Ummm except I have to mention the wedding where it pertains to knitting, right?
My quest to find a dress with some kind of cute, sassy sleeve (i.e flutter sleeve, or shorter "puff" sleeve NOT wrist-length mormon-esque LACE sleeve ugh ugh ugh!) is apparently tantamount to finding the HOLY GRAIL in a mall. I don't want to knit a shrug to go with a sleeveless dress...I don't really even like shrugs.
Yet, here I am --in full-on "just in case" mode.
So to wit, shrug experiment #1:
note excellent tattoo coverage!
but quoiiii? (not sure if you could tell but I couldn't even be bothered to weave in the ends). Also note, that is *not* my wedding dress. I'm still hunting. I do have a green dress as a back-up (I am not so into white...) and this was one of THREE I bought from J.Crew. It arrived that day, I tried it on with the shrug, took those pics, boxed it up and sent it back. It was too big (note major bra-less boob gappage). And also, there is not a strapless bra in the world that will help me with a strapless dress I don't think. Anyway, TBD. Ummm, am I talking about my boobs a lot lately?
I figure at the very least I'll be able to shove it in my purse and have it on hand when trying on other sleeveless dresses --reagrdless of whether it's even close to what I need or want.
Here's how I did it. I knit and blocked a lace scarf comme ça:
ok, maybe kinda too short to function as a true scarf for me...
yarn: 1 skein of Butterfly 100% mercerized cotton Super 10 (colour #3727)
needles: 4 & 4.5mm
The pattern was simply stolen bits from here and there. Let's call her Frankenstein, shall we?
I Cast on 56 stitches and knit 4 rows in garter stitch (on the smaller needles).
I then switched to the larger needles and knit using the lace pattern found HERE..."Convertible" from knitty.com (also adding K2 at the beginning and end of each row). Though I will still spell it out for you here:
lace pattern:
Row 1 [RS]: K2 [K2, skp, k4, k2tog, k2, yo, k1, yo] to last 2 sts, K2.
Even-numbered Rows 2-12 [WS]: P all sts.
Row 3 [RS]: K2 [Yo, k2, skp, k2, k2tog, k2, yo, k3] to last 2 sts, K2.
Row 5 [RS]: K2 [K1, yo, k2, skp, k2tog, k2, yo, k4] to last 2 sts, K2.
Row 7 [RS]: K2 [Yo, k1, yo, k2, skp, k4, k2tog, k2] to last 2 sts, K2.
Row 9 [RS]: K2 [K3, yo, k2, skp, k2, k2tog, k2, yo] to last 2 sts, K2.
Row 11 [RS]: K2 [K4, yo, k2, skp, k2tog, k2, yo, k1] to last 2 sts, K2.
Repeat these 12 rows for Lace Pattern.
(from Vogue Knitting, 1989 edition)
I essentially just repeated the lace pattern until it was as long as I wanted it (around 25 inches maybe?) and then knit another 4 rows in garter stitch (on smaller needles again)and bound off. You can then just seam the arms up as high as you need/want and weave in your ends.
Now, I wish I could say this was all MY genius idea, but the reality is that I was inspired by someone else on Ravelry who clearly has the same wedding/tattoo dilemmas as I do:
ravelry username: kellyrelish
And uh, look how FREAKIN' gorgeous she (and shrug) turned out on her wedding day! She gave me hope that this could be done.
So, I mean regardless of whether I even end up going with a pattern like this (right now I'm saying likely not...) it's still spurring me on with the potential possibilities.
So much so that I've cast on for another shrug, and we'll see how that one goes.
(note Starbucks "knit" mugs I picked up for Mother's Day...clearance-- woot!)
In more annoying news though: I am on a knitting hiatus right now. I'm not sure what I've done to my right wrist (please God not carpel tunnel!) but I'm in pain. I'm hoping that knitting is not the cause, just the aggravation and that a proper rest will cure it. Even typing this right now is sending my arm into spasm.
