Back and Undefeated!

First off, thanks to everyone who sent a supportive comment about the miserably unattractive Ribby. After a day or two of supreme funk, I understood that the sweater could either be fixed, donated, or saved for future maternity wear (ha!), and to hell with it, I'm going to keep working on Lucky.

So that's what I've been doing this week, knitting Lucky and becoming chemically dependent on Jack Bauer and 24 on DVD. (Also, Mr. and I went to see Hitch at the cheap theater the other night. It was a cute, funny, romantic date movie. Kinda predictable, but the actors kept it fresh.)

My luck is changing, though, which makes me feel all cosmically good. I'm buying a great car from a friend who's leaving with her husband and 3 year old to teach in Tanzania. I'm moving to 4th grade next year with an awesome new teammate. I'm looking forward so much to going to Hawaii with my husband next month, where we'll also be celebrating our 5 year anniversary.

Now back to the mundaneness of home ownership: scrubbing the kitchen floor while hubby blasts Mars Volta from the basement as he stains the new wood cabinets he built in our laundry room. I don't know if I'll drop first from the fumes, the noise, or the shock that I'm scrubbing my kitchen floor. :)

What Would Bonne Marie Do?

Warning: Knitting Rant Ahead.

Last night I sat down and installed the zipper into my Ribby Cardi. I tried it on and it looks terrible. The main problem, I think, is that the damn thing turned out too big. It looks boxy and horrible, which is sad, because others have knit cute, form fitted Ribbies that show that they really do have waists. It looks so bad, I don't even want to bother taking a picture.

I know some of the problems...

a) I knit the damn thing too loosely. I had gauge, I really did. I swatched. But since then, I've used the same Peruvian Highland Wool for Mariah, on smaller needles, and the fabric is much nicer/denser/etc. that way. Damn.

b) I must make sure that I have waist shaping in all pattern choices. This one has side ribbing, which I thought would be enough to bring it in in the right places, but no.

c) Perhaps I should do what Grumperina does and knit 36" sweaters for a 39" bust. Okay, so I actually have a 40" bust, but I also have a 32" waist and a short torso, so I need to pay more attention to schematics and such, so I'm not swimming around in a sweater that matches my bust measurement. I knit Ribby at the 38/39" size.

There might be a way to "boss my knitting around" but I'm just plain irritated with it. And I was so disappointed in the thing that I started to doubt my whole obsession/committment to the world of knitting. So far, the things I've finished for myself haven't been too successful. (See problem b above.) I don't want to spend more time knitting -- and more money on yarn -- if I'm not going to be happy with the results. That, or stick to knitting for all of my friends' babies and kiddos.

Now that I've had some time to think about it, I might try altering the sides to cut out excess bulk. But not today.

Grumble over.

Next I'll install the zipper on Mariah, which I know will fit better. See, I solved problems a and b when I was planning and starting Mariah. Wish me luck.

Thanks A Lot, Guys!

Thanks to everyone for voicing their opinions about colors for the Rebecca cardi. The votes were really evenly spread, which didn't made my decision any easier. I showed the magazine to Mr. Goodkarma, and all he noticed were all the super cropped sweaters on all the super skinny German models ("She's not that skinny," he said, and the conversation ENDED before we even got to the color options.) I just went ahead and ordered the Soho Summer in Sailboat. I was undecided until just then, when I went back to WEBS to look at the colors and realized that today was the last day of the sale. There is another, more bluey blue (sailboat is a bit greeny grey blue), called cloudless, which I seem to pick out a lot, so at least sailboat will be a bit different, spring/summery, and neutral enough to wear a whole lot.

Lolly mentioned that a friend of hers tried to knit this cardi and had to put it down. I admit that the directions are more vague than I'm used to (let's face it, Rebecca ain't no Bonne Marie), but I think I want to give it a shot.

In super happy news, look at what came in the mail today:



Go Zipperstop! Go Zipperstop! It's your birthday! Get busy! Sorry, that's annoying. It took only 3 days from the time I placed my order (including a custom length zipper) to the time my zippers arrived, cross-country, in my mailbox. Yippee! My only beef: I paid about $4 for the zippers and about another $4 for shipping, and the package cost $0.60 to mail. I hate being overcharged for shipping. But anyway, if it weren't 88 degrees out today (seriously!), I'd be putting these zippers in right now! But the cardis are wool and I'm already sweaty. We'll see how the weather shakes out this long holiday weekend.

