Northshore, Take Two

A project I HAD to fix, a project EASY to fix, a project I waited over a YEAR to fix.  

Ooops.

Seriously, my bad.  I should have finished this last winter, as Camden easily could have worn it all those months.  Alas, I'm a fool.

Remember when I made Tiberius's awesomely cute North Shore sweater?  Because it WAS cute, by the way (although...sad times...there is some sort of weird stain/mark on it, which seems like oil, but I have NO idea from whence it came), though it no longer fits.

You MAY also remember how I used a heavier-weight yarn than called for, and I had to knit a rather dense fabric, to get close to gauge, especially seeing as how I'm a looser knitter, to begin with.  Well, for HIS sweater, I surely sized down a couple sizes, but I definitely did for Camdens.  I knit her a size 1-2, I believe, aha!

...and there my problems began.

I knit up the sweater fairly quickly, back in May or so of 2015 as I did with the little guy's, but upon trying it on, I was horrified to find that it was too large in the yolk, height/vertical-wise.  I kept adjusting it on her shoulders, hoping I was imagining things, LOL.  Anyway, it was too depressing, after all that colorwork knitting, so, I set it aside for a bit...then didn't get around to ripping out the yolk until just a few months back or so.  

Then I finally picked it up a couple days ago and finished it yesterday (I wouldn't allow myself to work on a new project until it was done)!  Knitting the wool/cotton blend is NOT fun for my hands.  I love the colors and the final product - and yarn, Spud and Chloe Sweater itself is just NICE, anyway, but I prefer wool over cotton, fo' sho'.  Spud and Chloe does have other fun yarns, too, so, you should check them out!  I have used the Melange and the sock yarn in other projects.

So, what did I fix on the North Shore sweater, you ask??  I took a bit of the height out of the tree section, because even though Camden's actual pattern size (if I'd used DK weight yarn) called for the full tree repeat, my row gauge was clearly off - though Tin Can Knits didn't list a row gauge for the pattern.  It was totally an easy-enough fix, and I was trying to be careful to keep my gauge looser, seeing as how I'd started knitting it before I changed the way I hold my yarn, which does tighten up my tension a wee bit.  

So, the fit is mostly great!  The sleeves would be lovelier if they were a tad longer, but that's what I get for waiting so long to fix it ;)  My only issue is that I don't like how the neck/ribbing lays, as with Tiberius's verison....I'm not sure going down another needle size would have helped, but maybe??  And it's WAY cute on Camden, if I do say so myself!  One other bonus???  I'm all, "Brand new sweater, knit up in a mere two days!"  LOL at the lies I tell myself!

A few days in the life....

ALLLL the raw milk!!!

We finally have a bathroom door!!

Working for the money! 

Nighttime projects

She wanted to get her knit on again....after al these months!  

And what his sister does....

These were never blogged, but they are awesome!

Reading to Greta!

Across the Pond, Across the River, Tomato, Tomahto

Whoah.  Y'all, this shawl is PRETTY, but.....

A.  I had no classy backdrops against which to photograph it

B.  It's not for ME  :(

Sucks, right???  I love it and had wanted the Across the Pond Shawl by Mina Philipp (her website, Ravelry group and Knitting Expat podcast) for MYSELF, when the pattern first came out.  After my mother-in-law saw my Windswept shawl last year, though, she wanted one for HERSELF.  That presents two problems:  I don't want to repeat a shawl when I have a million other shawl patterns I want to knit AND my hands hurt so much when I was working on it, though it IS my favorite shawl thus far, aha!  After further questioning, it turns out my mother-in-law liked the whole two-colors situation and overall simplicity, I think, so, I told her I had it covered, LOL.

You'd think I did NOT check for loose ends...

