yesterday, i finally served my jury duty like the good citizen that i am. remember when i was complaining about it back in january and then i ended up postponing it? yep, those few months really flew and the summons hit my mailbox again a few weeks ago. my suggestion to anyone who gets served is to postpone it and then give the date to be called again for a monday. i don’t think that people like to schedule their court dates for mondays so there’s bound to be a small case load, at least that’s how it was for me.
of course, it was raining and windy over in downtown brooklyn and i was stuck with the wimpiest umbrella around. it snapped in half and got blown inside out the minute i stepped out of the station. piece of crap. then i went to the wrong courthouse and had to walk an extra three blocks in the sideways rain. i got to court soaking wet and sweating and generally grumpy. not happy!! but the rest of the day went smoothly. i casted on for green gables the friday before (but then i screwed up the lace on sunday night and ripped and re-casted back on again) and had it with me along with a good book and something to eat so once i was dry, i was happily relaxing in the comfy juror chairs.
the courthouse at 320 jay street is brand new according to KP and it showed. the chairs were black fake leather and comfortable, comfortable enough to sleep in as demonstrated by several potential jurors throughout the day. they had a nice lounge area with tons of stuff in the vending machines. i knit almost the entire time while listening to my ipod turned on way low. everytime they got on the loudspeaker to call new jurors, i put away all of my belongings figuring it would be my time to be called but each time i was not. after lunch, i sat there again and read and then at 3:45 they dismissed us all due to a small case load for the day! i don’t have to go back for SIX years!
i got a lot done on my green gable.
green gable progress
i’ve been following the KAL which i’m a member of and now i have serious questions about a few items.
(edited in the extended post to correct my stupid and illiterate self)
first, high energy jenny aka HEJ wrote an entry about the cast-on method. she said that the zephyr girls recommend a backwards loop cast on but then HEJ put up a photo to show how that’s done and it’s the wrong photo! her photo demonstrates a long-tail cast on (EDIT: um… i should re-read things more often. HEJ actually gave this other cast-on method instead of backwards loop and i totally missed her explanation. i’m such an ass. i should try that cast-on sometime!) the backwards loop cast on is significantly stretchier than the long-tail and will result in more of a boat neck which is what i wanted so that’s what i did.
the cast on + purl
here is the cast on with a purl row before joining. my one thing i wish i had done differently was to cast on ONE more stitch at the back and then for the join after the purl row i should have then knit the first and last stitch to join making it a very clean and unnoticeable join. oh well. following the lace is easy but you do have to pay attention and remember to put the final YO in the section B part of the lace (my mistake on sunday night was actually that i forgot a k1f&b and then tried to “fix” the lace before realizing that my problem WASN’T the lace. oh well. i had some chocolate and wine to calm myself after ripping out all of my work.)
love the lace
anyway, now what i’m worried the most about is sizing. according to the pattern, the medium should fit me well but the resultant stitch count doesn’t equal the correct amount for 37″. HEJ explains it all in this post (and she did a really awesome job with the math here… thanks!) i’m ready to do another repeat or two of the lace portion but then i’m afraid of the arm holes being too big like the somewhat cowl. i think that i’m going to have to try it on a couple of times and experiment and maybe even do some short row shaping in the bust.
this weekend i also finished the slinky garter wrap but it’s been raining here and i haven’t been able to get a nice picture of it yet. then i was feeling like the sewing machine was being neglected. poor thing! a while back i saw this tutorial on whipup.net to make pants into a skirt. i had this pair of banana republic pants that were way too big in the seat so i decided they had to go or be converted.
the pants
this is how they started. i turned them inside out and ripped the inseam. i then put them on and marked where the hem should be and marked the seat where my hips are the widest. then i followed the instructions by drawing a line from the widest part of the back to the hem and then another line from the bottom of the front zipper to the hem, basted the skirt and tried it on!
it’s perfect! i did most of it on saturday and hemmed it up on sunday but now i want to put a little embroidery on it too. so i’ve got my sublime stitch kit ready to go! i was going to put a cute, very mod cat on the front right bottom but now i’m thinking some mod parallelograms would be better. i’m not sure. gonna decide tonight and then iron them on.
so lots of crafty stuff going on here! if i wasn’t on eleven (yes ELEVEN) projects at work right now i would probably post more but i’m swamped. hopefully i can keep up posting twice per week until we hire some new heads here and then i can go back to posting more than three times per week. i miss it.
