B-I-G

I spent this afternoon's lunch seaming up the sides of the rainbow tank. Last night, I knit all the different bands. The tank looks really big, but I'm hoping that once the waistband, neckbands, and armbands are sewn on, with the gathers and all, it will be okay. I'm crossing my fingers!

Pretty Plant

Here's a quick sewing project I worked on yesterday. I had this great cactus plant in this ugly, dirty blue pot and wanted to camouflage it. So I sewed up this cover via directions from IKEA (in the Curtains catalog), which Megan posted about last week. My cover just barely reaches the top of the pot because I had to replace the saucer that was cracked and leaking. The new saucer added a few more centimeters to the pot height. I was wishing my fabric stash had more cute patterned scraps that had been larger!

Over the Rainbow

I finally finished the back of the tank yesterday afternoon. I started the front and am probably about a third of the way through. Because of being knit on the bias, it's a little wonky and not a perfect rectangle shape, but I think it will be fine when I knit the armhole bands, the neck band, and the waist band. I had practically finished it the other day and when I went to measure, it was way too big! So, I switched back to the original recommendation of size six needles and started over again. You'd think the yarn would be a complete and total mess, but it has actually held up pretty well!

Ribbit

I had to frog again last night. Don't ask...

Doh!

Last night, using my #9 needles, I happily knit along on one side of the tank, almost finished and ready to bind off. I measured the width of the fabric and it was almost 18 inches, which is what it was supposed to be. I started rereading the directions, searching for the part about the decreases that I was about to start. I began the decreases and sped along as the number of stitches got smaller and smaller. I scanned the directions again and something caught my eye. The pattern said to work 18 rows each in 12 color stripes. The whole time I had been working 12 rows! I totally blocked out the 18 and was focused on the number 12. I frogged my almost completed side and started yet again with the original needles I met gauge with, the #7s. I think I'm set now.

New Project

I decided that I wanted to start in on some spring and summer knitting and chose this mod tank from the latest knit.1 magazine. It's designed by Teva Durham of loop-d-loop. I absolutely love her designs, which are very innovative and unique. I swatched on Saturday and met gauge with #7 needles, a size larger than what the directions recommended. After finishing half of one side, I measured my fabric, which was supposed to be about 18" wide. Mine was only about 15" wide. So, I ripped everything out and will swatch again with some #8s and #9s. The Microspun yarn is super soft, but very slippery and a little splitty. It will make a nice tank though.

Wild & Woolly

I finished seaming up the sweater yesterday during lunch. Later that evening, I wove in all the ends and knit up the neck. I am really pleased with how this sweater turned out! I could have made it a little shorter, but I decided to follow the pattern as is and I think it's fine. It was easy and fun to knit (read: no errors in this Rebecca pattern) and the Kool Wool was a great substitute for the GGH Goa. I only ended up using 17 skeins of yarn too!

In Arms Way

I finished the sleeves on Monday. They are blocking now and I will be ready to seam everything up in a few days. The cold rainy weather has returned, so I may even be able to wear this sweater when it's finished!

Slow Going

Progress on the sleeves has been really slow. I'm going out of town for several days, so hopefully, I can finish them on my trip!

Dressed Up

Last night, I decided to skip knitting the sleeves of the sweater and focus instead on sewing up the dress, which I am wearing today. It took a couple of hours to make, but was pretty easy and straightforward. I probably could have made the dress a size smaller, but I was afraid that it would be too narrow to pull on. So, I had to make a few alterations to give it some more shaping. There are already darts in the back and darts along the bustline. I took the dress in a little more along the side seams and added two more vertical darts in the front. I could also try wearing it with a belt. The fit is a bit more tailored, but still loose enough to be comfortable.

Knit & Sew

I managed to get the front of the sweater completed yesterday afternoon while watching some bad movies on cable. I can't rave enough about how fantastic the Kool Wool is turning out. After pinning down the front for blocking, I started both sleeves and have about three inches done. During a break from knitting, I laid out the pattern for the pullover dress and got those pieces cut out. I hope to start sewing tonight. You've got to love a pattern that only has six pieces!

PS If you are an Adrien Brody fan, as I am, go see The Jacket. The movie is marginal, but who cares? Adrien Brody is in it. I hope he fares better with King Kong 2005.

Blocked Up

I finished the back of the turtleneck last night. Before leaving for work this morning, I pinned it down and now it's blocking. The body measurement from the bottom up to the armholes was supposed to be 48 cm, but I thought that would be way too long for me, someone who isn't that tall. So, I made it a bit shorter. The cable pattern is fairly easy to remember and fun to knit. I'll cast on for the front today at lunch.