Finito!

I finished Tiny Sweater on the 18th, according to my phone pictures.  I sewed in the ends and blocked it later, and do still need to sew on the buttons, but I've picked them out and they're ready to go.

The buttons are the ones right of center.

                                                    

I am again waffling about your sweater, Catherine.  We should call to talk about it.

I get to go see Smallest this weekend!  Jeff is coming this time, and we're going to see the final performance of their season.  I'm hoping it will be her last performance with the company, but we'll see how her audition goes!  I'm very excited for her.

I don't think I've mentioned it already, but one of my goals for the year is to knit a pair of socks every month.  I'm not doing so well with it.  If I count the socks for Smallest as January, then I'm only three months behind!  Ha ha!
I prepared for this by filling 12 paper lunch bags with a ball of sock yarn and a pattern, so I could just grab one when I needed it and go.  I did start on some socks last month, but it turned out that the leg was going to be long, and my sock recipients don't like long socks.  I unraveled it when I blocked the baby sweater and I've started again on a different pre-selected pattern and man, oh man, is it fussy!  I will persevere and get it done, but I think I might not make the foot as fancy as the leg.  We shall see.

I also started on a dress for my nephew's wedding weekend.  I made a mock-up with some old fabric and have consulted with Smallest on the sleeve choices as she is more stylish than I am.  I think I can get it done in a weekend if I try, and I have a month to make it.  Better get started next week!

How is the Lion?  How was your trip?

I don't think I know anything else crafty and exciting?  I've made some progress on the green lacy shawl from TV watching, but we're watching less TV.  

I think we'll be meeting with the Retirement Guy soon, who will tell us when Jeff can retire.  However, I don't think I'll be ready to retire when Jeff retires, so this will be tricky!

Finally - here is a fragment of Christmas Cactus that I rescued from the floor of a plant place, and a sculpture that I pass every morning on my way to work.  I love it so much!

Happy Tuesday!
Margie

So Small, Such Trouble!

I have been having a lot of trouble with this little sweater for something so tiny!

First, I've been having needle issues.  TL/DR - it was a pain, but is now resolved.
The long version - I started on size 4 straight needles for the ribbing at the collar, and then switched to size 6 straights for the body.  One of the needles is missing the knob at the end of the needle, so stitches can fall off the end.  Not a big problem, except that the sweater kept getting bigger and closer to the end.  So I switched to circular needles, but the tube between the needles was hard to slide the stitches over and made it all SO SLOW!  I got another set of needles out, and all was well.  When it was time to switch back to the size 4 for the final rows, I took the needles out of the 4 pocket, but after a row realized that they were actually size 5!  What? So I found some actual size 4s last night and did all the bottom ribbing.  I just need to bind off that edge and then it's off to Sleeveland!

Here's the new problem.  This occurred yesterday as I was bus knitting.  I was sitting there, happily working away when I noticed a hole waaaay up towards the top.  The options - 1) leave it there, 2) undo the whole sweater back to the hole, or 3) undo the involved rows and just rework those two.  
I didn't want to leave it, and I sure didn't want to undo the whole thing.  I had to undo several rows over the weekend because I used the smaller needles instead of the bigger ones and doing the sleeve separation for a third time didn't appeal to me.  So, undo the two rows and repair the hole!

Simple enough, right?  Except that the hole was in part created by me accidentally adding a stitch.  Oops.  If I eliminate that second stitch, there will be a bunch of extra yarn to manage and work into the rest of the sweater and that would be almost as much of a pain as re-knitting the whole thing.  So I kept the extra stitch.  I worked them back up, and thought it looked okay, but not great.  Then I looked at the back.  Yeah, this was not the best operation to perform on the bus.  I undid them again, but this time only one stitch at a time, and now it's pretty again.  

               

 

                            

I'm hoping to find 15 minutes to bind off during work today (maybe I'll eat lunch downstairs and take it with me) so that I can start the sleeves tonight.  I think they're just 30 rows or so?  That won't be so bad.

