ARGH!!

So, last night I was cleaning the apartment in preparation for my parents coming over for dinner. Since my knitting corner was getting a little disorderly with all the bags of yarn, baskets with projects, etc. I figured this would be a good time to clean it out a bit better. Much to my chagrin, I discovered that the cats (maybe one of them, or even both of them) had been marking some of the baskets, especially the cloth ones. Luckily, most of my yarn was safe. I had to get rid of the baskets, which kinda hurt, and some yarn that wasn't all that great anyway, so that didn't hurt. BUT, there was one set of things that got soiled that REALLY pained me.

Do you remember that sweater I was working on a long, long time ago? The Kyoto one from Knitty? Well, I haven't finished it yet, but I did buy the yarn to do so, and was most of the way through the last sleeve. Well, the sleeve was ruined, and had to be thrown out. The extra balls of yarn that I have? I wasn't totally sure if they were ruined yet, but I think one ball of the two was soiled and will have to be thrown away. So, the sweater can't be finished now because I don't have enough yarn. That dye lot of Misson Falls is long gone.

I thought about maybe washing it, but all my past experience with cat pee is that the smell just doesn't go away, even after multiple washes. So, I think after some mourning, I will frog all the pieces that I have completed, rewind the yarn, and think about what I want to do with it. The nice thing is that I probably have enough yarn to make a cute short sleeve sweater, and since it's cotton, it'll probably be good for the summer. What do you think? I'm thinking I want something that I can knit in the round that's mostly brainless, maybe with some cute detailing here and there. Who knows. I'm still a bit in shock over what happened that I haven't really wrapped my brain around what to do next.

Suggestions welcome!

Be still my knitterly heart....

Behold the latest and most lovely addition to my knitty equipment, courtesy of Jason, possibly the most intelligent and discerning man on the planet. He noticed the looks of envy I was directing towards Lorelai's swift on Gilmore Girls one evening (Knit-a-thon in Star's Hollow!), asked a couple of careful fact-gathering questions about swift use, poked around on the internet, and voila, a very much appreciated birthday present! This is a photo of the inaugural winding, and boy is it ever glorious. No more fiddling with chairs and swinging my arms around to desperately prevent tangling!

Oh, and the yarn? Koigu, one of my very favourites, purchased from Lettuce Knit over the summer. Look at all the beautiful greens! I'm thinking a lacy scarf.