish first?

Will it be the Berry Jacke? I’ve enjoyed knitting this project, love the color, but have 1-1/2 sleeves left to knit and must learn to crochet in order to put the finishing touches on it. The cotton blend yarn aggravates my sore arm/neck/back, so it’s been slow going for me.

Or, shall Audrey finally make her debut? Pretty sweater, but it’s been giving me fits from the get-go (which is why it’s referred to as the sweater from hell around my house). I have my doubts about this sweater fitting properly and wonder if it’s going to end up relegated to the forget-about-it drawer. I still have half a sleeve left plus the lace collar. While the Calmer yarn is as soft as it can be, I find it an (unpleasant) challenge to knit with.

If you can guess which sweater I’ve switched to my top priority, I’ll put your name in a hat for a little drawing. I’ve got some lovely Cascade Fixation which I’ll be giving away. (Perfect for a pair of socks!)

I’ll keep this contest open until Monday at noon PST. By then, I should have made some progress worth photographing!