Cast on, Cast off, Cast on.....

YAY!

I have cast on for my Pinwheel Sweater! Not just cast on, but on row 20. Of, like, 40 million.

I realized that Magic Loop is NOT hard to do and that I already, in fact, knew how to do it. I just didn't know the name and thought I had thought it up myself. There is nothing new under the sun, evidently. I don't like DPNs and when I made Connie's hat I didn't have DPNs and therefore had to creatively figure a way to decrease the top of the hat. The only difference is I didn't use a super-long cable, just a regular sized one for the project, so that made it more difficult.

So I cast on! And knit a couple rounds! And then frogged it. I had somehow done something wrong that I can't remember now. So I cast on again! And knit EIGHT rounds! And was excited! Until I realized I had 55 stitches and needed 48, with no idea where the extra seven stitches came from. So I had to frog four rows to get back to where I had the right amount of stitches and start back over. Luckily Katrina was online and she is much more clever than I and suggested that maybe when I had frogged a few stitches in one of my rounds I had accidentally made several increases (M1: picked up a piece of yarn in between loops and used it as a stitch, thereby increasing how many stitches I had). She was extremely right. So I frogged and re-knit. And got all the way to round 16, when I realized I had somehow turned the yarn around and my wrong side had magically become my right side, so the knitting was backwards. UGH. So I frogged, yet again, and worked my way back up and now here I am!

If I didn't make so many dumb mistakes this really would be an extremely fast knit. My "deadline" of having this done by the end of February is very realistic. That's enjoyable. I like things that are fun and look pretty and go fast and teach me something in the process.

Katrina was also instrumental in offering moral support when I was trying to figure out the math to make the sweater an inch larger all the way around. Moral support is very important in knitting. The pattern says it fits most sizes conveniently in small/medium/large, but it doesn't explain what the actual size proportions are for s/m/l. So! I'm going to take a chance that this is made for those slightly more compact than I (and not pregnant) and increase the size a bit to make it more comfortable. At first I thought I could just add a couple extra rounds of each color and that would do the trick. Then I realized I'd have to make sure the sleeves are where they're supposed to be and not too far forward or back. That means math. Yay math. Not really. So I figured out the stitches per inch (actually, I don't have to figure that out....the pattern tells me). For some reason I thought I should add an inch of each color. I guess that worked out in my head somehow. Then I thought about it and realized that would give me five whole extra inches all the way around and the sleeves would definitely be in the wrong place (I think it was five...maybe it was seven). So if I want just an inch over all..............I knit two extra rows of each color and move my provisional cast on (eek I'm scared) up two rows. Ta-da! I should have at least a proportional sweater, if not one that fits decently.

I think that's all right....I forget what the specific numbers all are, but I KNOW I knit an extra two rows per color. It works out, I promise. Katrina was with me all the way!

So, that's my story so far of my Pinwheel Sweater. I'm feeling good about it. I hope it turns out ok. I stopped at round 20 because I have to join another color and I'm not confident in that ability just yet. So I'll do that tomorrow or Sunday when I have the brain function and time to sit down and focus on it. I know it isn't hard to do, but I don't want to keep screwing up. Focusing is going to be the life lesson of this project.

And for no reason, this is what I made David for Valentine's Day. It's just a little thing that I felt like doing, no real special anything. I used the Brighton's tin which contained the bracelet my brother gave me for Christmas and painted it green with an airplane dropping heart bombs. It's Valentine's-y, right? I put medicine in it because he gets headaches and heartburn at work sometimes and never has any medicine to combat them. Yay.

Happy Friday. Have a great weekend! And don't forget to click the ads...

A tale of two lists

The to-do and the have-done....

Today I:

1. Ordered the five skeins I needed for my Pinwheel Sweater. Decided on the Dusky Lavender over the Victorian Rose and got three more skeins of Peridot after realizing I mistakenly ordered too few.

2. Went to Michael's looking for yarn for the baby blanket. Didn't find it.

3. Went to A.C. Moore looking for yarn. Learned I could use Michael's coupons there, but could only use one coupon per day. Bought one skein of baby blanket yarn and two little bags of beads to make more eyeglass chains.

