Green jumper - 2 steps forward, 1 step back

I felt pretty miserable this morning. My nephew stayed over and after a night of computer games and chocolate and a morning of sunshine and football, after he left I didn't know what to do with myself.  I caught up on Friday night tv (Castle season 2, a new favourite, starring Dr Pomatter himself) which was very enjoyable but still...what to do. So, I bit the bullet and ripped back the second sleeve on the green jumper that wasn't right. It was only a few stitches wider than the other but it seemed like many more cms.  I almost started another Percy, this time for myself, but reason won for once, and I decided it would be foolish to stop the jumper at this stage, because of having a mard on. As I traipsed round the supermarket, cee lo on very LOUD, I still needed a lift but my teeth hurt and I'm worried about fillings, so chocolate wouldn't work, and I have magazines and toiletries so that wasn't an option.  And I'm saving money people* so I decided if I still needed a treat when I slunk back to my messy/tidy flat, I could wind the red unicorn that will become my new shawl.  Feeling smug, and only buying one bar of chocolate, I have thrown myself into the new sleeve.  I haven't caught up to where I was before, but I'm feeling happier.

I'm getting sleeve

I am so pleased I'm making progress on this jumper. I started on it when my marriage was going sour, designing it myself. It was going to make me rich, I tell you, RICH! Ignore the fact that it's such a simple design with acres of stocking stitch. Well, then I got to the sleeves and didn't really know how to make sleeve caps and moved onto other projects that were published, learned to drive, moved house, became a divorcee etc and the jumper was put on pause. Three years and a bit later and I've learnt a new technique, which is staggeringly simple, why have I not heard of it before! and lo! and behold (and a few more !!!) and I'm well on the way to having a sleeve. I picked up stitches all around the armpit, totalling 68, and fortunately one of the patterns in Modern Top Down Knitting has that many stitches in it so I could follow the general instructions at the front of the book and instructions with actual numbers.  The trick is to knit 1/6 of the stitches down the front (it's described as 2/3 of the way from the centre of the bottom of the armpit), wrap and turn, knit to 1/6 down the back, wrap and turn, then keep going back and forth bringing one extra stitch into each row until there are only a few stitches left.  So I had 68 sts, I knitted 46, w&t (which in these instructions includes slipping the stitch back to the other needle), purled 24, w&t and was well on my way.  I kept going until 8 stitches were unused, 4 either side of the armpit.

I worked quite a few full rounds before I tried it on and decided the sleeve was too wide so I ripped back to nearer the armpit, it looks like 4 rounds, and started decreasing every 4 rows. I'm pleased I bothered to make the improvement as frogging is always disheartening (especially as I'm magic looping which I dislike too) but there is no point spending 3 years on a jumper just to rush the final furlong and be disappointed. 

I'm going to keep plugging away, and ignoring the fact that the neck line looks quite wonky :)

Green Jumper

I had few doh moments last night which could have ruined the evening. I went to my sister's, specifically taking my green jumper with me to start on the sleeves.I had already repaired a hole in the bottom garter stitch edge.

I had reblocked it as it was so crumpled from 3 years of being ignored.

I took it to knitting on Thursday night and worked on the neck edging, which I finished on Friday.

On Saturday afternoon, I wound the last hank of wool, making a few booboos along the way.  It's pretty old so it snapped in a few places and I think I cut it in a few places too, so I ended up with several little cakes.

I very carefully packed my bag but then messed around with my phone so by the time I was sitting ready to knit at my sister's, I realised the wool cake was still sitting on my sofa.  I was so disappointed as I was really excited about starting a top down set in sleeve for the first time.  It's the first new technique I've learnt in a while and it might mean I can finish this jumper that is over 3 years in the making and a cardigan which is about the same age.  I get stuck on sleeves, it seems.  So after realising my mistake, I consoled myself with delicious moussaka and chocolate. And instead of knitting, we worked on starting an album of Japan photos together.

The other doh moment came from sitting down to book Hyper Japan tickets.  I found the half price advanced sushi tasting tickets weren't available anymore and that although advance tickets for Friday are advertised as £6 instead of £7 you have to pay a £1 booking fee AND another fee for paying with a card.  Dagnammit.  So we decided just to buy tickets on the door, buy sushi on the way, and supplement the whole day with a trip to the Tate Modern to see if the pumpkin sculpture we hugged in Fukuoka would be exhibited.

Snow and a hangover

I spent most of the weekend being anxious about the promised snow and how it would affect my weekend plans.  I did alter them but I saw all the people I planned to and didn't skid off the road and land in a ditch.  I did skid a little but today the roads weren't too bad - the snow had been churned up and was at least melted in tracks across  roads I drove on.  Last night, I went out for a friend's birthday and stayed up horribly late, walked around in the snow and threw snowballs.  It was good fun.  Tonight, I expect I'll leave my heating on so I can dry my washing that I should have done on Friday and not wake up from the chilly temperatures.

I've dug out the back and front of a jumper I made years ago to see if it will make a lovely tank top instead.  I found a hole when I was blocking it so set about fixing it.  I don't know if it was a good idea to add to all the wet laundry in my house but it's cold and anything that's made of wool is welcome at the moment.