Nell Progress

I spent some quality time with my Nell sweater last night. A few months ago I set the goals of having my Felted Ravelry ID Bag and my Nell sweater done before I went to Las Vegas. Well, obviously, the bag is done. But I still have to finish the button bands and sew the sweater together. And I have a 7:30 am flight Tuesday. I might make it, I might not.
This pattern is from a Rowan pamphlet that was four Kim Hargreaves designs for Wool Cotton. (It is not in the Ravelry database.) And I love me some Rowan and some Kim Hargreaves. I bought the pattern and the yarn back in 2004 during my glorious month working at the Patternworks store in Center Harbor, New Hampshire.
I finally started working on it two Christmases ago. Knitting the body and sleeves was a breeze. It all came to a crashing halt when I got to the button band. Apparently, my definition of "slightly stretched" was wildly different from Kim and Rowan's. When I sewed the first one in place in relaxed and drew the front in. bleh.
I might have made an attempt to resew it and knit some more, but I seem to remember ending up knitting a few rows, sewing it in place, knitting a few more rows, etc. Then I realized that I sewed the left hand button band on to the right front side. The left hand band has the buttons, the right hand band has the holes. I briefly toyed with the idea of leaving it, but there is a definite, gender based fashion difference for which side the buttons and holes are on, so I pulled it off and resewed it.
The other night I finished sewing the back of the collar on. And there is yet another issue. I was supposed to work almost to the center back and then cast of some rows to make this step effect for unknown reasons. Well, the piece reaches to the center back and I didn't do any shaping. grrr. So I put it on a holder and started in on the right hand band. I'm through 4 holes, it has 5, and things seem fine. I think the next step will be sewing it on before I do the front shaping, just to make sure it is the correct length/stretch.
Of course, I didn't get any knitting done tonight since I didn't get home until 7:30

Arrgyles, ugh
Ok, I suppose that isn't entirely true. I had all that extra knitting time standing on the platform.
I'm almost done the chart for the instep. I'm not sure if it will be long enough since I haven't sewed the leg yet, so I can't try it on. But I already know that the next time I do an argyle sock I'm going to find an existing pattern/chart. I worked this chart up three times before I got it correct. And, as it turns out, is still isn't. I had to tweak it once already (I had a color in the wrong place, which caused a cascade effect I thought I could work around, but it was too confusing). Then the other day, when I divided for the heel, I realized I dropped 4 stitches from the instep, so that part is screwy. That hung me up on the platform today, but I was able to figure out where I had made my mistake dispite the chart (take that!).
Still, a decision will have to be made soon. Although I'm moving along quickly and happily, this pair won't count for the Summer of Socks 08 (since I started them before the deadline). So I'll either have to put them aside again, or go ahead and finish them and loose valuable time. Decisions, decisions.

Once More About The Bag
My finished bag arrived today. Yipee! Since hubby absconded with the camera, I cannot show you the lovely job my mom did lining it. The fabric has a pink background and green and white paisley. But big paisley, so things won't get lost. She divided the center down the middle, then put a tall pocket for needles or such, a scissor shaped pocket and a little square pocket for my stitch marker box on one side and a random square pocket (for keys or such) on the other. It's all very cool. I actually have to transfer my stuff from my backpack over to my new bag. I think it will be fine for the commute. The handles are long enough to go over my shoulder, so it should be easy to carry.
Oh, and she was also concerned about the size, so she took a whack at felting it a little more. It might be smaller, I haven't measured it yet.
I am toying with the idea of trying to put the pattern into a PDF so people can download and print it easily, rather than trying to pull it out of the blog post. I'm also toying with the idea of entering it into the Ravelry database as an official pattern. It's up to 68 favorites. If it's an official pattern I'd be able to easily see if anyone else actually makes one.

Ok, I think that's enough for now. I must finish my prep work so I can take the train tomorrow. I must have been lolly gagging a bit today. I pulled into the parking lot as the train was pulling up. But the conductor saw me and waited. Bit embarrassing. :-)