All in a night's work...

From this...
to this in 2 hours

If you recall, I knitted Green Gable last year. This was one of my earliest tops, back when I did not know how to use DPNs, or owned 9" circulars. The sleeves did not come out well, and the body felt frumpy on me so I rarely ever wore this FO. After finishing the Leaf Yoke Top the other night, I figured why live with mediocrity? If I don't love something, I will never wear it and it would be a waste of yarn hanging in my closet. Not to mention that I loved this gorgeous leaf-green shade (unfortunately, my camera can't seem to capture its true color).

After patient frogging and detangling knots (man, I splitted so many stitches), I came to this conclusion...

an impulsively cast-on Leaf Yoke Top II!

FO: Green Gable

Pattern: Green Gable from Zephyr Style
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Peridot
Amount: 3 balls
Needles: US 6 29" and US 4 29" circulars
Size: S
Mods: Added a few inches more of length and single crocheted around the neckline to minimize it from drooping. Sadly, the neckline still droops, but I heard this is a common problem among other Green Gables out there too.



Front


Side

I'm not sure what to say about it. I think it fits better than Rusted Root in terms of size, but I'm not exactly loving it. I'm a bit disappointed that none of the Zephyr patterns came out as I pictured them to be. But, these are all my first knit sweaters, so hopefully my FOs will come out better with experience. The sleeves aren't as pretty as they could be because I didn't know how to use DPNs back then, and I basically stretched them out on a 16" circular to work in the round. Yeah, not so good. The pattern recommends using 2 circulars, but I couldn't understand how to knit small circumferences w/ 2 circulars.

Green Gable progress pics

Some quick pics of what I have done so far...

Green Gable progress

Here's how my Green Gable is coming along. After close examination, I realized my lace section is incorrect. The first half is correct, but the second half is wrong. Sigh. However, it is consistently incorrect, so to a non-knitter, it could be interpreted as a deliberate design detail. :-\ Anyway, I'm going to leave it in because I'm too lazy to frog and it doesn't bother me too much. I put the sleeve stitches on scrap yarn last night and I ended up with 3 stitches extra on one sleeve, and 4 on the other. Sigh. Plus, 3 less stitches for the body. Perhaps I'll do a little decreasing when I finish the sleeves and hopefully it won't look too big. I wouldn't mind a slight puffed sleeve look.

Doesn't it match my comforter quite nicely?

Green Gable

Wow it's been so long since I have updated. Blame it on the moving and enjoying a single room and enjoying a single room with open windows and enjoying a single room with open windows and a TV. I have never had a TV in a bedroom before so nowadays I tend to come home and flip on the CW (only good channel I receive). Two and a Half Men, Family Guy, and Gossip Girl take up my time. Yes, you heard me right. Gossip Girl. I watched 2 episodes and I'm ashamed to say I'm slightly intrigued. At the very least, the girls on that show have such stylish clothes. I wonder if they will wear beautiful knits come winter. (Ah, the mind of a knitter/crocheter.)

Case in point: This dress from Anthropologie made my jaws drop.

Also, I have recently decided to start cooking real food again. When I say real food, I mean making dinners that involve ingredients and mixing. I've been living off of Trader Joe's frozen food for a while to accommodate maximizing my knitting time after work. But I'm going to try to spread it around a bit so I can cook, watch TV, AND knit/crochet. To inspire me, I bought a new set of plates, a French bohemian design, at Ralph's. They were on sale and I had always coveted that design ever since I bought a matching ramekin two years ago when I tried my hand at making corn chowder.

Last week, I learned how to make a classic French dish of sauteed chicken with cream-mustard sauce and last night I made chicken alfredo for the first time in my life. Yes, it's sad I have never cooked pasta in my life before. My pasta came out a bit watery and I accidentally made too much so I'll be eating pasta for lunch and dinner for at least 2 days. But practice makes perfect, right? I also discovered a new type of cookie at Trader Joe's. Oatmeal and cranberry. They are so delicious! I love the fact that they come in a package of precut dough, and all I have to do is take them out and bake them for 12 minutes or so. :-)

Hello. I am the front side of the bowl.

And I am the other side. Can you spot the difference?

Dinner is served, mademoiselle.

Please put some corn chowder in me.

In knitting news, I finished Juliet a while back but recently just got around to blocking her. She is drying as I type, and hopefully I'll be able to put up pictures by next week. To get me out of my knitting hiatus, I casted on for Green Gable last night. I'm a bit afraid that I'm not doing it correctly for the Part A, Row 1 part. It says that I need to YO, K2tog during the lace section and then K1f&b 1 stitch before the marker. However, I always get an even number and don't end up with 1 stitch left before the marker. Sigh. I'm going to fudge it and see how it goes.