Skylar
Ugh, I want to start that Green Gable soon, but now I am stressing that it will be a pain in the (boat)neck. And to make things worse, I am totally wanting to start the Seaberry Shell from IK Summer 2006, but I have some concerns about the gauge of the yarn. Do you have the latest mag? If so, tell me what you think…is the gauge in the mag the gauge for the yarn, with 4 held together as the pattern suggests? Oooorrrr, is it the gauge for the yarn and holding 4 together would make it less stitches to the inch. Thanks for the help in advance!
May 16, 2006 @ 3:01 PM
Erica B.
Good luck with green gable. Don’t stress over it… it’s really simple. Remember, I’ve only been knitting since this past November and I had no problems with it. If you read everything that’s being posted on the KAL blog, it’ll just confuse you. Go with your own instincts, know your measurements and just keep trying it on. I know it’s a pain to have to keep taking it off of the needles, but it’ll be worth it in the in.
That is so creative to turn pants into a skirt. I’ll have to check that out!
May 16, 2006 @ 3:14 PM
Veronique
I can’t believe you’re done with jury duty after one day!! In Manhattan it’s 3 full days of sitting in a stuffy waiting room. (And of course, I got called for a one week-long trial on my 3d day).
Can’t wait to see you skirt (well, if it ever stops raining and you can actually wear it). I think the Sublime Stitching is going to be a great touch.
May 16, 2006 @ 3:38 PM
gleek
skylar, i’ll check the magazine tonight!
thanks erica b, my main problem with raglan sweaters is the proportion of armhole to chest size. i have a large chest but small arms so if i make the chest bigger then the arms get bigger and then i hate it
so i have to figure out what the good median is and then possibly add some short rows to make the chest bigger. i’m not sure yet.
i think that i’m going to have to turn some of my old jeans into skirts
now too! not only is the sewing fun but doing the embroidery is fun too!
May 16, 2006 @ 3:41 PM
caitlyn
I really like the color of your Green Gable — very pretty and perfect for spring and summer! Can’t wait to see the modeled skirt.
May 16, 2006 @ 3:56 PM
lyn
I had a bit of trouble with the GG pattern and if it wasn’t for the KAL, I wouldn’t have thought of using the backloop cast-on. My first attempt with the long-tail CO produced a really high neckline and of course the fit was way off. I tried to follow the pattern correctly in my second attempt but I got 172 sts in total after removing the sleeve stitches. I’m knitting the M size too. I can’t be bothered with the math at this moment as long as it fits. Good luck with your GG! The colour you picked is so pretty
And I love your blog!
May 16, 2006 @ 4:36 PM
carrie m
i’m glad your jury duty was so painless! mine was only a day, too, and i actually wouldn’t have minded just sitting there for another. i was working on tubey at the time.
sorry that green gables is causing you woe. sounds like you have a good handle on the situation, huh? i’m considering their “ms. marigold” pattern next, i think.
May 16, 2006 @ 5:47 PM
Hammy
I’m glad for the defendent that after your upsetting walk in the rain that they didn’t have you judging their guilt/innocence.
May 16, 2006 @ 9:26 PM
Stacey
Looking good on Green Gables so far! I love the lace.
I misread stuff all the time it seems – quite ironic because I typically am a detail nut. Luckily I usually catch it myself and apologize profusely!
Love the pants idea…..
May 17, 2006 @ 9:02 AM
Wanett
KP is right, that courthouse is brand spankin’ new. I assure you that Jury duty served across the rode on Adams street is neither comfy or enjoyable (although people still sleep). I love the color you chose for GG, and thanks for your compliment on Ruby = ).
PS I’ve been feeling really crafty lately too. I have checked out five books on embroidery from the library.
May 17, 2006 @ 7:12 PM
Katie
Green Gables is looking so lovely! And how nice to have a day of knitting and NOT be called in to actually sit the jury. Lucky you, in spite of the rain. Um, how can you manage 11 projects??? I’m dying when I have 3 on the needles.
May 18, 2006 @ 1:38 PM
gleek
11 project at work.. in my 9 to 5 job, not in knitting. i wish i had the time for 11 knitting projects!!
May 18, 2006 @ 1:50 PM