20 rows to go
Sometimes, things just drag on and on and on. I have 20 rows to go on the front of Skimmer, and that purling back takes forever. Of course, it’s also increasing by 2 stitches every fourth row. I expect the back will go much faster, since it will be decreasing at that rate. Muhahahahhahah.
In other news, I have a headache. It is a new kind of headache, like a band around, but up and down, not across, my head, and with shooting pains down into my jaw, mostly affected my left side. Not fun.
Good Morning! GiveAway! Menu Plan Monday! Ghandi!
Yes, I said morning! I’m posting in the morning again, because I think I am wittier and more entertaining then. I’m still going to be short and sweet, because, HI! it’s Monday, and Monday is just so dang Monday-ish. Of course, at a fluffy five foot nothin’, I am short and sweet all the time 
Ok, today was the day I had planned to give away A Fine Fleece. I think I really messed that up by pulling an old entry and updating it and adjusting the time stamp. I know a lot of you read on the feed, and I think the feed readers disregarded that since in “cyber speak” it was not a new post. There were only 4 entries, and I feel like it’s a discredit to the publisher to complete the give away today when I usually get over 50. I know knitters still love books, so I know I must have messed up something somehow. Please look over in the sidebar, and you’ll see “Enter Here” over a picture of the book. That link takes you to the contest entry post. I will close the contest next Monday, abundant entries or not, and I am updating that post to reflect same. Or, if you don’t need to see a picture of the book, you can just click here.
Now for Menu Plan Monday. You will recognize these items. I just got to the grocery store Friday night. (No wonder I feel hard pressed if it takes a major maneuver just to get out to buy food, LOL). I now have the ingredients for the food I planned for last week, and so that’s what we will be having.
Corny bites (I’ll talk more about these after we try them) with refried beans and some sort of Mexican rice.
Chili with Cornbread
Beef Stroganoff
Tacos
And that’s all I am planning for now. You can participate in Menu Plan Monday by clicking on this banner, but don’t go yet, there’s more from me underneath it!
Ghandi: I put this movie in my BlockBuster Q awhile back, and it has been sitting here on my desk for a couple of weeks. I spent the weekend pretty much unplugged, as I indicated in my that post on Friday. That means that I did not get the lesson plans made. I realized that late yesterday evening, and then I realized that this made today a perfect day for watching Ghandi. I went to see it when I was in school, and I wanted to share it with my kids. FWIW, I also saw the Hobbit as a school field trip. Yes, I had one extremely cool teacher. I’ll work on the lesson plans while we watch. Then I’ll probably finish Skimmer AND read a book. Ok, maybe not all that, but it is over three hours. We’ll start right after lunch, and I’ll try to remember to let you know how it went when I post tomorrow.
GiveAway Reminder. Also, apologies.
This has been a real lackluster week at Cass Knits. See, I even left off the ! because it has been so. stinking. dry. I have been so busy with the house and the schooling, and all the other stuff and would you believe? Another wake yesterday! Therefore, there was no Cass in the Kitchen yesterday, there will be no Online Craft Club today, and I think I am going to take the weekend to basically unplug.
Oh. Except for the lesson plans I have to write. See what I mean? It’s just not letting up!
Anyway, please remember to enter the giveaway. I’m not quite sure what happened this time, but I think the fact that I used a previous post to announce it may have affected it. I’ll see you Monday.
Finally Knitting
and moving right along too! I took Skimmer with me Sunday, but I did not knit a single stitch. # hours there, three hours back, and I did not knit. That is incredibly strange for me!! Nonetheless, since I got past the boobs, I am able again to pick it up and work it while I help the children with their schoolwork, and I just finished up a ball of yarn a few minutes ago!
I am doing mine a little differently than I instructed last Friday. I know what I said will work, and I am not exactly sure how what I am doing will turn out. I am not decreasing on the arm sides, and those extra stitches will be the beginning of my cowl. I’ll just join the shoulders to the first X stitches, once I figure out what X will be, but I am thinking 9 (2 inches). That is enough to cover my bra strap, but I may put a safety flap on the shoulders anyway, just because I think it is such a neat concept, and also, who wants to be hitching at their clothes, yk?
GiveAway: A Fine Fleece by Lisa Lloyd
I knew I would like this book when I read the first paragraph of the introduction. The author said, “I tell a story with my yarn and my stitches, building one upon the other until, chapter upon chapter, the story is complete.” and I nodded my head in agreement and understanding. I totally knew what she meant, and I think you probably do too. You can tell the story of your days in your projects, after you’ve been doing it awhile. This is the blanket I worked on for a year, sneaking out of the house to go to my mom’s so it would be a surprise for dh. These are the socks I finished while laboring with DaBaby–see how this toe is different because I lost track of my short rows?
The difference between me and the author, though, is that I don’t spin. Yet. Luckily for me, she has shown each project in this book in commercial yarn as well, and mighty fine projects they are! A couple of them have to go on my list. The Kearsarge is one of them. The play of textures across the different elements of the sweater is just fun to look at! The body is basket weave and the sleeves are mistake rib. The placketed neck open makes for a sweater that is both dressy and comfortable.
