Shrugging off the Shrug

Version 1 - I hate sewing so I thought it would be brilliant to knit the shrug in the round. I always get gauge so didn't bother doing a swatch. By the time I finished the first sleeve and was well on my way through the back, I decided the fabric was too tight. I wanted something looser. Ripped everything out and started with bigger needles.

Version 2 - This time, I casted on for the sleeve and knitted 4" and checked the gauge. Close enough...just off by a stitch or two. No problem. I wanted the shrug to be on the big side anyway. Merrily knitted the first sleeve, the back, and then the second sleeve. Keeping in mind that I wanted this shrug to be loose, I added 2 extra inches. Did I mention that because I wanted it on the big side, I casted on for the largest size? Well, I did. According to the pattern, this would give me 22" across the back when all done.

This morning, I noticed that I have only less than half a ball left and I still have the ruffles to do. Odd. I don't usually run out of yarn. Off I go to the LYS and found out they were out of the colour I'm using. If I'm lucky, I might have enought to do a simple edging. Got home and knitted the last three rows. I decided to pin the shrug together & make sure everything fits before binding off. It was too big. Measured it and it turns out that it was 5" too big across the back. 27" across the back meant that it was falling-off-my-shoulders-too-big. No wonder I ran out of yarn.

Version 3 will have to wait until another day when I'm not so frustrated.

Things that save the day:
1. Picked up fibre from Sweet Georgia. Can't wait to spin that.
2. Picked up more Noro Shirakaba in a different colour in case I want to make another shrug. This time, I bought extras.
3. First time ever! Four balls of Noro and only found two knots.

Twit

Twitter is a strange bird. Is there a prize you get for having lots of followers? Is that why people get all bent out of shape if you stop following them or not follow them back? I'm afraid I've offended a few people there. Oh well. Life goes on.

Teeny Tiny Tomatoes!!

When I first saw these, I thought they were jelly beans! Super teeny tiny cherry tomatoes. Weird year for growing veggies. I think the weather got too hot too fast and the poor little tomatoes didn't have a chance to grow before ripening. They're very tasty, though. It's like all the flavours of a regular tomato squished into a little jelly bean sized package.




I'm really going to miss being down by the waterfront when the construction for the Stadium is done. One could get used to the view here. This pic was taken this morning. No filter on the cell phone camera so the colour is a bit off.



A couple times a week, there would be a cruise ship parked in this spot. I love the atmosphere here when the place is teeming with lost tourists. It makes you feel like you're almost on vacation yourelf. :)

Things that makes me happy:
1. Teeny tiny tomatoes are better than no tomatoes.
2. Living in a place where people come for vacations.
3. Gibson's Fibre Fest this Friday! And I have 2 days off!

Woohoo! Blueberry crop!

Seriously! This is it. Our entire blueberry crop to date. Ok, not really...there were three more blueberries on that plate which got taste tested.

I really don't understand it. Things that are supposed to be super easy to grow would just not grow for us. Things that are supposed to be difficult to grow would spead like wildfire. To date, we have not successfully grown rhubarb. We've tried using store bought plants from reputable garden centres and cutting from friend's tried & try plants...nothing. I guess we can now add blueberries to that list now.

Things that are Double Rainbow:
1. Stat holiday Mondays.
2. Cooler weather for knitting & spinning.
3. Ice coffee cubes for making iced coffees.

Psst to Gillian - good idea about VitD. I will look into that. Unfortunately, I seriously doubt I could convince the guys to switch from cow's milk. I don't care for cow's milk so this is a great alternative for me.