I’m sure I’ve posted somewhere in my blog before that I like books and following directions. I am one of those people that runs to the library for answers first, not the lab. What can I say, I like to be prepared!
Departing the text
When it comes to knitting, I stick to the pattern. If a designer took the time to write it all out and work on the math, well that saves me the time doesn’t it? But what do you do when there is no pattern? A few months ago, one of my aunts made a special knitting request. She wanted me to knit a tuxedo sweater for a well-loved stuffed animal belonging to a friend of my cousin. I went to Ravelry to research and came up with a few ideas. I did have to do some modifications on the fly as I was working without a real idea of the size or shape of the stuffed animal! I had an approximate arm span and length to start. I also had a little stuffed animal jacket that was about the size my aunt had in mind.
I think it ended up being slightly too big (but better than too small!), and you can see it on my daughter’s well loved Puppy. The yarn is Shibui Staccato, a bit fancy yes, but it is a tux. I followed the Tuxedo Tails pattern, following a mix of the numbers as my yarn was a different weight.
Departing the dock
I grew up spending my summers at the beach. Even though I now live a few miles from Long Island sound I don’t get to the water nearly enough. I did go out with a group of local knitters for an evening tour cruising about the Thimble Islands!
There is a lot of legend and lore about those islands that I learned during (and after) our jaunt – tales of Captain Kidd, legends of who owns which house, trying to figure out what happens to those palm trees in the winter, why is there only one chair out on the rock and is that a swimming pool up there? I did manage a few rows of knitting on my Wonder Woman shawl. It’s always a good time to be out with knitting company and this adventure, organized by Gale, did not disappoint!
So much for my pre-summer blog reboot, the last post was back in June! Life is full!
