And She Knits Too!

Too lazy to think of a title

Here’s Danielle. I like her. Though she makes me look at little more buxom than I’m used to. It’s a combination of the ribbed pattern and the strapless bra. I also think it needs a wash and dry to shrink it up a bit.

I have a habit of making things too big. Danielle could have been a size smaller. In fact, I had to do a bit of creative sewing to make this one fit. The upper body has 5 increases to accommodate the “girls” and well, my 37” chest measurement is more ribcage than bust, so I didn’t fill it out properly. It gaped under the arms, a lot. So I just seamed it straight. After I wash it, I’ll sew it with the machine and cut off the excess so it doesn’t bug me.

One other thing I learned: the importance of selvage stitches. How did I learn it? By not using them and having a hell of a time sewing up the bottom lacey bits. The edges don’t look terrible, but they could have been better.

So now for the modelling, not bad eh?

That was last night at my Mom and Dad’s place where I spent a leisurely weekend. I got to see most of my extended family, went to some of the festivities celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Peterborough lift locks, had a lovely dinner with my Aunt and Mom at 38 Degrees (a birthday treat from my Aunt) and saw Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Spider Man 2 with my Dad (see I’m sticking to my “go see more films” pledge). I was rather impressed with Spider Man 2. There was a story, character development, humour, a real plot. It wasn’t just some silly action film. It wasn’t the best in film making or anything, but I really enjoyed it and it was fab on the big screen.

Now I’m at the cottage, gazing at the lake, trying to get the kids to settle down to sleep, full of barbequed steak and watermelon and just enjoying the quiet time. I’ve also started a new project. It’s a boat-neck shell using Phildar Onde. I’m finally a Phildar Fille. I’ve been watching this yarn on the blogs all spring and finally gave in (helped along by Rob’s blog). The colour is Orangeade and I love it--it makes me think of Creamsicles. I also bought some Koigu for another Charlotte’s web shawl for my mom. I’ll show you that when I start knitting it.

Well the tranquility beacons, back to loafing.

If it wasn't for the sushi

I'd be finished Danielle. Craig and I went to Aji Sai, our favourite Japanese place and had a late dinner together. It was nice to have a leisurely dinner and not worry about getting home. It's right in the neighbourhood so we had a nice walk around too.

It was a nice treat after spending an hour trying to install our new bike rack to the car. Craig is away on business so I need to be able to do it by myself, so he helped me practice last night. It's not hard, but it is heavy and having another pair of eyes to see if it's in the hitch properly would be nice. Hopefully now that I'm on my own I can do it without too much trouble.

Today I'm off to get the kids and then we're off to the cottage for a week of relaxation and loafing. So Danielle will have to wait a bit longer because I have too much still to do and I want to be on the road in about 2 hours. I want it finished tonight so I can wear it out to dinner (my Aunt and Mom are taking me out for more birthday festivities--I hope it fits after all this eating). I have one seam done, so only the other side and end weaving to go.

I probably won't blog much next week since I'm on holiday and dial-up but I will try to post some Danielle photos. However if the weather doesn't change I might not be outside that much. Where the hell is the sun anyway? No matter, the cottage life will do us all good. Have a great week.

Keeping Count

I had such a busy day yesterday, I forgot to blog. I slept late, ran a bunch of errands and made a nice supper for Craig and I. Then we dashed off to see Shrek 2, which I really enjoyed. We wanted something light and funny and it was just that. It was the first time I'd been to a movie in a theatre since I saw Kill Bill Vol 1--meaning it's been far too long. Though this isn't the first time I've made this pledge, this time I'm sticking to it. I have to go to the movies more often. I have to either go by myself, or find a sitter. I'm a movie person and watching them at home on my 20" tv is just not the same.

So this weekend when I visit my parents, I go to a movie with my dad. When I was a kid he used to take me to the movies mom didn't want to see--action, sci-fi, dumb comedies--maybe we'll be silly/nostalgic and see Dodge Ball. While I said I'm a movie person, I'm not a cine-snob, I'll watch just about anything (though I'm much more discerning because I have less time to see films and because there seems to be so much more Crap out there). I'll save seeing Fahrenheit 911 for when I'm back in Toronto--it probably isn't even playing in Peterborough yet.

