Monday, May 08, 2006

Mary has become contrary

Karin asked my recently how Mary is doing, and by way of an answer I told her that I've finished the first sleeve on the ribbon edged cardigan. I only felt a mild twinge of guilt that she has been consigned to the back of the wardrobe....So the ribbon edged cardigan is coming on a treat. The sleeves have been the most difficult (if you call it that) to do so far. Because I am not using the stated yarn and the yarn is a heavier weight, I've had to do a little bit of tweaking to make sure the arms are not too long and shape in the right places. I've also been practicing short row shaping (SRS) on this garment too. I did use SRS on Jinny, but that was under the close eye of Karin. Being back stitch queen, I was reluctant to change my ways, however the seam quality is so much better, I've had to convert.

Bee asked how many balls of cotton glace I used to make Jinny, given the extension of the waist. The pattern called for 12 balls (I used the largest size). I used 13 balls. Glace goes a long way and even with a 7cm lengthening, it still only took one ball. I also used just under 4000 beads. Of the 8 packs I had (this took 2 extra visits to Liberty), I have less than half a pack left. Each pack contains approx. 500 beads. Its astonishing when you look at the tiny pack.

Just to show how important it is I finish Mary, I have today unraveled a
cabled sleevless top I made 2 years ago using Debbie Bliss cotton aran silk. I love this yarn, I love the top, it doesn't love me. So, as a break from sleeve island, I unraveled the top, instead of working on Mary. The yarn is destined to be a sofa cushion because I don't have enough to do anything else and it has been discontinued. Must go, Mary is calling me from the wardrobe!!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your Jinny is fabulous (and you make it look divine - that skinny model does not do it justice), I never even noticed it in the book but when you posted photos it looks sassy and a must-knit. Love it

Anonymous said...

Lovely Jinny - absolutely stunning in the black shimmering with the beads.

Anonymous said...

Hi Johanne - do you still want that silk yarn? Its not a problem at all if you don't but I noticed it this morning in the shop sitting their with its label on saying "Johanne to collect" and thought I'd check in on you. Sorry for using your comments but with our luck on email I thought it was best! take care..