Reduce Speed, Decreases Ahead

Does this picture look familiar? I knit 10 rows on my Pearl Buck Swing Jacket about two weeks ago This brought me up to row 83. Then I ripped them back down to row 79. Repeat. Repeat. Knit 14 rows. Rip back 4 rows. Repeat. Repeat.

For some reason I have a blind spot when it comes to the directions for the Pearl Buck Jacket. This is the third time I’ve knit the initial back panel in full. I’ve knit the bottom 10 rows four times also. There’s nothing too hard about this pattern except that there are a lot of decreases. And I keep knitting past them.

Stitch markers are one thing. But I really should buy a row counter that will ding when I hit the rows where I’m supposed to decrease. Like some kind of weird knitting timer. Does anyone know of one? Or maybe that counter program for your PDA does it?

Since then, I actually finished the back and now I’m stuck on the yoke.

design rules for sleeves?

I had a brain fart last night. Thank goodness for the net. My instructions for an Easy Raglan baby sweater, say “Work straight until sleeve measures 7″ or desired length to cuff, ending with a purl row.” Without the usual statement of from underarm to cuff, I was utterly confused. Obviously I don’t knit much for other people.

I used my brain though and I examined it by holding the sleeve against the garment. Like the sweatshirt I was wearing, it seemed that if you fold the sleeve at the shoulder seam towards the center of the garment, the bottom of the sleeve (with the underarm at 6″) would hit the waist of the garment after 7″ and the ribbing.

eating your way through your fridge (project spectrum)

Warning: skip to the next page for actual knitting content.

Honestly, I’m trying to lose weight. But through exercise, not through dieting. Although, today I’m skipping my walk in favor of cleaning the bathroom and other similar activities.

Also, this is the time of year where one tries to eat the contents of their refrigerator. I don’t mean all in one go. I’m not Joey! Crud. Just listen to me. This is the time of year… What’s really going on is that this is the time of year where my husband I move. Even though we managed to stop in Colorado for four whole years, we still had three residences. No one wants to pack that can of beans you’ve been carrying around for the last four years. Or the prepackaged soup mix you were given for Christmas in 2001. It’s still good. You’d think we’d have picked up better shopping habits by now. But it’s no good. We enable each other through the Asian foods section. Ah well.

Wonder when I’m going to make the Beignets. My husband brought back a mix from New Orleans a few years ago from THE Beignet place. Someone remind me the name of it and I’ll post a picture. It’s the one on the corner in the French Quarter and I believe it’s still there.

Anyway, I’m getting plenty of exercise cleaning and moving stuff around to take Project Spectrum Photos. There are pink, yellow and green books. And then there are green books.

 

 

 

first things first

Okay, it’s the third. And I already posted a blog entry, but it was short, so it doesn’t count.

I got back from visiting friends and family over the holidays yesterday. I also had an interview, which I think went well but I’ll see if that was good enough later.

I saw my Mom, which also allowed me to take some pictures of some knitting gifts I’ve given her over the past few years.

This first sweater is the Norwegian Roses Cardigan and knit in Green Mountain Spinnery wool. I know that some of the colors I used were Ice Blue and Periwinkle. Whenever I see it in person, I always say the same tthing. ‘What crazy person made that?’ I had a close look at it and I think I was fairly consistent about keeping one color in front of the other on any given pattern. You used to be able to order this pattern individually. It’s not listed that way on their website, but you could always call and ask.

celebrating the solstice with increases – m1 (make one)

My main order of business is to tell you about some the knitting techniques I’m using to work on the sleeves for my Huntingtion Castle pullover (Interweave Knits Fall 2004). But first, there are a couple of things I want to catch up on and then we in the Northern Hempisphere can go and celebrate the winter solstice. I’m a bit of a pagan if anything at all.

I promised a couple more pictures of my One Skein, One Day Wonder hat. So here is the best I could do in this rainy, grey weather we’re having. Sorry about the focus, but if I used a flash, the color would be off.

Also, I knit another Lizard Ridge square on Monday and have been debating about whether it goes into the Afghans for Afghans or not. I may still knit another blanket for myself at some point. But I haven’t blocked it, so I haven’t photographed it yet.

modifications to the sleeves of the pearl buck jacket

These are notes primarily meant for me, but feel free to try to follow along and watch me struggle through the knitting math involved in modifying the armholes to fit my non-model arms for the Pearl Buck Jacket shown in the Winter 2005 issue of Interweave Knits. I have never done this level of pattern modification before, so if you are also new to rescaling patterns at least wait to see how it turns out before following my lead. If have some more experience in this area, please chime in with any suggestions you might have.