Twist and Shout

[Warning: Photo-heavy post]

That's me wearing Twist, sans buttons. The buttons are on order and may take as long as a month to come in. Needless to say, I didn't wait for the buttons to wear it to work. I seriously love that sweater. SERIOUSLY.



I love that sweater enough to model it even with my hair cut too short. I hope you appreciate the sacrifice. (By the way, with short hair the difference between a bad haircut and a good haircut is about 2 weeks.)



IMHO Twist looks great from the back, too.

In fact, I love Twist so much I immediately ran out for more yarn and cast on a second one.



Last night I was happily knitting like gangbusters on the brown Twist (what the hell are gangbusters anyway?) when I realized that I already have a brown cardi.



Granted, it's store-bought, but it's still brown.

Then, just as I was about to finish the waist shaping I decided to count the stitches on the needle. That's when I discovered that the cabling isn't centered. There are 2 more stitches to the left of the cabling than there are on the right. I wanted to wad the thing up and throw it into a heap.

Instead, I set it aside and picked up my stand-by project - The orange Japanese Vines scarf.



I started that scarf in January.

Twist continues to live up to it's name.

Twist I Specs:
Pattern: Twist by Bonne Marie Burns of ChicKnits
Yarn: Cascade 220, 6 skeins
Colorway: 8892
Needles: Sizes 6 & 7 Additurbo Circs

Comments:
I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed knitting this sweater. However, I would caution other knitters not to following the pattern blindly. There are a large number of waist decreases. My waist isn't that skinny. I plan to do fewer decreases in the waist for Twist II. Also, the directions for the sleeves seemed long to me. I knitted the first sleeve according to the directions (18 inches to the sleeve cap). Then I decided to knit the second sleeve to my usual specs (17 inches to the sleeve cap and fewer increases in the sleeve - giving me a mite shorter sleeve cap). That turned out to be the right thing to do. Next, I had to rip back the first sleeve far enough to elminate the last 2 sleeve increases. Then I did not trust the notes I'd written and knitted merrily on when I should have begun the sleeve cap. So I had to rip and reknit the upper sleeve and sleeve cap of the first sleeve a third time. Some of us are slow learners, what can I say?

In the end it was all totally worth it. I expect to get a lot of wear out of Twist I. The jury is still out on Twist II.

Jacket or Bathrobe?

Last night I started the collar on Twist, but it’s taking longer than I anticipated. Natch.

In the meantime I found the perfect buttons. However, the Stitching Post only had 4, and I need 7. I placed an order for more, but they told me it could take as long as a month to come in. It seems Twist is living up to its name. Every time I think I'm close to finishing this thing, the project takes a new turn.

During the blog hiatus I finished the pink cardi. Well, it was intended to be a cardi/jacket, but it is fuzzy and pink – which calls to mind a bathrobe. I wasn’t sure I should even wear it to work, but the Knit Wits convinced me I could wear it to any meeting. (Thanks Molinda, Teresa, and Ellenmarie.)

Here's a closer look.

Specs:
Yarn: Peace Fleece worsted weight, 5 skeins
Colorway: Moscow Magic Pink
Pattern: My own
Width: 36 inches
Length: 22 inches (I think)

Comments:
This is the easiest cardi/jacket pattern in the world. There is no edging or collar to knit at the end – just the usual seaming. It’s a quick knit, too. I’m really happy with the fit and the drape. Still not sure about the pink, though.

The astute among you will notice I cut my hair. The experience has taught me a few things:


1. Even people with short hair can have bad hair days. Who knew?

2. It's possible to have hair that's too short. (Not in this pick. The hair cut I got on Saturday is REALLY short. Dave was both relieved and pleased when I admitted as much.)

3. Even short hair can require some work in the morning.

Live and learn.

Look! A Bog Entry!

Sorry about the long silence. In February I got side-tracked by the Obama campaign in the run-up to the March 4 primaries. The plan was to resume blogging on March 5th, but by then I guess I’d fallen off the blog wagon.

Although there hasn’t been any blogging, there has been knitting. The project du jour is the Twist cardi from ChicKnits. I love this pattern! It’s simple enough that I can watch TV while I knit, and I’ve been able to adjust the pattern to fit without having to alter the cables.

I had dreams of finishing Twist over the weekend, but it was not to be – largely because I had to knit, rip, and re-knit one sleeve cap 3 times due to stupid, stupid errors. I’ll explain when I post the finished cardi.



Last night I knitted the button bands. I followed Bonne Marie’s directions to the letter on the left side (which appears on the right in this photo) by casting off knit-wise on the wrong side of the fabric. For the right button band (which appears on the left in the photo) I took a cue from a comment posted on Ravelry and cast off in the knit 2 purl 2 pattern. Bonne Marie knows best. The edging with the knit-wise cast off from the wrong side of the fabric looks more stable and even than the cast-off in the ribbing pattern. Tonight I’ll rip back the ribbed cast-off and fix that.

I wasn’t clear about the directions for the last stitch of the ribbed button bands that forms the hem of the cardi. I did what I thought the pattern directed. Afterwards I decided I should have done my usual slip the last stitch with yarn in front, turn, then knit to the back of the first stitch. Of course I didn’t realize this until after I finished the edging on both sides.

I was at odds with myself about whether to rip back the edging on both sides completely or live with that wonky last stitch at the hem. By then it was late so I decided to sleep on it.



This morning I pressed one of the corners and decided I can live with the result. The next time I make Twist, and there definitely will be a next time, I’ll stick to my tried and true technique for getting smooth edges at the end of rows.



I plan to knit the collar instead of a hood, so with a little luck and determination I might finish Twist tonight. Ever the optimist.

