I'm not much of a Finisher


I've got all these great projects running around in my brain. I've got some great patterns in my ring binder. And I've even got some started . . . . . But I have a problem with finishing. For over 20 years my best friend & I worked on projects together. She could never get anything started without my bright ideas & I could never get anything finished without her. We made a great team. Only problem is - we enabled each other. Like two drunks with one bottle, I started it for her & she finished it for me! Now that I'm on my own, I have no problem coming up with my usual bright ideas, money making schemes & great projects but I never seem to finish anything bigger than a sock.

Like the Moss Stitch Blazer from Dawn French. I spent a couple of years buying up the yarn - I couldn't afford it all at once!! I planned the sweater, I bought the yarn, I dreamed about a RASPBERRY wool blazer. I knit the pattern in raspberry acrylic to make sure I'd like it!! I wore that acrylic sweater long beyond it's natural lifetime. I got compliments wherever I went. And people would stop me & ask where I got it. I loved the color & the pattern even though the acrylic stretched all out of shape over time. I couldn't wait to start it in wool. I finished the back, one front & half of the other & it's been in the bag for at least three years . . . . . .

And then there's the Heartbeat Sweater started a couple of summers ago. In Lavender. I have most of the front knit up - good thing the sleeves & fronts are knit together. This sweater did have a legitimate problem with the pattern. It was a knit-a-long on one of my Internet Groups because it was multi-sized & very attractive. We couldn't wait to get into this one. The pattern wasn't well written for larger sizes though. This created a big problem with the neck & shoulders but a couple of members came up with creative solutions. A lot of members gave up on the pattern but I figure it will work out if I knit the front & back as for a 44 or 46" width & get the additional width in the garter stitch panels at the sides which have no shaping. It IS an attractive sweater & worth fiddling with.

I started the Fly Away Free Jacket from Just One More Row. I bought some varriegated pink microfibre & had to start knitting right away. I have the back, one front & half of the other knit up . . . . . sound familiar?? I was disappointed in this one because I ran out of the yarn I bought for it. I did buy extra but the yarn is discontinued & I may have to take this one apart.

So, I'm working really hard on not starting anything until the Arvik sweater is done. I'm almost down to the armhole where I'll put the sleeve stitches on a holder & work on the body alone. I've put a seed stitch border down the front & will probably do it on the bottom as well as the cuffs. I'd contemplated making 3/4 sleeves & may yet do it - who knows?? I'll wait till the body is done & then worry about the length of the sleeves. I was going to put LadyBug buttons on it but I think they'll be too heavy for this light-weight wool. I probably won't button it up anyway, so why bother.

There are days when I wish I were a size 0 so that the projects would just go faster & be done sooner. I think that's the worst part about projects for larger bodies. They take so long to do! But you know, I suppose even a size 0 has finishing problems.

It's been a Hellova couple of weeks


My doctor changed my blood pressure medication. And gave me samples of allergy medication that wouldn't conflict with the BP meds. Well, the allergy stuff may not conflict with the BP stuff but the package lied about the "non-drowsy" part!! I've been utterly exhausted. I've been able to go back to bed TWO hours after getting up . . . . and sleep soundly for another 3 or 4 hours!! If I don't take the allergy stuff, I cough up a lung - but, in the end, I found something else that lets me breathe without putting me to sleep. Allegra is the winner. What a time I've had!!!

So now that I can stay awake long enough to knit, roll the drums, clash the cymbals, ARVIK is back on the needles!! It's been such a cold spring - what Spring??? - that I decided I had to have some WOOL around me to keep me warm! From the three balls above, I intend to reknit Arvik! Of course, Arvik is a little bigger than this photo at the moment, I think I'm now up to 5 triple increases called Legal Loopholes, invented by Medrith Glover. Legal Loopholes add extra width in the front & back without increasing the sleeve width. This means a raglan sweater for a larger body or bigger bust can be adjusted to add width where it's needed without getting armholes that drop to the waist!!! In the end, Arvik will have seed stitch borders, cuffs & bottom. I'm not sure if I'll put on a seed collar on it or not yet so I just did a few rows of ribbing ,which will be hidden under the collar, if I knit one, to start it off. I'm still planning on using my ladybug buttons on the front but I suspect they'll just be for decoration.

My Danish Working Shawl is DONE!! I even wore it to work last week in the cold warehouse. Worked like a charm. The ends are so long, I didn't even have to put ties on them to tie them in back. I may crochet short ones just to make it easier to untie when I want to take it off. Cozy as it is though, I think I'm still a sweater person in my heart. So, I'm seriously thinking of spinning up some more of this delicious wool - Black Sheep mill ends from The Sheep Shed - dyeing it with my 'Mother Mackenzie's' Dye Kit in Magenta & Cyan & knitting up one of the Kimonos in the "Knitted Kimonos" book that I just had to buy last year. There's some lovely kimono style jackets in there & two that I really want to make. No, Gail, I'm not into long flowing sleeves but the textured kimonos really turn me on, especially the red lacy one on the cover of the book.


And I've finished the Baby Surprise Jacket. As I said before, I wish I'd made one before making this one for someone else. But I finished it & now just have to crochet the trim & sleeves. I thought about knitting up a bonnet to match but the colors are in such long blocks that I'm afraid the bonnet will look silly in only one or two of the colors. But, I'll knit it up anyway just to see what it looks like.

I was considering knitting up the Adult Surprise Jacket for myself but I saw a couple of other options that interest me a little more while still showing off wildly colored leftover yarns. I decided I must have a sweatshirt of some kind to throw into the car for those cool evenings so the Purple Wonderful Wallaby is also still on my list to Things To Do.