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march 12, 2010
and now for something completely different... No kids' sweater or fun hat today.
Instead we have an incredibly long sweater dress. No, not knitted by me. I'm sure it was knitted by some machine somewhere. Because, really, who is going to knit ALL of that?! So, I've been in a bit of a funk recently. I'm not knitting much and not sewing at all. I pretty much crash on the sofa at night, exhausted from my new life as an overworked and underpaid chauffeur. (We've gotten to the point where the boys are having different activities at different times and each afternoon has me dropping one off, then setting the kitchen timer so I won't be late to pick up the other one and so on and so on. I did, however, find 35¢ in their laundry the other day, which I kept as a tip.) Anyhoo, when my mom brought me this crazy long sweater dress that belongs to her friend and asked me if I could alter it a bit for her, I thought a little something different might help me get back into the swing of things.
The dress is actually a pretty awesome cable knit. But very sensibly, my mom's friend would prefer that it were regular sweater length. After a quick consultation with my knitting group, I've got a plan. I'll be carefully cutting off the lower half, being sure to secure the stitches and then reclaiming a bunch of the yarn to reknit the ribbing. As long as it doesn't involve any grafting in that cable pattern, I can do it! posted by alison at 9:32 am | in
recycling
Comments
I'm sure seeing it in person would probably answer this question but why not just graft the existing ribbing on to the newly shortened dress? Also, It looks a bit stretched from hanging, I'd wash it and lay it flat to dry before chopping it off. Posted by: Jayme at March 12, 2010 10:52 AMI'm sure that with a bit of care you could even graft in the cable section if you had to! Posted by: Seanna Lea at March 12, 2010 11:10 AMYou sound like my daughter. She also has 3 kids - 2 boys & a girl. The boys are in 2nd grade & kindergarten & have different schedules & the little girl is in preschool. She walks the boys to school & 3 days a week walks Baby M to preschool (in exactly the opposite direction.) Then, on preschool days, she walks to preschool to pick up M & then walks to the local school to pick up the younger boy. Then a couple of hours later they walk back to school to pick up the oldest. Both schools are less than a mile from their house but in different directions. I think she walks close to 5 miles a day. Then of course there is soccer & after school activities. She is frazzled but the up side is that she can fit into her size 6 jeans again - she's lost about 15 lb. Next year will be a little easier when both boys are on the same schedule. Love that dress but it will look much better as a sweater. I too would probably pick up stitches & knit the ribbing down from the cut off dress. But then I do hate to graft stuff. Posted by: Donna at March 12, 2010 12:51 PMYou can do it! I've used that method to fix my own knitting. Posted by: LoriAngela at March 12, 2010 1:45 PMOOOh, I think you should make the bottom half into a skirt too! (Too ambitious?) Good luck with all your driving. Posted by: Sarah at March 12, 2010 2:36 PMHope you're feeling more chipper soon. If this project doesn't do the trick entirely, pick up a skein of Pagewood Farms Alyeska. I just recently discovered it, and no... I'm not affiliated with Pagewood in any way. It's simply my current form of therapy. Fingering weight yarn: 80% wool, 10% nylon and 10% cashmere. I'm making "Simple Things" from it, a little shawlette designed by Mary Heather from Ravelry. Oh... and the colors are awesome, too! I feel better every time I pick up the project. :) Posted by: Jess at March 12, 2010 3:14 PMThe chauffeuring mom gig lasts until your kids get their drivers' licenses - then you lie awake at night waiting for the car to come in! Posted by: Mary K. in Rockport at March 13, 2010 9:59 AMYou are very brave! I admit your skill and confidence! Posted by: Milly at March 14, 2010 9:52 AMI hope you feel better soon. Your project sounds like fun! Posted by: SockPixie at March 15, 2010 10:37 AMYou could take the part that you cut off and make a cowl out it? It all depends on how much you wind up hating the project, of course. Posted by: Dava at March 15, 2010 10:41 AMThe laundry rule in our house is that anything that comes out in the wash belongs to the person who's doing the laundry. My husband ended up leaving me a $200 tip once when he won a drawing at work--After a quick trip to the yarn store, I let him have the change Posted by: Annie at March 18, 2010 10:41 AMI did my best knitting in the car. Not driving of couse, but sitting and waiting through piano lessons, swim practice, tutoring, You name it. I kind of miss it and you will too when its all over. No I lay awake and worry when my 19 tear old son's behind the wheel...and I knit. Sounds like a plan and you sound like a brave woman to try it. Enjoy! Posted by: Orli at March 21, 2010 12:29 PM |
