The Lightning-Bolt sweater is done! I sewed up the seams on it last night.
It took just under 13 balls of Emu dk Superwash for the 44" size.

I think the leftover yarn will go in the knitted-toy stash, as it's a nice russet color that would work well for a variety of animals.

I also swatched the Valeria di Roma "Topacio" for the Sitcom Chic (and got gauge with a size 7 US needle), and cast on and knit the first row and a half. I am using a variegated color, it is a mix of light cream, darker cream, and taupe. It will be quite understated and nice knit up, I think.

I worked on the swatch and the casting-on while watching a program on the Discovery channel about Greek Fire. This was an ancient weapon apparently something like napalm. It was used in two different ways - as a flamethrower mounted on ships, or as incendiary bombs.

One of the challenges was finding a substance that was flammable but thick enough. At one point, the people who were working on the incendiary bomb part of the project were trying glass globes filled with a mayonnaise-like mixture.

Yes, they were shooting flaming balls of mayonnaise.

dang, I love educational television.