Snow In July

The morning before last, I awoke at 4 AM with an insistent bladder.  No, I thought.  It’s too early.  Go back to sleep. I tried to roll over, but it was no use.  So I got up and took care of business, then snuggled back into my warm bed to get another couple hours of sleep.  Except that’s not what happened.  I tossed and turned, snippets of stupid songs I hate and to-do lists swirling around in my mind.  I even tried counting, which works on rare occasions for me, but to no avail.  Then, as luck would have it, I finally fell asleep.  My alarm would go off 15 minutes later.  Ugh.  But not before I had a dream that it had snowed overnight.  Like, a foot of snow, in July.  And in my dream I was so excited that I’d have something to blog about that I ran outside, took a photo, and wrote a blog post titled “WTF”.
 
So, it didn’t snow for real.  But if it had, I could have whipped out this sweater I made for Warm Woolies (my second for the 10 for 10 Challenge) that I finished over the weekend and it would have kept me nice and toasty.  Instead, I hope it will warm some other girl who really needs it in an orphanage somewhere.  That it will cheer her up on cold days, and that she’ll know someone somewhere far away cares enough to send her a woolen hug.  She might even have snow in July where she lives.
 

 

 

Pattern: Mystery Sweater by Christiane Burkhard (on Ravelry here)

Yarn: 7.4 skeins of Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Seconds in “RPM Pink”

Needles: Size 9 – 24″ bamboo circs and size 9 – 40″ Knit Picks Harmony Interchangeables

Mods:  None really, except taking some liberties with how many stitches to pick up around armholes and neck opening (my numbers didn’t match those established in the pattern)

New Techniques: Zip. Zero. Nada.  Although this is my first time knitting a sweater in the round, 3 needle binding off the shoulders & then picking up stitches around the armholes to knit the sleeves in the round from the top down.  It’s an interesting design.

Time Lapse: May 24, 2009 – July 11, 2009

Comments: I really enjoyed knitting this sweater and I put as much care into it as I would have if it was going to be mine.  The decorative trim at the hem, sleeve cuffs, and bust area kept my attention but didn’t make me crazy with too much chart reading.  The pattern was straightforward and easy to follow and I’m really happy with the result.  I might even make one in the next smaller size down (this was the adult small size) as my next 10 for 10 sweater.  A really great knit!

Friday Fill-In #132

Lovely new Lacey Lamb from last weekend's sale at my LYS

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Friday Fill-In #132
(get yours here)
 

1. The last thing I ate was leftover Thai food from last night and a few sweettarts.

2. Yarn is something I recently bought.

3. When it rains, it makes me so happy that I don’t have to water my garden!

4. My sweet hubby was the first person I talked to today.

5. Hugs are the nectar of life.

6. When I’m feeling really sad I hug my old teddy bear for extra comfort.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to spending time with my hubby, tomorrow my plans include going to work briefly and picking up a loaner car (mine’s in the shop – ugh) and Sunday, I want to relax and cross a few things off my to-do list!

 

Have a fantastic weekend Bloggy Peeps!

What Not To Wear

Whenever I see someone dressed inappropriately for trail use I laugh to myself just a little inside.  I mean, what were they thinking when they put on a skirt, some heels and a hoochie top, and then went for a walk?  It’s not like the parks around here have nice level boardwalks or smooth paved lanes.  We have dips, hollows, mud puddles, rocks and tree roots all lurking to trip you up.  Not to mention nettles and devil’s club, waiting to attack bare flesh.  But Sunday, in the name of the blog, I became one of those people not dressed for either the climate or the technicality of trail activities.  I could see people laughing inside as I walked by. But it’s all good.  I knew I had a purpose.  And maybe those other people I used to giggle at did too, though I think that perhaps their purpose was to try to look hot without somehow breaking a leg.  To each her own!
 

Click me for a larger photo

R. Darling was feeling creative....

 

Pattern: Bell-Sleeved Scoop-Neck Top from Glam Knits by Stefanie Japel (on Ravelry here)

Yarn: 4 hanks of Blue Sky Alpacas Brushed Suri in “Pink Lemonade”

Needles: Size 10.5 – 24″ addi turbos & Knit Picks Harmony interchangeables, size 9 – 24″ KP Harmony Interchangeables & size 7 – 24″ bamboo circulars

Mods:  Worked 1 extra repeat of eyelet pattern at bottom edge for added length, worked extra rows of eyelet trim around neckline to lessen depth

New Techniques: Not really, except I’d never knit a sweater with vertical bust shaping before

Time Lapse: March 11, 2009 – June 19, 2009

Comments:

First a note about the yarn.  There’s an error in the book.  You do not need 9 hanks of yarn to make the smallest size.  I used 4 but had purchased 10.  Oy.  The good thing is, I can knit a whole extra sweater most likely so the small fortune I spent won’t go completely to waste.  This yarn is absolutely sinful once it’s knit up, but I didn’t enjoy the process in the least.  I would say this is very “technical” yarn.  It’s furry, it catches, and I found myself with the tendency to drop stitches or knit two together without even realizing I’d done it.  I had to resort to counting stitches on every single row of knitting, to prevent from having to go back and fix mistakes.  And forget frogging.  It looks like a mess if you attempt to rip it out for any distance.  The alternative benefit is that, if you do make a mistake, no one will ever notice.
 

 
As for my overall opinion of this sweater, I’m not particularly happy with it.  It feels gorgeous to wear and I will probably keep it just because it feels nice.  I think the problem is most likely the ease.  I tend to like 2-3 inches of negative ease in my sweaters and this has about 1 inch which totally doesn’t work for me.  I feel fat in it and it makes me look dumpy.  Because it’s so “full” it doesn’t go with anything I own.  I admit, I had a clue it might turn out this way but didn’t want to frog back all that expensive yarn knowing it would look like crap afterwards and be possibly useless.  If I were to knit it again (and I could since I bought twice as much yarn as necessary) I would use smaller needles to adjust the size and possibly add more shaping.  I would probably add even more trim to the neckline as well, or even adjust the depth as I was knitting.  It’s just way too indecent and I think a camisole underneath might just spoil the look.  On a side note, I think the pictures in the book are highly deceptive.  The way the lights are shone on the model, you never see that the back of the sweater is rather loose.  The picture makes it look much more fitted than it is in reality.  The neckline appears much higher than it turns out to be as well.  Just sayin’ in case you think you’d like to make one yourself.  Maybe in a different yarn, with less drape, it would turn out differently.  I still like the design and the idea of how it should look, just not how my version turned out.
 

And where would we be without an outtake?

 

The traditional outtake

 

Hope your projects are coming along nicely!

Friday Fill-In #131 – Saturday 4th of July Edition

Today's Knitting Project - Another Warm Woolies Mystery Sweater

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Friday Fill-In #131
(get yours here)
 

1. When I heard an M-80 at 2 AM last night I was totally incredulous and really kinda pissed.

2. Laughter is most definitely the best medicine.  But sometimes retail therapy goes a long way too ;)

3. It’s late, but I’m still being sort of lazy today.

4. Be good to those you love always.

5. My eyes have seen plenty of change in my hometown; some good, some bad.

6. I strongly hope that all of you have a wonderful 4th of July!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to knitting with my pooch, and Sunday, I want to try to get some photos of Pink Fluffy taken!
 

Happy 4th and Happy Weekend Bloggy Peeps!