Thursday, April 16, 2009

Marble Child's Hooded Jacket

Yarn: James C. Brett Marble - Colorway MT16 Size 5 needles
Pattern: Child Hooded Jacket from Knitpicks.com (download $1.99)

This hooded sweater will be for my grandchild, Jakob.

I try to be considerate when knitting for a baby or small child. Moms are so busy these days that they don't have time to deal with "fussy" garments. I'm not an acrylic fan but will resort to it.

I was all ready to tell you how much I loved this yarn. The pink colorway is also gorgeous. However, I was unhappy when all of a sudden, in the middle of a very long row (the back and sides are knitted together) there was a break/fraying of the yarn. I also began to realize that the WPI (wraps per inch) were inconsistent making it difficult to achieve gauge. Ha!! I never swatch. I hate to swatch. I suppose if I were knitting a fitted garment with expensive yarn, you bet......I'd swatch.

Then to add to my discontent with the yarn, when I started the second skein and pulled from the center, I realized that yards and yards of this yarn were just one color and had not been dyed liked the previous skein even though it had the same dye lot.

Notice the edge of the band down the front of the sweater. It has an I-cord appearance called SES (slipped edge stitch) and is done as so.....
Slip last st of each row as if to purl, with yarn in front of needle.
Knit first stitch of each row straight into back of stitch
I purchased this yarn at a LYS so it should be reliable. I will inform them as it is a new brand they are carrying.

Aside from knitting.........

We've all heard the term "don't judge a book by its cover", or "it's what is on the inside that counts." I was reading about this (<--click) in the news today and it absolutely warmed my heart and got me misty eyed. Folks in the audience had her pegged as a "loser". This clip has had over 3,000,000 hits on YouTube in the last two days alone. I've listened to one version or another several times already.

I didn't mention in my previous post that one of my relatives sent me home with a
tourtiere. This recipe/tradition goes back to the early 1600's. I was so pleased to receive one.

Usually served at Christmas along with pickled beets, extras are kept in the freezer for other holiday occasions. About three years ago, my daughter and I made 24 of these pies. We use cinnamon/cloves/allspice for seasonings with a 50/50 ratio of pork and beef along with potatoes. We do not use store-bought pie crust to lighten the work. Hard workers we are, for sure. I don't need to tell you how exhausted I was after that marathon. My daughter gives some of these pies to her repairmen, etc. Smart girl!!! She always gets a quick response when she needs them.

Also, Rachel from NZ, I am not able to respond to you because of your settings. I do enjoy hearing from you and don't want you to think I'm ignoring you.

Happy Knitting!

12 comments:

  1. What a bummer about the yarn. It is beautiful to look at, though.

    I've never heard of a tourtoire before; is it anything like mincemeat pie? :-o

    The youtube video was awesome! How sad it is that we so often judge people based on what we see. That woman has the most amazing voice, and she had the cutest personality, too!

    Your daughter's idea of giving those pies to repairmen is very clever. I'm going to remember that!

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  2. That's some pretty yarn - it really would be a disappointment to have part of it not right!
    I saw that video this morning - it made me cry. Hoorah for a middle-aged woman chasing a dream!

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  3. The video make me tear up. What a beautiful voice and I think it was a good lesson for everyone in the audience and everyone watching not to judge based on appearances.

    That yarn is working up very pretty! I love marled yarns.

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  4. From Lizzie:

    Jakob's sweater is so beautiful! I do love the colors!

    I remember when you made those pies.

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  5. The hooded sweater is beautiful! I hate when I have such high expectations for a yarn & it doesn't work out. But....you seemed to over come.

    I agree 100% about not judging a book by it's cover. My hubby is blind & sometimes I wish others could "see" the world through his eyes!

    Those pies look awesome!

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  6. The comment word is currently on your blog,I love the hooded jacket! Whenever I email you with a comment.it's because the word comment is not there. Unfortunately I don't knowhow to fix it when it is gone.

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  7. What a disapointment with the yarn. Although in the first picture it sure looks beautiful.
    I have so enjoyed listening to her. Her voice is amazing. :)

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  8. Oh my gosh are you going to take that one skein back and exchange it? I would! They need to see what you are talking about. The color looks like a nice one tho, I bet the hooded sweater will look so cute!!!

    Cool for the pies, they sound very good :), like a true mince meat pie.

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  9. I love the new look of your blog, the Lighthouse is awesome. Mom loved lighthouses and had quite a collection of them.

    I like the sweater and the look of the yarn, sorry to hear you had issues with it.

    Thanks so much for all your sweet support over these last several months, it has been so appreciated.

    Sandy

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  10. Hi Joansie,
    I do have an account set up here at blogger that I don't use, so I'll see if I can change my email address setting. I didn't think you were ignoring me though. :o) It's such a delight to visit your blog, and your part of the world is a place my husband and I would love to visit one day. And I love knitting :o)
    Rachel L

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