I find it difficult once the weather starts to warm up to stick to any one thing for very long. My creativity just seems to shoot through the roof, and I get all these great ideas that I want to start immediately (some of which I do) but I never have time to see any of them all the way through without losing the drive or the idea for others. I have the shop sample that needs to be finished, and I started another pair of socks for Alex (complete with two false starts) that I should finish while I still remember what I'm doing with them. I have school work to do, and new socks from a book I just bought that are begging to be knit, and new sock yarn that I picked up that I want to work with, and new sock yarn that I want to order for some socks for my mom (and a pair of thigh-highs in the new book!), and there's just too much! On a side note, my husband just approved the purchase of said yarn for the thigh-highs, lol.
So what does a girl, with too much to do and not enough time to get it done in, do on a rainy Friday? I watched episodes of Bones season 1 & 2. Brennan is wearing this beautiful sweater in the very last episode of season 1, in her apartment while she talks to Booth about her parents. I just loved it, and I decided that I want one. I took the advise of another designer, and decided to sketch it out. I can tell from the show that it's a shawl-collared cardigan with buttons and ribbing along the bottom, the button band, and the top of the shoulders. It looks like the neck decreases are exaggerated, starting about half way down the front pieces and continuing all the way up to the shoulders so that the front pieces are very narrow, almost like a vest. There are also sections of 2x2 ribbing along the sides where the obliques are, and on the bottom of the sleeves (sleeves are set-in). The rest is all stockinette stitch. I drew out the front (without collar & with collar), the back, and the front and back of the sleeves. I need to find a good yarn and do some swatching, and then I need to read my reference books regarding sweater construction. I think I know what I want to do and I've knit enough sweaters by now to have a pretty basic idea how to put one together. What I need is some ideas regarding decrease placement (I'm going for an over-sized cardigan with some waist shaping...comfort doesn't mean boxy). The sweater in the episode was a long coat, reaching mid-thigh, with pockets. I'm thinking longer but not that long, maybe 3-4 inches past the top of my pants, and I'm nixing the pockets. I have a store-bought sweater that fits me well, and I plan to measure that (and add a few inches of ease) to get an idea of my dimensions. I also have to consider yarn and gauge. I'm thinking an aran or chunky weight yarn, like maybe Cascade Eco + or Queensland Rustic Aran. I'll have to do some different swatches and see how I feel about the look of the fabric. I don't want anything to take away from the ribbing, as that's what really makes this sweater. Then, if I can manage to stay with this project long enough to get it written, I'll have to see what I can do about getting some help to write it up for different size options.
Yesterday I took Dante to his appointment at East Bay and we saw a clinician. She is going to refer us to a psychiatrist to have him reevaluated just to see if there have been any changes since his initial diagnosis. There aren't any openings with any psychiatrists right away, so we'll return after next week and see her until someone comes open. She validated my concerns over the way that Dante behaves on his meds, and wants to see him when he's off to get an idea of the difference. He's on vacation after next week and won't be on his meds, so we're going back then. I'm feeling good about this. They're going to contact the school as well to get their paperwork and someone with fresh eyes will be able to see what they have (or haven't) done for him. This will be good!
I also got a call today from the sleep clinic!! Yes! They got my referral and paperwork, and Alex is scheduled for May 24th to come in. The first visit will be about an hour and a half, and we'll go from there. I really hope they can tell us what's going on here, because I really need to get this little boy straightened out. May is going to be a busy month, as that's when Dante will be going in for reevaluation.
Back to knitting, or more correctly crocheting, I watched the videos from Interweave Crochet teaching how to do Tunisian Crochet today. If you've never heard of it, check it out (click Next on the top of the video to advance through them). It's like the coolest little hybrid of knitting and crocheting. The technique is done with a long, straight crochet hook but the stitches look like knitting. There's a pattern in the Winter 2009 Interweave Crochet magazine that uses the technique so they added these videos to explain how it's done. I love to learn new things, but I mostly watched it so that I would understand what customers are talking about when they come in asking for it (which happened a few times this Winter, and I had nothing). I think I'd like to try it out as a sample for the shop, and if it works out like I think it will, maybe I can offer a workshop on it. It's easier than it looks. I think I'm going to go play right now and see what I can come up with, lol.
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