Anyhow, I hope you've enjoyed my tale of woe, and accompanying photo essay (I don't know why the photos are wonky!).  This also makes me appreciate knitting as a medium as opposed to things like woodworking.  It's generally pretty easy to fix mistakes.

I think Smallest might be in touch soon about the audition?  We talked about it yesterday and I mentioned that you were hoping to hear how things went.

Side Quest

The Basketweave stitch is super easy and very satisfying.  The slant will not block out.  Ask me how I know :P

I am stalling on the socks because I feel like they're going to be too big, and also they're going to be very long, and I think the intended recipient doesn't like long socks?  So maybe I need to choose a new pattern for the yarn.  That might be the appropriate solution.  These are my February socks, so you get an idea of how well I'm doing with my plan.  Alas.

Last week I told Jeff about a new yarn shop near us and he was insistent that we go check it out.  He is The Best.  While there, clearly I had to buy some yarn!  In looking at the yarn, it occurred to me that I could make a super cute, tiny baby sweater instead of trying to make a second annoying quilt, so I picked up this yarn to make this sweater.

I've had a couple of issues due to not paying attention, or just mechanical problems (sticky needle cable problems) so I'm in the body now, past dividing for the sleeves.  I had dreams of getting it finished this weekend, but we were just super busy.  I have 26 rows left in the body (I've done 42), and then the sleeves and it will be done!  I bet I can finish it this week, because there will be bus time!

Picture 1 is from Saturday, I started on Friday night.  Picture 2 is this morning.  I need to find some cute buttons!

                

After I finish this, I'm going to start on your sweater and work it into rotation with the blanket/shawl thing and whatever the future holds for the sock.  

We're going to DC to see Smallest dance again - Jeff is coming with me this time! - so that will be some good plane knitting time.  Jeff hasn't been to DC with me yet, so this will be fun.

Dance Gossip - you know how there were some dancers who were all put in that specific group in Swan Lake?  For the Four Seasons piece they're doing in May, all of those dancers have been put only in Fall.  One of the dancers (a roommate of Smallest) has figured this out, and is _not_ happy that she's in Fall.
Also, I think Smallest was going to go to more auditions in NY this weekend, but I didn't hear about it.  I'm wondering if that happened?

Here is a silly picture for you.  Did you see the Paris-Roubaix results?  

Lion in wait

I am slowly slowly making progress on the lion! I have discovered that it is a handy thing to do during meetings where I just have to listen, and also keeps me from speaking up when it would be better to stay quiet. I took it to a choir meeting last weekend that went on for THREE HOURS and I was very well behaved having my stitches to work on.

Sounds like I better learn the basket weave, because my canvas is starting to get a bit lopsided. I was hoping it's like knitting where you just block it at the end, but maybe not? Humph. 

Aside from the green forest, I still have to finish face, mane, a bit of the butterfly, two buds, and I think I will give the bird a different color eye (it's currently light green, totally invisible). I'm also still considering whether I should give him a row or two of mane around the top of his very bald head. It's so weird!!

Thanks for being willing to absorb my yarn! I will do an assessment with Evil Twin and see what should be sent off to the land of knitting. :)

I love the yellow socks. I'm sure if you want to knit 12 pairs this year, you can do it. :D

Renovations are also done, hooray! So I have regained access to my room and sewing machine. Good timing, too - the two pencil cases I didn't finish in time for Christmas presents for my team need to be made before I go see one of them in person in ~a week. 

- Catherine

No Lion Around!

I hope that work on the lion is progressing!  Do you know about Basketweave stitch?  It keeps your canvas from warping from the pull of the stitches.  He is a very handsome lion.  You should definitely put on new tape, or sew some fabric around the edges of the canvas.

I like the hat joke too.

Leave all the yarn out and I will bring home as much as you're willing to part with!  I will make things and send them back to you.

The canoe bicycle is pretty awesome.

What's happening here...

The storm was a nothing-burger in Houston.  It did, however, really mess up The Boy's travel.  Instead of going early, we sent him back two days late because there was no way to get him from Boston to school on Saturday.  The school shuttle shifted to Tuesday, so we did too.  The Boy forgot to change his flight though, so we had to buy a new ticket for Tuesday.  Grump.  Anyhow, he got there and all is well.  It's midterms for him now, and he'll come back Saturday for Spring Break.

