The Drew Sweater

October has arrived, and my Christmas knitting projects are well underway.

It took me 3 weeks (much longer than usual), but the back of my Drew Sweater is finally finished.  The stitch pattern seems to be biasing, but I'm hoping a good soak and some careful blocking will soften it up and straighten it out.

The sweater front panels are currently on my needles, and after 1 week, they are 1/2 way finished. I guess I'm getting faster at executing the modified rib pattern, and the fronts include a fan design. I can usually knit any sweater in 4 weeks, but this one is going to take longer. I already have 4 weeks invested in it, and I still have to design and knit sleeves, since the pattern is written as a vest, and no sleeves are included.

It is amazing how just when your flowers are at their most beautiful, the weather turns and threatens to freeze them. These are the flower pots on my deck. They have never been so full and lush. I hope they last a few more weeks, but the weather reports are for a possible freeze tonight.

I only purchased 1 small flat of marigolds this past Spring. I quickly harvested the seeds and planted the remaining pots and flower bed borders in my front yard. It took a lot of seeds to do this, but the results have been beautiful. You would never know which were the original flowers. As the Summer has progressed, I have continued to harvest and dry the seeds from all of these flowers, and I now have plenty for next year. Even though it isn't a fragrant flower, the marigold keeps the bugs away, and it is always so bright and cheery.

I will be hosting my annual "Witch Knit" tonight. I am so excited as I am expecting quite a crowd. It is always so fun to gather with friends and spend a relaxing evening, eating, knitting, and laughing. If you are reading this post, and you would like to join us, please come . . . witch garb or not.

I hope to have some pictures of all the witches in my next post. In the meantime, check out the cute costumes I purchased for two of my granddaughters. These won't be worn until our family Halloween Party, but I just couldn't resist sharing them with you. Such cute little "bugs". I am sewing away on my costume too. I should have some pictures to share soon.

Well . . . this is where I should be posting the picture of me wearing the new cardigan I just purchased, but the picture was just too embarrassing. It is a darling sweater, half lacy crochet and half knit in a turquoise yarn. The front is long and ruffled in an all-around tunic length. The front ruffle can easily be tied to close the front, and that is how I had hoped to wear it. BUT . . . it looks terrible on me!! I am tall, but the length shortens my legs to stumps and makes me look square. Not a good look, and one that has made me desparate to figure out the best possible sillhouette for my body type and shape.

I've searched high and low, and quickly discovered "Knit to Flatter" by Amy Herzog.  What a fabulous book!  It is filled with methods for determining your basic body type, and best possible sweater types to knit for yourself.  Further searching brought me to Amy's website, and the knowledge that she was developing software, which would design a knitting pattern to meet your exact body measurements.  The software is still in the development stages, and is currently going through test phases, but I cannot wait for it to be made available.  I wish I had been earlier in the process, and could have been one of her "beta testers".  However, it looks like I will be one of the first to actually get one of her custom written patterns.

Christmas gift knitting is still looming out there, but I have made the decision that I need to devote a year of knitting, learning and designing, to me.  So . . . 2014 will be the "Year of Knitting for Lori".  I am one of those people who hates their body, so I am going to devote a whole year to knitting sweaters that I can be proud to stand in front of the camera in.  I don't think my body will be changing, but I certaining hope my knowledge of creating sweaters that fit and flatter will be accomplished.  I should be starting my blog posts in January, with sweater #1, and we'll see how many I can knit in a year's time.  I plan to knit patterns from my favorite designers, and I hope to design a few of my own (which will be sized for general use).

I hope there aren't friends and family who are hoping to put in some knitting requests, anytime soon.  It is going to be hard for me, but this is the time when I will have to learn to say "no", or "it will have to wait until 2015".  Christmas should be interesting next year too.  How will I possibly get through a season without knitting gifts?  The ladies in  my Book Club will certainly be disappointed when "felted slippers" aren't one of the gifts.  I'm hoping most of them have already received a pair, since I've been making them for at least 6 years.  Anyway . . . here's to me!  Hopefully, I will be able to come to terms with my body type, and I'll learn to live with it. Being a cancer survivor has certainly taught me how wonderful it is to be alive. I just need to quit feeling depressed about my size.

Happy Knitting . . . . . . .Amy's website