After the flick we wandered in Indigo books for a while. Craig bought some Ian McEwan books and bought me some belated birthday goodies: the Amy Winehouse CD (which is super fab) and the Schoolhouse Rock DVD. We watched all the Grammar Rock last night getting all nostalgic about our Saturday morning cartoon time. It was super fun unpacking our adjectives, seeing Rufus Xavier Sasparilla and singing Conjunction Junction. I'm thinking of having a Schoolhouse Rock party and having a bunch of friends over to have some beers and watch the DVD--who knew learning could be so fun? I wonder if Emma and Xander will find these cartoons as engaging as we did/do? They probably will if we start them young.

And, I'm still working on Danielle. The front is finished. The back mistake is fixed. This tank is made by doing the upper pieces, then picking up and knitting down. So, by making the upper back shorter, I had to undo and reknit the lower back too. So I ripped back the hem, picked up and knit to the right length. Then I noticed I had two too many stitches. I had to rip back a long way to get it right so it was a mistake from the first time around. I only have about two inches left now until the seaming. Grrrr. I was in such a rush that I didn't count when I picked up the stitches. I must remember to do that next time. Remind me okay? "Steph, don't rush. Be sure to count. Didn't Schoolhouse Rock teach you anything?"

It seems it was me

I heard back from Twilleys this morning and it seems that there isn't an error with the pattern. I just seem to be unable to interpret the pattern as the writer intended. This is not only because of what Twilleys told me but also from an internet list I'm on. What do you think?

Cast on 95 sts.

Cont in upper patt as follows:-

row 1: (rs) knit
row 2: purl
row 3 to 5: knit
row 6: purl.

These 6 rows form upper patt.

Cont in upper patt, inc 1 st each end of 3rd and every foll 6th row until there are 105 sts.

Work a further 5 rows, ending with a ws row.

So, I worked the 6 row pattern one time before starting the increases (of which there are 5 in total) for a total of 7 pattern repeats (one without increases, 5 with increases, further five rows).

Turns out I shouldn't have done the first repeat. So what the hell does the "Cont in upper patt as follows" mean? So there's no mistake (I guess) if you ignore that first statement. However, I don't think patterns should be subject to so much interpretation.

Okay, rant over. I know the problem and I can finish the tank (in fact, I'm already back to work on it).

I also finished the first alpaca project last night, and I'm taking a rest before the next one. I'm sure it's not repetitive strain, since I've had it before from computer work, so alpaca will be a yarn I use in small doses. sigh.

Right now I'm vacillating over whether to buy some Jo Sharp yarn to make Chaise. I love the sweater, but haven't fallen in love with any of the colours. Do you ever get that, the yarn feels nice, you like the pattern, but the colours are just not right. I like the colour of the modelled garment (putty) but wonder if it's too blah for me. The substitution yarn I purchased isn't me either (too pink) and I don't think it has the right hand for the sweater.

I'm also stopped by my current stressing over my stash. I have all kinds of other projects planned that I won't get done this summer and I have yarn in there I will never use. Maybe I need to destash and knit up some of what I have before I get more. Hey! Did I just talk myself out of buying yarn? What the hell's going on?

Pause

So Twilleys wrote me back yesterday with an apologetic email. They have not encountered a problem before so they are investigating and hope to get back to me in a few days. Here's hoping they do. I could finish Danielle this week if I got the instructions right. So far their customer service is bang on. It's funny how I keep thinking it still might be something I did (ie not reading the pattern correctly). I don't seem to be confident enough to say, "there is a mistake in the pattern and I've done nothing wrong here". Weird, because I know there's a problem with the pattern. I've done the math, checked my work, seen the mismatched pieces. I'm right dammit!

While I'm waiting I decided to finish my luxury socks. I really like these. And I love the Lucy Neatby book, Cool Socks Warm Feet for the great new garter stitch heel and fancy bind off. I might not cast on another pair of socks right away (I think Devan will be my sock-ish project for now), but when I do, I'll be trying some other techniques in her book.

