Rain, rain go away

We have been getting so much rain here this month. I think we only had 3 days of sun in the entire month. This is a photo of one of the gardens ... boyfriend dug up these columbines the other day to save them from drowning. They are back in pots now, I'm not sure if they are going to survive.

I got a lot of stitching done yesterday on this project. I was lucky I could find it. When we moved, anything that was in progress got packed with miscellaneous stuff depending on its location. Everything not worked, is all together in tubs in the basement.

I think I will be finishing this one up soon. Its a little more than half done, but there's also a lot of backstitching all over to finish it.



I also got some more done on my next sweater. I will take some photos once more is complete. There's 12 inches of ribbing before the main body takes shape. Boring! I am working it in a cotton / acrylic blend and because of the cotton its a little tough on my wrists, so this one may take a bit of time to complete or else I may end up with carpal tunnel.

I would love to get down to 2 knitting projects and one cross stitch at a time. I don't like all these WIPs hanging over my head. At the moment I am working the sweater, a pair of socks for a co-worker, then I have the Price of the Wood Elves socks, gloves for Diane for this xmas, boyfriend's scarf from last year that was supposed to be completed for winter ... or the year before I can't remember. And a scarf for my mom that was around the same time, I can't find the working copy of the pattern and the magazine is packed in a box somewhere ... and no I don't know what issue or title it came from!

FO: V-Neck Tank

I started this project as one of the first when I learned how to knit and it didn't go well. It sat in a bag for a while, then when I picked it up again, I realized I was doing it so very wrong, LOL!! I completely frogged it - there wasn't much done anyway and started over again. It was a little scary when done, but blocking helped A LOT!

Pattern: V-Neck Tank Top, Vogue Knitting Summer 2004
Needles: Size US 9
Yarn: Knit One Crochet Two "Tartlette"

Wednesday ...

Its Wednesday, that inevitably blah day in the middle of the week. Well there is one good thing about Wednesdays in my life ... they are also payday!

The Quidditch sweater is finally complete! It was only a year and a half in the making, LOL! I seamed it up this past Sunday. I was thinking that I would not want to knit another adult sweater any near time in the future, but when I saw the completed item and was able to put it on ... whoosh! I am hooked. I immediately cast on another sweater. This one is more of a summer design, so hopefully I finish it up this summer and can wear it. Its the V-Neck Cardigan by Deborah Newton (Ravelry link).

I am still working on the room, I am taking a week off the week after next and hope to complete it during that time at home.

I am working on another podcast for this month, stay tuned ...

Is it really June?

You wouldn't know if you were in New England. Its been in the 40s - 50s in the mornings and only getting into the low 60s during the day. Its been raining for a week straight now, yesterday was sunny and nice but its raining again today. Yuck! I am thinking of seaming up my Quidditch Sweater that is sitting in the closet that I gave up on because I was thinking it was getting too warm to wear it and I would finish it at the end of the Summer or beginning of Fall ... well I could have worn it about 10 times in the last month! Yes, a sweater in June!

I made a lot of progress yesterday on my craft/knitting/computer room. I finished sanding the remaining wall and one of the window frames, which was the double. The window frame that is left to be sanded is only a single. Since we went to Home Depot Friday night and saw the types of molding available I have a better idea of how much of the wall imperfections I can cover and I think that I will leave the 1/2" edge of the walls where they meet the ceiling as they are for now and if the plaster blobs and bumps that I didn't completely sand down interfere with the molding, I can just cut the sections out with the utility knife when I put the molding up and cover it with that. This way I can stop trying to perfect the walls that will be covered up by molding anyway, LOL!!

At this point I have to remove the remaining door trim, which I left the top of because when removing it I noticed that it appears that the trim was the only thing holding the door frame in the wall! Since I am getting wider trim to replace it I don't have to worry about sanding or painting right to the trim that is currently in place and can remove it when I am ready to install the new trim. There's a switch for the closet light that is too close to the corner of the wall that needs to be moved out a few inches, then the hole patched. There is an old switch box on another wall with live wires in it that needs a new blank plate or the wires to be pulled and the hold patched, we haven't decided yet what will work best. The ceiling has the old access to the attic, which was later replaced by drop down stairs in the hallway, so we haven't yet decided to replace the old trim to match better to close off the access and patch the ceiling. Decisions, decisions ...



This photo shows some of the paint drips and plaster imperfections. Anything white is something that stood out from the surface of the wall and was sanded off. The other more uniform white spots are holes and dents I patched with plaster.



This photo shows the switch that is way too close to the other wall. And more of the bad plaster and paint job.

I learned a lot on this project ... things like thoroughly inspect the wall close to other architectural objects like window frames before sanding like a maniac ... you might find a soft spot and shove your hand sander right through the wall. Or cleanly cut the drywall tape with a SHARP utility knife before pulling it ... or you might pull a chunk of drywall paper off the wall too. Good thing a tub of plaster is cheap!

FO: Socks for Mom

Yarn: Red Heart - Heart & Sole and Patons
Needles: Addi Turbo Size 3.0mm
Pattern: Made Up
Finished: 5/30/09

Redoing & Repairs

On both the home and knitting fronts. I finished a V-Neck Tank Top from an issue of Vogue Knitting (the whereabouts of the magazine I don't know at the moment, I was working from a working copy of the pattern). I made the size small which was a 37" bust and apparently I should have gone with the x-small of 35" bust (I'm a 34") but when I was looking at the pattern I noticed that it said "loose fitting" so that's why I went with the small. Also, my gauge was 16 sts when the pattern called for 14 sts - also why I choose to work the bigger size. I blocked it like a good doobie, which was also apparently a mistake - I really should have tried it on around my body before deciding to block it to measurements of the pattern, it probably would have fit fine as it was.



I finished seaming it last night. I tried it on to find that it is indeed "loose fitting" ... so loose it looks quite silly. I could have shortened the straps, but then it would turn into a half tank top and the bottom rested about an inch above my belly button. So instead I decided to try and reverse block it, by blocking it lengthwise to get more length and also bring in the width of it. It seems like it might work, as its pinned it appears to be 14" in width from the 18 1/2" it was. I have it pinned and drying now hoping this will solve the problem. Then if I still have to shorten the straps, I'll have enough length in the body to do it.

On the home front I am preparing my computer / knitting room for painting. In order to do this I have to sand and repair the walls. The previous owners either really didn't care or they let young children paint, I haven't quite figured it out - because some rooms are done with more care and effort, but not quite right. They did not tape off any molding or trim, so it all has to be sanded to remove color from the edges. They did not tape off the ceiling, so it also has to be repainted to hide the old color splotches at the edges. They painted over some switch and outlet plates, yet left a half inch around others. They painted right over the baseboards, but stopped about a half inch from the floor. Baseboards had to be chiseled and pryed loose from the wall because they were secured tight with layers of paint before being removed. They did drywall tape the wall and ceiling joints ... horribly so its bubbling and warping and full of plaster chunks so all that has to be removed and repaired. It appears they plastered portions of the walls but didn't bother sanding it down before painting over it. Oh did I mention they used thick glossy paint, in two different colors?!?!? Its quite a mess for being the smallest room in the house, hahaha!! I've been working on it for a few weeks now and probably still have a few weeks to go before I can paint.

I moved all my stuff (papers, bills, yarn, knitting, other craft stuff, books, magazines, etc.) including desk and computer into the dining room for the time being. I am feeling quite restless and uneasy with all my stuff in boxes thrown here and there ... I don't like that. I am hoping I can get this room finished up in a few weeks and get everything back organized and tidy before I ultimately go insane.