knitting school dropout

i decided there was no way in hell i was touching kid mohair in this kind of humidity.
i started fad-classic:

i like the pattern enough that i continued to knit despite all the crazy loose ends that kept getting tangled up in the 2 balls of yarn i was knitting the straps with. now the whole thing is joined in the round and it looks like it'll be cake until i have to pick up all those stitches from my not-so-neat edges later. i'm a little worried that it's going to be too small. i'm knitting the 34" size, but it looks tiny. i think i might skip the waist shaping, since my waist seems to have disappeared sometime this year anyway.
i temporarily re-covered this chair on my porch with some vintage fabric that i've had forever.

it's temporary, only because it's not a very heavy fabric, therefore not very durable. since this chair sits outside, in new england, it's days are numbered.
i have more knitting related things to blab about, but i'm hungry.
peace. for real.

Posted by melissa at 07:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

i forgot what it was like to have a few days off in a row! nice!
yesterday we went to providence and stuffed ourselves with falafel on thayer street. i'm not sure what is the matter with me, but even though i have been there maybe a hundred times, with zero problems, i managed to miss the exit getting there, and the exit for 146 on the way back. it all worked out in the end and i ended up adding another 8 rows to the cardigan when it was my turn to be passenger.
on the advice of my 82-year old cioci (aunt), i ripped out the bind-off on orangina and added another 1.5 inches. she was so right. i originally shortened the ribbing because i'm only 5'2" and most everything is too long.

but this is much better.
i wish i had better news about river. in all my travel, waiting room, and meeting knitting i managed to lose track and make a major mistake in the pattern and not notice for 3 repeats. it's ok, i can take it.
rip.
i started the whole thing over, but am only on repeat #1. don't get me wrong, this is an easy pattern. if you can k2tog and yo, you can do it. my need to multi-task is what screws me up every time.
today it will rain. today there will be much sewing and general craftiness up in here.

Posted by melissa at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

i'm on vacation all next week! we have lots of little trips planned (my idea, since i'm freaking out about how much my car repairs are going to cost this week), various beaches, a casino (so bad, i know!), and some other things that we haven't figured out yet.
i'm not much of a beach person, i avoid the cold water (can't swim), and spend my time reading, and usually falling asleep in the sun. this year, i'll be brushing up on my sign language, which i use for work. i'll also start knitting fad-classic, in a dark grey, as my current projects, one because of size, and the other due to fiber content, don't really seem like good beach knits.
i'm also looking for something to read, without knitting content. i'm leaning toward something by murakami, as i have only read wind-up bird chronicle before, and really liked it.
on to the knitting:
i've completed 2 pattern repeats on river:

and found a great vintage celluloid scarf clip to hold it closed later:

i've also made some progress on the brown cardigan, but won't be posting photos until it has 2 sleeves!

Posted by melissa at 08:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

i'm taking a little break from the cardigan today to begin river from rowan 38. i found the perfect yarn, madil kid seta, in a lovely blue with bits of copper, which has the same fiber content as kidsilk haze, the recommended yarn.
this is a great, easy pattern, and the results i have seen have been lovely. i'm going to try to get in a few pattern repeats before we head out for the evening.
here's a peek at the first 20 rows:

Posted by melissa at 06:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)