LOTS O' KNITTIN'

I am liking this retirement gig. I highly recommend it!

The weeks leading up to my last day at work I was very nervous. I am not sure why now, looking back. I have not gotten to a point where I feel relaxed. I think it is going to take awhile.

The past 10 years of my career have been very high stress. I was always on a system implementation schedule which can be very stressful and full of deadlines. Although I prefer system implemenations to system maintenance, it still takes a toll on ones body and mind.

As a transition, it is good to have my deadlines with Nihon Vogue. I feel like I still have firm deadlines and things I HAVE to get done. I'm grateful to have this right now.

I am finalizing the design on my final project and putting the details on paper/pattern.

Here is a rough sketch of my final project.



The upper part of the garment where the bust dart is placed and the sleeves will be done in stockinette stitch. The bottom section of the garment will be a lace pattern. Here is my swatch of the stitches to be used.



I have never created a garment with bust darts. Since the upper part of my design will be more fitted, I wanted to learn how to do bust darts using Japanese short rows. There a number of measurements that need to be taken which determines the placement of the dart on the pattern. Here is a photo of bust dart placement for my design - it is the triangle drawn on the pattern.



There are a couple of techniques I am using to get the look I want for this garment. The first one is the bust darts, the second is getting the flaring on the sleeves and bottom of the sweater. The flare on the bottom part of the sweater can be a challenge because the pattern is lace. Instead of decreasing stitches, which can destroy the continuity of the lace pattern, I will achieve this by changing needle sizes. For every .25 mm you go up/down, this will change your guage approximately 4%. Using this guide, you can then figure out how many times you will need to change needle sizes to get the result you want.

Since retiring I have also completed two Nihon projects.

The first is the v-neck pullover that I have struggled doing the grafting on. As I got more and more experienced grafting the 2X2 ribbing, I wondered why I couldn't see the stitches and how to graft. That is what experience is all about, isn't it?

Here is my finished garment. I am very pleased with the fit of this project.



I have also finished(with the exception of sewing on the buttons - still trying to decide between 2 buttons) the round neck cardigan. I call this one my Pepto Bismol sweater. The reason - this project seemed to go on and on, and on and on some more. I was getting nauseated with it - I needed some Pepto as a cure for the nausea!

I like the fit, overall, but the sleeves on this are tad bit tight.



I am also finishing up the v-neck cardigan. I just finished knitting the sleeves yesterday and the sleeves are on the blocking board right now. I just have to attach the sleeves and finish knitting and putting on the vertical button band. I will write more on that in another post. Vertical button bands deserve their own full blog post! (what a pain...why would anyone ever do this?)

I have tried uploading some photos of my "contraband knitting" but they won't load. I guess I can only update you on my Nihon Vogue work!

Hey Seattle - isn't this weather awesome? Now this is the heat I like! I know some of you may be wilting, but this girl is in heaven! Not too cold, not too hot. It is JUST right!