And what’s with the cable trim lately? Espresso is a simply divine cardigan with cables on the edges. And it’s modeled in an absolutely luscious shade of pink. I think I might have mentioned that I have a not-so-passing fancy for pink. I mean, I really like pink. Given a choice between pink and not pink, I’m almost always going to go for the pink. Unless the other color is red, and then we’ll have to flip a coin.
You know, I haven’t had the dye post out in a while, and while I would love to learn to spin, I have to be honest and admit that I cannot cram one more piece of crafting gear into this house. And then there is that no buying stuff thing. Maybe I should dye the yarn for these projects. In the spirit of creating the yarn and all. Not because I enjoy it or anything. Of course, by the time I get to these sweaters, I may be able to order anything I want, including a spindle!
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Edited to add:
I wasn’t ready to do another give away when I wrote this review on the 8th, so I held off. I am, however, ready to start one now! So let’s do it. Okay? okay! Here’s a re-cap of how to enter:
The contest will start when I hit publish, and will run through midnight April 27th. I’ll announce the winner via random number on Monday May 5th. You can get an entry by commenting on this post. You can get another entry by “stumbling” this post. (You can use the button right under the post (or your toolbar) to do that.) You can get two more entries by writing about this give away on your own blog with a link back to this post. And let’s throw in an experimental entry method: if you are a member of a crafty type forum, and you post about this giveaway with a link back, you’ll get another entry. You’ll need to come back and let me know you’ve done that by leaving a link to your forum post in the comments.
If you have never commented on this blog before, then your comment will be moderated. I’ll approve it as soon as I get back to the keyboard
I think that’s enough fine print, let’s get started!
Good Luck!
Online Craft Club Show and Tell #29
Well, how are are you? I’m a busy bee as you know if you’ve been looking at my pictures. I’ve not been knitting as much as I usually do, because so much else has been going on. However, I am through with the body on Skimmer! It looks like this:
I don’t know why I thought holding it up against me would make a good picture, but there it is, nonetheless.
So! If you are knitting along with me, we are ready to make the boobs. We are going to short row those, kinda like Mariposa. If you have made this sweater as form fitting as I said originally, you will definitely be needing some short row-age. I don’t think you’ll be able to get anything beyond a wannabe-A in there without them. Our sweater isn’t adjustable so we are going to have to build more than just darts. We actually have to build a <>, and so we will use 2 times the rows that the pattern recommends, and start from middle.
Go ahead and divide the sweater front front and back, work an inch past the middle front, wrap and turn, and work 2 inches, wrap and turn, work an inch past the first wrap (picking up the old wrap as you go) and wrap and turn. Work back to an inch past the second wrap (picking up the wrap as you go). Continue in this way,
4 rows for an A
8 rows for a B
12 rows for a C
16 rows for a D
and 20 rows for a DD
If you are bigger than a DD, you’ve already been doing this kind of math and probably don’t need my help. These numbers are based on worsted gauge, so if you are using something else, adjust accordingly. That completes the \__/ and now we just go back the other way for the /–\ (dang my inability to just reach out and DRAW a shape on the internets!). So instead of going wider and wider, we’ll go an inch less with each row. When you get to that pivot row, you won’t be able to pick up the wraps anymore, obviously, so well pick them up on the next pass. Also, as you pass that row, you should start seeing a bra shape form in the sweater.
Ok, I think I have sufficiently muddied the waters for ya! If you are indeed knitting along and you don’t understand what I have said, please, please, PLEASE! leave a question in the comments. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Also, next week, I will try to post some closeups of my work so you can have a look at what should be happening.
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Here’s how to play:
Take a picture of your current project, whatever that happens to be. Or maybe one you recently finished. Or the materials for the one you are about to start. Let’s say materials for a project in whatever state it happens to be in at the time you snap it. On Friday, post the picture and tell us about your project. What you did, or what you are going to do. How much you are enjoying it, or hating it. You know–show and tell.
Just copy & paste the code below the graphic and get crafty with me!
Be sure to come back and leave a comment so we know where to find you!
I want to thank the kind folks at Powerful Signal for sponsoring the Club this week, where you can pick up a cell phone repeater should you need one.
Technorati Tags: Online Craft Club
Just Shoot Me Now
I had to rip my sweater AGAIN. My gauge is looser than I remembered. My notes clearly indicate 4.5 stitches/inch, but I calculated at 5. Note to self: you make notes to self to help you later, so use them! Seriously, I am tired of re-starting, If knitting were can be compared to fitness equipment, then this project has become a treadmill: Always knitting, never making progress. In fact, I think that this week’s Online Craft Club may contain a first. For almost 30 weeks, the projects have grown as I’ve showed them from week to week. This edition may hold the first shrinking project.
Ripping and Walking
I had to rip my sweater back, ya’ll. Five inches times the width of my hips is a lot of stitches, but it was decreasing too fast. There’s just not that much difference between my hips and my ribcage. Not long after I recast-on, I grabbed he kids and the mp3 player and we went for a walk. I took several shots, but here is the first. I’ll share more later.
