Bron's Blog II

At Least I Know Where I Went Wrong

Before you commiserate, let me say that it's really OK that this sweater didn't work out. I learned a couple of really good things from the knitting of it and at least the yarn was cheap so I didn't waste a lot of money! LOL

Here's Something PInk completed:

Right away the sharp-eyed among you might notice something suspicious:

See that big ol' gap in front?

Yep - the sweater doesn't fit.

The back width is perfect:

I made my mistake by assuming the # of front/neckline increases would bring me where I needed to be when I stopped the raglan for the sleeves. By my calculations last night, I needed at least 8 more increases on each side (to give me a couple more inches per front) in order for the fronts to meet and cross for the button closure:

The kicker is that I did try this on and saw that the fronts were pretty far apart. BUT - I had the exact same problem on Fountain Lace Cardi earlier this year and everything had worked out perfectly once I got the button bands on. I just assumed the same would happen with this one. Obviously the gap was WAY too wide to be fixed in the end. Shame on me for assuming!

If I were to make this again, I'd do at least 15 increases per front and narrow the spacing from every 8th row to every 6th. As it is, I'll remember this info when I decide to tackle a pattern from Fitted Knits! (Which may be soon, by the way - I still want a top-down raglan!)

Also, even if the fronts had been perfect, I still stopped the ribbing too soon. I'd need at least another 4 inches (2 more than I'd originally planned) for the sweater to hit at a good point on me. Stopping the ribbing so early was pure laziness on my part - I was sooooo tired of it! LOL Of course, it's just as well I didn't spend the extra time now that I know it doesn't fit!

Things that worked:

1. The short row shaping at the back of the neck. I loved that idea and it worked just as it's supposed to. I'll definitely keep it in mind for my next collared sweater. :)

2. Doing the sleeves flat and at the same time. The sleeves went super fast and they were a breeze to do.

Next time: A new project or two, more dishcloths, more stuff in the mail. :) You know - the usual!

Have a great weekend!

Short Row Magic

Yesterday I got 4th period prep all to myself so I watched "Once Upon A Time In Mexico" and knit on a dishrag:

Honestly - Antonio Banderas and Johnny Depp - what's not to like? That's probably the reason I didn't actually finish the dishrag. ::wink::

That and the fact that Dylan's Social Studies teacher came to find me to ask if I'd write her a letter of recommendation. She's going for a fellowship that will pay for her Master's in history as long as she focuses on the Constitution. I was very flattered, of course, and agreed. As someone whose child is in her class AND who's substituted for her, I think I can speak knowledgeably about her teaching strengths. She was so excited - I really hope she gets it.

I didn't get much knitting done on Something Pink last night since we had a guy come over to give us an estimate on painting our rental inside & out. He's the nephew of a friend of DH's from work and he gave us an incredibly low figure - $1,000 for BOTH the inside & out, we buy the paint. He'll even pick up the paint from a buddy of his who works at a paint store - at cost! He usually charges .85/sq. ft. (which is still a deal) but we're his uncle's friends, so....

No way could we turn THAT down! He can start Monday and should be finished in a couple of days. The inside will be all one color - a shade of white - and the outside will be a medium stucco-brown to imitate the new houses going in across the arroyo. No-one particularly likes a yellowish house so this should do quite a bit to modernize the look of the house & make people want to buy it! :)

Don't worry - the kid's been doing this since he was 14 and he has his contractor's license. We're getting the great deal 'cause we're friends of the family, not because he does shoddy work!

After a couple other good things happened yesterday, I'm willing to say we're riding a streak of good luck right now - here's hoping it lasts!

Yesterday was the last day for our old renters to get in touch with us about paying what they owe. Looks like they're going to make us work for it - bastards. Sigh. We'll get the paperwork going this week - we called & told him we'd be serving him papers and if he wanted to avoid it he should call. Of course, there was nada. Grrrrr!

I did get to the short row shaping on the neck of Something Pink:

If this works as well as I think it will, I'm definitely going to try this technique on other sweaters too. I always have a time with knit bands gaping at the back of the neck. These short rows will bring the fabric up, curving it to either side & allowing it to drape naturally across the neck. As much as I've knit, I can't believe I haven't seen this before. Brilliant!

Every time I say "Brilliant!" I think of the Guinness commercials. That's the hallmark of good advertising I guess, eh?

Faster Than I'd Planned

I finished the body of Something Pink last night a bit ahead of schedule. I've picked up the stitches for the neck & front bands, hence the scrunchiness of this pic:

I decided to stop the ribbing at 10" - approx. 24" from the back of the neck to the edge. I'll be adding several inches of ribbing for the collar and bands so that will add length also.