In thesis news, I heard from one of my committee members who said she really liked my thesis. I have a lot of respect for this woman, so I was a happy grad student today. I have a committee meeting this Thursday and unless I've totally misread the situation, we should be setting a date for the oral exam (defense) in September. I'm almost finished. I can't believe it. I might have to celebrate the defense date setting with a trip to Romni.

Twilleys, we have a problem

Can you see it? The top of the back is longer than the top of the front (I still have to put the eyelets on the side, but it's still one pattern repeat short). I followed the pattern as written, but I didn't notice right away because it has a unique construction and wasn't obvious at the outset. The piece is knit from the center out. So you do the back top first and knit to back, then you pick up from the cast on edge and knit down for the diamonds. The front is the same except that you start with three stitches and build each cup (for lack of a better word) before casting on stitches for the sides. So I didn't know there was a problem until I finished the upper front.

There is an error in the pattern somewhere. I know the two places where the error could be, but which one exactly depends on the intentions of the designer. For the three largest sizes you increase 4 times for the front and 5 times for the back--that's why it's longer. So which one is right? It's a British pattern so it assumes a great deal of knowledge on the part of the knitter and there are no schematics. I wrote to Twilleys since I can't find any errata on the web and hopefully they'll help me out. If not, I think I will rip back the back and leave out one of the pattern repeats. It also means I have to rip out the bottom of the back and lengthen it. I just want to make sure that the cami is big enough and covers me in all the right places.

Time vacuum

You ever have one of those days? You know the ones where you don't having anything specific you need to do, and somehow you waste a whole day? I finished my thesis revisions Thursday and figured I'd have a lazy Friday and get some knitting done. By the time I went to get the kids I had knit about 5 rows, folded a bit of laundry and well, that was about it.

Where the hell did the day go? Hmm. A bit of shopping, some surfing, I rented some movies, ate lunch, tracked down some car parts (car is now better--Craig fixed it--hooray). And...and, that's it. It's a good thing I have really productive days to make up for this one!

The evening was better. We watched Matrix Revolutions (which was so-so) and I worked on the top front of Danielle. My camera battery is dead so I'll have pictures next post.

Purty

This is the completed back of Danielle and it's really nice. Now the big decision, start Devan, or the front of Danielle. I think I'll do both. Devan is a better travelling project so I want that on the needles. But, I want to have Danielle finished by next Friday (25th) so I need to get going.

No word on the car. Craig worked late last night and by the time he got home it was raining so he couldn't take a look at it. He might be able to fix it, or at least try. If not, I think we'll get an estimate because a repair is still cheaper than a new car. It already needs a head gasket (ie $800) but we're ignoring it because it's a really slow leak, and not worth repairing. I think I should ramp up my job search. The washer is better though, and according to the repair guy, should be felting my bags and cleaning my clothes for many more years.

I'm also on the hunt for a nifty summer bag. I want it to be medium sized and fun and funky. I don't know exactly what it looks like, but I'll know it when I see it. Anyone care to point me to some reasonably priced sources?

I made the right choice

I'm having a great time with Danielle, the lacy cami from the Twilley's book. There's lots of different shaping and patterns to deal with. My only complaint is the lack of charts and schematics. I should have charted out the lacey bottom part because reading the written instructions is a bit pedantic, but I was having so much fun knitting I didn't want to stop.

The other challenge comes from the yarn substitution. This pattern is written for use with Twilley's denim yarn which shrinks about 5 rows over 4 inches. I'm using the regular Twilley's which shrinks much less, so I'm adjusting the row gauge. I think my logic is working (since my yarn shrinks a bit too).

With all the fun, I didn't start Devan though. Maybe this week. But, today my car broke down so I think I'll be busy with that. It's likely a minor problem (with a major price tag) but since it's terminally ill (all we do is put money into it) we have to decide whether to pull the plug. We don't have $$ for another car without some major financing. I hate cars. I like how they get you around, but really, they're evil, polluting, urban-sprawl creating, money-draining devices. All I can say is fuck. Really, because I'm actually waiting for the washer-repair guy to come, that's broken too. fuck.