Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Goldilocks Projects

Memorial Day weekend brought one day of sunshine sandwiched between two days of rain. The rain was welcome and now the garden and I look forward to warmer sunnier days. On Saturday we ate a simple grilled cheese/veggie/hummus sandwich dinner out on the deck. The sun was out and the wind was still. Broccoli salad and fresh strawberries rounded out the menu. The only thing that would have made eating outdoors better was potato chips. I rarely buy chips because they are trouble for me - I can't eat just one.

Sunday I finished this sweater for the second time. In the category of "be careful what you wish for" or "pride goes before or fall" or just plain knitting, here is the story. I washed and blocked the sweater and it grew several inches in length but thank goodness not in width. This sweater was too long. I tried it on and clipped a stitch marker to mark the row I wanted to be the hem. I tried it on again to make sure I had marked the length I wanted. Then I ripped out two eyelet/increase repeats of eleven rows each and bound off. I tried it on again and discovered it was too short. I put it back on the needles and reknit one repeat and the border. Then I washed and wet blocked it again. The sweater is quite clean. I was thankful this was a top down sweater that made for an easy fix. Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light is a wool/alpaca blend so I should have known the alpaca might stretch. I have one other sweater knit from this yarn and didn't have a problem but it is seamed. The hem on this flares a bit but I think that is part of the A-line shaping and I'm ok with it. I like the fit. I love the soft gray color and weight of the sweater and will enjoy it next winter.


I also finished Norah's hat. I cast on the first size and knit through the hearts and decided it was too small. The heart pattern makes the next size up quite a jump but better too big than too small. She will grow. The Berrocco Ultra Wool is a good choice of yarn for a little one. I haven't knit much with it but am keeping this superwash in mind for kid knits. It had a nice hand and is available in many colors and weights. While knitting, I tried two methods for jogless stripes but as usual the fabric came out distorted. I searched again and found three Suzanne Bryan's videos on jogless stripes. If you like to understand the technical aspects of knitting or just need to know how to do something, her videos are a good resource. I reknit this hat again in order to perfect the technique but now I've got it. Next up are matching mittens because a girl's hat and mittens ought to match and I have plenty of yarn.

Last week I returned to Toni Morrison's essay collection, The Source of Self-Regard. What a brilliant gifted woman. These essays make me think and nudge me toward viewing art, literature, race, and migration of peoples in new ways. In a lecture she gave in 1988, "Unspeakable Things Unspoken" the description of how and why she chose the first sentences in several of her novels is so interesting. I want to reread a couple of her books. If I missed so much in the first sentence, what else did I miss?  I plan to meander though the book for the rest of the summer. This is daytime reading for me.

I will link with Kat and the Unravelers so you are able meander around knitting blogs to see what others are knitting and reading.

Enjoy these last few days of May.




11 comments:

  1. With all that is going on right now, Toni Morrison seems to be the perfect person to immerse myself in! Thank you for the suggestion! And, I love that sweater, it looks fantastic on you and I think you will get lots of wear out of it! (hopefully not for a good bit of time though!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your sweater looks lovely - good work making sure it was exactly how you wanted it! Toni Morrison is incredible - I'm glad you're getting an opportunity to study her words more closely.

    I'm another potato chip lover but I OFTEN indulge and buy them. Oops.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think the sweater looks fantastic on you -- just the right amount of ease! I'm sure you'll get tons of wear out of it when the weather gets cold again.

    I have never seen yellow irises! I've spotted a few that have a pale yellow with the usual purple, but nothing like these!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I don't think I've read any Toni Morrison, but I think The Source of Self-Regard sounds like a great place to start. While I can't seem to finish a book, I do think I can muster the concentration to finish an essay. It will also help to have some things to mull over aside from our present situation. Love your sweater, hat, and irises!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good morning. I missed your last post, so had to play catch up. I love your garden. We moved to a condo/townhouse last year, and while the grounds are beautiful, the only place I have to do much planting are containers on my back patio, so that is what I have been doing. I have lots of tomatoes and peas and various herbs and flowers, so I do enjoy that. I would like to have a little more of a garden spot, but it is what it is. I love your sweater and it is good that you could fix it to fit the way you want it. I haven't read Toni Morrison, but as an English teacher, I probably should. Right now, I am reading Where the Crawdads Sing, which was so highly acclaimed last year. I am not sure I am loving it as much as some people did. Yes, I sure do know what you mean about potato chips. I have to stay away from them too, but I do love them, and when I get going on a bag, it is real trouble for me too. I hope you have a good week. Stay well and safe.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your sweater looks fabulous. I love the soft grey color and I bet you get a ton of use out of it. Well done. That is an awfully cute hat for Norah and matching mittens will be perfect. Maybe a Toni Morrison book will be my next. I have one or two in my bookcase that I have not read yet.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a herculean effort on the sweater. It looks so nice on you. Worth it Id say. I'm trying to read a fairy tale but I keep listening to podcasts instead......not a bad thing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have to just begin with those beautiful yellow irises! Oh, what gorgeous blooms. They remind me of the flowers in my grandmother's garden when I was a little girl. I really like your sweater, and I'm so glad you stuck with it and made the change you needed. It looks like a sweater that will get a lot of good wearing (but hopefully not until the cooler weather comes back again). The little heart hat is so sweet -- just perfect for your granddaughter.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I tend to embrace Jogging Stripes ;-) I printed a new Bingo card today and there are several spots for Toni Morrison. Happy almost June!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love your sweater and the way it drapes on you, it is a perfect fit!! Norah is going to love her new hat :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Glad you were able to get your sweater to fit just the way you like. It looks great on you.

    ReplyDelete