The Black Cardigan

With the beginning of the October Mystery Knit Along just days away, I have been concentrating on knitting my black cotton cardigan. I have progressed several inches past the arm divide. As I was nearing the end of the skein, I decided to start working on one of the sleeves.

I took a great picture with my phone camera of the completed 3/4 length right sleeve, with small dog included for scale, But it is on my phone. And my cell phone is only working for short bursts. And until the replacement comes, uploading is beyond it,

So instead, I am including a picture of Leo instead.

I really hope the replacement phone in here tomorrow. This is driving me crazy.

 

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Like Comfortable Shoes

This afternoon, after Bible Study and dropping off my cell phone for some software issues (gasp, no cell phone!), I came home and sat down to some knitting and and an old movie.

Uh, you were aware I have just a bit of a passion for old movies, weren't you. And if not, where have you been?

Anyway, the movie , Rhapsody in Blue, sounded ok. I hadn't seen it before but it was based on the life of George Gershwin. I missed the very first few minutes but right away I knew I would like it. The actors were some I remembered from some great movies. Well, I hadn't seen many with Robert Alda, but there was Joan Leslie (Jimmy Cagney's wife in Yankee Doodle Dandy), and Rosemary DeCamp (his mother in the same movie). And there was grumpy old Charles Colburn, and Oscar Levant, equally grumpy.

Great music! As I expected when it was about Gershwin. And by the time Alexis Smith came on, as usual playing the dame I love to hate, it was as though I had slipped on a comfy old pair of shoes.

I love old movies. Or did I already say that?

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Sleeves!

Well, sleeve holes anyway.

 

I was fighting a stuffy throat yesterday and so instead of going to Spin Guild, I stayed home and knit. As a result, I managed to get the sleeves divided on my Black Cotton Cardigan yesterday. You can see the eyelet pattern if you look closely.

I am at the end of four out of fifteen skeins as shown above. I plan on switching to the elbow to 3/4 length sleeves when I near the end of the next skein and then possibly the neckband too. After those I can sail through to the last skein before casting off and finishing button and buttonhole bands.

Doing it that way I can get as much length as I can, if I start running low on yarn. According to the book, I may be about 60 yards short. But with the shorter sleeves, that gives me wiggle room.

Not sure if I can finish before the Knit ALong that starts in October but I am making good progress on sweater number 9.

 

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And Onward We Knit

So now that I have finished and delivered sweater number 8 for the year, it is on to the next sweeter. Since I won't have the pattern for the October Mystery sweater until October (hence the name), I turned once again to the black cotton.

As I stated earlier, I frogged the tee. I mean black, cotton, stark stockinette on dark size 2 needles. What was I thinking? The repurposed yarn utilized into a eyelet cardigan on size 5 needles is knitting up much better. Especially with the lighter colored needles.

The white threads only serve to highlight the raglan seams while knitting, as well as keeping the stitch markers from falling off. They come out when the sleeves are separated off. Here is a close up of the eyelets.

Since this top down, there will be a garter row above each eyelet row, which are seven rows apart. I am using Ann Budd's book, the Knitter's Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters, using the raglan directions with my stitch pattern, and extra ease in front.

I'm not sure I can finish it before it is time for the October Mystery but I can keep knitting as fast as I can till then.

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It's Finished

After a bit of delay last evening for barn repair and gate hanging, I managed to finish Grace's Wallaby just a short while ago. The gate hanging was necessitated when Younger Son and Hubby tried to put two cattle totaling four foot wide in a pen with a gate three foot wide. And as any farmer knows, cattle won't go through a gate single file if they can almost fit double wide. "Almost" being the key word there.

Anyway, after all my baby sweaters from earlier this year, this one sure seemed to take a long time. Over a month. While there was no way that Gertrude could really model this sweater, she did consent to let me drape it over her.

I also, thanks to my most recent Craftsy class, managed to do an actual Kitchener stitch, on garter stitch. Needle and thread and everything.

It may not be perfect, but it's darn near. The grafted seam is on the middle of the right side and it blends right in.

I'm happy with it. I hope she likes it.

And now, on to the black cotton cardi. At least until time to start my October Knit Along.

 

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Joy and Dismay

First the joy. I am always delightfully surprised when my friends mention something about my blog. When someone I don't know posts a comment, I am completely go smacked that they read my blog!

Today was a gobsmacking day. There was a comment on yesterday's post about the Mystery KAL. (You know who you are, and thanks.) There are buttons listed on the supply list. That more than likely means a cardigan. Yea! I remember reading about buttons, that that fact flew right over my head in my worry. No worry, and I can't wait to start.

In the meantime, work continues on Grace's Wallaby. And rework as well. I had decided to work on it at Spin Guild today, instead of taking my wheel. I had started the hood and had progressed about four inches or so. Then, for no reason, it occurred to me. I had forgotten to increase after the ribbing. (That's the dismay part.)

Drat.

The other gals commiserated and suggested increasing there, and not ripping back. But I bit the bullet and removed the needle. Then before ripping, I carefully picked up the purl bumps on the first row of garter stitches. After that I frogged back and added the increases.

So I am back on the good again. A bit sadder, but hey, I did find more knitting.

Cat photo of my Leo included for no good reasons.

 

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Challenges

I have read on some of the blogs I follow about KALs, or Knit-ALongs. I thought they sounded like fun but like to control my projects, especially what and when I knit. I don't mind an occasional hiccup, like an unexpected baby. But for the most part I like to plan my projects.

So when I saw that Craftsy was offering an October Mystery Knit Along I was tempted enough to read further. The online instructor, Carol Feller, was one that I had enjoyed in a class on short rows. She lives in Ireland and I love her accent. The KAL project was a mystery sweater she designed and the KAL included the yarn. She also has some patterns I like, Irish/Celtic type. It would be something challenging.

The yardage per skein of the yarn with the mystery kit made me quite sure I knew the brand and line of yarn (I am such a yarn snob), and it was one I liked.

 

So I bit the bullet and ordered the kit. And then the doubts started. What if the yarn for a fall project was yellow or orange? I never wear those colors. I tried to tell myself that as a creative arts company, Craftsy would recognize that and pick a neutral color. But then I thought...eek! What if it's white? I would look like a marshmallow wearing it. I reminded myself that I was challenging myself.

And yesterday this came in the mail. A delightful neutral. And just the kind of yarn I thought it would be.

Now all I have to worry about is if the pattern is a cardigan. Or at least a pattern I can turn into a cardigan. I can't wear cardigans for any length of time. And I probably won't know till October. Just the wait may be a challenge.

 

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Apples!

It's apple season. I came home the other day to find Hubby had been to a friend's home and had helped pick some apples. These came home with him.

Prior to my batch of applesauce, the top basket was just as full as the other one. I hope to get a pie going, as soon as I get off line. I also thought about freezing some apples all sliced and seasoned for pie too. (With sugar, cinnamon and a dash of pumpkin pie seasoning.)

I am steadily decreasing the yoke on Grace's sweater. No recent pictures but the sides of the front are now split and the rows seem to be a bit shorter. I have to get cracking and get this done.

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