Like working with a set of unruly bagpipes and hitting 8000SP

Yes, I'm talking about the later stages of making a top-down cardigan.

If the early stages of creating the yoke are marked by managing ever increasing numbers of stitches in a row, each taking half an hour to complete, the later stages of knitting the sleeves are like working with a set of unruly bagpipes!

It looks so innocent, doesn't it, sitting there quietly?

It's like bread dough or one of those ventriloquist's dummies with a life and mind of its own. However neatly you arrange the knitting and its three sets of circular needles and two balls of yarn on your lap, it will contrive to slide off your knee. Especially if you're using a slippy slidey shiny yarn.

The clacking noise of the circular needles (I'm using birch ones) and generally having to arrange them so they are not digging into you (or anyone else brave enough to share the sofa) or skewering your knitting or getting tangled in the several balls of yarn, all adds to the bagpipes effect.

Having said that, this is the fastest garment I have ever knitted, with only the ends to sew in and buttons to attach. I'll be posting pictures of the finished item soon with a review of the process - bits that worked better than others and what I would like to change in the next one I make.

I did wear it for half-an-hour last night to see how it felt and whether I wanted to make any changes before finishing off. It is lovely and warm (the snuggiest, lightest cardigan I have), and the style is a cross between chanel jacket and boyfriend cardigan. That is, chic with a relaxed fit :)

I think I must get a large flat basket, big enough to hold a growing garment, that will sit on my knee comfortably, and with a low lip so it doesn't get in the way of knitting. Or perhaps I should crochet a soft container using one of @marblely's designs?

Hitting 8000SP! Yay!

I'm really pleased with this. Although it's not a landmark like Double Dolphin (10,000SP), for some reason it feels significant, maybe because I thought it would take me much longer to reach this stage.

I've been buying steadily, a small amount every week since becoming a dolphin last summer. Sometimes, I've been lucky, the price has been very low and I've gained a lot of SP for very little. Other weeks the SP has been much lower. This week, as the price dipped below 30c again, I bought a few more, in even smaller amounts!

My original plan was to reach 10,000SP by the end of August and I'd set my buying programme to achieve that. Possibly I will get there a little sooner.

Why am I buying and powering up? Because I think Steem has a great future. There is lots going on and that can be disconcerting, but for me, this is typical of early start up stages. It would be more worrying if some of these things were not taking place. Challenge and debate will lead to a much more robust and sustainable blockchain.