If I would have

looked at the pattern a little bit closer, I might have noticed that there could be a problem with the shoulder straps.

Notice the Askew at knitty. Now, do you notice where the shoulder strap starts? Right at the side seam of the top. I am not sure why it works for her, but I noticed on my tank tops and other tops that the shoulder strap does not start on the side seam, but a little bit in and there is a gradual arm hole.

Here is my Askew, as I am trying to figure out how to make the straps work. Notice my tank top underneath and where those straps are.

After I took this picture, Tony came home and held the straps down in the back. It does look better when he did that, but it sort of puckered and the armhole was too small.

We both decided the best thing to do would be to frog the straps. I think what I am going to do is bind off half of the stitches of the strap on the “side seam” side and pick up a few of the bind of stitches. I will work on it tomorrow and let you all know how it goes.

I later pinned the straps in place and tried to take a photo myself, and you can see how it puckers by the shoulders and the front sags a bit.

I am purposely hiding behind my bathroom plant as I don’t really want the world to see my bra, etc.  But…you get the idea.

I am interested to hear your suggestions.

Blocked Askew

I blocked Askew.

I use to quilt and there was a couple parts in quilting that I didn’t like. The basting and the binding. Blocking reminds me of basting. If you don’t do it, more then likely your project will look like crap. If you do it right it makes a world of difference.

I guess seaming is similar to binding, both have to be done by hand with a sewing needle. If you machine sew a binding, you have to hand sew the back part or again, it will look like crap. I try to get away with doing it by machine, but I know that the better looking quilts are binded by hand.

So…back to Askew.

If you make this, I HIGHLY (hope you got the emphasis, there) recommend binding off with a needle one or two sizes larger. I guess my bindoff was sort of tight (or probably just normal.)

In the notes of the pattern, it makes a comment that when you block you will be stretching the material out horizontally, rather than vertically. Well, if you have a tight, or even semi-tight bind off…it won’t stretch. I wish I would have thought about this, because everything else wanted to stretch to dimension but the bind off.

Also, I wished that there were better schematics. The schematics that are shown have measurements of a square. When the top is not a square, but a parallelogram. (Yes, I know a square is a parallelogram…I just don’t know what else to call this shape.) My point is that I needed a few more measurements to help with blocking.

For example, I could have used the measurement from the bottom of the “side seam” of the front to the bottom of the “center seam” of the front. There is also that “center seam” of the front that doesn’t have a measurement. While you could assume it is the same as the “seam side”, I am not sure, especially since the shoulder straps are part of that parallelogram side.

Well, it is all math and since I would rather not try to figure it out (all of my high school math teachers would just gasp at the fact that I would rather not apply all of the learning in my adult life,) I will just guess and better yet, make the other side the same so that I have equal guesses.

Did I confuse you?

So, in case you are the type that skip to the end of a post and skim the middle…

Bind of with a Larger (maybe two sizes) needle.

I hope to be wearing my finished Askew sometime tomorrow. Cross your fingers that it fits. My sister is waiting (hoping/praying it doesn’t) so I will have to gift it to her, ha ha. I will make her one, what about for Christmas?

Askew back

I am almost finished with the back of Askew. I have an inch or so left to knit. I will finish it today and block it. I really would like to seam it tonight or tomorrow.

Madeleine swallowed sea glass. I called my doctor and was told to wait for it to come out the other end. My motherly instinct told me that she probably shouldn’t play with it. Sierra was playing with them and Madeleine really wants to do what Sierra does. I told Madeleine not to eat it, which she later did. I think it tasted like salt… Atleast I didn’t have to take her to the ER.

At first Sierra told me she was choking. I ran into the room and heimliched Madeleine about 3 times, before I realized that it wasn’t coming up. I had to do the Heimlich on Sierra when she was 3 with a mint candy, so I am very familiar with this procedure (as well as the fact that I have been a certified EMT, twice.) Instead, it went down, into her stomach.

As I was talking to the doctor he told me my CT results came back and the pain isn’t from the urinary system. So, what I thought was a very easy, “I can’t believe you missed this” type diagnosis, wasn’t it at all. Instead, I am told I might have adhesions in my small bowel.

