Slap-Happy Friday!

It's been a long, long week for both Chris and me, can you tell?

Mermaid is almost done, lacking only the i-cord edges on the sleeve cuffs and, as you may have noticed, one sleeve set in. And a good soak and wet blocking, since I've heard from everyone who's made it that both body and sleeves grow quite a bit in length, which is good news for me, since right now these sleeves are about 2 inches short, and the waist sits a bit higher than I would like.

And hey, Mom's birthday present is DONE and will be in the mail tomorrow. Some of you knitters out there may know what the blue thing in the photo below is, but Mom doesn't.

Finally, thanks to everyone for all the compliments on my Neiman sweater. I am really, really excited to see what others do with the pattern, so please, send photos! Email questions! I though of a few substitute yarns for the Wool Cotton, and was given some suggestions by others interested in the pattern. Here they are:

1. Jaeger Matchmaker DK: Itchier and warmer than Wool Cotton, but a bit cheaper, very durable, and has a matte finish that would contrast nicely with the silk.
2. Rowan Calmer: oooooh yeah. For all of you out there who don't want wool.
3. Rowan All-Seasons Cotton would also be nice, I think.
4. Elann has a new DK weight superwash wool that looks good, it's called "Peruvian Luxury Superwash," but I haven't tried it yet; love some of the colors, though, and it would be very reasonable.

I think these yarns would maintain the overall look of the sweater very nicely. However, think of how it would look in a tweedy yarn, or something with a bit of color-on-color dye action. Or with Artfibers Regal Silk in a varregated color or something exotic like Alchemy Silken Straw (saw this at Purl and have it on the brain) for the yoke detail! I know I'll be making another one soon, and plan on a little experimentation.