Saturday, March 8, 2008

Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down!

Who remembers that song by the Carpenters? Well it's a rainy day. It started raining yesterday. That cold penetrating kind of rain which we actually need to bring the water table up so we can avoid a drought this year. Unfortunately, I had outside bus duty at dismissal yesterday and I was cold to the bone after that! I stayed at work a little late then went directly home where I put on my slippers and fixed a latte. That felt good!

I'm trying to finish up some knitting projects before my hand surgery. I've decided that I need to frog about 3 or 4 inches off of Giselle so it will fit like that pattern photo. That's at least a week's worth of knitting, so I'm really bummed because I wanted to finish another sweater before my hand surgery. Giselle did fit. Then I blocked it and it grew. I also ran out of yarn before finishing the second flounce and I ordered another skein. Now, I'm wondering if I couldn't just use the yarn I frog from the body to complete the flounce. That would save me about $40. The problem is that it has already been blocked and stretched and I fear it would mess up the flounce which hasn't been blocked and stretched. I will save it. I'm sure I could use it to make something like this:

I'll have enough from the new skein left to make a nice cowl or hat, so I guess that is what I will do.

Here are the photos of Giselle so far:



It is just way too long. The end should crisscross above the waist and not meet in the back. I had to pull it up over the boobs just to make it shorter.
Here is the pattern photo:


Frogging will make mine fit like that. As much as it pains me to rip out 2 weeks of work, it would pain me more to spend over $100 bucks on a sweater that I don't wear. I will wear it if it fits correctly because I love the style and the yarn, which is mostly silk, feels glorious on the skin.

Here is the first sleeve flounce:

The shaping is done with short rows. I used to hate short rows because I had trouble knitting in the wraps. That is until I saw this video and this video. Cat Bordhi is a genius!

I bought a couple of new books:

Knitting New Gloves has some really interesting designs. I love knitting gloves for some reasons. They are portable for one. You can tuck the project right in your purse--unlike a sweater. I have never had a desire to knit socks though. Why spend the time on something that will be hidden inside a pair of boots? That's when I wear socks so I'm not wasting the time. The book on yarn is a resource. It reminds me of Claire Schaeffer' s Fabric Sewing Guide. This book is a "must have" if you sew. It goes through fabric structure and fiber content and tells what needles, seams, linings, techniques--the list goes on--to use. I refer to it whenever I start a new sewing project. The Book of Yarn is the equivalent resource for knitting. Also--I found a new source for cheap books! Overstock.com was even cheaper than Amazon. The shipping was only $2.50 and it was here in 2 days! What's not to love about that!

I've been reviewing some new spring pattern books and stumbled on some designs to put in my queue:

From Debbie Bliss Coastlines:



From Debbie Bliss Prima Collection:


From Classic Elite Make it Modern:


Also that cute little scarf pictured above is from this book. In fact there is nothing I wouldn't make in this book. All the projects use Cotton Bamboo or Soft Linen.

Another new pattern that is coming out:


This is designed by Wendy Bernard who also designed Sahara. I will be hitting up MD Sheep and Wool for the Tilli Tomas yarn for that one! She discounts substantially at the festival.

Lastly, I found this new pattern:

Yup! It's crochet! I typically don't love crochet. I can't do it mindlessly like knitting. But I will be a one armed bandit and I can do it pretty much with one hand, so I may undertake this project when I am home from school after my hand surgery. My other project will be that of putting a ton of stuff on Ebay. That's how I pay for my New England trip every summer. Sell stuff on Ebay then use my PayPal card to pay for the hotel. Gotta love it!

Other news: I came home from work on Tuesday and saw this in our yard:

Our new shed! It's huge. Once we get electricity in there we can rent it out for parties!

I think that's the end of this one! Later!

Bushism of the day:
"You're free. And freedom is beautiful. And, you know, it'll take time to restore chaos and order — order out of chaos. But we will." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 13, 2003

Kitty Cam: Sammy knows how to spend a rainy day!

2 comments:

  1. Hey Guys, Better make sure that great new shed is bolted down good! We just came back from errands and that wind is wicked!
    Vicky, good luck with your hand surgery. Please let us know if we can lend a helping hand!
    All the best,
    Meredith

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  2. love the sweater patterns you have picked for me to drool over. i only knew about wendy's new one which i love and want to splurge and make out of tili thomas. what yarn are you using for giselle that stretches. i had the same problem with the bamboo i used for tree jacket and am still grieving!

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