When in doubt, rip it out.

Last week Eleanor blocked the pieces of her CustomFit sweater in Debbie Bliss Milano (Aran: 40% Wool, 28% Nylon, 18% Silk, 14% Other, 105 yards).  Today she sewed the set in sleeves and it went together like a dream.  No pictures till she's done. I will say that those of us who were there were very excited about it.

The Noro Silk Garden Solo (Aran: 45% Mohair, 45% Silk, 10% Wool, 110 yards) sits on a shelf directly behind where Eleanor sits during Stitch and Chat.  It has beckoned to her since it went on the shelf.  She finally gave into the siren's call and bought the yarn.  She's going to knit another L'Enveloppe.   And I quote, "yarn doesn't get much better than this". For some reason the crocheted cast on gave her more trouble this time and she ripped out/started over several times.  I'm glad she persevered.

She picked out yarn to knit the Color Play Mohair Scarf with Kid Silk Haze (Lace: 70% Mohair, 30% Silk, 229 yards) and Debbie Bliss Angel (Lace: 76% Mohair, 24% Silk, 219 yards). It will make a good travel project: small and squishy, mindless to knit.

Calann knit a "micro" swatch with Snugly Baby Bamboo (DK: 80% Bamboo, 20% Wool, 105 yards). Her pattern is Lily's Layette which is designed for fingering weight yarn. She knit this pattern before with this yarn.  She's not going to get gauge because she's not knitting with the yarn it calls for, and she is ok with that. If she is, then I am.

Allison reached the back neck shaping in her CustomFit sweater in Schulana Kid Paillettes (Lace: 42% Mohair, 40% Polyester, 18% Silk, 136 yards). We were all 'oohing and ahhin' over her sweater.

She also knit another Fallen Halo in Artyarns Cashmere Glitter (DK: 100% Cashmere plied w/ metallic, 170 yards) and Jade Sapphire Cashmere 6 (Worsted: 100% Cashmere, 150 yards). This one was a gift. 

Cornelia is knitting my Simple & Easy Hat for her grandson in UPenn colors, Cascade 220 Superwash (100% Superwash Merino, 220 yards). So far four generations in her family have gone to UPenn.

She doesn't like knitting with circulars, so she knit the ribbing flat and then connected in the round when there was enough material to keep it from getting twisted. She'll sew up the seam for the ribbing when she's done.

Cornelia picked out Cascade 128 Superwash (Bulky: 100% Superwash Merino, 128 yards) to knit the Confidence Pullover. We reviewed the ssk and ssp decreases.

Patty came for the first time today.  She's been working on a ribbed scarf in Juniper Moon Farm Findley DK (DK: 50% Silk, 50% Merino, 131 yards).  She was having a lot of trouble getting it to look the way she wanted it to.  Sometimes she would get off pattern, it was a little looser, and narrower than she liked.  This is a gift for her son and she wants it to look polished.  I always ask "If you leave a mistake in, will it keep you up nights?" Her answer was a definitive "YES". Some people can fudge forward and some can't.  Some mistakes affect the integrity of the item and warrant ripping back regardless.

Another thing we discussed was whether to cast on a multiple of 6 (k3, p3 rib pattern) so she is always starting with a k3, easy to remember. Or, begin and end a row with the same k3 or p3 so it looks more balanced.  With a rib scarf, for the most part, only the knitter is going to notice this difference when it's done.  We erred on the side of beginning every row the same for sanity's sake. Always opt for sanity, good life lesson. ;)
 
We did a couple of things, increased the number of stitches cast on, and added stitch markers throughout the whole row.  So she k3, placed a marker, p3, placed a marker, and so on.  This way, she had to look at the stitches to move the marker and make sure she maintained the pattern.

One thing we all agreed upon is that almost everything we have knit, we have ripped out at least once.

Random conversation notes:

Books:
Dark Places
Romanoff Sisters
All the Light We Cannot See

Louise Penny Author of the Armand Gamache series

Hemingway's Wife

Smartphone game:
2 Dots - thank you very much Danni and Allison for getting me addicted to yet ANOTHER game. :)

British TV
Inspector Morse
Call the Midwife
Mr. Selfridge
Are you being Served
One Foot in the Grave (courtesy of my parents - Hi Mom, Hi Dad)
Pie in the sky (also courtesy of my parents)

Broadway Play
Gentlemans Guide to Love & Murder