Lastly, Bonnie noticed my bikes in Amsterdam photo this week and thought she'd start a little revolution: International Bike Pics on Blogs. Go see hers. It was taken in Costa Rica, and she's getting ready to move there! So, check out your photo files and post your own!

Zipper Order

Psst... I just ordered my zipper for Mariah (18", color #916, deep brown) and for Ribby Cardi (21, color #546, sky blue). Please, Mr. Postman, bring them to me soon!

Progress Report

It's been a long week since I last posted. I got over a disgusting cold/flu thing, worked on my students' report cards, went to the annual Sock Hop at school, went to a 1st birthday party, visited a friend and her 2 week old baby girl on Vashon Island, saw Meet the Fockers at The Admiral, etc. etc! Loads of work and socializing, not a lot of time for knitting. However, I do have something to share, including a dirty little secret.

First up, progress on my Ribby Cardi. This poor little guy was put on hold as I started Mariah and then Lucky. I had it all seamed up except for setting in the sleeves and knitting up the collar, and just kind of put it aside. Why? My husband keeps asking me why I start new projects when I have some that aren't finished yet. I've definitely become a *process* knitter, too excited by all the projects I want to make to finish up the ones I've started. I know, I know, my mother would give me that look. So last Sunday, while feeling quite flu-y, I camped out on the couch, watched Steel Magnolias, and got 'er done. Ribby still needs a zipper and some ends to be woven in. This picture makes her Aubergine sleeves look quite dark. Also, I realized after all my seaming that I stretched the ribbing too much when I blocked it originally, so it turned out a bit boxy. I'll be reblocking Ribby this week before getting a zipper. Soon, I hope to post a finished-and-modeled pic!

Here's my progress on Mariah. I've got about 4" of the yoke finished. At this point, I'm finally starting to feel like the rows are getting shorter. Whew! And what's that safety pin doing there, right near the raglan decrease line? Well.... after doing many, many rounds of the yoke, I noticed that I'd dropped a stitch right near the decreases. ACK! There was no way I was going to frog back thousands of stitches. I'm going to carry it back up as far as I can with my crochet hook and then tack it into place on the backside, carefully. I suppose a more dedicated or perfectionistic knitter would have ripped back the two or three inches (we're talking over 300 stitches per row), but not me. I am determined to make it work.

Next, I've been plugging away at Lucky now and then. It's the best project I have right now for portability, so it comes to work with me for lunchtime stitching. It's good to have different projects going at once, especially if they're at different gauges so your hands don't get bored! I've got 6" of the back piece done. That's all. But for a busy week, I'm satisfied with what I was able to accomplish.

Finally, here's my dirty little secret. I've had this Surplice Cardi on my "Current Projects" sidebar for months. I started it in October on a train ride to Portland, and of course it's been *this* close to wearable for months and months. The original pattern called for 3/4 sleeves, and I lengthened them to full length sleeves... in fact, I went overboard and need to rip back some length! I need to reblock it, too, though, and that's just not as exciting as the cables of Mariah or the clover lace pattern of Lucky, so it's been sitting in my knitting basket for all this time. Poor thing. Also, I hate the thin crocheted ties prescribed by the pattern, so I want to take the sweater out on the town with me and find a nice ribbon replacement. By the way, the color here is really flashified (washed out). Lichen Cascade Lana d'Oro is a really rich olivey foresty color. It's heavenly to work with, too!!

Finally, I leave you with a little something cheerful and springy from my back deck. It's impossible to be gloomy when these happy daffs are smiling at you! Have a great week, everyone!




.

New Kid on the Block

Guess what?



That's what!

Ribby Cardi is blocking now and boy, oh boy, am I excited to be close to the finish line. The pattern was so well written! The Peruvian Highland Wool handled and blocked so fabulously! Can't wait to see it on.

Finished Object Envy

So I'm cruising along on my Ribby Cardi, to the point where I have only half a sleeve to finish, when I realize that I MUST make this darling Haiku sweater for my coworker's daughter, Luna, who is about to turn one.

The sweater is fun, knits up quickly, and the instructions are refreshing: it's written for any gauge, so you have to do a little math, and it's knit from side to side. Nice diversion.

Except that at the Ribby Cardi KAL, everyone's making such good progress that I'm dying to get back to my Aubergine sleeve.

I hope to make Haiku's sleeves today and tomorrow during American Idol!! I do have vices, okay? :)

Ribby Cardi Has Begun!

Hey! The Ribby Cardi Along has begun!



I'm using Summer Sky as the MC and Aubergine as the CC. I got perfect gauge right away with my Addi Turbos, thank goodness. I love love love those needles.