I don’t know what is going on, but I had another sleepless night, sigh. I googled adhesions and have learned that a lot of people with adhesions live a life of pain that has made them crazy, ruined their relationships, job functioning, and basically taken the happy out of life. This is how I have felt the past few months and I really hope this isn’t my road.

To change the mood of my blog back to happy, my garden is doing nice things:

This is a picture out my back window at my sunflower.  Notice how tall it is compared to the neighbors house/satellite dish.

Today is the first day for it to open.  The one on the right hasn’t opened yet.

Welcome Sunflower!  (ps…it is so cool to watch the sunflowers follow the sun.)

I Spy…a red tomato.   Actually, I have two red ones.

Askew front

I finished knitting the front of Askew. It is knitting up really fast for me. I already have the back on needles and am hoping to have it finished in a day or two. I still have a top from Big Girl Knits on my needles and that is taking me forever, because it is a million more stitches on size 4 needles. I am knitting Askew on size 9′s and I am just breezing through.

I did get the stripes to line up in the front. Really, there was no mathematical formula to how I did this. I just guessed.

I realized my balls of Noro started and different spots I just had to see where the sequence started and then cut the yarn and start at that point. Noro Silk Garden felts really well in with rubbing in your hands. One ball of Noro was completely lacking the green and the gold. It is the same dye lot, too. I think I am going to put it in a new ball to see how the sequence of it is. I have a feeling it is two of the brown/red sequences put together with a knot or something, without the gold/green section.

I love how natural and vibrant the colors are. I love the browns and the reds. The green is very much a malachite green. I could not be happier with the colorway of this yarn. It is so earthy, I love it.

I don’t understand why the yarn has so much debris in it. Seriously. This is “high end” and somewhat expensive yarn. I don’t mind a little bit of vm every once in awhile, especially if it is wool yarn right from a small mill. It isn’t a big deal if it is a lightly spun wool and I could pick it out easily. This yarn is spun sort of tight and the debris is felt, but a lot of times not seen.

This yarn is from Japan and you would think they would have some sort of quality control. I don’t know. I literally have to stop every minute or so and pick out something rough like a small stick or something. If I leave it and just keep knitting, then it will poke me when I am wearing the top against my skin.

No Z’s for Me

As I read a few blogs this morning I noticed I am not the only one with insomnia last night. I have been sleeping every other night and sometimes I will get a 4 hour nap mid-afternoon. For me it is my side that is bothering me that keeps me from sleeping. I am waiting on the test results, I should know something by Monday.

Since I couldn’t sleep, I knit Askew.   This is the left front.  The pattern suggests size 7 needles.  I had to use size 9 needles to get gauge.  This is such an easy and fast pattern.

The challenge is going to try to get the stripes to match up in the front.  I will do my best, but honestly I don’t care as much, it will only bother everyone else.

The kids went to bed late last night and were crabby and woke up at 6am this morning, again sort of crabby.  Tony has to work today, which makes me want to be crabby, but I am not.  I can already tell he is going to be crabby.

We were invited to a lot of things this weekend, a jewelry part, a friend’s wedding shower in Santa Cruz, my nephew’s birthday party at the lake…and well, we probably will just stay home.

Larger than Life beg..

Larger than Life Bag:

Side 1

Side 2

I need to buy some bright fabric to line the bag and am still contemplating on how I will work the handles. I took this picture at night in my house with the flash, so the colors aren’t exact, they are the old cotton-ease colors.

I crocheted the squares using dc, in red. For me, it was easier than sewing them together.

Sidewinders: (I was intrigued by this pattern by other knit bloggers and had to try it. I am going to try again, real soon…really, really soon.)
I worked the gauge swatch and was excited I got gauge. I cast-on on Friday and was addicted to this pattern. I had half of the sock done Saturday and decided to measure gauge, on a whim and wasn’t getting gauge, which is suppose to be 30st/4 inch and I was getting 26st/4 inch. Since I was knitting these for my sock-A partner, I decided I am going to frog this and look for another pattern. (I will post the pics, just so you can see how odd and cool the socks were looking before I realized I had to frog them.)

I want to use this yarn as my sock partner has purple shoes and green shoes. However, this yarn is so busy, it is hard to find a pattern that will work. I tried RPM, but they were coming out too large, too. Though I can easily change it. I might just cast on less stitches on the RPM and start over, I don’t know. I am so indecisive on this and the clock is ticking.

