3 days left of work

Sorry for the grizzly cats being cats story, I am putting this post up quickly so that you don't have to stare at the aftermath anymore.

I am nearing my self-imposed deadline for the Hubby's Cloud Vest and it looks like I just might make it. I corrected all my goof-ups, seamed and even cast on for a perfectly aligned collar. I would be lying if I said I wasn't INSANELY proud of that collar.












Of course, it still needs the perfect gold zipper (per the Hubby) and a little bit of edging around the armholes. These things however, where not included in the deadline in my head, because, well, they just weren't. The zipper of all things was the one thing that could only match what was in the hubby's mind, because if I made it with a silver zipper (as I would perfer) , the whole vest would become unsuitable. And being unsuitable, M might not wear it. No way in Hades am I going to bust my chops over this and have something as stupid as a zipper cause M not wear it. I have learned to consult with him over the details of this project, hence the reason the collar was not finished today. We had to discuss, with the possibility of watching the movie again, the amount of flare vs. flop the collar should have. Decision made: Jen's knowledge is best. Therefore, tomorrow the collar will be done!

In the mean time, during my final days at my temp job I cast on Poppy for the eighth time. I finally decided on a knitted cast-on for the 2x2 ribbing after reading Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears (circa 1973, but more about that later), because a tubular cast-on did not suit the yarn. I have purposefully included my size 8.5 foot in this pic, so that you all can grasp the 24" of circular needle that is tiny. AND I LOVE IT.

After reading Ms. Zimmerman's book, of which my mother owned an orginial copy and loaned to me months ago, I am hooked on circular knitting. I have decied to alter this pattern and make it circular up until I have to spilt yarns for the neck line. Let me tell you how wonderful it is to have rounds and rounds of knitting on "WS" rows the half seed stitch, instead of purls. Now in a sing song voice:WONDERFUL! I hope the variegated yarn turns out well. I did a test drive (i.e. a swatch) on my current coworkers of stockinette st vs. half seed stitch. The results were that a) up close the St st looked great, but b) far away the half seed st produced a much more mottled effect that was more enjoyable (as shown in the pic).

Reading, also gave me the courage to a seamless sweater as my re-do of the overly large Weasley Sweater once the weather cools down. No way am I touching that scratchy, harsh wool while I'm sweating my brains out my ears. I plan on using the CUT armholes. So, there's no screwing up. And yes, I ran this prototype by M, who flat out refused the seamless raglan sleeved sweater by the same. Good thing I screwed up on the size, because that's what I was making. All's well that ends well, right?

For those of you who have not read Knitting Without Tears, I will post an excerpt from her pages that best describes the sleeving process. It is important to note that you knit the entire body of this sweat, front and back minus the sleeves, in a a TUBE up to the FINISHED/CAST OFF neckline. "Run a basting line down the exact sides of the upper half of the sweater. . . Now lay the sweater flat. Measure, mark, and baste the under arm point on the body, sot that the exact armholes match the exact width of the sleeve-top. It is most important that the armhole be neither longer nor shorter than the sleeve-top. Go to your (or your neighbor's) sewing machine, whorten the stitch to a minimum and stitch twices down either side of the basting and across the bottom, to hold each thread of wool in place and absolutely prevent its raveling. Kepp the amchine stitched rows quite close together; we want neither to have a bulky seam nor to waste a square millimeter of our knitting. Cut on basting, then lie down in darken room for at least 15 minutes to recover. You will never fear to cut again. (But always be sure to cut at the right place.) "

I recommend it even for the non-knitter, as she conveys her directions as if she where sitting there talking to you-chattily and humorously. It's a great informative read and surprisingly, most likely due to its manner of writing, easy to remember. I remembered the "formula" for necklines and corrected Cloud without any referrals to the book and without any do-overs.