I'm excited about this cardi - it's bright & spring-like. However, I didn't do something that the directions specified. I'm thinking it'll be no big deal but again, the proof is in the pudding! I'll let you know in a couple of days if it was a huge screw up or just a minor hiccup. ::Grin:::

This was waiting for me in the mailbox when I got home yesterday:

It's Lion Brand's new organic cotton in "Cypress." Go here and click on the color chart to see the colors available. The color chart is way off, at least on my monitor, but I'm thinking the skein shown draped over the other one in the main photo is "Cypress" - it certainly matches what I received pretty closely.

I haven't even wound the skeins into balls yet and I can tell you this stuff feels much softer than the Pakucho natural cotton I'm used to. It's all from Peru, though, so I'm sure the yarn comes from the same type of farm, if not the same one! The LB cotton has a harvest date (11/06) and the Pakucho has a lot number (01/04.) No difference there!

Since I have odds & ends of Pakucho on hand as well as 20 skeins of Vanilla (yum!) I was thinking of using the Cypress as an accent stripe on something. Not sure what yet, but when inspiration strikes, I wanted to be ready! LOL

I had to cover another class during prep yesterday so there was no time to work on my dishrag. I know the teacher I'm covering today has a prep - I'll take everything with me just in case! In fact, I'm going to go print out that lacey round dishcloth pattern I showed you the other day - I might have time to knit two!

Well...they say hope does spring eternal. ::wink::

Remember "Endless Summer?"

Let me introduce you to "Endless Ribbing"....which, unfortunately, does not feature hot guys on surf boards:

Actually, I shouldn't whine. I'm at 6 1/2" - just over half way there. This is great TV knitting 'cause I don't have to look at what I'm doing but still....I really like to have this finished soon! I'm setting a goal of this weekend. If I give myself a couple more days to finish the body ribbing, then one to do the ribbed collar & bands....that should bring me to Saturday (I skipped Friday 'cause it always seems I need one more day of wiggle room ::grin:::) and an FO to show.

Because this is getting a little big to lug to school, I started yet another dishcloth last night:

After all, St. Patrick's Day is coming!

I certainly hope we end up doing a kitchen swap over at Fiber Freaks (link on my left sidebar - if you haven't joined, you should!) because I'll be ready for it! We've got a poll up now to see if there's any interest - so far it looks like the ayes have it!

Oh - here's my totally unsolicited opinion regarding Sugar & Cream vs. Peaches & Cream. Sugar & Cream is a nicer cotton but Peaches & Cream has some gorgeous colors. I just ordered a cone from eBay in shades of rust, black & tan. Perfect for a fall/Halloween set of dishrags (I've GOT to say dishrags!) and potholders.

Don't worry - this latest kitchen craze will pass (I promise!) but first I need that stack of dishrags for me AND a stack for gifts! After all, I really was serious when I said I'd make fewer cardis in 2007. hehe

Speaking of cardis, I'll be darned if I can find the magazine with "Bianca's Jacket" in it. Shoot! I found another magazine a reader asked me about, but that particular issue of IK is nowhere to be found. I opened every box I had packed, too. Looks like I won't be casting on for that one any time soon. Grrrrr.

But don't worry - I'll think of something. ::wink::

EDITED TO ADD: I knew as soon as I said I couldn't find that magazine I would find it. And I did. I went back to the same box I'd looked through 3 times yesterday & there it was. So - Bianca it will be! ::Grin::

Somebody Stop Me

If only it wasn't so interesting watching the patterns emerge:

And look - I found a round knit dishcloth pattern that uses short rows instead of dpns!:

With all this talk of dishcloths, I must confess that in my head....I call them "dishrags." That's what Mom called 'em and I can't help but follow suit. Hey - I grew up in a household with an "icebox" rather than a "fridge." I can't help being archaic!

I found this at Michael's yesterday:

And really liked the butterfly and the chicken potholders:

(Ahem...I also have 2 dishcloth pamphlets on their way from eBay but I swear....that's IT! LOL)

In the meantime, I've remembered another pattern I used to make all the time. It's for a potholder and it's easy-peasy too. I'll crochet one up today & post the pattern tomorrow. :)

Here's a sweater picture for all those out there who are about to un-sub from my blog in disgust at my kitschy kitchen helpers:

I'm an inch into the ribbing on "Something Pink (Red)" and have about 10" to go before I finish. I'm going to make the body a little longer than specified (as I almost always do.)

I found this at B&N yesterday:

Let me go on record with almost everyone else & say that I dislike the new layout of the magazine. It's very hard to tell what's an ad and what's a pattern and, well, I don't know - I just don't like it!

The patterns were ok this time, but nothing really jumped out & grabbed me. I liked the cabling in this (naturally):

And this is probably the one thing I'll seriously think about making from this issue:

I have some yarn on my shelves that I received for Christmas (thanks again, Wendy!) that might be just the ticket for this. It's even in the same color family. :) We'll see.

Some patterns were, to me, kinda pointless:

But then again, I'm not a sweet young thing that can get away with wearing things like that!

