knitting lemonade - green_gables

I'm back and I have proof.

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 14:26:53 -0600

I have returned from the high seas. While on my cruise to Nova Scotia, I discovered that I have a natural aptitude for the sea. My legs...totally sea legs. But I digress.

My cruise was too fab. My friend Meredith and I were rocking the Great White North with the SASs (Super Active Seniors). I think we may have been the only two on the boat who were (a) under 30 and (b) single. But what is age and station in life, when there's Green Gables to see.

Green Gables meet Green Gables...

Kinda hard to see but I promise I'm wearing Green Gables. It was a gloomy day on PEI, but that didn't matter much. I was drinking raspberry cordial, taking carriage rides, and grinning from ear to ear.

Oh remember that time that I said I was going to work on Pomatomus on my trip? Maybe I kinda didn't work on it all. I know, I know...slacker.

Green Gables is the place for me...

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Sun, 07 May 2006 17:07:58 -0600

Well, Green Gables is finished, and I am in LOVE! This pattern is so easy and oh so darling. It made ALL those rows of stockinette in the round worth while. And c'mon no seaming needed! Because, i cannot leave well enough alone, I made a couple of modifications as I went along...some on purpose, some not so much.

1)First off, I mistakenly cast-on using the long-tail method when I should have used backloop method. The pattern itself did not indicate a method, but the clever gals from the KAL asked the zephyr girls and they clarified that the back-loop was the way to go. This might have been the reason why my neckline looked smaller than it did in the pattern pictures. (Through the course of trying it on, though, the neckline got bigger and looked a lot better.)

2)I had added a purl ridge by mistake. The pattern indicates that after you cast on, you purl a row of stitches, then join the stitiches in the round. Apparently, this purl row would have been on the wrong side of the knit so it would show up as a knit row on the RS. But mine somehow didn't work out that way. The purl row is on the RS creating a purl ridge around the neckline. The perfectionist in me is a little bothered by it, but by the time i had realized my mistake, I was too far into the body to go back and rip it out.

3) I added additional shaping to the body of the sweater. I knitted the large size and added two decrease rows around the bust and one increase row around the hips. Just slight tweaks, but i think it made a huge difference.

4) I lengthened the body and sleeves of the top. For the large size, you were supposed to knit 12.5 inches from the underarm, I ended up knitting 14 inches plus the ribbing at the bottom. For the sleeves, the pattern says to start ribbing imediately after picking up the sleeve stitches, I instead added three rows of stockinette (decreasing 1 stitch per row for a more fitted sleeve) and then started the ribbing.

I think that Green Gables is a hit. I am already trying to decide on a what color to do next...Brown Gables sounds lovely, or maybe Ruby Gables, what about a Teal Gables...

More shots from the photo shoot...

On the path to Green Gables.

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 12:37:34 -0600

Green Gables is coming along. I just seperated the sleeves from the body, so that means I have a lot of stockinette rounds ahead...wahoo! (Can you just feel my enthusiasm...) I am really loving how it's turning out. So Kara girl, keep on truckin'!

Edited to add: It seems like there is a lot of discussion about the size of my neckline on the Green Gables KAL. I have no idea why my neck is so small. And the more I think about it, the more it bothers me that mine is drastically smaller than the picture in the pattern. What did I do wrong? I am even knitting the large, so it's not a matter of the number of cast-on stitches. Maybe it is my cast-on technique (I used the long-tail method), or I cast on too tight, or the fact that it is not blocked yet. Ideally, I would like the neck to be a little wider than it shows in the pic. Any ideas what may have happened?

Frumpy Disaster Watch

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 00:11:31 -0600

Thanks for all the compliments on Rosie. I am little nervous about the final shape of the cardigan. I told the girl that designed the pattern over and over that I wanted this to be a fitted cardigan. I guess all I can do is knit and see if my nagging was effective. I want Rosie to be a sweater that I'll actually wear, you know? Wouldn't it be dreadful if Rosie just turned out to be a frumpy disaster?

In other knitting news, I cast on for Green Gable. A comment by HPNY Knits got me thinking about whether or not alpaca was the best choice for this project. After some research and talking with the ladies at my LYS, I have to agree that alpaca would is not be ideal. (I think that my sister/roommate Erin was secretly glad my alpaca didn't work out since I didn't ask her opinion during yarn selection process. She is very spiteful, you know...)

So while at my LYS, I picked up the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece the pattern calls for. Still keeping within the green theme, I decided on this:

It is shade CW-365 Peridot (the yarn is not as light as it looks in the pictures). Perfect for spring, no? So far I am really loving this project. The pattern is simple and I am digging the yarn.

Planned alterations to the pattern: I am pretty sure I am going to make the sleeves longer. A girl just can't feel pretty if arm chub is hanging out. I might also add an inch or so to the overall length as well. And I need to decide if I want to add some more decreases to the body to create more shape. I mean, wouldn't it be dreadful if Green Gable just turned out to be a frumpy disaster?

Kara of Green Gables

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 14:25:00 -0700

"It's so easy to be wicked without knowing it, isn't it?" says Anne in Anne of Green Gables. How right you are, Anne! I have no business putting a new knitting project on my plate, but I am wicked girl and did it anyway. But really, how can one resist when the project is titled Green Gable. How lovely is that?! It is from zephyr style. They have some fun patterns, but this one really captured my imagination.

Instead of the Lambs Pride Cotton Fleece the pattern calls for, I decided to knit it up in Peruvian Collection Pure Alpaca in Cedar from elann.com. I mean, a girl has to keep the green in Green Gable, am I right? Plus, I love the idea of using soft alpaca instead of cotton. The price wasn't too shabby either.

I am especially excited about this project because...I AM GOING TO GREEN GABLES!!! My friend Meredith and I just booked a cruise to Nova Scotia in May. We leave from Boston and head north and stop in fab places such as Quebec, Montreal, and of course Prince Edward Island (PEI for those in the know). I am trying to decide whether to knit Green Gable now so I can wear it when I visit Anne's house, or hold off and make it my knitting project for the cruise. I just LOVE a good theme, can you tell??