All those loose ends!

I'm starting to like my sweater now that one of the arms is attached (its just hanging there, not seamed). Today I'm working on that other arm (if I was really insane I would probably consider doing something novel like only having one arm on this sweater....but that's been done already by 1000's of knitters before....we normally call them UFO's....and isn't that last arm a "b".)

Now yesterday I asked about how many yarn ends you all might think I'll have to weave in. I want to show you a secret:
I weave those ends into the next row by twisting them into the yarn as I knit. They lay nice and flat - and hidden - in the back. It doesn't work to only twist in one direction...I twist clockwise the first stitch, counterclockwise the second stitch, for about 5 to 7 stitches. Then when I'm done, most of the time, all I have to do is clip rather than weave. I like that. If it wasn't for that, there is no way I would ever try knitting an entire sweater with this many different yarns. It would take a week to do all that weaving. I think that weaving them in as you go also makes a nicer finish. The ends that I'm not able to weave in in process, will later be woven in by following the stitch (hides them pretty well and they stay in better). Really, If I showedyou the inside of this sweater, you would be pleasantly surprised at how few yarns are hanging (most of the time I don't snip them until after I've finished the entire garment, so it DOES look like a mess inside right now).

The painting is resting. I'm not so sure that anyone can really see the gerberas or butterfly, so it might be back on the easel again soon.