I feel like i need something tangible before I just go & start casting on stitches. But alas... the season for scarves is over & I haven't finished a scarf I started in February. I mean the garter stitch guys... booooooring! It proves to be a nice scarf tho. I have one of my own, the cream colored one that I knotted at both ends.
OH... tip of the day. When I start some projects and I want a nice tight looking yet stretchy start ("cast on") to my work, I cast on double the number of original stitches & then K2tog for the first row & then proceed w/ the pattern. I do this b/c i tend to cast on WAY too tightly & I almost always use the long tail cast on.
I think I'm going to create a glossary of terms. Why not, right... yeah. Eventually I will.
Leg warmers [original post] for my sister are done! Oh, buttons are expensive, more so that I thought. 18 plain black buttons + shipping = $15.50. They had ones that I wanted at Jo-Ann Fabrics, but when I asked for 18 they said that their stock of buttons were limited (only 8 available in the whole store!) & suggested I look online for the brand. Anyways they're done; here are the pictures.
I have to say they look much better sans jeans, but what can ya do... we were short on time.
So I'm currently working on a ribbed lace bolero. This will be my third time making this. The first time I made it WAY too small for myself. So I made it again & it was still too small. So I gave it to my oldest sister, who is smaller than me; btw she's a mother of three children. [yeah...]
So I'm using the same color as pictured. I don't consider myself a large framed person & my measurements were similar to the sample. I eventually realized my gauge was WAYYYY smaller than the creator of this lovely pattern.
So i decided to go much bigger. Lesson learned:
test your gauge before proceeding to make the
whole garment b/c recasting is WAY better than
unraveling a whole garment upon completion. [and I did unravel the first one I made b/c there's no one that I know who is THAT small.
I suggest that your cast on about 22 [multiple of 4+2] & jump straight into the pattern:
row 2: p1 (p1, p1 into first yo, p1 into the back of the second yo, p1) repeat lace pattern until 1 stitch left, p1
for a few rows & measure. Did you waste some time? NO! You are knitting smart.
I am what I like to call a "conservative knitter" which is opposite of what it sounds like if you're thinking yarn. I knit tight. I end up using more yarn so I'm not conservative in that aspect, but yeah... I think you get it.
Anyways... here's video of how to do these confuzzling "yo, yo" & "p1 into first yo, p1 into the back of the second yo" that I had oh so much trouble figuring out. Here you go,
don't mind my stuffy nose!!!
Here is the cable knitting portion of the Ribbed Lace Bolero.
Here's the bind/cast off for this pattern; Elizabeth Zimmerman's sewn bind off.
Black Box Vintage: 2007 Product of California Appellation: "Finest growing regions" Grape Veriety: Merlot Average price: $20 for 3 liters (4 bottles) wow!
Appearance: Color : dark purple, similar to two buck chuck Thickness : viscous
Nose: Aromas : dark berries; cherries, raspberries, strawberries Length : short finish
Taste: far from dry, light bodied, not intense at all, very soft tannins, very light finish
Other Comments:
It's easy to drink. Apparently it's all the rage to drink wine out of a box in Europe, at least that's what the box tries to convince you of doing. Their catch phrase; "Think inside the box." Yeah, cute. I'm not saying the wine is bad, but I doubt that wine connoisseurs (myself being far from one) will ever get over the stigma of drinking wine out of a box. When i poured myself a glass, I way over poured. If it comes out of a box, you're usually drinking as much as you can. Okay... maybe only in college. Well, I'm getting buzzed b/c it's so easy to drink. I put some in my pasta bake... gotta go check on that!!
Comes with directions on how to open the box. Just incase kiddos! Located on the bottom on the box! I'm proud to say that I opened the box w/out the instructions & found them conveniently when I took pictures.
Haha, forgive me, I've had almost the whole glass now. OH, my pasta.
This commercial was from last year & I'm pretty sure most people don't know what Tesco is b/c I sure don't. Well, okay now I do, thank you wikipedia. I <3 V. Becks... well now you know!
I got my first unofficial request to replicate and item, or sort of make it my own via one of my sisters. Betsey Johnson's Buttons Up! Legwarmers in black, but they also come in white.
Okay so I def forgot to keep the small ribs going up the line of buttons. Oops! Otherwise, I've completed one & started the second. I should have used the Elizabeth Zimmerman sewn bind off, but I was sans sewing needle at the time, so yeah. I casted off way too tightly & didn't realize until I had chopped the tail from it's ball. *sadface* so i had to unravel and recast off w/ some added yarn. We'll see how it looks later w/ buttons and all.
So I haven't baked b/c I don't think I'm good at it. Well moreso with "baked goods" (i.e. cakes, breads, ... k you get it). I was invited to the bf's aunt's for Thanksgiving. They buy a smoked turkey and ham from N. Carolina! Last year I remember thinking why the turkey was red, but I was told that it was smoked. This year it came out too salty for my liking but hey, what can you do, it's a hit or miss. The ham was great tho! I missed mashed potatoes, but turnips sort of made up for it! They're delicious btw! There was various other things too.
So now that I've wasted some of your time w/ that banter, all I really wanted to say was: I made a pie, an apple pie. Here it is.
Lattice pattern on top w/ some leaves for fall... well I think of leaves during Thanksgiving. I used Granny Smith apples, should've used one or two more, I forgot that food tends to shrink when you cook it. Oh well, it was gone before any of the other pies, store bought ones I might add! [Thank you, thank you!]
I miss cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Okay, okay, so I've only done it twice. I don't stray from the traditional, but you can't go wrong with classic flavors! I vow to make my own Thanksgiving feast next year! Maybe I'll just throw a middle of the spring Thanksgiving dinner. Actually, that sounds like a plan! [You can tell I'm really exited b/c I've used about 75 exclamations points.]
