WIP Wednesday: Now with actual progress

I reached a tipping point in the past week, and not just in my running.  I completed my 20-mile run and have now entered the taper phase of marathon training.  That involves ambivalently looking forward and seeing that my mileage will be decreasing for upcoming runs, which is exciting, but that there aren't nearly as many upcoming runs before the actual event, which is a little scary.

I suppose there's a similar dichotomy of feeling when you finish up a knitting project.  Casting off is exhilarating, and then there's the perhaps not exactly exciting but satisfying weaving in of the ends, washing, and blocking.  But invariably, after casting off and weaving in the ends, I sit on the sofa and think, 'Now what?'  There's nothing to knit.  And most of the time I don't want to get up to start the blocking.  I want to knit something.

I had this feeling over the weekend, when I managed to cast off my Fruit Loopy Shawl, and put the finishing touches on that other project I teased last week.  Both of these will be FO features on Friday, because I spent Monday blocking them.  Here's a fuzzy photo to sort of prove it:

With two cast off projects, the desire to knit something was even stronger.  But I fought the urge to cast on something new, knowing that I have my Sochi Socks ceremonially starting up soon.  Instead, I returned to that beloved WIP, my cardigan.  I finally finished seaming the back to the left and right front panels.  And I think I've reached the point where I understand what I'm doing when I'm seaming, rather than just blindly sewing it up.  When it comes to these sorts of things, I often have trouble 'seeing' what bump is the part of the stitch I'm aiming for.  Which is why I rely on a lot of help from my mom to show me.  Or, in the case of then picking up the stitches along the bottom for a ruffle edge, to do most of it for me.

In my defense, however, once she picked up the stitches, I tackled something I had never done before: beading!

See the sparklies?

Even though it's one majorly long row, I really enjoyed beading (while knitting) for the first time.  And I love how the color matches the yarn and adds just a little hint of sparkle.  I still have about half of the tube left, and I'm planning on beading the sleeve ruffles and hopefully some of the neckband as well.

So all in all, it's been a very productive week!  I hope I can take this momentum into my first pair of socks, and continue to make my way towards finishing this cardigan.  I'd like to actually wear it one day.

For more WIP Wednesday posts, go to Tami's Amis.