M(y P)ariah February 20, 2007
Posted by La in FO, Knitting.add a comment
Jodi’s at it again! Go visit her at Knit & Plenty and check out her Oscar Nomiknitations for this year’s awards! (Later on you’ll have a chance to vote for your fave.)
So I was on the phone with Debi the other day and she brought up a good point: How come I have yet to mention anything about my now-completed Mariah? I mean, yeah, it had been off the needles and languishing in my closet sans zipper and with shitty seaming for over 2 years. And now, thanks to FKD, it not only has a perfectly matched zipper, it now has beautiful, invisible seaming. So, why is it STILL just hanging in my closet, unblogged, unworn and unloved?
Nope, it’s not the color, which I totally love. And no, it has nothing to do with the DH’s mad photo skills.
Nor, is it because of the gorgeous cabling, which I am uncharacteristically very proud of. I actually like the longish sleeves too. And even though it should be, it’s not because I’m ashamed that I was too lazy to finish it, instead opting to take up a good friend’s offer to finish it for me.
Let me give you a little hint. I’m not actually slouching in that first photo.
Give up?
I’m having serious issues with this neckline, both in fit and finish. The rest of the sweater fits very well, except for this neckline, which is gapey and slouchy and the edge looks unfinished. Now, to the untrained eye of Average Joan-On-The-Street, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this sweater, and if I were to wear it out, I’m sure I’d get some nice compliments on it. But to the discerning eye of the experienced hand-knitter, that neckline screams “first sweater” (which it actually was), and I’m not quite sure what to do about it.
Other pertinent info? Mariah is a hoodie. And yes, I have 1 ball of yarn left.
Any advice?
Another FO…of sorts. February 12, 2007
Posted by La in FO, Family.add a comment
Marina Sol
February 5, 2007; 6:55 pm
8 pounds, 8 ounces; 20 inches
The proud parents, Chrissy and Carlos pre-arrival. Having never met the baby’s father before the one thing I can be sure of is thank GAWD he’s at least good-looking.
See? Even at 1 week old, Mama’s teaching Marina what’s important in life: Notice the sheep on the left? NEVER too early to start!
A precious moment with mother and daughter.
I think this one’s my favorite so far. Makes me want to hop the first flight to Southern Florida, intrude on my favorite Orange’s mama’s hospitality for a couple of days, and then drive the hour or so just to meet my granddaughter. As if Chrissy needs her well-meaning-but-probably-interfering step-mom to show up on her doorstep, which just so happens that, for the time being, is also her mother’s doorstep. That’d be a teensy bit awkward, dontcha think? Guess I’ll just have to be patient and see them in Colorado in July.
But it’s just SO hard!
Urge to snuggle….rising…
Finally! This Mo-Fo’s an Eff’d Oh. February 8, 2007
Posted by La in FO, Shout Out.add a comment
Seraphim directly off the needles back in October…
…and Seraphim now, a mere 4 months later. Yup, lightning-fast, huh? Wendy’s got nothing on me!
Specs:
Pattern: Seraphim by Miriam Felton
Yarn: Elann Peruvian Baby Silk in Sapphire. Oh! so soft!
Needles: US Size 5 Denise Interchangeables
Gauge hah! You should know me better than that by now.
Comments: I was feeling so guilty about how long it took me to finally get around to test-knitting this, that I felt compelled to really dedicate myself to “helping” with the design.
One of Mim’s initial concerns was that the charts were too long, having to be printed on legal size paper because they wouldn’t fit on regular 8.5 x 11. Here is where I focussed my attention. I decided to fold the charts in half, and knit the shawl in the Peacock Feathers fashion, namely, knit the first half of the shawl using the half of the chart that was showing, and then knit the second half using the same row of the same chart in the reverse direction. Now, this has it’s advantages, mainly, long charts printed on legal-sized paper with itty bitty characters can now be blown-up, printed on standard paper, thus relieving the need for squinting, magnifying glass and optimum lighting. The drawback? The biggest one was having to remember to make my decreases lean the right way on the second half of the shawl. Which requires thinking…which is hard to do when this is your TV knitting.
There were other minor problems but I think that was more due to the ineptitude of the knitter and not the designer. But there was this one chart section where I was having to shift the stitch markers every lace row even though neither the chart nor the pattern indicated the need to do so. Because if this, I was so afraid of the outcome, I didn’t block it for 2 months. But, after blocking everything seems to be where it’s supposed to be, so I guess I did it right, and I fretted for nothing.
So my only recommendation to Mim is, if you want to make the size of the charts more manageable, consider doing the half chart thingy. Otherwise, there were really no errors I detected. Sorry it only took me a year to finish and come to that conclusion!
Now, if you look closely at the FO picture, there are a couple of visible errors in my knitting, but nothing significant enough for me to go into cranial meltdown. Besides, the little soul to whom this shawls was dedicated was kind of fucked up in his own right. I think it’s only fitting that his shawl be a little fucked up too.
And look, even after all this time without him, finishing the knitting and then soaking and blocking, I still have a bit of him in the shawl.
This alone is reason enough to love it.
Hell’s Bells & Jammie Time February 2, 2007
Posted by La in Pets, WIP.add a comment
I am happy to report that, except for a couple of isolated incidents in Malibu and Santa Clarita, Los Angeles is snow free. In other words, hell has NOT frozen over. But I’m afraid one of the satan’s minions has escaped, and is now residing at Casa de La.
She looks harmless enough doesn’t she? All innocent and cute and loving and comfy and snuggly. La’s perfect little snowflake angel… (more…)
