Monday, February 24, 2014

Happy Endings

This week brought this wonderful book into my life, Tudor Roses (2013 edition) by Alice Starmore.
It's a reworking of the 1998 book of the same name, but with the sweaters reknit, rephotographed and somewhat redesigned. Some of the original sweaters are posted on Ravelry.
Some of the new ones don't have photos available on Ravelry yet, but watch for them...unless you get the book, and then you can see them all.
The one I have been wanting to do is the Mary Tudor sweater, a pullover in 1998 and a cardigan in the new version. I( like the new version better.)
When I discovered that this book was out, I snapped it up. The 1998 version was out-of-print, and was selling on Amazon for $600+. I tried to find it in a library, but the libraries that had the book had it listed as "missing." I assume that is the same thing as "stolen." I had a gift certificate from Amazon for Christmas, so the the new edition of the book was virtually free!
We braved the snow on Thursday to meet for Common Threads at Ellen's. We had a great turnout, in spite of the weather.
Janet has continued to practice machine appliqué, including working on these chicks. (Sorry about the back lighting. Next time I need to choose my seat more carefully.)
She also finished her Heart Quilt. (Upper corners aren't rounded. Janet is holding on there.)
She used the leftover fabrics in this quilt top.
Margareth's pullover is coming along. She's working on the bottom ribbing and then just has the sleeves to go.
She's been smiling alot these days, but she had been smiling ever since she arrived and told us that her boyfriend had proposed on Valentine's Day. I think her "smiler" was exhausted when I took this photo. 
DH's Christmas Waffle sweater is dry, so I got a photo of it blocked and modeled.
Now I'm afraid DH will wear it in the house all the time and turn down the thermostat even further. That thought spurred me on to finish a warm sweater for myself. The Dogwood Blossoms is blocking! Here it is before finishing the steek edges inside, darning in dangling ends of yarn and blocking. 
We had a hard time putting the wooly board together inside my sweater. After we struggled it onto the wooly board, I took it out in the street to get a photo.
It's a little different from the pattern. I changed the sleeve to a drop shoulder instead of a capped shoulder, BO sts below the armescye steeks, split the top of the sleeve at the underarm by knitting back and forth for the last 2" and added a triangular gusset. For the colors, I substituted the discontinued color "Nutmeg" for "Almond" and reduced the amount of "Rose Hip" overall. I threw in a bit of greenish-gold colors, too. It makes me warm just to look at it!
My goal was to finish these two sweaters during the Ravellenic Games, which ended yesterday, so I'm pleased, even though I barely made it.
What's on my needles: Ready to CO new sweater for Rocky. "Green Tea" socks, second sock coming along, working on the foot. 
What's on my loom: Christmas present scarves, in holding pattern. 
What's on my Featherweight: Piecing the second I-spy quilt, this one for Soren. Sewing day didn't happen this week. Life got in the way.
What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer, from Audible. (Fantastic narrator!) Now listening to the sequel to A Discovery of WitchesShadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness. Finished reading Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen, by Sally Smith O'Rourke. Now back to Dragonseye by Anne McCaffrey, procured again from the library after a long wait.
What's my app of the week: NBC Sports Live Extra. It came in handy during the Olympics. 
What's in my wine glass: Alice White Shiraz 2012, the big bottle. 

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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