Further Adventures In Patternmaking

Well here I am at O-Dark-Hundred (not even O-Dark-Thirty yet) still having trouble adjusting to Daylight Savings. I was pondering all night about my recent Patternmaking Episode and how to avoid doing so much work for no reason in future. To put it bluntly, I screwed up bigtime! The tape (the recommended Magic tape) shrank and puckered when I pressed it rendering all my careful measurements moot. Sheesh. Luckily I rechecked everything yesterday before I tried cutting out the fabric and discovered the problem. Back to the drawing board. Literally.

So instead of cutting and sewing I spent yesterday in the same position as I was in on Sunday: bent over my work table making shreds and confetti out of tissue paper. This time I used pins instead of tape. Though it wiggles around a little more, it really works better to hold the tissue flat. Maybe my tissue is too flimsy for the tape? Dunno, but it’s all I’ve got at the moment. So far I’ve gone through about 8 or so sheets with more checking and re-tracing to do today. Good thing I’m not charging myself an hourly wage for this, huh?

I am getting closer to success though. I hope. And I’m learning a lot about Full Bust Adjustments and Rounded Shoulder Adjustments on a Shoulder Princess Bodice. Whew! I also graded from a size 12 at the shoulder to 14 at the bust and all the way up to a 20 at the waist and hip. Told you I was “bell-shaped”! Believe it or not it works – at least on Debbie Double. We’ll see if it works on the real me. The test will be in the first fitting in cloth.

So of course I never got any seeds planted. Drat. Plus right in the middle of my Tissue Tussling I got an impromptu flying visit from the Larger Grandbeasties on the way home from their dentist appointments. Super-Princess (her new moniker) has lost a bottom front tooth – her first. So cute! Now she’s looking forward to the second wiggly one to come out so she can have another visit from the Tooth Fairy. They grow up so fast, don’t they?

My son The Ninja was able to assure me that their friends in Japan are all ok though one of his expat ninja buddies has so much damage in his apartment that he plans to come back to stay with his mom here until the situation improves. Plus I finally heard that other friends I was concerned about are also safe and sound. Whew. A big load off my mind. Though it seems not so good for so many in that poor beleaguered country at the moment. Guess it’s too late to mention that nuclear power seems like a good idea until it turns on you. Then it’s a very bad thing indeed. (Makes me glad that most of our power here is clean hydro and our province has no nuclear plants. Not that we’re perfect or anything though.) Hope they can get a lid on it before we all glow in the dark. So scary.

What else? Oh yeah, you probably saw the Flickr photo in the sidebar but I forgot to show off my last knitted FO:

Remix Neckwarmer

For: me

Begun: February 24, 2011
Completed: March 8, 2011

Yarn: Berroco Remix, 30% nylon/27% cotton/24% acrylic/10% silk/9% linen, colour 3970 (charcoal mix) dyelot 8581, 216 yds (200 m) = 100g. 1.5 balls (just over 300 yds).

Needles: Addi Lace circulars, 3.5mm and 4mm.

Pattern: Ambitus Neckwarmer by Lankakomero, free pattern on Ravelry.

Comments: I was really hoping to use up all of the remaining Remix yarn but still have a little left (less than half a ball). I don’t care! I’m totally tired of this stuff even if I do like it a lot.

The neckwarmer is very nice. I love the way it drapes over my shoulders and I can wear it over my matching zip-front vest. If I was to do it again though I would make the turtleneck taller. Quite a few people did that and it looks good. I also don’t think I got gauge (never measured!) so it’s somewhat larger than the pattern seems. That’s a good thing because I like it wider.