The Delightful Mrs Darcy

She's done, she's beautiful, and she's sweet as candy.



I feel dead sexy!

The delightful Mrs. Darcy Cardigan.

Yarn:

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport
Baltic Sea
4 skeins

I was drawn to this yarn because of the turquoise and lavender hues; knit up, the main colors are olives and forest greens. It's still beautiful and versatile! The yarn is soft and a joy to work with.

I had five skeins but one went AWOL, and the last skein, even though it was marked as the same dyelot, was lighter than the others. On the front pieces I alternated rows of light stuff and dark stuff, but the front is still quite a bit lighter than the back and sleeves. Let this be a warning to you: never lose your yarn and always check that each skein matches the others before you start your project!

Needles:

Harmony Options size US 10.5/6.5 mm

I didn't want a bulky sweater - duh! I live in Florida - so I knit the sport weight yarn with size 10.5 needles to achieve gauge (16 sts/20 rows=4" Stockinette). My final fabric is loose and airy - perfect for my climate - but has a tendency to grow. I may decide to felt it a tiny, tiny bit to fight that.

Pattern Modifications:

There were a lot! I have never had a 34" bust, and without major surgery, I never will. As I was knitting to gauge, I simply added two inches to the back and one to each front by casting on a total of 16 extra stitches (8 for the back, 4 for each front). God gave me big boobs and skinny arms, so I didn't mess with the armhole shaping at all.

I didn't want a sweater that framed the girls, so I added an extra button (four total) and started the scoop neck shaping 8 rows later than indicated in the pattern. I also did a less dramatic neckline by doubling the rows of shaping. When the pattern called for "Dec 1 st next to buttonhole band on each of the next 5 rows." I decreased 1 stitch next to the buttonhole band on every other row for 10 rows. I made similar changes throughout the scoop neck.

I completely skipped the crochet edging, as my fabric had very little curl. I promise I didn't skip it because I have never crocheted and am a little intimidated by it!

The buttons I originally ordered were the shank style buttons recommended by the pattern. As beautiful as they are, they are too heavy for this sweater. Instead I used plastic four-holed buttons that are very light and very lavender!

Final Thoughts or What I'd Do Next Time:

I love this sweater. It is sweet and comfy, with a hint of sexiness. If I do make another Mrs. Darcy, the only change I would definitely make is increasing the width of the buttonband by a few stitches.

The sleeves as written are very long, perfect if you have freakishly long arms like me. If your arms are more proportionate, keep an eye on the length and start the armhole shaping a few rows earlier than indicated.

The pattern had a few issues; much of the time I forged ahead, trusting my idea of the pattern and not necessarily what was written. I had to keep very careful notes - which is rare for me. But with those notes, I was able to knit five pieces that matched. To me, anything that creates a sweater that I love to wear is a great pattern in the end.

Spinning, Seaming, and... Baseball

Sorry about that; I lost the alliteration.


We had a very busy weekend here at the House at Two Palms. This weekend marked the opening day of the monsters' T-Ball league. We walked to the ball field for pictures, hotdogs, and bouncy things. Whoever designed those blowup bouncy castles is a genius! The boys looked so cute in their uniforms - hats falling over their ears and socks up to their knees. I still have reservations about this whole Little League thing, but they're having fun so far. I only wish Bubba would stop calling his shoes "clits."


I seamed up Mrs. Darcy and started transferring my notes into a legible format. I'm still waiting for buttons - hopefully they will get here tonight! As soon as buttons are on and all ends are woven in, I will post details on all the modifications.


I also took my borrowed Louet for a test drive! I had some "Canadian wool" to practice with.





The spool on the left is my first attempt - very crazy thick and thin two ply. The spool on the right is much more even, although it is obviously overspun. I haven't weighed the spools or checked wpi - heck, I haven't even set the twist yet!

The monsters are very impressed that I can make my own yarn now. The Bug is hinting that he'd like a sweater I "made from a sheep" and Bubba has stated loudly that he'd like to spin. We have plans to break out the drop spindle next weekend. Hopefully it won't be like the "Teach the Monsters How to Knit" night - those ER co-pays add up quick!

Say Hello to My Little Friend

Okay - that is very unoriginal, but I couldn't resist. The absolutely most fabulous woman in the world (except for me and Gigi of course) has gone away for the weekend and has agreed to let me baby sit this lovely little thing:

A Louet S10 is always welcome in my house.

I have been mentally jumping up and down with joy since I brought it home last night. I haven't spun anything on it yet, but I will! Last night I practiced running the treadle smoothly and parking and restarting the wheel. Tonight I will spin! Soon you will see pictures of my lovely fiber barf... and maybe some yarn.

As much as I wanted to throw myself into spinning, I knew I had a sweet newlywed waiting for my attention.

Shiny boob!

I sewed in the sleeves and seamed up one side on the Darcy cardi! I'll finish seaming tonight and then she's all done but the buttons. I ordered some fabulous purple glass shank buttons that should pick up the lavender and turquoise quite nicely. As soon as she's seamed, I will post all the details, including mods and yarn.

Hooray for the weekend! Margarita's all around.

It's Not Whooping Cough, It's a Blackout!

Once again I do not have a traditional WIP Wednesday post for you. The Darci cardi is zooming right along; I hope to be seaming by this weekend. However, I have no new pictures, and really, reading the details of my efforts to make even decreases would be like watching paint dry. So instead, a quick peek into life at A Casa em Duas Palmas.

