I Was Knit Together In My Mother's Womb

I caved. A new sweater is on the needles, and the back is almost complete.

I have modified Sweaterbabe's pattern just a bit, by removing the reverse stockinette border around the lace panel. Now I just have a nice smooth stockinette transition into that pretty diamond lace. I like it. And the peplum is such a nice detail.

As I am knitting away, I'm nearing completion of the Debbie Bliss Diagonal Front Jacket. The sleeves are in progress.

Hopefully in  a few days, I can wear it!

My brother asked me on Easter if I actually wear the sweaters I make. I do. I wear most of them, and this winter I think I've worn them more than ever before. I'm proud to wear my sweaters. I have made a few duds, but we won't talk about that again. The thing is, we have to knit what we know we would wear. I know it gets tricky with fit and all of that, but if we carefully choose our yarn and garment style, opting for classic style, the fit can be pretty easily modified.  I know we've talked about this before, but it bears some further discussion. If you are concerned with adding bulk to your body, by all means, don't knit a sweater with bulky yarn...unless it's a jacket. If you are proportionately heavier on the top half of your body, the best choice might not be a boxy sweater...something with a bit more shaping would be in order. Yarn choice is so important. I always like to make sure my yarn has good memory, so that I don't end up with a garment that falls out of shape. I will not knit a garment with 100% cotton. It has to have a bit of wool  or man made in it. Same with alpaca. On it's own? I'd never use it for a sweater. 

Looking for a sleeker, classic look that would work on just about any body type. How about a nice wrap style knit with a finer gauge yarn, like a dk or sport? A wrap style would give some nice shaping to the waist and bust-line.

A short sleeve cardi would work for many seasons, if you knit it in the right yarn. Then you could wear it in Fall or Winter with a long sleeved tank or shirt under it  and with just a cami in the Spring and Summer.

Same with a tank/vest. It's so versatile. I tend not to wear sleeveless because I have issues with my arms, but how cute is a tank with a little t-shirt or short sleeved blouse under it for warm weather and long sleeved shirt under it for a crisp, more classic look on cooler days?

I can't imagine investing my resources (of time and money) in a sweater and NOT wearing it. Which is why, I'm not afraid to rip something out and re-knit it. It gives me the opportunity to do it better the next time around. In life, we don't often get do-overs, so I love the chance to get it right with my knitting.

Well, this post went in a totally different direction than I expected. Who knew?

The Girls. When did we start calling them "the Girls?"  This week, we had a bra intervention right in my own dining room and TV room, when Melissa, a fit specialist, taught us how to get "the Girls" to look their best.

Melissa taught us things about bras that we were never taught by our mothers OR by the bra lady at Macy's .... about how most of us are not wearing the right size bras ( which is probably true if you wear hand-me down bras, or run, or walk, depending on the condition of your girls, into Target to just grab "your size" and then dash to the checkout because you're late for church and you need to get the bra on before you get there.) She told us about how our clothes will look better, how we will look thinner ( Okay, now I'm interested) and that  with the right bra, we will stand taller, by golly, and let's not forget that those nasty back bulges will disappear! There will be no tugging and adjusting at the most inappropriate moments during your workday.

It involved proper measurement, of course.

And then some tucking, bending and unashamed flaunting. And binder clips on our shirts for the before and after ( I am not kidding. Nipple clipping) Measuring in the right places, and of course, Oprah's favorite bra, "Le Mystere."  And you know what? Right before our eyes, we were transformed! It was a miracle! No matter what our sizes ( and some of us could be 38 Longs) and shapes, we all looked incredible in our new bras! We DID look more balanced, centered, supported and thinner!!!!!

Due to the sensitive nature of this post, I chose not to add any photos of the girls and their girls. Just have to trust me on this...it was one of the best nights of our lives, and Melissa is our hero!!!!!!

Did you all have a great first week of Spring? I am SO ready now for some porch knitting and bike riding, and shorts. Well, maybe I'm not quite ready for shorts. Or short sleeves, for that matter.