As such it might be a while before I can crank out any new knits for the blog (hopefully not, but you never know..). I might have to actually pick up a BOOK for once. (Since I began knitting a couple of years ago my voracious appetite for reading has been seriously quelled, and I seem to be limiting myself solely to the half-hour in bed prior to passing out cold!)
Why must we suffer for our art? ;)
13 comments:
I think knitting your wedding shrug is an awesome idea!! I really wanted to knit one for myself, but I ran out of yarn and time (of course, I was only engaged for 11 weeks before the wedding, so timing is understandable.) I love the green scarf/shrug design, great stitch pattern.
Julie
i'm having a similar dilemna, actually. my wedding will be in late september, so the weather is completely up in the air (yikes!). so i'm going to need some kind of knit potential protection... but if you don't really like shrugs, why not do something else? are you equally anti bolero's? or cropped cardigans? i guess it kind of depends on how much visual interest is going on in your bodice area...
but take a peek at: this or this... both re-creatable via knitting. think some lace, so you aren't feeling overly demure.
oooooh, love both those ideas...I love anthro, wish there was one near me! It's going to be Vegas as well, so I'm leery of being *too* hot/covered-up.
I have the same problem (the knitting vs. reading problem - not the i need a shrug for my wedding problem). I am in a book club that keeps trying to meet and I had to postpone a meeting tonight because I have yet to finish the book. I've been knitting baby blankets galore. Bah.
I want more wedding talk (whenever you want to do it)
And I want to see that tat!! (b/c I've never seen it! LOL)
Luv the 1st pic of you!! :oD
And hope your wrist gets better (you & I both lost our appetite for reading when knitting came on the scene...poo)
As I'm heading to a wedding this Saturday, I thank you for the promise of no "wedding talk". That said, I'm sure you're wedding will be cool, so you probably don't have to worry!
As for the dress... custom jobby? I'm sure you could find a nice pattern and then make alterations to fit your fabulous rack! Of course, you probably already thought of this ages ago... Wait, now am I doing wedding talk? Gaah!
that shrug has major tattoo-coverage, and edgy coolness as well - kudos to you!
good luck with the hunt for *the* dress :)
So I knit that shrug out of Fitted Knits. I effed it up big time, and am totally disappointed it doesn't fit. BUT, I completely lurve the color you chose and am somewhat inspired to try again. The green one is bootiful by the way. And, HELLO, can we all be as gorgeous as kelly so and so on OUR wedding day?!!!
a couple of years ago, I bought one of the lovely toilet seats that you make. It has gotten tons of amazing compliments over the years, but now it is starting to come apart.
The paint is starting to peel off, and currently it is looking pretty sad.
Can I buy a new one from you, or should I go shopping at Home Depot for another boring, run of the mill seat?
holy-- I haven't had a request for one of those in a while...! Unfortunately I haven't really been making them anymore---apart from the odd gifts for people. (been a couple of years now since we've sold them at workshop as well). I'd be happy to give you some advice on how to make one for yourself though if you feel like busting one out :) which one did you buy?
Sloot said ... (I can't login properly from here)
The one I have is very similar to the top one here:
http://recklessglue.blogspot.com/2006/01/polka-dots-at-beach.html
Except it's red with orange dots instead of orange with red dots.
I would be interested in making my own, but I don't know where to source lovely old pinup pictures that you used.
you can find most of those pin-up images online pretty easily, as well as Elvgren calendars that come out every year, pin-up books from the library (or Taschen) etc. It's just a matter of colour-copying or blowing up one that you like and podging it on to the seat... you can always use clear nail polish too if you're just looking to fix up your old one a bit.
good luck! :)
Sloot said ... (I can't login properly from here)
Thank you very much for the advice. Next time you see her out, tell Jes (claire_fontaine) to buy you a drink - I'll pay her back :-)
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