The week has been very strange. If you've been here before, you'll remember that Bubba got the creeping crud and was very sick last week. Well, the Bug got it this week and was miserable. He spent Monday with me, terrible echoing coughs wracking his little body. If we hadn't been through this before, I would have taken him to the doctor for whooping cough. For some reason, whenever the Bug gets a cough, it echoes and hoots, exactly how I imagine whooping cough sounds. Poor guy! Hugs, cuddles, and enforced rest fixed the cough, and it was back to school and work for us.

Yesterday, the southern half of Florida suffered from a cascading power loss. As the office has a backup generator, this normally would be no big deal. However, this blackout caused a catastrophic failure to our e-mail server so I was effectively shutdown. I've joked before that I can't imagine being a secretary without computers, but it's no longer a joke! Take away my computer and I am a sad and useless secretary. On a positive note, I spent the afternoon knitting at my desk!

Black Tom thought that was a very good use of my time.

Spoiled Sick, Now With Sleeves!

The monsters were hit hard with the creeping crud this week. Poor Bubba missed three days of school, meaning I missed three days of work. Playing catch up while comforting sick kids is no fun.

Two things stopped the week from being a complete downer: First, I finished sleeves! And they even match! The Darcy cardi is fast approaching completion. I'm on the right front and making many modifications so it's going a little slow. When I'm done I will list all the changes to make this a big bust friendly cardi.

The other thing that brightened my week? A secret Valentine's package! Batty sent me a frabjulous box of VD goodness.


It's almost too much to list! A cute card to make me giggle, chocolate to make me drool, a sweet smelling candle, pink sticky notes, Burt's Bees (!), and Merlin the Cat sock yarn. Not pictured are the crazy Valentine's bunny ears with light up hearts; the Bug confiscated those immediately and has worn them everywhere ever since. Thank you, Batty, for this package designed to make me happy!

This package reinforced some of my ideas about karma and the psychic abilities of knitters. I got to spoil Batty during the winter swap on the Knittyboard; how crazy is it that she got my name for this swap? Even the Merlin yarn has a bit of karma attached. I bought some of Merlin's stitch markers for my secret pal zenbaby and I was drooling over her yarn. I resisted, but I favorited her shop, planning to go back later for myself. Batty beat me to it! Of course Merlin's yarn is so yummy, that I will soon be buying more. The last bit of proof that knitters are psychic is the Burt's Bees head to toe package. Burt's Bees was my original inspiration for making my own soap, and even though I am a soapmaker, I am like the cobbler's daughter - I never have fancy soaps and creams just for me.

So, Batty, is it true? Are you psychic? Is there something in the yarn that rubs off on knitters, giving them paranormal powers?

I think so.

Unexpected Guests, the Plague, and Sleevitis

Last weekend my aunt and uncle stopped by while on their cross country trip. It was great to visit with them, but I think they brought the plague. Whether they carried some mutant virus from the Great Plains or I ran myself down with the holidays, road trips, and visitors, I have had the cold from hell all week.

It's been so bad that I haven't been able to lurk at my favorite blogs or even hang out on Ravelry. The plus side is I got a lot of knitting done while watching bad day-time TV. I planned to work diligently on Sassy's Cherie Amour, but I had crippling sleevitis. Instead, I knit a very simple twisted wrap with the Trendsetter Venus yarn I picked up at Hanks. I used a provisional cast on with a garter stitch seam to create seamless shoulder wrap. It shows the variations in yarns and textures beautifully! I have a bit left; I think I will do a very narrow, very long scarf.


I also cast on Mrs. Darcy, finished the back, and started the sleeves. I'm using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport and size 10 needles to match the gauge called for in the pattern. It has made a light and lacy fabric, perfect for Florida! The Lorna's Laces is soo soft. I love it!


Did you notice that I knit the back, skipped the fronts, and went straight to the sleeves? I thought that might circumvent my sleevitis. Maybe it's not sleevitis; maybe I just get bored with a project near the end and... Nope, it's sleevitis.

I have put a lot of thought into this disorder over the last week. First, I must qualify that I have freakishly long arms. According to da Vinci, a person's height is supposed to be equal to her wingspan measured fingertip to fingertip, across the shoulders. Well, I am 66 inches tall, and my wingspan is 70 inches. Four full inches difference! I should be in a side show.

So, when I knit sleeves, it takes an extra long time. However, my sleevitis cannot be simply blamed on my freakishness. Think about knitting the front of a sweater. You knit four inches, hold it up to your body, and look! you've knit from your hipbone to your belly button! Now think about knitting two sleeves. It's often the same number of stitches, so it should be just as exciting. However, you knit four inches, hold it up to your arm, and you've knit to your wrist. Hardly exciting.

I think we need support groups for sleevitis. Special stitch and bitches devoted strictly to sleeves. "Hi, my name is Eryn, and I have sleevitis. I have knit two half sleeves since our last meeting."

Even without the support group, I forced myself to knit Sassy's sleeves. They are officially done and blocking. I will be embarking on the grand adventure that is seaming as soon as all the pieces are dry.

Until then, I have much blogstalking to catch up on. First, my worst habit. I think it's obvious that my worst habit is procrastination. I will do nothing today that can be put off 'til tomorrow! The next assignment is a snap-shot of our knitting needles.

Here you see my needle drawer, including my brand new Options Harmony set (Whee!). So far I love them; they are beautiful: smooth with just enough grip that I don't lose my stitches. Maybe they can help me fight sleevitis!