Back from vacation

We were in Louisiana for the last week visiting the in-laws. Got a lot done on my socks for the knit-along I'm a member of. Six socks a year--a new pair every two months. Maybe I'll get these finished by the end of May. I'll post a pic later.

Restarted the mittens while I was there. It's wierd trying to figure out the increases myself since the pattern was wrong. It's going a little slower than before, mainly because I'm getting distracted by other projects.

While in Louisiana I decided to do something that I had been contemplating for the past six months. I'm ripping out what I had completed of the Aran-style sweater I was making for myself (started it four years ago). I had the back and half the front complete. Over 1500 yds of yarn...

Started ripping about four hours ago. Ripped out the front and am halfway through the back.

Why am I ripping it out? Because it gives me a headache to look at it. I'm not in love with the pattern anymore. I've found a pattern in one of my other books, also Aran-style, that will look better in that yarn. So once I rip it, I'll put it back on the needles and start over. However, I will be knitting in the round instead of in pieces that have to be sewn together.

I'm going to make myself some strong coffee to get myself through the next few hours of ripping.