4. Went to interpret an emergency DCF situation.

5. Went to my cousin's house and COMPLETELY SEWED MY MATERNITY DRESS*!

I just wanted to have the dress cut out and finished by the end of February. Abby is great! I really enjoyed my time there today. And I feel so productive!! So productive I'm not doing anything tonight except updating this and the other one and going to bed. :) Tomorrow I will go back and get my other skein and the missing pieces for Caity's project and finish that up so I can send it Monday. Then I will cast on for the baby blanket and the Pinwheel Sweater, provided they don't take the same size needles. I've decided to go ahead and post pictures of Caity's thing when I'm done. I'm sure she doesn't read this and even though 'Trina does, it will be different enough to still be a surprise.

So what do I have left on my list?

Baby blanket, Pinwheel Sweater, Caity's thing, pink maternity shirt, navy blue dress, arm warmers, cloth pads, and 5 hour sweater.

I bought the yarn for the blanket and sweater, so I can consider those started. If I can get the shirt pattern cut, I'll consider that started, too. The navy blue dress has the shoulder seams sewn, so that's started. And I have 3/4 of one arm warmer completed. I'm getting there!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for.....The pictures! Excuse the ridiculous look on my face. I was laughing. For this dress, I used a heavier fabric than the pattern called for (I used a medium cotton and it suggested rayon or georgette), omitted the lining (which wasn't the smartest, but makes it more comfortable and is easier to sew), and omitted the sleeves. I also made the zipper two inches longer than it asked for because it was what I found. The zipper is my favorite part of the whole construction. I found it for 50 cents at a thrift store yesterday while we were walking to the beach and it is the PERFECT yellow of the pattern. Yay!

Yay! Dress! It looks better without the t-shirt under it, but I didn't want to put my sweater over it because then you couldn't see the dress. It's really cute and David likes it. Thanks, Abby!

Oh, incidentally....The yarn I bought for the baby blanket is TLC Cotton Plus in Spruce, although I'm thinking of taking it back and getting the Thistle I used for the Christmas washcloths. I'm

not sure. I haven't taken a picture of it yet. Once I get started I'll try to remember to do so.

Ok....Time to update the other one and head off to bed.

*Abby did the darts, zipper and hemmed the neckline and arm holes. The dress is also unhemmed at the bottom and is still missing a hook-and-eye closure.

edit: I'm too tired to update the other one. Maybe tomorrow.

Timeline is a-movin'

So!

The shelf and scarf were completed and happily received! That made me very happy, even though neither were completed to the perfection I would have liked. That's ok. My dad was kind of unsure of the intense color of the shelf (I'm actually surprised he could even see the color with his color-blind-ness), but he seemed to warm up to it and said he would put it up in his office "just as it is." I have no idea what that means. but I'll take it as a good thing! He really seemed to like the scarf, which turned out better and worse than I expected. Who knew basketweave stitch would roll the sides with Lion's Brand Homespun? And I still feel awful I didn't have it in time for their trip, but he's going on another and maybe he'll get to use it then!

So there are two projects finished. Caity's isn't done, as I knew it wouldn't be. I have to run to the store and get two things I didn't realize I didn't have. Then I'll be done. Should I or should I not post pictures? I really want to, but I really want to make others the same thing, so I don't want to ruin it for them. Of course, since it's individualized and personalized, it won't really be the same thing, just the same idea. What do you think?

I didn't cast on for my sweater, either. I forgot I would need DPNs for it, which are still in use. So I have to figure out the Magic Loop technique, which doesn't sound too complicated. I think I may have accidentally done it before when I didn't know what it was called. I decided on the Lavender color, the middle purple in the first column of choices on the other post. I think that will help it flow a little more. Now I need to order it!

I didn't cut out my pattern or call my cousin, either. It's amazing how quickly the week gets past you! It was Thursday before I realized I hadn't called her yet. I thought it had only been a day since I had said I would. Nope, it was a week. I think I'm going to email her instead after I post this. I have an easier time remembering to email. Sort of. I need to email her daughter and I still haven't done it and it's freaking February! I've been meaning to email her since Christmas. I'm horrible.

And that's about it for now. Hopefully I'll have more to say by the end of the week!

Oh, I forgot to tell you....If you click on the link at the top of the page each time you visit, I get paid! It's not much, but it's something. I'm not allowed to click on it myself, I hope I'm allowed to tell you about it (I don't see why not), but it'd be cool if you did. They're all craft-related links Google adds to my site to generate business for them and pay me for bringing in the business. Danke shoen!