Cottage46 Knitter

2nd time's the charm

Spring Forward Deux is done and it fits!

And it was chilly enough last night that I even got to wear it. 

Pattern: Spring Forward from Twist and Turns
Yarn: Cotton Ease in Blossom
Needles: US7
Comments: My first attempt at this sweater was too big, but I knew I'd knit it again.  I wanted the neck opening to be smaller so I lengthened the saddles and moved some of the neck stitches to the saddles.  I also took out some of the moss stitch on the sides and added a diamond cable to the front instead of a larger moss stitch panel.  I'm quite pleased with the results.

We're having a leisurely 4-day weekend at Cottage 46.  We've gotten back into the walking habit and are doing 5 miles most mornings.  My feet are not adjusted yet and keep blistering.  Very annoying.  I'm working on a baby sweater for a library silent auction while I contemplate what to knit next.  Maybe Cassidy from Chic Knits, or I might do something from a Fine Fleece.  Henry VIII is impatiently waiting for the KAL in Sept. 

I just finished reading The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe.  I devoured it in 2 days.  The main character is a grad student who is preparing to write her dissertation.  She discovers the existence of a 17th-century book of magic that was owned by one of the women executed in the Salem witch trials.  It made me miss academia.  If we ever win the lottery, I'm going back to school and staying there forever. 

The garden is growing well, but we're still spending a lot of time trying to beat back the grass that had been growing there.  We've had 2 tomatoes off the largest plant (which were fabulous) and the other 48 (!) plants have tiny tomatoes on them and are ready to be staked.  Now that we've spent $45 on tomato stakes we'd better have lots of tomatoes!  I guess we'll be investing in Ball canning jars too. 

Spring Forward 2009

I'm hanging out this morning at a branch library while VK does some yard chores for his aunt.  I was going to do some work (editing 2000 bibliographic entries that migrated weird), but I forgot to bring my little USB plug-in number pad.  I'm not typing in 14-digit barcodes without a number key pad.  So I've been dinking around on the Internet for 2 hours and really wish I'd have brought my knitting.

I've been working on another version of the Spring Forward cardigan in Cotton Ease.  It's moving along pretty well.  Project monogamy.  (Pardon the multicolor table.  It was blue, then it was yellow, now it's both.)  I'm adding a diamond cable to the front instead of having about 20 stitches of moss stitch by the button bands.  I love this pattern and I'm mildly confident that this one will fit!  I'm going to an all-day fitting class next weekend at knitting camp.  Looking forward to it.

We spent the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend getting everything planted in the garden and putting up a wire fence around it.  No bunny salad bars here.  After 6 hours out in the sun, I had a migraine for the rest of the weekend. 

We added 3 rhododendrons to the yard this spring.  They are blooming like crazy!

Kevin has been putting out hummingbird feeders for the last couple of years.  We have one right on our deck that he literally has to refill every day.  I've been nose to nose with a couple of hummingbirds already this spring. 

We also have a robin's next on the same deck.  I think the little guy on the left looks like he's growing weary of the paparazzi. 

Camera news and FOs that FIT!

Good news on the camera: it only needs a $12 new battery! Hallelujah. So the camera is on its way home. When it gets here I'll be able to take pictures of the 2 projects I finished over the weekend (Green Gable and the alpaca vest). And get this: they both fit. I know. It's a miracle.

I ended up gifting the much-too-large Spring Forward to a friend that I work with. That way I'll get to see it on a regular basis. She's already worn it to work but I wasn't at the library that day. I was pretty sure I'd ruin it if I tried to shrink it. I might have been able to cut and sew it to size, but the construction was all in one piece and I thought that was probably beyond my feeble sewing skills. Before I gave it to her I took it to my LYS for a what-did-I-do-wrong session. My gauge is OK on the moss stitch filler. LeeAnn suggested that I shouldn't have done the size I did in the first place (duh), and that probably the cables didn't pull in as tightly as the designer's. She also pointed out that saddle shoulders may not be the best design for me since I don't have particularly broad shoulders. So lessons learned. Moving on.

I'm ready to cast on Saturday for Ingeborg. (Jan. 20 is cast on day for the Dale KAL.) I finally got gauge after going up 3 needles sizes. Tense? Me? Why do you ask?

Hopefully I won't have to spend most of the weekend indexing. I have a job that was supposed to be done today, but the publisher decided it was 16 pages too long and sent it back to the author to cut. So I'm on hold for that. The indexing jobs have been trickling in steadily. It's all about networking, baby. I sent out about a bazillion emails and info packets, but the jobs are coming from recommendations from other indexers. The extra money comes in really handy! I was eyeing a copy of the Scottish Collection on ebay (oh, how I want that book) but I absolutely draw the line somewhere below the $441 that it sold for regardless of extra income.

I'm in knitting hell

Spring Forward is done! Unfortunately only the sleeves fit me. *Hangs head in shame.*

I'm wearing it to work today and I've spent most of the day trying to keep said sweater on my body.

OK, people, what to do? I haven't blocked it yet because I fear it will only grow. "Well, Sonya, what did your swatch do when you washed it?" *Insert blank look here.* I did swatch for gauge and the moss stitch panels are at the called for gauge. I chose a size that would give about 5" of ease, but it turned out with more than double that.

It's 80% cotton and cotton shrinks, right? Shall I block with really warm water and see what happens? I already have a potential recipient in mind should that not work.

Did I mention that the sleeves are the EXACT right length?

Labels: Spring Forward

Year-end pictureless post

Well, the camera that was acting weird has stopped acting at all. We've sent it off for diagnosis, but the guy at the camera shop was not optimistic. Unfortunately, it was a gift from a family member who believes the more expensive, the better, especially if she can remind you of how much she spent on you for years in the future. So it's not like it's a $150 point and click which I could justify replacing with very little rationalization. *sigh*

So in spite of a fairly productive couple of weeks, I got nothin' to show. I've been working on the neglected Spring Forward sweater a lot lately. I had nothing but really small gauge projects going and I started to feel a little carpel tunnel-y. Spring Forward is on #8s so it's been a relief to my wrists. I'm starting to think I may be able to get it finished before the Jan. 20 cast on day for the Dale of Norway KAL. Meanwhile, various mitten and sock projects are gathering dust.

I did a swatch for Ingeborg. I ended up going up 2 needle sizes and am still 1/2 a stitch per inch over gauge. I have enough yarn so I'm thinking I'll knit the next size up at my gauge. My swatch is still on the needles, so I may go up one more needle size and see what the fabric is like.

VK and I had a quiet Christmas. My brother was in town for Thanksgiving so we did our family Christmas then. We did spend Christmas Eve eve at my parents' house. VK and I arrived early, brought all the fixings and prepared the feast for them. I got to help my dad feed the cows. This consists of opening and closing the pasture gates while he drives the tractor through and fills the feed bunks. My dad recently bought a tractor from my grandpa that they bought new in 1954. He's quite pleased to be driving the same tractor he first used when he was 14 years old. Thrift and frugality are quite valued amongst my people.

New Year's Eve is usually pretty quiet here too. VK seldom makes it to midnight, so I will probably rock in the new year with my knitting and a diet Mountain Dew. Woooohooo!