The Big Reveal

We finally moved into our new house last Monday and are still unpacking.  But, of course, the first space I had to set up is my new knitting/craft room!

I love it!  (though I've only spent a couple of hours in it (so far) while I waited for Habitat for Humanity to come and pick up my husband's old recliner).  I still need to hang some artwork, but I think all the elements have come together just as I had hoped :)

Surprisingly, only a couple of items in this room are new.  All of the furniture I've had for at least 10-15 years (yikes!).  This green chair (with the finished front of my Sakura Top draped over the arm) and I have been together for many years.  I love it, and really built the room around it.  Only the ottoman and carpet are new. 

The ottoman I bought at Target for $55 (but I used a gift card).  I wasn't really sure that this ottoman went with my chair, but now that I've got the rug, I think it looks great together.

I went over budget on the rug.  I realized I had to go up in size to fit the room, then, well, things change.  My husband liked the rug and agreed that we could up the budget to buy it.  It is perfect for the room and we're happy.

I was hoping that these shelves would look neater once I got all my supplies on them, but it was not to be.  Oh well, its a working space.  And its my space :) 

What do you think?  Any suggestions?  I'd love to hear about and see photos of your work spaces!!



Worth the Wait!!

Well, it has taken a while, much longer than I expected, but I finally finished (almost) my modified version of the Modern Lace Henley from Knitty.

As you may recall, I wanted to make a lace crewneck pullover similar to this sweater from the J Crew website (it no longer seems to be available), using some Knitpicks Comfy I had from a previously frogged project. 

So here's the deal - my gauge was no where near the gauge for the pattern.  Doing some math, I figured that I could cast on for the x-small size with a #7 needle and get the size I needed for my hips.  I followed the decreases laid out in the pattern, but switched to a #6 needle at the waist to tighten up the width for my chest measurement.  I changed the top to a crewneck, lengthened the body to 22 inches, and made the sleeves 3/4 length.  If I were to re-think this project, I might try to figure out the math to knit the body of the sweater in the round (though the decreases would be a nightmare).  If this was knitted in the round, the finished sweater might have more of a bias fit, more like to J Crew sweater.  But I'm NOT planning to re-knit this whole sweater.  Not now, not ever :)

I followed another Raveller's suggestion and deleted 1 pattern repeat for the cast on for the sleeves, starting with 50 stitches.  Big mistake for me - my sleeves are too tight and are pulling, particularly at the shoulders.  Sometime (not now, but hopefully before summer is over) I'm going to re-knit the sleeves, following the cast on stitches as suggested by the pattern.  I'm also going to fiddle with the top of the sleeve - I don't like how its fitting into the sweater.

Overall, very happy :)  This sweater is very comfy and soft.  (And I still love the color!!!)