That Sweater Again

Last night, I finished the back of the sweater. Celebration time! During the night, I wondered if the shoulders fit. Measure shoulders, stick out lower lip and pout. They were two inches too wide. There is no sense in leaving them too large, as this time the sweater is supposed to fit me instead of being over-sized.

I have re-figured the sweater body with new numbers for the armhole decreases and the neck shaping. Double checked that all adds up to the number of stitches actually on the needles. dis-assembled the sweater down to the armholes and started again. There were a couple of problems in the last iteration that I was ignoring. They are now gone and will not reappear. All the yarn from both sleeves of the original version is in this photo.

In the meantime, I must finish a birthday gift for a Monday birthday. I also have to finish putting together my tax info and get it to my accountant. Update - done!

At the yarn store knit-in, I got the sock done to the toe. There is a good chance of finishing tonight.

The weather is cold again here in NE Ohio, but I stopped at the garden center to see what they had. Most hings will be in for planting in late April. they have pansies now. I may get some next week if I can clean out where they go. I'm also thinking about a Hydrangea bush for the back yard. I saw bright pink and bright blue today. The ones in the front yard are pale green. today's task was to remove volunteer day lilies from the front lawn. It feels good to play in the dirt!

Sweater Fail

Once in a while, even experienced knitters don't think things through! A couple of years ago, I had a great idea. I had a sewing pattern that I was in love with. I had a great knit fabric idea. The problem is that i thought they went together. I didn't think through the fact that the sewing pattern was designed for soft drapey fabric. What I knit was not drapey.

I really went wrong when I added the edge pieces. While I wasn't entirely happy with the result, I wore it a bit. Then I lost weight, a lot of weight. I'm rethinking all my clothes, and being surprised how many of them are still wearable. This was not!

I still like the fabric, a three color seed stitch. I'm turning it into a fitted jacket, which is much more appropriate for the fabric. The yarn is dishcloth cotton. I see lots of ecru dishcloths in my future. At least I can give them as gifts. They will go with any kitchen.

Dis-assembly has started. It looked like this this morning. Missing from the photo is what used to be cuffs on the sleeves.  The second sleeve has turned into balls of yarn and the sweater back is above the armholes now.

The new sweater back is much smaller than the original. Part of the difference in in the intended fit of the garment, fitted rather than loose. Of course the number  of inches lost on my body also figures in.

I started this project because my other non-sock project was stuck. I had run out of yarn a few yards from the finish line. That's what I get for making the shawl a little bigger. When I got to the point where the pattern said I had used about half of the yarn, I was just into the second ball of three. New yarn was ordered. It's even the same dye lot. I ordered two more balls, so I can knit socks or something out of the rest of it. It didn't come into my house alone though. enough yarn for three more pairs of socks joined the crowd. I'm trying a couple of new things and I fell for the free shipping hook.

The shawl is called Haruni. The yarn is Mini Mochi from Crystal Palace. It was not a hard knit and I love the edging. It seems like it took a million pins to block it. I have flexible blocking wires on the top edge. I should be able to wear it tomorrow to a Sivia Harding lace class that my guild is holding.

I guess I'd better figure out what to wear with it and then get myself to bed.

It's Spring

Remodeling
The kitchen is almost ready for paint! The fact that cupboards have been emptied and refilled my someone other than me, makes for certain challenges. I don't know where anything is! My daughter has done some reorganizing, which makes sense. Some things went in the trash. I was looking for some cider vinegar for a bread recipe today, and it's gone. The bottle was damaged. I used white vinegar instead. The bread is in the machine now.

My dog is thinking about shedding. Her undercoat comes off in clumps and I can't find the rake that I used to use. I'm sure it will turn up, but in the meantime, i bought a new rake and a slicker brush and started the beauty treatments. The rake is great for getting hair out of the slicker brush. She'll get combed at least tw2ice a day for the next few months,or until shedding ceases. Luckily, she likes the attention.

Quilting daughter is in town for a few days. She missed Christmas this year, but there is a family wedding on Saturday. There are also two birthdays that will be celebrated on Friday. Sunday morning is our monthly breakfast at the Gunny Hall, so it will be a busy weekend.

It seems like Spring here. I actually have a few daffodils in the back yard, and have seen crocuses and snow flowers while out with the dog.

Knitting

I have finished another pair of socks recently, and put two sock patterns on Ravelry. The new patte4r has butterflies on the ankles and is called Mama They Tickle. There were too many patterns with "butterfly" or "flutterby" in the name and I thought butterflies on the ankle would tickle. I remembered that out
Botanical Garden had a rainforest exhibit with lots of butterflies, so what a great idea for a photo or two. The butterflies did not cooperate! There weren't as many as I remembered. It was hard to get a photo indoors, because there was no place to put the socks. I went out doors and there were no flowers. I did the best I could, and got some nice pictures. The technique is Mosaic. The darker yarn is left form another pair of socks and I used all but a yard or so, so that's out of my leftover drawer.

I was busy knitting dishcloths. The father of the bride above say me knitting, and mentioned that they used to have knit dishcloths that were well loved, but wore out. I knit a set of three for his wife and all three daughters. That makes 18 dishcloths so far this year, counting the 6 that I sent off in February. Two more daughter want dishcloths, but they'll have to wait. I have one in my purse right now, but haven't worked on it recently. It's emergency knitting.