Finished Halters and More Green

Pattern: Katja from Knitty
Yarn: Elann Denim and Lion Brand Cotton Ease
Dates: 5/25/06 – 5/30/06 (2 tops made in this time)

Notes: Once I found my size 7 circs these were a breeze. As I mentioned the other day, they are for my friends twins who are turning one in June. Except for 1 or 2 ends that I still have to weave in they’re done. As with the red top, I added the white picot edging to the bottom of the halter. I’m still not sure if I’ll hit the denim one with a bleach pen. I tend to think not because I kind of like it as is. I’ll go out this weekend and get hats to go with them – perhaps a white eyelet one and a denim one.

The pattern is very clear and works well with one troubling exception. When you start the body, it says to cast on more stitches and knit them before knitting the cups. After knitting the cups you cast on yet more stitches and then continue the body either in the round or back and forth. Can you see where the problem is? The first cast on stitches are knit an extra row so that there is weirdness in the back of the top. On one half of the tops back is one row longer than the other. You may be able to see that in the comparison picture here – then again, you may not. Take my word for it – it’s wonky. On the denim top I fixed this by not knitting the first set of cast on stitches before adding the cups. It worked just fine. I suppose that another solution would be to cast on all of the additional stitches at once and knit them before adding the cups. This way the seam or beginning of the round would be on the side and all the rows accross the back would be the same. Does this make sense? I hope so.

Today is the end of May and the end of Project Spectrum’s month of green. I really love green. It’s fresh and soothing all at once. I put together a quick little collage of a few of my favorite green things. If you want to know more, click on it and check my description.

This last picture is of a plant that has a little sentimental meaning to me. She doesn’t look so great right now but this ficus tree is beautiful to me. I bought it about 13 years ago when I was still living in New York. It was no more than a twig in a pot then with a half dozen leaves. We lived way to close to a nursery at the time and many plants followed me home so when Bruce saw this one sitting on top of the television he was not thrilled. He made fun of it and how pathetic it looked. I told him that one day it would be a tree and he just couldn’t believe it. Since then it’s survived 4 or 5 moves and rampant neglect and today it’s taller than I am. It sits in a corner of my kitchen and serves as a constant source of wonder and amazement.