Askew:

I casted on, and worked up a few inches and wasn’t getting gauge. The cast-on stitches are small, so I figured it wasn’t worth making a gauge swatch. I am this way. I think I need to work with size 9 needles, instead of 7

Happy Garden

First, we have something that looks like a carrot:

I have never grown carrots before.  How much longer do I keep growing them? I was thinking 2 more weeks and then I would pick another one.  I guess I have no idea how to know if carrots are ripe (you know…since they are hiding in the ground.)

Next, we have a baseball bat, er…I mean, zucchini.  I don’t know how I managed to miss that one, but wasn’t feeling good the past few days and so only managed to water my garden.  This will be used to make zucchini bread.  I bet I could get atleast 4 loafs from this one zucchini.

Bellpepper…getting bigger:

First sunflower:  The interesting thing about this sunflower is it came up in front of the others (not where we planted them) and I think the flower will be smaller.  I wonder if this is a different variety or something.  The ones in the back will have large sunflower heads.

Overall Garden Shot:

First (and only) Corn:  Only one of my cornstalks has an actual corn on it.  I guess in a few months we will all be splitting this one?  LOL!

I have lots of tomatoes.  Here is one shot.  None of them have turned red yet, but man I am going to have a lot of tomatoes! 

Can you smell it…hmmmm…gardenia:

Askew

I casted on Askew tonight…

I think it is going to be a fast knit. You know how I like lots of WIP’s!

ps…Lyndy, you should know I like asymmetrical.  Since the yarn is self-striping, I don’t know how easy/hard it will be to line up the stripes.

Squares

I finished one set of squares for the Larger than Life Bag. This is part of a Crochet-Along with the Fiber Freaks.

I am making two sets. I didn’t start out doing that, but when I first started to crochet them I was just picking random colors from my cotton-ease stash (the “old” colors.) Well, I had 12 colors and my squares were looking too disconnected. So I decided to do a primary color bag and a pastel colored bag.

I finished the squares of the primary bag. After I get some more Pistachio colored yarn I will finish the pastel squares.

So Sorry Silk

I bought some Sari Silk about a year ago off ebay and got a fantastic deal.  When I got it, I was in awe of all of the colors and how beautiful the yarn looked, trying to ignore the terribly musty and icky smell.

I thought it would make a neat clapotis or shawl.  So I casted on for the clapotis.  However, as I was knitting with it, I noticed how dirty it was.  (I have blog posted about this before.)  It took awhile to wind the yarn up into balls, so the thought of winding the balls into a hank and washing them just seemed a waste of my time.

As I would knit with it, my throat would feel scratchy and I would start to think about the possibility of getting some weird illness from dust or dirt from the other side of the world.  Silly, I am sure, but other people handled this yarn and it was dirty.  I would find fingernails and other odd things spun into the yarn.  Gross, but I tried to be open minded.  It is just yarn and these were probably nice people spinning it, but still…

So I put the clapotis down and told myself I will either frog it or one day finish it.

This was over a year ago.

A week ago, I decided that I needed to knit some of my novelty and misc yarns into scarves.  I have a few things I am doing soon where I will need gifts and thought big scarves would be perfect.  I will have to talk about the novelty yarns I used in another blog post.  It is interesting.  But that isn’t what I am posting about today.

I decided to try the Sari Silk yarn again and just make a simple garter stitch/drop stitch scarf.  Again, the yarn was dirty, smelly, and made me squirm.  I knit with size 17 needles and in less than 2 days I had a nice long scarf.  I bound off the scarf and threw it in the washing machine on gentle.

I had read that this yarn softens up real nicely after washing it.   I put it on a long soak.  The washing machine smelled like gasoline.  GASOLINE!  My scarf!!  How crazy is that?  Tony said it smelled like a tire store.  I thought it was gas.  Tony has a bad sense of smell and rarely can smell anything.

After it washed, I looked at it and there was a huge gaping hole.  Not only that, but the yarn some how sealed itself off, so I can’t find the ends.  I have thought of a few ways to fix it, like taking more of that yarn and trying to sew the hole closed.  I don’t know.  That would require me to touch the dirty yarn again.

I suppose I could wind it all into long hanks and wash it…

ps…it is pretty, isn’t it…even with the hole…