I finished the socks for Middle and sent them off.  I gave them a bath before sending them off and didn't realize just how much the yarn relaxes.  I'm worried the socks are too big now.  I'll have to get some input about that.  Middle went to India for almost two weeks to visit a college friend in Delhi and had a fabulous time.  I'm looking forward to hearing about the trip!

I came to see you all just a couple of weeks ago, and that was fun.  I didn't knit as much as I was planning to because I felt so icky, but I have recovered and am making progress on things.  Last night I finished the back of the vest for Smallest, so now I need to block it, sew up the seams and put on the armhole and neck ribbing.  It would be great if I could finish that up before we see her next week!  Hopefully it won't take too much time.

With Tina at Winter Park

I got pressured into knitting something for church, and that's clearly going to take a while, so that will be my thing to work on when I'm not working on your sweater (which I will start after the vest is done).  I like the pattern, but I don't think I'm going to be able to memorize it like I have others.  

This will be a shawl/blanket thing.

I had planned to knit a pair of socks every month this year as well, but alas, I have already missed February.  I have flight time coming up next week, so maybe I can start then.  The blogger I follow who does this knits ten rounds a day (on each sock) to finish in a month.  I can catch up, and then try to maintain the pace?  We'll have to see.  I haven't been riding the bus since the crazy weather 

Smallest was telling me about costumes for Swan Lake.  She had asked for one size and the manager decided she should have a smaller size.  Here is the smaller size.  Smallest has thoughts about this.

Is Round Two of renovations nearing completion?  Are you happy with things?  

That's about it for me.  I will see you in 8 sleeps!  We will have All The Fun!

Margie

Lion in stitches

The yarn for the lion has arrived, and I have already determined that I ordered way too much of the gold and green - I'm almost halfway done with the body (those stitches without obstacles just fly by) and I'm not even halfway through the first skein. I'll have to think up something else to do with the leftovers. :)

When I first picked up the lion, there was masking tape all around the outside. However, it was many eons old, and fell off pretty quickly. So I am discovering the edge of the fabric is quite pokey! Rude. I may have to find some more masking tape and redo it.

No progress on things that require a sewing machine, but the renovations are making good progress and I'm hoping to reclaim the space in less than two weeks. Fingers crossed!!

Until next time, here is a silly joke for you: 

    What time is it when a lion takes your hat?

    Time to get a new hat!

- Catherine

I like needlepoint and I'm not lion!

Between arts & crafts time with Mom, hanging out while our brother finished a puzzle at my house, and weekend hexagon cutting, I have made some decent progress this week. 

First, here is the lion, now with ~half of his mane done, a tufty tail, and more of the butterfly border done (compare to when I first picked this up). Even more important, perhaps, I have gone online to try to track down the missing yarn for the remainder of the piece - three colors are ordered and on the way! I got 6 skeins of the yarn for the background - hope it's enough. I picked 'Forest green' from the few colors of this brand available - the pattern calls for "blue/green" but all of the other blues and greens I saw looked too similar to the flowers and birds already there.

I was also looking online for cross-stitch kits that might be fun for a beginner (a friend's daughter wants to learn) and ended up finding three patterns that were sooooo cute to order, and unearthing another kit in my closet that is also so cute. And I unearthed the mitosis fabric/pajama pattern. I have so many things to work on! Also while looking around the closet I realized I have SO MUCH YARN. I need to either come up with a real plan to use it or just send it off to you.

Second, here are 171 more hexagons! I finished cutting the fabric that was part of the papasan cover, and now I need to rewash the final piece of fabric because the cat has been lying on it (does he know that the recipient is allergic to cats? Probably - look at that evil expression). 

Finally, this has nothing to do with sewing, but I thought I should record it for posterity. I was out doing some errands this weekend, and got to witness some kind of bike protest go by. One person apparently didn't have a bicycle at hand, so rode by in this fabulous contraption:

Huzzah!

- Catherine