Love Is...

Finding Dave’s scraped the ice off my car windows when I get ready to leave for work in the morning. It was 17 degrees.






A couple of weeks ago I placed an Internet order for Dave’s Valentine’s Day gift. I specified that the package should be delivered to me at my office. I had it all planned out. I’d wrap it and present it to him tonight before we go to dinner. Then I made reservations at a sea food restaurant he really likes.

Last week he called me at work to ask if I’d ordered something from West Marine. Turns out the package was delivered to the house instead of my office. RATS.

Then Dave’s weekend went to hell. We went to visit his family in Toledo, but his cell phone rang constantly. Two of his staff came down with the flu and there was wind damage at one of their facilities. Poor Dave. To cheer him up I told him about the dinner reservations. That leaves me with no real surprises for tonight – other than what’s in the big box from West Marine.



To torture him a little I left it in front of the fireplace.



Meanwhile in keeping with the holiday I’m knitting something pink.

The yarn is Peace Fleece worsted weight. I’m using my own tried and true pattern. I swatched in woven stitch (see above) but did not think that did anything to enhance the yarn, which has slubs.



So I’m knitting this cardi in seed stitch, which can be pretty stretchy. I was careful to swatch in seed stitch, too.



So far I’ve finished the back.



Right now I’m working on the first front panel. I’m counting on making some serious progress over the coming 3 day weekend. However, my son Brian is coming home from college for the week. That means my time will be up for grabs.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Getting My Bearings

The flu struck last week out of nowhere. I only missed 1 day of work but it feels as though I lost a week of my life. How does that happen? Something about the time warp continuum I’m sure.

The flu left me terribly achy. Even the palms of my hands hurt. Precious little knitting got done. The upshot is that I didn’t finish Brian’s hat until last night.



Pattern: Skip
Book: Hit Knit Hats
Yarns: Peace Fleece worsted weight, colorway: Zarya Fog; Malabrigo merino lace weight, colorway: Oceanos; and some black dk weight merino from my stash
Amounts: Unknown
Needles: Size 9 DPN

I'm not wild about knitting from multiple skeins at the same time, but I'm pleased with the result I hope Brian likes it.

Still working on a cardi I started the week before last. I’ll fill you in soon.

Cardi Interrupted

Dayton is a strange place. The banner headline story on the cover of this morning's Dayton Daily News was not about the Superbowl upset or the Super Tuesday primaries, as one would expect. Nope. Instead the story was about pending legislation to classify alpacas as livestock in Ohio. Maybe there are more knitters and alpaca farmers in Dayton than I thought.

It was another nice weekend. I finished a mystery and read another one, worked out both days (20 minutes at level 2 on the LifeCycle - still working on that), and knitted some. We saw Juno on Saturday - a hillarious movie. Yesterday we drove down to UC and had dinner with my son John.


I started a cardi/jacket last week and had planned to blog about it today. Then I got an email from my son Brian asking for a hat. He's at school in Boston and, knowing Brian, he's probably freezing his tuchus off. So of course, I dropped everything and cast on a hat.

Brian said his winter coat is a light blue. (I haven't seen it. His father bought it.)

I wasn't sure how to make a "manly" hat that would match a light blue jacket. After some stash diving and experimentation, I mixed Peace Fleece worsted in the Zarya Fog colorway, black dk weight merino, and lace weight merino Malabrigo in the Oceanos colorway. I'm hoping the merino yarns will soften the fabric some. The Peace Fleece is a bit scratchy. The overall effect is really warm and heavy, though. I've got to finish this baby up and get it in the mail before the next onslaught of winter.

Take My Advice

Hi Hill:

How’s it going?

Congrats on your “win” in FL.

I saw you in KCMO last night on CNN. I was watching the election returns, but I confess I had the sound turned down. You looked good but tired. Get some rest.

Listen hon, stop whining about how it’s harder for a woman to campaign than it is for men. Women know that, and men don’t care.

I also saw Bill speak on Saturday night after Obama took SC. He went on and on about HIS accomplishments. What’s that got to do with the price of pantyhose in Peoria? You need to put a muzzle on that man and keep him on a very short leash.

Btw, what IS the price of pantyhose in Peoria? Have you hit any outlet malls on the campaign trail? More importantly, have you found any good yarn shops?

I saw you on Face the Nation a week or so ago. Every time Tim asked you a hard question you dissed Obama. What’s that about? When people ask you hard questions, answer them. People want to get to know you. Charm them. Show them your playful side. Tell them about that New Years Eve party when we played Truth or Dare and you drunk-dialed Dick Cheney or do your Anne Coulter imitation. That still cracks me up every time.

What’s this BS about you being the best candidate because you were First Lady for 8 years? Would you hire me to fly Air Force One just because I’ve been married to a pilot for 5 years? Take my advice, sweetie. You need a new strategy. Your current strategy of casting Obama as “The Black Candidate” and riding Bill’s coat tails or hiding behind his skirts is going to set the Women’s Movement and the Civil Rights Movement back 50 years. Gives voters the impression you’d do anything to win. Reminds them of W in 2000. You don’t want people confusing you with a Republican do you? I didn’t think so.

Right now you should be playing up Obama’s youth. No one wants a a gynecologist or a president who’s younger than they are. Trust me. On the other hand, they might like to see a Clinton-Obama ticket. If you don’t want to disenchant the African American community, you’d better make nice.

So call me if you need help fine-tuning your message. Next time you’re in the neighborhood we’ll send the guys sailing and the women will have a good old fashioned weenie roast. Heh.

Hang in there.

Hugs,

Suz