hot off the er, needles

Here's my completed sweater! I've been working on it for two+ years. That is, if 'working' means keeping it hidden in my closet and forgetting about it for a year and a half. AT (=Aunt Teresa) has reassured me that this is still a success, at least it hasn't been sitting around since 1985. That's older than I am. The yarn and pattern are from a Japanese knitting supply company called Noro. I don't have qualms about using their yarn, because the quality is so high, though maybe I should be looking for some local yarn for my next project. I love variegated yarns, and patterns that show off the color changes. I want to try hand-dyeing this summer. Anyway, now I am nice and warm in my (slightly chilly) house, wearing my sweater and my felted elf slippers. At the risk of this turning into a knitting blog, let me post those as well. In order to felt wool, you agitate it in hot soapy water to make the fibers stick. the final stage involved felting the slippers onto my feet. Yes, I sat on my kitchen floor, rubbing soap and soggy wool onto my feet, much to the amazement of my family.
Because knitting projects take me so long, my taste often changes completely from the time I start the project, and the finished product sometimes ends up looking completely different than I envisioned it anyway. Glad to say that I still want to wear these, though the elf slippers don't leave the house.