Bad Blogger

Hi there,

I'm sorry I have been such a bad blogger lately.  The truth is, I am down in Southern California helping out at my brother's house for possibly the whole month of August.  We started with a great week of most of the cousins getting together for a "staycation,"  that is a vacation where you stay at home.  My 3 youngest kids, Moogie, Himes, and Pookie, are with me.  For us it is not a staycation as we traveled down, but for the cousins who live in So. Cal., this is very different from what they are used to.

The sad truth is that my  brother was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease last year, and he needed some help this month as his wife is in another state for military training.  They have 3 kids, and well, I didn't want my brother to be home without an adult at night as he is basically a quadriplegic now.  He is in great spirits, but has crummy internet (perhaps he has other things on his mind...), so getting on to post is a pain.

As I will likely be here a while, I need to figure out how to post, especially photos which take forever to download.

I have finished the 3 projects/entries I had planned for the Ravellenic Games,

Red Hot Lewk Sweater for WIP's Wrestling

Moon Squares for Modular Relay

Yoga Socks of Glory for Sock Put

and am working sporadically on the 4th, a reversible cowl.

I am not sure if I will finish it, as I am pretty busy right now.  But things should slow down next week, and I hope to get in more knitting.

Honestly, if you knew how long it took to put those photos on this page... well, it is very slow.

Anyway, I still plan to blog regularly while I am down here.  I hope to find a knitting group to crash.  And I really miss my Eastside Stitchers!  (as well as my darling husband, the Doc).

However, I did get to see my nephew, Nino, hit 2 homeruns last Sunday.

 So, internet aside, I am having a wonderful time with my brother's kids.  And it is great to get to spend time with my brother, and help him this way.

Stay safe and well.

Yours,
f1bercat
shaping the planet with 3. count them 3! Medals of glory from the 2012 Ravellenic Games.

Sweater Blocking Question!

2012.05.10

I have finished the main knitting of the Red Hot Sweater for Lewk (my friend Tony who is stationed in Afghanistan).  The pattern called for the sleeves to be 22 in. long, but worried that that would not be long enough, I knit them to 24 in.  I soaked the pieces, ok, in Downy because that is what I have, on cold, rinsed., spun and blocked the front, back and both sleeves.  OMG!  the sleeves were like 23 in. and too narrow.  I think I got tighter and tighter with my knitting gauge as I went along.  I was able to block everything to the right size, but had to super stretch it all.

Even so, I am so worried that the sleeves will be too short.  I got them to 25 inches in length by super stretching them on the blocking mat.  I measured my son, L's arms (he is about 6 ft tall) and his were 26 in.  So I sent Tony a message on Facebook asking him how tall he is, because I know that arm length from fingertip to fingertip is usually your height.  Tony is 5'10" . so 2 inches shorter than L, so 25 in. should be ok.  BUT,  What about when the sweater is washed?  Will it just shrink back?  My guess is yes it will.  In which case, I need to add at least 2 more inches to the sleeve length and then somehow,. make the sleeves about 2 inches wider.

My great idea is to knit 2 strips of the same yarn, following the textured blocks pattern,. that would reach from sleeve cuff, down the arm and down the body to the waist.  I really think this would work.  It is this or reknit both sleeves...

My little cat, Beena, absolutely claimed the sweater from the minute I put it on the floor to block.

She bit me when I was putting the pins in, and chased our big cat, Muffin, away if Muffin dared to get near the sweater.

So, if anyone has advice for me, about reknitting the sleeves, knitting 2 strips, or just leaving them aggressively blocked, I would greatly appreciate it.  I want this sweater to fit.  Tony is a great guy.  I have been knitting this sweater since January.  I don't want to reknit the sleeves, but I can.

Yours,
f1bercat
shaping the planet one too small sweater at a time

2012.05.10