Is it legal in the knitting world to start another sweater when you already have three on the needles? I always wonder where to draw the line...it's that "one more project" that can send you over the cliff into the River Anxiety, you know?  But, oh, my gosh, I found the Cutest Pattern From Sweater Babe!      

How can I resist? What could stop me?  I have the perfect yarn,    the desire, the time.

But I do  have three sweaters on the needles (that I know of)

Paton Street Smart Hoodie.

Katharine Hepburn from Lace Style.

Debbie Bliss Diagonal Front Jacket ( Starting the sleeves today!)

My sister-in-law was visiting last night, and showing me her sweater project, "Jade Empire" from Knitter's Universe Fall 2007, which looks very much like the Sweaterbabe design, and got me absolutely excited to knit it.

  Jade Empire?    Lush and Lacy?

Could you possibly resist?????

It's Easter!!!!

  Happy, Happy Easter to all my peeps and chicks!

While you celebrate the day with your family, remember that it is a glorious, blessed, amazing and most perfect day that we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus!

And the candy ain't all that bad, either.

Happy Easter!!!!!!

Stash Sale!

Decisions, decisions.

Every day, I wake up to think about what I am going to do with the hours ahead. Of course, there is bathtime, which is quite a procedure, and takes at least 90 minutes by the time my hair is dried. Then I think about what I'm going to watch on television.  I read for awhile, and knitting takes up much of my day.  Thinking about lunch and dinner is exciting as well. This morning, I decided to sort through my yarn. I realized that I have yarn that I will never knit, for projects that will never come alive. So, I sorted, and made a few decisions, and I am selling a bit of my stash.

Peace Fleece worsted weight wool/mohiar. 200 yards per skein, 7 skiens.... that's 1400 yards in a beautiful pink, with orangey and bright pinkish-purple flecks. It was originally for the Everyday Cardigan.

$54 includes Shipping.   

Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool   DK weight wool/silk. 175 meters per skein, 4 skeins....that's about 760 yard of color number 24...Claret. I was going to make knee socks. Yeah, right.

$24 includes Shipping. 

Noro Kureyon 100% Wool. 110 yards per skein, 3 skeins.  I was going to make a cabled scarf with this. It'a a gorgeous black, gray, and pink/purple colorway. Color #24. Pretty, pretty colors.

$17 includes shipping. 

Lana Grossa Meilenweit colortweed Sock yarn. !00 grams, 420 meters. Enough for a pair of socks.

Colorway #1005.  Pinky, purpley, tweedy stripey yarn.

$11 includes shipping.

Another lovely sock yarn by Perchance to Knit. 310 yards. It is gorgeous berry colored purples .

$12 includes shipping. 

Classic Elite Classic Silk. DK weight, 50% cotton, 30% silk, 20% nylon. These are two skeins (270 yards total) left from a sweater project. One of my favorite yarns I've worked with. The color is #6593 Rhubarb. 

$9 includes shipping. 

Rowan Pure Wool DK  in a lovely chocolate brown merino. Four skeins at 136 yards each. Mittens? A scarrf? A baby coat?

$16 includes Shipping   

Plymouth Royal Bamboo   Worsted weight, 93 yards per skein, six skeins. A tank top's worth! The color is a classic ivory.

$28 includes shipping   

So, that is what I have to offer. Email me with your interest. I accept PayPal. And, stay tuned....

I just may be adding more yarn as the day goes on! 

D is for Dinner

One of the advantages of being home laid up is that I get to watch FoodTV. I recently Discovered a new program, "Down Home With the Neely's." which I love.

Last night's Dinner was from the Neely's, and included

Barbecued Turkey Meatloaf, Macaroni and Cheese and Green Beans.

It was Delicious.

Wow, thank you so much for your responses to the Builda Sweater!  I am encouraged and excited about the prospect of designing another something, because you have all been so positive about the result.  I'm thinking that I want to write the pattern to see if I can make it read the way it was knit, and then, if anyone is interested, perhaps a test knit? I'll keep you posted.

JR and I went on a little road trip to Michigan for the past five days, which was at least a change of scenery for me. It wasn't half bad sitting on someone else's sofa watching Lifetime movies and HGTV! We got home last night. I knit the entire time, making good progress on the DB jacket

  and on my May Day Socks, which happen to be Monkey socks.