The pattern was crazy easy, which was helpful, as I wanted to whip through it quickly, as I have SO MUCH TO DO.  In the lace section, per my normal state of LIFE, I tried to make things difficult by getting off-count a few times, but I survived to write about it.  It was my first Mina pattern, and she wrote it up nicely - AND concisely.  I way recommend it!  I want a crescent shawl for myself one of these days!  I'm blanking on whether or not I have one, but that matters not ;)

I used lovely yarn, naturally - purchased by Matt's mom, though recommended by yours truly.  The Hazel Knits Entice was purchased at Twisted in Portland.  I used the Vamp and Nekkid colorways, and there is enough left for me to make socks for Tiberius - yay!

I PROMISE i checked for loose ends...but there it is again

I will wrap it up for her and drop it off this weekend, along with some artwork from Tiberius and Camden!

And....life recently....

Reading their Usborne books!

Still trying to squeeze in Aspen Hall days

Awesome scone recipe!!!

Doodle THIS!

A finished object?!  What's THAT, you ask?!  I do, indeed, have one ;)

I was knitting away on my Doodler Shawl by Stephen West of Westknits (FB page) fame when the whole move thing happened....and ate away at my LIFE.  I had some laundromat time to knit, and that was lovely, if I was on my own (not gonna lie:  there were 2-3 times I skipped down to the laundromat, conveniently located 3 minutes from my house, SANS children.  BLISS.  TRY IT.).  Then it was hot, and I was quite the negative nelly about knitting - and preferred, instead, to pick up the Harry Potter books and the Outlander books and while away the hours, LOL.

Trying to really impress you with those wrinkles!  Poor shawl!

But.  I LOVE the shawl!  Hooray to me that it's DONE (albeit after three months). I did make the process only a TEENY bit more painful, in that I'm not a huge garter stitch lover.  I wanted to see some stockinette in there.  I incorporated the stockinette on the wedges, which clearly slowed me down a bit, what with all the purling, but it was honestly not a big deal to me.  In the end, I DO see how the all-over garter stitch pulls it all together, but I like having broken it up a bit.  I was pretty tempted to knit the long cable in stockinette, also, but I said a big EFF THAT SHIZ and forged ahead with garter.  I wanted that thing off the needles.  I would have been done so much sooner, but for the move.

LOL, funny little brother

The pattern is clearly awesome.  It was super well-written, and I did just fine.  I needed to watch a quick tutorial for the cast-on, but I think that was it???  LOL.  I am a bit sad that I didn't pick up quite right for the i-cord edge in the middle of the shawl, so, there isn't a cool i-cord look.  That loveliness is more obvious on the WRONG side.  Bah humbug.  Ah, well.  

I did try to make the most of my lovely yarn, which is from The Wool Barn.  I used the Silk Sock base in the colorways Sage, Autumn Delight (Maya is way awesome and custom-dyed that colorway for me!) and Metal.  I do overall think I should have used a purple, rather than the Metal, but that was my choice and nothing doing now.  I have realized over time, though, that I'm not a fan of 50/50 wool/silk blends.  I like a bit less silk in my yarn, mostly because I want it slightly less shiny.  The yarn itself is awesome, though, and everyone who has seen the shawl has loved it and commented on it, which is nice!

Overall, it was a lovely project, and now I dream of casting on for another Stephen West design, the Exploration Station...when I have time on my hands.  For now, I work on the Across the Pond shawl by Mina Philipp.  

In life/family news, we are better organized around the house, though there is still so much to do (I know I'm a broken record, LOL).  Matt's dad helped put in the tub, which is one of the last things to be finished in the bathroom.  The clawfoot is lovely, but we are naturally experiencing some leaks, so, I hope that is remedied tomorrow.  We also hope to complete a bathroom door and cabinet doors for the hall cabinet over the next week or so.  My sister will be visiting with her husband and children (new baby, too!!), and I'd love a cleaner and neater space for them to all run around in.  I will blog about that visit and hopefully another project in just a couple of weeks!

Poor dad

Grandma's first bike ride in a million years!

Matt won a cool sharp sword!

Free pottery lesson with Lisa!

Camden actually plucked away on this that evening...WITH the band!

LOLOL

Your usual box picnic