Navigation Tips

Free Patterns can be seen along the sidebar (on right side),
or you can use the Free Patterns label to view all posts.

Free Pseudo-Patterns or Pattern Outlines can be found using the Free Pseudo-Patterns label.

The most comprehensive listing of Patterns, Pseudo-Patterns, and Pattern Outlines can be found on the Pattern Bibliography page.

Please read the Blog Housekeeping section in the sidebar for more info.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Slow start on sweater

.
I'm off to a slow start on my February Lady Sweater. I just dived right in without swatching. I know this is bad practice. I knitted the first 3 rows, worked the stitch marker row, and then the first increase row (row 5) before getting stuck on the buttonhole row 6. The pattern did not specify how many stitches to bind off for the buttonhole! Should I bind off 2 stitches or 3 stitches? Suzann mentioned that garter stitch stretches. She also suggested that I purchase buttons, then knit up a swatch with the buttonholes and trying it out with my buttons. So until I find some buttons, this project is on hold.

I'm knitting this sweater with Elann Superwash Bamboo. This is my first time working with the yarn. It feels quite soft in my hands, I can see this becoming another favorite. The only issue I have with the yarn is that it is a very slippery on my needles.

----------<>----------

Why do power outages always happen at night? We had one starting around 8:45 PM which lasted until around 3:10 AM. I was lying in bed awake when the power returned, so I saw the night light turn on and heard something go beep.

I don't like nighttime power outages. Can't really do much reading, knitting, web surfing, or watching TV.

It was a good thing that I had picked up two lanterns a few months ago, a Coleman Family Size Lantern and a Coleman Personal Size Lantern, which I originally bought in case of a big earthquake. So we had some light sources that was better than flashlights. Still, it's not the same as having the use of the floor lamps.

Since the power outage was around 6 hrs, I wasn't sure everything in our fridge survived. I had some chicken in the fridge that I planned to cook tonight but threw it out just in case it was bad. We drank the milk, it seemed ok. Haven't yet touched the eggs, butter, yogurt, or cheese. I think everything in the freezer is ok.

I was sooooooo glad it was not terribly hot last night. We had a heat wave recently where we had to turn on some fans during the night. That wouldn't have been possible with a power outage. This made me think about how bad it must be to live in a much hotter area (Arizona and Texas popped into mind) and not have air conditioning or electric fans during a power outage.

On the upside, there were no new episodes of Naruto last night so I didn't miss anything.

.

7 stitch(es):

Anonymous said...

That is so smart to swatch buttons, too. I just forged ahead, thinking I'll find something that fits. I bound off five for my buttonholes; I'm planning on really chunky buttons! Or I can take up a stitch at the corner of the buttonhole, if the perfect button is smaller.

Anonymous said...

Just as an FYI, food in a half full freezer will last 24 hours if you don't open the door. A full freezer worth of food will keep for 48 hours, again, if you don't open the door.

How do I know this? :) Our power went out for 12 hours on Friday, so I checked the CDC and Red Cross websites for info.

TracyKM said...

I'm not knitting buttonholes in my Feb. sweater. I'm going to have my mom try it on when it's done, pick a spot, then sew on those big snaps, with a button on the outside. This way, she can also pick if she wants it to have more or less buttons, etc.
If you kept your fridge shut, things should be pretty much fine. Next time, offer the chicken on Freecycle for people who feed their pets raw meat. THey'd really appreciate it. The milk, etc, would probably all be fine but you can use them for baking if you're worried.

Aunt Kathy said...

My mom bought me a desktop air conditioner. It can be used with a power cord or batteries. It holds a frozen bottle of water, just perfect for those hot days/nights without power.

I agree as long as you kept the doors shut the food was probably fine. But hey I totally understand better safe then sorry

Anonymous said...

I swatched the Superwash Bamboo, and Marie, it stretched like crazy! More than most other yarns I have tried, in fact. I did return to normal, though. I'll have to blog about this.

Anonymous said...

Oops! I meant to say that the YARN returned to normal! I am still abnormal.

Jean said...

I have enjoyed knitting socks on two 24 inch circular needles, so far its been much easier to take along than the dpns. I really appreciate the details you provide about the yarns you use on your various projects, its very helpful.