Chapter 10: Friday Update 6.22.18

Livin' on Tybee time...with the World Cup.

Hiya! We had a great time in Savannah and Tybee Island, Georgia last weekend. I completely finished my Embrace of the Sun sweater, thanks to over three hours of car knitting each way. But I can't show it to you! Here's why...

Ripped back.

I finished this project on Monday and steamed it on Tuesday. It was beautiful. Wednesday I wanted to wear it to my weekly knitting group (hey there Eau Gallie Knitters!) so they could see my finished garment. I put it on and...oops. WAY too big! I mean, the lovely ballerina neckline sank down past my bra straps and tried to creep down my arms! The length was crazy long, and the increases below the bust made it look like a tent.

What did I learn from this?

1. I'm so used to buying big sizes in the stores, since I'm a large woman ("curvy" is what my husband calls it, bless him). If I'm an XL in a women's t-shirt then I assume I'm an XL in a knitted top. In this case, I got it wrong. My friend Gloria says the important measurement is actually above the boobs, under the armpits.

2. Trying on as you go doesn't always help. In this case, maybe the weight of the sweater pulled it down when it was finished. I did try it on as I went, and it seemed perfect.

3. You can fix mistakes.

I took the advice of my EGK friends and washed the sweater in warm water, delicate cycle. I laid it on a towel on my back deck in the hot sun to dry.

It didn't shrink.

Crocheted neckline.

So here's what I did. First I crocheted a border along with generous neckline, like this: one, two, skip, one, two, skip. I hope that tightens it up a bit.

Then, after a couple glasses of wine last night, I frogged it back from the bottom up to the row before all those increases.

I'm going to knit straight down for about five inches and call it quits.

If you want more info on this sweater, please go to my post from last week.

WORKS IN PROGRESS

MEERSCHAUM SOCKS BY SACHIKO BURGIN

Meerschaum socks.

If you haven't heard the buzz about the new issue of Laine magazine (Issue 5, Pastel), you're about to now! 

Pattern detail.

Laine Magazine has a new group on [DELETED], and I joined their group and am taking part in their KAL (Knit Along). I chose to make the Meerschaum socks mainly because I'm trying to finish the Embrace of the Sun sweater and have another lined up to knit for another KAL.

YARN: Brooklyn Tweed Peerie in Morel

YARN: Cascade Heritage Solids in Avocado

PATTERN: Only available through the Laine Issue #5 magazine. You can order it online (but not directly from Laine). I got mine from The Yarnery,  where I also ordered the Brooklyn Tweed yarn.

SPIRAL LACE SOCKS BY SOCKS À LA CARTE, AND ME

The spiral pattern emerges.

Since I was hyper-knitting Embrace of the Sun, I let these socks hibernate for a little bit, but I was able to add a couple of inches last week at my knitting group. 

I wish I could tell you what the yarn is! I got it on sale at our local yarn store and was such a newbie that I didn't know I should save the label. It's obviously a self-striping yarn, made for socks. At the same time I bought this, I bought another self-striper that was in the sale bin. That one, which you can see on my projects page in Ravelry, was Schoeller+Stahl Fortissima Socka Mexiko Color, and I do know that this yarn wasn't from that brand.

My sock project bags will be released on Etsy soon! Look for Groovemom.

As I said in my last post, the texture pattern is from a book a friend loaned to me. I'll link to that below. The rest of the sock is my recipe for my foot, based originally on Susan B. Anderson's How I Make My Socks (HIMMS).

WAVY SHAWL BY SKEINO LLC

A few more rows added.

This one's a fun project. Whenever I have a minute I pick up a random scrap and add a row or two. I love finishing projects because it gives me new yarn to add!



That's it for this week. See you next week with, hopefully, a finished sweater and a new one on the needles.

♕♕♕