The back and front are knitted up to C's Christmas dress. The bottom picot hem is done and the edging along the armholes and neck is also done. I have to get a 7/8" ribbon to weave through the bottom yarn-over holes and I also need to tie in some loose yarn ends. Oh, and there's the minor detail that I did the edging to the neck and armholes in a simple chain crochet instead of the picot crochet that the pattern calls for. Not realizing how 'unforgiving' the chain stitch is, the neck and armholes are super-tight . . . so I have the neck hole of the dress stretched over my video camera bag (with the video camera in it) - about the size of C's head. I'm going to leave it stretched this way for another 24 hrs. at least, hoping this helps. Otherwise, I'll have to pull out this edging and try something else. Not being a crocheter at all, I can't figure out the picot thing to save my life. I think it's really simple looking in the "Crocheting for Dummies" book, but to do it for an edging has me confused and the pattern doesn't help hence the reason I consulted the "Dummies" book in the first place. Being in a rush doesn't help either.

C's walking across her dress last night while I'm trying to take a picture of it (this is before hemming and armhole and neck edging done):

my camera takes horrible-quality indoor shots--and sometimes outdoor ones too. I apologize for this. Hoping to get a better camera within the next year.


Yesterday, B's yarn came in the mail from the wonderful Showers of Flowers Yarn Shop. I ordered five hanks or approximately 1200 yards. I only need 600-something yards to finish his sweater so I have two hanks too many. In my haste (and the fact that I think B's pattern is an Australian one), I saw that for his size 4 sweater I'd need 5 balls so I ordered 5 hanks. Later I thought--no wonder the price was so out of whack! But it was too late. BUT, the yarn won't go to waste. It's the beautious S.R. Kertzer Butterfly Super 10 mercerized cotton. I'm familiar with this yarn as I used it before on B's "precious jewel cardi" back when he was only about six months old--awwwwww!!!!

B's Christmas-sweater yarn in the color "Persian." I love this color! I was going to get it in "Crimson" but I'm so glad I decided on the Persian color--lovely.


In other "progress," we got a Schwinn recumbent bike! I am in love with this bike. We had a 30+ yr.-old upright that we borrowed from my parent's that had a huge, uncomfortable seat--we finally burned a hole in the front tire from overuse (between the two of us we put about 1,400 miles on the thing!). We got over a year's worth of use out of it, but the poor thing definitely needed to be put out to pasture so to speak.

new bike!!!!


I'm still getting used to the recumbent position vs. the upright, but I really love this bike--it counts calories, records your heart rate, etc. It plugs into the wall, so no need for batteries, has a space for your water bottle and even something to read! AND . . . it's QUIET.

**next post** C in her dress in (hopefully) some natural light (scarce as it is this time of year) and some progress on B's sweater.

stay warm.

Labels: children's knits, holiday knitting, life in the BerryKnitty household, twisted cables pullover