Today I woke to the usual phone calls from my Dad and Mom, and my family, wishing me a Happy Birthday. I love that even at this tender age of 49, I still get a thrill hearing from my Dad and Mom on this special day. I was thinking about the fact that today I'm 49 years old. And you know what? I don't think I feel 49 years old! (That is, not until after I have  a few moments to loosen up and get the pillow wrinkles out of my face ) I mean, I think about the fact that I have lived a lot of life, and that I'm a grandmother,and that I'm one year away from being 50... and you know, it's not that bad being a woman of wisdom. There's not much anymore that will keep a smile from my face or keep me from enjoying the simplest things...like enjoying my birthday cup of tea in the same mug year after year.

  Today, when I got my cast removed and replaced for the third time, I was a little thrilled to see all that hair growing on my leg. It made me feel like I was 11 again....and that's not a half-bad way to feel on your birthday when you are 49. 

Today is an exciting day.

Today is the day I reveal my Builda Sweater, the object of my frustration, affection,  challenge, thoughts, imagination, and my own design.  She is complete, and I am completely in love.

   

This sweater, which I based on an  Anthropologie Sweater, had it's beginnings here, in November, and is the result of much advice and help from many of you. The bottom of the sweater is a modified fan, which changes to a a simple eyelet lace, and then transitions to a bodice done in seed stitch. The sleeves are done similarly. The neckline is finished in a crochet shell trim.

I am so proud. I really am! If I could change anything about this sweater, it would be that I would have knit it from a dk weight instead of worsted. I used Knitpicks Andean Silk, which is lovely, but it is a bit weighty, and I think I would have been more pleased if it were more lightweight.I would have made the sleeves even shorter. But that aside, I have knit my first sweater from scratch, without a pattern.

 

And I am a happy girl.

After a week of being behind closed doors, and without a husband, it was especially good to have JR come home last night. He got stuck in Detroit because of the storms, and thought he'd be stuck there until tonight at 10pm!  Favor was upon him, though, and he was the last person called for a standby flight. Today, he shoveled out the deck and driveway, and then we went for a ride. It was so funny to me to be outside! I kept looking out the car windows, noticing things like, "aren't birch trees so pretty?" and "oh, the long grasses look so cool coming out of the snow on the canal bank," and "look at how the snow sparkles!"  Everything is better when my husband is home.

Progress on the DB Diagonal Front Jacket?

This is why we don't knit patterns with lots of counting while taking Vicodin. I found my mistake, considered how to fix it, realized I couldn't, just because of how the jacket is constructed, decided I couldn't live with the mistake, and then started knitting  my May Day Socks  instead.

   I cast on and I am knitting this sock Magic Loop style, which I've never done. It's going well, thanks to this tutorial.

And tomorrow is another day.

It has been snowing like mad since yesterday. And JR is supposed to come home from Utah tonight.  I wonder about the flights coming in to Buffalo.

  I love that even during a gray and white snowy day, the doorbell can ring, with deliveries to brighten the mood. A friend sent get well flowers...

My bit of sunshine...the promise of spring, the color in my world and one of the things that made me smile when I felt so dreary.

The second delivery arrived to give me a double dose of delight when I opened a surprise package from Carole, my Special Swap Spa partner. It's a perfect gift!

Carole selected the best things. A little Burt's Bee's nail kit (I used some of it last night on my  good toes) and some yummy nail polish, which I love!  Along with some other nail stuff, she included a sampling of Blessed Juno soaps, a Spa and Bath Knit pattern booklet, and one of my favorite Mason Dixon knit washcloths (made by Carole herself) and two more skeins of a wonderful mercerized cotton in the prettiest colors. I have to say, my favorite part is the Home Spa book. I almost sent this same book to Carole!  I have to say that this  theme was a hit all around with Special Swappers...check out the links on the sidebar to see some of the other ways that swappers were spoiled.  Next theme?

Special Swap Sweet Treats.  Oh, my.

I think this afternoon, I will indulge in a bath, and some pampering, inspired by Carole's gift, and prepare for my husband to finally return home.