Hey, Look!

It's me again.  At least I'm starting off on the right foot.  Don't know how long his will last!  In looking over my previous posts, I realized that I left a few things hanging, so here's some catching up.

I left you with my son's cardigan lying in pieces.  It's since been finished, declared acceptable and worn on a regular basis.  Here's my handsome son:


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Now I have to get busy repairing his other sweater.  He tore a hole in the elbow, which you may recall I repaired once, but it has since come open again.  I finally decided that in the time it took me to repair it again, I could knit a whole new sleeve.  Here's the rub – all the comments on Ravelry indicated that the sleeve as written was too full.  So I input some data in Sweater Wizard and calculated a new sleeve.  Did I save it?  Duh, NO!  And I can't remember what figures I used, so I'm going to have to do some counting on the present sleeve and see if I can figure it out.

I also left you all hanging right in the middle of our bathroom remodel.  That, too, has been finished and we couldn't be happier.  I must admit hanging the striped wallpaper was a little challenging when we realized that the walls are not completely plumb and the corners of the room are actually curved a little.  Here's before and after:


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It's a little hard to get a good picture of such a small room, but the remodel really did make a big difference – it's so clean and updated now.

I have been knitting like mad on Cape Cod and have finished the first sleeve.  I tried it on for the first time and am really, really happy with the fit.  


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I am not, however, happy with the underarm gusset.  


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It appears that the gusset is totally unnecessary and just adds a lot of bulk to the underam area.  Those of us ladies of a certain age certainly don't need anything resembling wings!  I'm debating what to do.  It's not just a simple matter of ripping back the sleeve, although I certainly would consider that if it was.  I'd also have to rip out the fronts and backs down to the armholes, and I am not willing to do that!  Since it's not really obvious unless I hold out my arms and since that is a stance I seldom take, I'm pretty sure I'll just leave it be.  Any and all suggestions are welcomed.

 In other knitting news I started some fingerless mitts for my sister.  I stuck some sock yarn in her Christmas stocking with the promise of a new pair of socks, but by mutual agreements we decided instead on mitts.  These are Hedgerow Mitts.


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I had made a decision several weeks ago to sell my spinning wheel.  I even went as far as to put an ad on the local website for the spinning guild.  I admit that I was motivated a little bit by my inability to spin the yarn I really wanted and I know, as Kathryn has so wisely pointed out that I probably need to give it some more time.  But I was also moved by consideration of time.  It seems that I have so many interests that compete for my time – knitting, spinning, quilting and digital scrapbooking (to say nothing of the time it takes to train for the half marathon).  Sometimes I look at people who are a little more "concentrated" on one craft and envy them a little.  I feel so torn with my time.  On the positive side, I am almost never bored!  Thankfully I have had no bites on my ad and I think I will have it taken down.  

And, speaking of quilting, I finished the top on a project that several of my friends and I have been working on.  We all did the same pattern, but in our own individual fabrics.  I chose a palette of Asian fabrics and was a little apprehensive that the "country" feel of the pattern would not be a good match, but I am pleased with the results.


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One of my goals this year is to work on my machine quilting skills.  I have a stack of tops that will never be finished in my lifetime if I don't learn to machine quilt and finish them!




5 thoughts on “Hey, Look!

  1. Your son’s sweater looks great.

    I’ve been thinking about AS’s non-stranded sweaters or coming up with my own Gansey-style sweater, but that is down the road a bit. I think yours looks lovely. I’m not sure what you can do with the sleeve to adjust the knitting, but you might make it look a bit smoother if you steam block the underarm area on a sleeve board using an iron and pressing cloth. What yarn are you using?

    I’m with you on the “no new hobbies,” but I am flirting with the notion of using some of my smaller yardages of cotton fabric to make some quilted objects.

  2. Love the quilt top! I’m learning to machine quilt this year for the same reason. I love to piece but a box full of finished tops does little to keep us warm and they certainly don’t display well.

    So far, so good. I enjoy machine quilting but am not really happy being so stationary. Love the portability of hand piecing and knitting.

    Can’t have it all, can we?

    Jan

  3. Enjoyed your recap, Dorothy. Your son’s sweater looks great; awesome job on the zipper! Tried the sock link, but it didn’t work; love that yarn! What half marathon are you going to run?

  4. Your son is dashing in his new sweater! I think I’d probably leave the gussets on your sweater too, and not rip that much, but then I’m lazy.

    I know what you mean about too many hobbies. I almost got sucked into getting a small loom last year, then came to my senses. Spinning and knitting are plenty for me.

  5. Dorothy, I certainly enjoy your blogs. Seems I got busy for a while, and I have not been on the computer as much. Love your projects, and seeing the pictures of your family. I’ve been reading a lot and have not picked up knitting needles for a LONG time. A friend and I were just talking about starting back. Seeing your projects encourages me, even if mine will be much more elementary in nature. Best wishes from Dallas!

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