Paired Decreases and a Meme
The sweater has become my work-break knitting while we pack and move (there's a 2-week overlap of moving out and moving in so our living situation is in limbo). Here's the front; the random fluffiness of the mohair gives stockinette such an interesting texture. As of this writing I'm halfway up the first sleeve; Becks is on her 2nd. I'll probably stop before the decreasing, knit the neck ribbing, and fit it. Like Froggy and Emma I have looong arms, so I want to make sure I knit enough sleeve to cover the wrists!
My usual set of paired decreases is SKPO and K2tog, which I used for the armhole shaping. And then I borrowed Maggie Righetti's Knitting in Plain English from the library and found that she recommended SSK and K2tog as a better paired decrease, which is what I did here (although you can barely see it). Additionally, a better technique to go with SKPO would be what Miss Righetti called "K-move-PSSO-move", which involves knitting a stitch, transferring it back to the left needle and passing the 2nd stitch over it, then moving it to the right. Did you know that? I didn't. Yay for new techniques!
I bought Nigella Lawson's Feast last week. Has anyone seen the cover? She's wearing a fuzzy red scarf/shrug that looks absolutely gorgeous. It's garter stitch all the way, but in cashmere (I imagine that's what she'd wear) it looks luxurious. The book is a good read, too. I'm not much of a cookbook cook (or a cook, as a matter of fact), but some of the recipes under "Chocolate Hall of Fame" are tempting!
Found the link for 2005 Knitalongs, thanks to La.
Reading: I'm following Large Hearted Boy's meme of reading 52 books in 52 weeks. I'm keeping the list in the About section, so if you can think of any, fiction or nonfiction, serious or not, I would love to know. Just drop a line in my comments. So far I've read {1} A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton, {2} Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg, and {3} Contact, by Carl Sagan. I'm currently reading {4} A Fire upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. I'd love to try your favorite reads!
You absolutely must read William Maxwell's So Long, See You Tomorrow. It is truly a masterpiece and it's short to boot - about 140 pages. But man, he packs a wallop! I can't say enough about this book. I've read it seven or eight times. Please read it. You won't regret it.
Good luck with your goal! Sounds lofty, but oh so fun.
Oh and I'm tagging you it - check out my blog! ;)
MJ, wishing you luck with the move. That can be a stressful time. Your green sweater is so pretty! Can't wait to see more. Thanks for sharing that new technique--I have never heard of that!
I have about a million books I could tell you about... I am going to be a librarian :P
Another thing with the decreases. A lot of people recommend doing an SSK as slip (as if to knit), slip (as if to *purl*), knit the two together. Nancie Wiseman's "Knitter's Boook of Finishing Techniques" does a nice job of explaining decrease and increases and which ones go best together.
MJ, I can send you a list of books that I have enjoyed. I read way more than 52 books in a year. Let me know if you have a preference for certain genres. Let me know what genres you don't like. I could never recommend anything in horror since I don't read that one genre.
The one book I would recommend to any one is Michael Chabon's The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. I don't know any one who hasn't loved it.
Wow, your Fluffy Sweater looks really good and cheery! Perfect for spring, I'd say :-) Can't wait to see it all finished and you in it.
i was just looking at the nigella books at borders and thought the cover photo is gorgeous. i have her other books and really enjoy them, but i'm sometimes overwhelmed by making huge meals and didn't feel it was the book for me. that was of course until i got in the car, hee hee. i wanna go back and get it. i'm hoping that e! features segments with rec's from this book as they did the others. i just love her show.i didn't really get a chance to flip through it, but from what i saw it had many yummy photos.
some favorite reads - 'independent people' by halldor laxness, 'the secret history' by donna tartt, 'white teeth' by zadie smith
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Wonderful read!! You won't be able to put it down.
sounds like it's coming along well! half way up the sleeve... i made my sleeves longer too, by 2 cm, and much needed... it's now nearly finished! i've just got to sew in one more sleeve and then weave in the ends! i'm thrilled with my sweater, so can't wait to see yours too :)
ps. when's moving day? 3 weeks today i'll be waking up for the first time in my new place!