As always, I found things in the ads to interest me. Case in point:

I doubt I'd actually want to knit all of that, but I'd sure like to have the sweater! LOL

And I found that Amy Singer has a book coming out called No Sheep For You, all about knitting with cotton, hemp, bamboo, etc. You know - for all of us who are allergic to wool. :) I had no idea that Amy was allergic too - I feel that I'm in good company. Anyway, that's one I'll be checking out when it becomes available.

Here are a couple of life updates:

• Our guy who was set to buy the house decided he couldn't swing it, but it's totally OK - we signed up with a really good Realtor yesterday & after about 3 weeks of renovating, we'll have it on the market again. As we were talking to him yesterday, two people stopped in front of the house to ask if we were still selling it & when they could see it. No joke. I doubt we'll have it on the market long.

• I've officially lost 10 pounds since early January - which gives me hope that all those patterns in Fitted Knits that I showed you will look pretty good on me. ::wink::: Now I'm back to just another 20 to go! (Stupid Christmas fudge! ::Grin:::)

I Learned Several Things Yesterday

First, don't shovel an entire driveway yourself when your muscles aren't used to it.

And really, who's muscles are ever used to it?

But yours truly offered since school was closed and I was staying home but DH had to be at the store by 8:00 AM.

I was really, really proud of myself, but my right shoulder was really, really sore the rest of the day.

Undaunted, I slapped on a Heat Wrap and started knitting.

I then learned that snowy days are good for sleeves:

My new method of doing both sleeves at once on a top down raglan worked like a charm. :) I'm so insufferably pleased with myself, you wouldn't believe it. (Well, knowing me, maybe you would believe it. ::wink::) The sleeves will be hitting about 3" below the elbow and they were finished in practically no time at all. I also managed about 2" into the body before I called it quits for the night. Now there's just more stockinette before the final ribbing begins.

This is a fun, fast project. The pink is terribly springlike - something I needed in the face of another winter blast!

We'll be having school today since lots of snow melted during the afternoon yesterday. Although it's going to be very, very slick this morning. I'm not sure if we'll have a 2 hour delay or not.

Then, the kids & I have a 4 day weekend! Yay! P/T conferences are tomorrow so the kids are off and then Monday is President's Day. Then it's only 4 more weeks until spring break.

This year is flying. Then again, it seems every year does. Sigh.

Tomorrow I'll talk about a new knitting book I received yesterday: Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel. I really like it a lot. And heck, she's living in Las Cruces, NM now - she's a hometown girl! ::Grin::

My Snowy Valentine

Last night we went to bed with snow flurries and a prediction of 3" to 6" here in Albuquerque. At 5 AM this is what greeted me:

It's still coming down and now the question is, can the buses run? If there's no school today it will significantly screw up lots & lots of people. Over the next two days Special Ed progression IEPs are scheduled. It's a frenzy of tightly scheduled, half hour meetings with parents, teachers & Sped specialists, all geared toward sending little Susie or Johnny to the best classroom environment for him or her next year. There's something like 70 kids to get through in 2 days, on both sides of the Sped spectrum. I'm subbing for one of the Sped teachers for both days and will probably be sent running from room to room when she doesn't need me. Tomorrow is Dylan's IEP - they've promised to get coverage for me. ::wink::

If they have to miss today...well....let's just say there will be weeping, wailing & gnashing of teeth! Even a two hour delay day will be ruinous!

I can honestly say it's been years since I've seen this kind of snow in Albuquerque proper. It's wonderful, though. We're officially out of our short-term drought, although we continue to be in a long-term drought cycle so we still need to conserve water.

On to more mailbag goodies! After a tough day at school, I arrived home to find this:

My very first ROAK ever and it's from Deneen!

The stitch markers are just lovely and are made by Karen over at Roses and Tea. She really does a superb job and I love the post card included in the package! Any day I get a package from England is a very good day indeed. :) So - thanks so much Deneen and thanks to Karen too!

Psssst! Karen has a VERY cute set of stitch markers up on eBay right now. It's a snowman set and, considering my current situation, I'm mighty tempted to get them!

I did get a prep period yesterday, so much progress was made on Something Pink (Arnold added for scale....and the fact I was too lazy to move him):

Now I need to decide how long to make the sleeves. I'm about an inch past where I should change to ribbing for short sleeves. I think, however, that I'll make the sleeves a true 3/4 length, doing plain stockinette until the elbow, then adding about 4" of ribbing to go down my forearm. I have plenty of yarn so that's not an issue. I have very few sweaters with arms that hit that perfect length, so I'll go for it. ;)

I'm off to check the news for school delays or closings...I'm not sure if I want school to close or not! LOL

Doug starts jury duty today too....of course, the city offices close at the drop of a hat so I'll bet he starts tomorrow.

Happy Valentine's Day!

EDITED TO ADD: So far we're on a two-hour delay. It's still snowing so that might change. I'm starting to hear the wailing! LOL

ANOTHER EDIT: We have 6" and another 3" to 4" expected - oh yeah, school is SO closed today!