things I never told ya...

Reading socks - that’s what the millennials told me they are really called! And they were thrilled to get them! I know I love mine! Even made myself a second pair, using red, gray and black, sort of to match my ‘Lipstick and Smoke’ because I wear that a lot, just hanging around in the evenings. Someone had mentioned using lycra added to the ribbing and I thought, ‘oh I could try that’…DO NOT! What happens is the lycra shortens up the rows instead of the width and you end up with falling-down-socks. Even after washing, it was worse. Wore them a few times, still loved them and decided they needed a fix up.

Heh, heh, heh! I can graft with the best of them! I knit the new cuffs and took them off on waste yarn. Removed the non-working cuffs from the circular socks, rehung half and put on waste and then the second half. Grafted the cuff in place and seamed the cuff – good as new but better – I made the new cuff 30 rows instead of the original 25. They stay up beautifully! Here’s a tip – don’t throw away mistakes – save the evidence to remind yourself! Actually, after seeing the cuffs go wide like that, I remembered using the lycra for something like this before and it happened then too. I have now thrown away the remaining cone of lycra so I won’t be tempted to use it again next time I forget!
That pullover I was making for manfriend – on Boxing Day, I carefully rehung the neckline, was able to salvage it without having to re-knit anything except the neckband. Finished it off and gave it to him. Held my breath as he jammed his arms into it and yanked it over his head, just like a man who doesn't realize that maybe being a little careful might be a good thing... ah! it worked so smoothly, didn't even need an additional tug! He's happy, I'm happy, it looks good and fits exactly like I wanted and all is well!
Note to self, quit being such a drama queen!
Happy New Year to all! Talk to you next year!
P.S. Been watching ‘Project Runway’ – just love that Chrisitian Siriano – not necessarily his designs, just love his attitude and advice and he`s so cute! Apparently he has a line of ready-to-wear coming out in J. Jill in the New Year. I’m excited to see it!
P.S.S. Hope to see you in Pigeon Forge! They’ve (Tennessee Valley Machine Knitters – google them) asked me back – I promised a whole new/different two-day program from last year! It’s March 21, 22, 2020!

the hurry-er i go...

the behind-er I get!
There I was, on Christmas Eve early afternoon, trying to get a few minutes in, finishing up the manfriend pullover…what’s the hold-up you ask? Yeah, I know, eh? like from swatching to now, it’s been over two months! Thinking back, that ‘p’ word has become my middle name! Procrastinator of the first degree! I think because it never was my idea – he asked for it and said what HE wanted...
Anyway, I have a list of to-dos running through my head – gifts to wrap, dessert to make, thinking about the turkey-brining, wondering if I can NOT have to go to the grocery store one last time, does the kitchen floor really need mopping? while waiting for my d-i-l (who is chronically time-challenged and almost always at least an hour late, which I’ve already planned for!) to come by and worrying, 'is this neck opening going to be big enough? I'm sure he has a freakishly big head! I’m stupidly trying to get the neckband knit and on and needles to say (ha! ha!), as sure as the lord made little green apples, you know what happened! A stitch dropped in the middle of the front – it would never be in the back! and there’s a hole!
The doorbell rings and it's A (with the kids! their unwrapped presents are all over!)! Calmy, I set the thing down, hole and all, carefully, and go down.
I make us Christmas coffees, ban the kids from going upstairs and repeat to myself something I learned many years ago – it doesn’t matter what doesn’t get done because no one else knew you were going to do it! There is always another day and promissory notes to give!
Here’s some of the best advice I ever gave:
http://knitwords.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-two-cents.html
P.S.  been Netflixing `The Crown`, season 3, really liking it with the new cast and I have this barely controllable urge to get myself a string of pearls! Just one strand, not three...
Seasons Greetings!

sorry for being so quiet...

It’s not like I haven’t been knitting, just that I didn’t feel I had anything new to say. Knit a ton of socks, five pairs of knee socks and still had a few bits so switched to hats. Made several hats and finally, here it is December! I didn’t mean to leave manfriend’s pullover to the last minute, but with just two weeks to go, I’m starting to feel the pressure!

I had made a couple of swatches back in November and I’d been thinking of the details like hems and bands - this is going to be pretty plain but still!
I was going to use my ‘hem with chain stitch’ (page 98, The Handbook for Manual Machine Knitters)  - it looks like a nice, plain hem that you can start off with – well, actually you start off with every other needle which reduces the bulk of the backside of the hem and there’s a chain across the bottom edge to give a even, straight line because a guy really wouldn’t want a picot hem, would he?
Thinking I knew what I was doing, cast on every other needle, knit several rows, pulled the needles out and chained in behind and then thought, what the hay? that chain needs to be pulled through the row. Still figuring I was on the right track, I pulled the every-other-stitch through the chain, saying to myself, why didn’t I do this before?
Well, probably because it doesn’t work!!
At this point, I went and got the book to read up on how it was really supposed to be done. Got that accomplished and then decided this would look so much better if the ‘ribbed-look’ from the purl side was on the front which just means an RTR (remove, turn, rehang) and it would give the opportunity to have a few less stitches in the hem…oh gosh, another day gone!