knit1frog2

weird mis-match

So as you know, I've been working on the CNR from DB's Wish you were here...I thought I would finish the shoulders by Japanese shortrows b/c I'm not a fan of stair-stepped shoulders and trying to seam those together.  Okay good.  I finished the back, J-shortrowed each shoulder and kept all live stitches on the circular needle and moved on to the right and left pieces of the front.  Good.  After a few starts and stops of munging the cable pattern, I headed to the shoulders.

Wait.

Argh.

That's when I noticed it.  The back allows for 27sts for the shoulders and each front piece allows for 31sts.  Um, what?!  I did go to the DB site to check for errata and there isn't anything listed for that book...yet.  Is it b/c it's relatively new?  I didn't see a 'contact us' link for her site, but I did find and send mail to a US distributor for her products.  I wasn't holding my breath 'cause...well, you just never know.  Well, gosh.  I received a reply from someone at KnittingFever that said her guess is that the shoulders might be meant to be eased in together.  Hmmm.  This won't work if I'm binding them off 3-needle style.  She did say however, that she would ask and see what she can find out...cool!

So I guess, until I find out I will start in on the sleeves!  Then again, I suppose taking 2sts from the live neck stitches won't kill me...

Oh--and I did take my sockpal's box to the post office today!!  They are now on their way to the ... mid-west!  ^__^

Oh, and Typepad is acting funny...typically when someone makes a comment I get an email notification that someone has commented...it's not working...hmm.

Time for some coffee!

frogging frogging ribbit.

This might explain why I haven't been blogging much. 

I wrote to Z saying that I was ready to take ALL of my yarn to the dumpster outside (oh, what a lovely dumpster dive experience this would make for many).  I am in a knitting funk and it's not funkilicious.  Eg:  I have decided once and for all to frog the Simple sweater.  It just gets TOO short in the front when stretched across my chesticles.  Yes, all that needed to be done is put a zipper in.  gah.  What should I make instead with the frogged yarn?  A baby blanket?  A hangman's noose?!

Last night...after losing my place in the damn cable pattern yet again of the CNR...I finally got back on track and continued on.  When I measured the front panels...I remembered to stretch them slightly to the correct width before measuring the length.  Yup.  Good.  1.5" left to go before starting in on the shoulder shaping.  la la la.  Knitting away...K4, Tw2R p3, k2, Tw2R, p3, P1, [Cr3L, Cr3R, p2] twice, Cr3L, Cr3R, p1.  la la la.  WAIT. 

OMG.

I threw the knitting down to get out the back panel...measured it.  Sure enough it was short if I stretched it to the correct width THEN measured the length.  Luckily, I had kept the skein of yarn attached and frogged the shoulder shaping...not too devastating...sure.  Back on track.  Knitting more length.  La la la.  The back is just a series of K2s and Tw2Rs.  la la la.  WAIT.  geezus.

The length would need to come in the body...NOT the armhole.  Argh.  I laid them out next to each other.  (The armhole shaping on the back panel really does look better, but I threw it down in disgust to take this picture for you all.)

Geezus F. Christ

Man.  Ribbit.  Ribbit.  Ribbit.  sigh. 

I'm going to go sit in the corner in the 74° incredibly muggy weather with my hair puffed out into an afro sipping a cool beverage.  I almost feel better already...well except for the frizzy afro thing happening over here.

in the sun

With it being 94° yesterday and oh, a mere 90° inside my place, there was no knitting to be done yesterday.  Heck, I could barely even move once home, not to mention the no-sleep thing.  The weather has been crazy...70° at 6:30AM?!  It's too much for me, so imagine my relief when it only hit 80° today.  PHEW.

I took a look at my knitting...the poor Cables and Ribs.  I haven't worked on the CNR for quite some time.  Yet, for some reason, w/o even looking at the kacha-kacha, I knew that I left off on row 14.  It's SO weird how the mind works.  I somehow space on my doctor's appt and missed it, yet I can remember that I left off on row 14 more than 2 months ago?!!

Anyway...after a few minutes of re-acquainting myself with the pattern, I was off and running.  At least the knitting can safely sit in the sun.  Me?  I burst into flame.

cables and Tw2Rs!

stress...less?

Way back when, when I started the whole knitting thing, it was to reduce stress.  Even when the pattern is complex, there is a kind of zen to the whole thing...it allows the mind to think about something else, if only a short while.

So imagine my surprise when I thought I was relaxing one evening after work, knitting away on the cnr only to find I was knitting SO tightly that the finger pad on my left ring finger was um, numb.  It was SO numb in fact that it stayed numb for a good portion of the next day!  (I noticed in the shower when washing my hair.)

Later that day I got to thinking...if I was knitting THAT tightly, then um, I'm sure the sweater would be way too small.  Last night, I cast on again with a different ball of yarn just to see.  Sure enough, check it out...

top is less stress...bottom is while stressed out!

So well, no I am not a small girl, so that bottom piece would have never fit.  Can you say "ribbit?!"

Last weekend Z and I went to the Seattle Knitting & Fiber Arts Expo where I picked up the following...

I adore pink and chocolate

And of course I couldn't leave this behind either...

looks like chocolate cherries!  yum.

Then when I saw this DB Baby Cashmerino at Z's house, I knew that I had to get some for myself...so I made a quick trip to the local yarn store for 20% off the following!

dontcha just love a sale?!

delivery3

Well well well, look what was on my doorstep when I got home from work to-day!!

it's much greener than I imagined...still pretty!

I guess this means I really have to knit it now! I should get back to the last sleeve for the simple sweater while I await the zipper colorcard to arrive. I frogged the initial sleeve since it was entirely smaller than the 2nd one. ugh.

How is one supposed to swatch for a sweater that is filled with cables??  Wouldn't it be great if they had a picture of the swatch along with a breakdown of the gauge for the pattern just to compare for sanity's sake??

why

I haven't the faintest idea why we get attached to the colors that we do...I always say I'm not a blue fan and yet most of the things that I've knit for myself have been blue.  Yeah, what?!  I guess when I hear 'blue' I think a nondescript, nothing blue...navy blue, which I do not look good in.  I do like the smoky blues, the denims and OMG I cannot get enough of the following color lately...

love this color

I really wanted to knit this when I first picked up the DB Wish you were here! book, but AS only had 12 skeins left in the box.  (apparently the yarn is now discontinued, no wonder it was on sale)  Then I had the bright idea yesterday to look on eBay (duh!).  Sure enough, I found 14 skeins (yowsers!) in the above lovely, almost retro color and it was even on sale!  $3.99/skein.  OMG yes indeed I am a happy camper.  You can find Nancy's store here.

I can't wait until it arrives!  yay!

Another color that I'm dying to knit a sweater in is yellow!!  Yes!  NOT.  April Fool's...yellow is absolutely one of my least favorite colors.