Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Kitchen Knits Swap!
In there we have a market bag that she knitted for me, which is exciting because I've seen several friends make them but haven't taken the plunge myself. There is some lovely yarn from The Plucky Knitter as well as some Cotton-Ease, and she included patterns for both. She suggested the Lace Ribbon Scarf for the blue yarn, and I think I might just do that, as the yarn is very similar in color to that used in the pattern, and the pattern photos are lovely :) There is also honey, which I've tried, and lovely smelling tea, which I haven't gotten to yet. Plus, recipes of course, which Dave and I are both excited about. But, having just used it, I have to say that perhaps the best part of the box was the peeler. It's hiding under the tea, but this thing is great! It's a Swiss Peeler from Kuhn Rikon, and you should probably have one too. I peeled a yam for dinner and it was SO much better than either of our old peelers, which are going straight to Goodwill. Anyway, thank you for the great package Jodi, and thanks also to Marisol for organizing such a fun swap and pairing me with another almost-vegetarian!
Saturday, June 07, 2008
All but the fringe...
After a fairly concerted effort (well, not really, but it sounds good) I've finished the Montego Bay Scarf up to the fringing.
I realize you can't really see the thing in that photo, but it's not an easy item to photograph. Perhaps if I wore it, but it's not finished yet, so it's early for that. The little balls are the fringe waiting to be attached. I did four of them yesterday after I took this photo, and I really think they're a bit short. The fringe is supposed to be braided, which sucks up some of the length, and they're only 12" so the fringe is pretty short. I've seen several on Ravelry with unbraided fringe and I might try some of that for a comparison. I suppose short fringe will be alright, but the scarf is drapey and graceful so stingy fringe seems like a mistake. I don't know. The yarn is cut already so there's nothing to be done but figure out the best solution!
Hope all is well with everyone. Sorry to have not been blogging but I've had little to say. I did finish Anais but I'm not happy with it, so there hasn't been a photo shoot. I tried really hard to find a way to wear it yesterday but frankly it doesn't look good. I didn't knit the sleeves because I didn't really like the way the lace inset worked and doubted the sleeves would be better, but without them I'm looking like a linebacker in the thing because it's too big and too straight up and down. Not enough shaping apparently - I wanted it fitted and I think I'd need to be about 2" bigger everywhere for that. And, yes, I swatched, and I got gauge, and I made the right size. Maybe I'm smaller than I think. Anyway, I'll take some photos of it to show you and we can discuss it. I think I'm going to do the sleeves as a test - it can't take long and perhaps it'll save the whole thing?
Oh, and in case you're curious about my problem with the lace insert? This is the problem. It's the SAME for all the sizes. Now, think about this. I made the 34" size, but the pattern goes up to 54". But, my lace insert is, at least in theory, the same size as the 54" one would be, which means that in my shirt it doesn't need to be stretched at all to fit in its space. So, it looks a bit sloppy. And, I knit it on much smaller needles than were called for, and it's still too big. Granted maybe I should have sewed it further up the neckline to stretch it, but I'm not sure that would have helped much. I just think it's an odd part of the design, to not compensate for the fact that the sizes will be different in inset size and the amount of stretching that will and won't be happening. Then again, looking at the ones on Ravelry it doesn't seem like other people had as much trouble with this, so perhaps it's just me?
I realize you can't really see the thing in that photo, but it's not an easy item to photograph. Perhaps if I wore it, but it's not finished yet, so it's early for that. The little balls are the fringe waiting to be attached. I did four of them yesterday after I took this photo, and I really think they're a bit short. The fringe is supposed to be braided, which sucks up some of the length, and they're only 12" so the fringe is pretty short. I've seen several on Ravelry with unbraided fringe and I might try some of that for a comparison. I suppose short fringe will be alright, but the scarf is drapey and graceful so stingy fringe seems like a mistake. I don't know. The yarn is cut already so there's nothing to be done but figure out the best solution!
Hope all is well with everyone. Sorry to have not been blogging but I've had little to say. I did finish Anais but I'm not happy with it, so there hasn't been a photo shoot. I tried really hard to find a way to wear it yesterday but frankly it doesn't look good. I didn't knit the sleeves because I didn't really like the way the lace inset worked and doubted the sleeves would be better, but without them I'm looking like a linebacker in the thing because it's too big and too straight up and down. Not enough shaping apparently - I wanted it fitted and I think I'd need to be about 2" bigger everywhere for that. And, yes, I swatched, and I got gauge, and I made the right size. Maybe I'm smaller than I think. Anyway, I'll take some photos of it to show you and we can discuss it. I think I'm going to do the sleeves as a test - it can't take long and perhaps it'll save the whole thing?
Oh, and in case you're curious about my problem with the lace insert? This is the problem. It's the SAME for all the sizes. Now, think about this. I made the 34" size, but the pattern goes up to 54". But, my lace insert is, at least in theory, the same size as the 54" one would be, which means that in my shirt it doesn't need to be stretched at all to fit in its space. So, it looks a bit sloppy. And, I knit it on much smaller needles than were called for, and it's still too big. Granted maybe I should have sewed it further up the neckline to stretch it, but I'm not sure that would have helped much. I just think it's an odd part of the design, to not compensate for the fact that the sizes will be different in inset size and the amount of stretching that will and won't be happening. Then again, looking at the ones on Ravelry it doesn't seem like other people had as much trouble with this, so perhaps it's just me?
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