splityarn

the remains of Lucky Clover

It is done. She went quietly, without much fuss.

The yarn has been washed, dried and rewound and soon will become Orangina.

seriously unlucky knitting

Ever get the feeling the knitting gods aren't smiling on your projects? I have 2 projects in various stages of completion right now that are never going to get the attention they need.

First up is knitty's Shimmer that I've been knitting in Debbie Bliss Cathay. I love the yarn and lace on the back of the sweater but I don’t love the thought of casting on for the sleeve a third time. I think I'm going to rip out what I've done and look around for a different choice for this yarn. This pattern isn't singing to me anymore.

The other project is Lucky Clover from Stitch n' Bitch Nation and I'm pissed about this one. I think the sweater will be cute when finished but I can't get past my anger over the pattern errors. A couple of issues have come up in the knitalong, giving me pause. The sizing of the arms was off by a few inches, there are leftover stitches on the fronts after the decreases and a few other glitches here and there.

Just once I’d like to knit something from a pattern I’ve BOUGHT where I’m not beta testing post publishing.  I’m angry because I’ve paid good money for the yarn and the pattern book. I’ve invested countless hours knitting only to be bought down by a few measly stitches. I shouldn’t have to completely vet the pattern myself before I start knitting it. That’s why I PAID for the pattern.

I wouldn’t get so wrapped up if the problems were addressed in a timely manner. The arm sizing issue was first acknowledged by a knitalong participant in March. At the time, the pattern designer (who is also a knitalong participant) said she’d post a fix soon. I waited but nothing was done. At the end of May I sent Debbie Stoller a letter asking about the status of the pattern errors. 3 days later a fix was posted to the knitalong. It took almost 4 months for the fix and only after prodding. What bothers me is that I still haven’t received a response to the letters I sent and the errata STILL isn’t posted on the knit happens site. If I didn’t know about the knitalong I’d still be in the dark and that ain’t cool.

If a programmer wrote and sold a chunk of code with bugs in it, you'd better believe they'd post a patch ASAP or they’d be flamed out of existence. (Not to mention have a hell of a time selling another piece of code.) It saddens me the knitting book publishers don't spend time on quality assurance. I understand the pressures of publishing designs in a timely and fashionable manner but, c'mon, let's vet these patterns better. There should be some accountability for pattern errors and “oops, I guess the tech editor made a booboo” isn’t going to cut it for me on an expensive pattern.

again with the Not So Lucky

Our trip to the Northeast last week was just what I needed to get my knitting back on track. Five days visiting with family and friends meant that I could knit almost the entire time we were away. Not to mention all that airplane time, perfect! I chose to bring along a couple projects, the primary being a little black sweater. Some may remember that I've been knitting the Lucky Clover cardigan wrap although I haven't posted about it in eons. I finished the back piece in March and being disgruntled about the pattern errata for the sleeves, I'd put it in the WIP drawer and hadn't touched it since. I packed it in the suitcase and cast on for the right front in Plymouth. (Seen here lounging on the patio. Note the Canada coffee mug for the Canadian daughter-in-law. They always make me feel at home. I'll save the story of the maple fudge for another time. Oh, and happy Canada Day, happy 4th and happy anniversary to the Husband and I.)

I chose the right front because the sizing issues that irritated me about the sleeves should not have been a factor. The right front pattern was supposed to be (in theory) error free. I've worked on it since we got back and made some decent progress. Truthfully, I've finished all the knitting as per the right front instructions. The top of the front should decrease to a sharp point with one stitch left to bind off. Anyone care to guess why I have 10 stitches left on the needle? I swear, this sweater is giving me the fits. I'm off to chart it in Excel to determine whether it's the pattern that's off or whether it's me.

Fits I tell you. Fits.

clover in the clover

The back of my Lucky Clover wrap is finished. I finished it up Monday afternoon after an unsucessful search for a dark red zipper for Mariah (I swear this zipper will be the death of me.)

Word on the street is that there's a pattern problem with the sleeve sizes for Lucky Clover as you go up from the 36" size. Looking at the schematic, the sleeve for the 40" bust is only 11.5 inches around. And, uh, yeah, my arms are a titch bigger than that. I gather that the editor should have upsized by a half inch for each size, but that would still put the sleeve at just 12.5 inches around. After spending so many years shoveling snow and stalling chairlifts my biceps (although waaaaay out of shape) are a little bigger than that. I think I'll start in on knitting the fronts while the errata page is put together and they can get the sleeve sizing worked out.

in medium rotation

I admit it. I can be nerdy. For my birthday The Husband gifted me with an ipod mini. I freakin' LOVE the thing. Seriously. I take it everywhere. I was finding it hard to just chuck it into my purse where it clanged around with my keys and the camera, so I decided I needed to make a sock of some sort to protect it from my rough-housing. Know what was the perfect size? My lucky clover swatch. I just seamed up the sides and the bottom and ta da! I'm going to find a thinner ribbon for the top, but you get the idea.

Lucky Clover herself is coming along nicely too. I started with the back in the hopes of getting the biggest piece done while I'm still keen on it. I got gauge on size 3's the first go round so I'm pretty pleased.

Mariah pics are going to have to wait for a bit. For one, I have to find an adequate zipper (not to mention installing it.) And two, I have to wait for the Husband to help with a proper photo shoot when we have good lighting. Soon. Very soon.

...almost!

What's that? A swatch for Lucky Clover? Why yes, yes it is. You know what that means, don'cha?

Yep. Mariah is off the needles and blocking quietly on the floor. Is she done now?

Now?

How 'bout now?

Now?

always after me lucky charms

I've been plugging away on Mariah's hood. She's almost done. Almost. It seems that I've been working on the hood for a month now and in fact, I have. I've hit a bit of a wall. I was starting to think that frogging elves were sneaking in in the middle of the night ripping out the measly one or two rows I've knit each day. But the truth of it is that I've been working on other projects. Secret projects for a pal, some tote bags, some needle cases, almost everything except Mariah. The weather got very warm and she just fell off the priority list. My focus for the next week is to knit the last 2 inches (I know - easy, fast!) and finish her up. Expect my first knitting FO pics for 2005 early next week.

Once Mariah is done, I'll start my next project. I can't think of a better day than St. Patrick's day to officially announce that the next on my list is Lucky Clover. The yarn has arrived and is patiently waiting in the stash.  I ordered the Rowan - my first ever Rowan - from Jannette on ebay. Fantastic service, fantastic prices. I was very impressed. I'm thinking about knitting it with short sleeves, but I haven't made up my mind yet. I'll have to cruise through the knitalong blog archives and see what other folks are up to. Anybody else notice that Donna and I seem to be knitting the exact same thing these days?