Bit Better

I'm feeling a bit better now, actually not coughing or sneezing or anything which is nice! I am still a bit tired and a little spaced out but I'm starting to think that perhaps that's just the way I am!

Hike is coming along, it's now seamed up except for the pockets which I will try and figure out soon. I have to say that I'm not enamoured with the way that Calmer seams. I've done it as neatly as I can and it's really not super wonderful. However, if you look at the pictures in the magazine their seaming isn't any better than mine so I guess it's just the yarn which is a bit disappointing really as we all know that the finishing can make or break that 'home made' look. Plus this is the most expensive item I've ever knit and probably ever will knit so I'm a bit sad it's not better. I bought the zip yesterday for it, had to go with bright red in the end but if I get the fronts to meet over the zip it will be fine. I'm going to try and install it properly by basting the fronts together etc so the estimate for a FO is this weekend I should think. Good news is that I tried it on and it fits which is a relief after all the stuff I've knit recently that hasn't!

Something that has been bugging me though is how bloody lazy the people at Rowan are. They are supposed to be right up top as one of the best pattern companies about and yet a lot of the time the patterns leave a lot to be desired. To start with the schematics are utter crap. They give you 2 measurements to work with and that's it. For the sleeves of Hike there was only the measurement for length, nothing for width at all... Then it came to putting the zip on my shopping list yesterday and under the required items for the pattern it actually says 'Open ended zip to fit'. I shit you not... It might be nice if they gave you a measurement for the zip because then you could figure out how long you were supposed to have blocked the frigging front of the cardigan... I went for 22 inches in the end as they didn't have the exact measurement that I needed and 22 is a little bit shorter which I thought was better than longer... On Ivy they keep doing something which is a big BIG bugbear of mine, the instructions say something like 'knit 24 rows less than the back to start of the shoulder shaping'. Now, off the top of my head I can think of 1 person who counts the rows of each piece that they knit and that person isn't me. Ivy isn't bad in this respect as it's stripes so it's easy to figure out how many stripes less you need to knit, but sometimes Rowan will have you counting rows in the middle of a piece so you have to figure out where you're counting from and counting to. It might have been nice if in the instructions for the back they'd told you to mark that row as you'd need to know where it was later.... Big time lazy and I'm starting to think they're really not worth the money, especially when you consider the info given on a free pattern online compared to their scant directions and information. I don't want to be spoon fed but I do want all the information I require to complete my garment ready and at my fingertips, if I wanted to figure it out as I went along I'd write the bloody pattern myself.

End rant....

So, Kiri has 2 rows remaining of the 13th repeat and then I can start the border. I'm hoping to get those 2 rows done today and to do the cast off over the weekend, we'll see how that goes! I decided against the 14th repeat because even though I'm sure I will have enough yarn I don't think I need the shawl to be another couple of inches bigger. Easy V Neck I have done about 3 inches of the bottom rib, I need to do 5 so I'm almost there! Ribbing with the chenille on the bamboo needles is hurting my hands a bit though so it's slow going. It's also a bit messy but I'm hoping that it will even out a little bit when it's washed and blocked. Ivy is all ready for the front neck decreases on the first front, I will start those this afternoon. It's already down to 52 stitches so it's getting faster and faster, I should have this piece cast off in the next few days. I am thinking of knitting the collar next for a little change (moss stitch and a single colour!) before casting on for the second front which is the final big piece of the cardigan. It's going to need some good blocking to try and even out some dodgy tension here and there, I am trying to knit as evenly as I can but it's hard on the metal needles with my bad hands (physio is working as my pain has changed and my hands don't go completely dead on me, but they still hurt and make me stop knitting as much as I'd like). I have bamboo needles in the right size now but as I have knit all the pieces up until now on the metal I'm going to stick with them through to the end!

I think that's all I've worked on so far this week. I am doing a few rows of the Hourglass sleeve here and there but not casting on for the body. I keep thinking I'll pick up the Clover Wrap and then not, one day!

I have also added a Fraggle scarf knit from some Patons Whisper eyelash yarn that was RAOK'd to me ages ago as a simple garter stitch scarf. I'm 50% done with that (I'm knitting both balls that I have) and it's a nice and fast (dare I say it?) Stashbusting project! lol We got West Wing series 6 on DVD last night so I did quite a few inches whilst watching that, can't do the complicated stuff and try and figure out the politics! Lost is tonight so I will probably alternate between the V Neck and the scarf for that too.

Will sort out some pics for my next post. I'm hoping that the nice Parcelforce man will bring me my fabric and yarn box that left the States 6 and a bit weeks ago, should be here any day now! Not heard from my Sock Pal yet that she's received the socks, they should have arrived really by now, it's only normally 3-5 days air mail to the States...