still here

*Tap-tap*
Is this thing on?

I've kind of slacked off with the blogging thing lately, I guess. Anyone still checking in here? I don't know, I've got a touch of the ol' blogging ennui, plus I have a child turning 2, and it's spring, sort of, so I've had change-of-season stuff to do. Haven't really felt like I had anything to write about.

Here are a few things I'm working on:

First up, Pam, you are a stinking genius.

When I completed this dress for myself last week, it didn't fit right at all, and looked shapeless and...well, just bad. Pam suggested I try ties (my idea, or rather my mom's idea, was to try darts). Ties sounded so much easier, so I gave it a try. I made 2 long ties out of extra fabric, then opened the side seams about 6.5 inches below the underarm. I inserted the ties and re-sewed the seams.


Voila! A dress with shape! You'll have to take my word for it when I say this looks pretty cute on. Disaster averted!


Sitcom chic, with the sleeves now joined to the body. This has been my sitting-in-front-of-the-TV knitting, and it's proving to be very relaxing after a day of chasing a 2 y.o. around. As it happens, there is a small error in the online pattern for this sweater, so I emailed Bonne Marie Burns, the designer, and she got back to me in, like, 15 minutes with the correction. She is AWESOME! Anyway, I'm looking forward to finishing this one up for springtime.


And here we have some not-so-relaxing knitting. Still enjoyable, but definitely not relaxing in any way. Sometimes you need a challenge, right? I find that being a stay-at-home-mom sometimes leaves me wanting a bit more mental stimulation than coloring/playing playdough/reading Goodnight Moon can give me, which is when a project like this comes into play. What is it?


It's the Feather and Fan shawl from A Gathering of Lace. This shawl is also featured on the cover of the latest Knitpicks catalog. I'm working it in Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud in the stream heather colorway. So far, so good, though it took me about an hour to do the first 3 rounds. A circular start in laceweight on size 5 dpns? CHALLENGING. I'm 20 rounds into the first chart, and enjoying it, though it can really only be worked on during the day - like during naptime - as I'd be much too tired at night to keep from screwing it up.

Incidentally, I left this on the kitchen table last night and this morning Daughter dragged it off and dumped it on the floor. By some miracle no stitches were lost, which I can't believe because whenever she finds a sock-in-progress she yanks out at least one needle. Lesson learned...this will be stashed away where she cannot reach it from now on.