w00t!

So I'm in a frenzy of trade-show prep for TNNA this weekend! Laundry, lists, packing, repacking. What shoes???!? Instead of sharing further angst with you, how about this...a reminder of the happiest day in the year:

Yes, June 9 is World Wide Knit in Public day! Did you know that? Well, you do now! I'm not making this up. You can read all about the globe's knittish escapades here!

What are we doing in Toronto to celebrate this most specialist of days? Why, we get on the Red Rocket and knit from yarn shop to yarn shop, of course! It's the TTC Knit-A-Long, the most Toronto-y of Toronto-y knitting events! I'll be there...are you coming? Deets follow:

Registration is open and you can find out all about it on the TTC Knit-A-Long blog. The date is Saturday, June 9th and it's a yarn crawl that you won't want to miss. Plus there are prizes given out at the end of the day!

You will need to have a valid TTC pass [like the Daypass or your Metropass...or just a handful of tokens] and there is a $2 registration fee.

See you there!

more silversmithyness

We made the first part of our bezels for our cabochons last night. [My stone is chalcedony. A relative of quartz, aka cheap. But I like the milky blue.]


It's amazing to me how rough things start out and how, honestly, crappy they look until they're done. Right now, this looks like poop. But I have faith in Sarah. She will teach us how to un-poop our bezels.

I also started a little cuff bracelet, but it's so ugly right now, I'm not gonna show you nothin.

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How comes only three darling peoples are supporting Team Knitty in the Run for the Cure this time? What did I do wrong?

We did so well last year and this year, it's kinda echoey and eerily quiet in my donation space. If each person who reads Knitty would give just one dollar, we'd have thousands and thousands of dollars to help fight breast cancer!

Here -- just a little taste of what your dollars will help support:

"The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation has allocated millions of dollars in grants supporting the advancement of breast cancer research, education, diagnosis and treatment across the country since 1986.

In 1998, the Foundation became a funding partner of the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance (CBCRA). The CBCRA's objective is to coordinate the pooled resources of the nation's largest fundraising organizations (such as the Foundation) along with medical research and advocacy groups supporting Canadian breast cancer research, treatment and educational programs.

Recently, the Foundation announced its commitment of $14 million over five years to leading edge breast cancer research in its Phase Three funding of the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance (CBCRA). This is a tremendous example of the Foundation's leadership role with CBCRA. The Foundation's contribution will be allocated to CBCRA strategic initiatives, including research on lifestyle and environmental links to breast cancer."

To read more about what the CBCF does with the money we raise, please visit this page. Thank you.

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Hey! Remember last time I went to TNNA [the big knitting/needlework trade show] in January and told you there'd be no signing of No Sheep for You? Well, I'm very happy to report that this time, there WILL be a signing! If you're lucky enough to be in the knitting trade and will be in Columbus this weekend to attend the show, come see me at the Unicorn Books booth at 1pm on Sunday.

Yay!

---

woild traveller?

You know that jewelery class I'm taking? The one where I can't tell you what I'm making?

Well, I had a makeup session on the weekend [I'll have to miss the last class because I'll be out of town] and the surprise thingy came along very well! I promise to blog it once it's been delivered, with love, to its intended recipient.

I just wanted to say that, like with knitting, sometimes you need to walk away from the project for a few days and then skills you didn't have somehow magically appear and you're better at the same thing you sucked at just a few days ago.

Is good.

---

Speaking of being out of town, you know I'm going to be teaching classes in a new part of the US, yes? I'll be in Albuquerque, NM, on June 15 & 16, and in Minneapolis, MN, on June 19 & 20th. I think there might be a few spots left -- you'll need to check with the shops to see if they can fit you in. Deets here.

---

Okay, this last one is a stunner. It's starting to look very much like I may be in Norway [hence the flag at the top of this post] for the last part of October. Teaching classes and giving the No Sheep lecture. Stuff like that. It's all pretty shocking to me and very exciting!

Since I just might be in the vicinity around October 25th, I wondered if anyone has a shop and would like me to teach. Sweden, Denmark, the UK, France? I don't know when I'll be across the ocean again and it seems like a such a great opportunity to meet with knitters and spread the No Sheepy love and talk Knitty until the oxen come home! If you've got a shop or work with a guild and you'd like to see if we can make this happen, please write me at amy A.T. amysinger D0T ca and I'll send you more details.

What the heck, eh? It feels strange asking, but life is short and nothing happens unless you make it happen. :-)

Team Knitty takes up the challenge again!

Last year, Team Knitty continued our tradition of fundraising to help fight breast cancer...we raised more than $13,000[!], thanks to contributions from our readers and friends all over the world. That'd be people like you!

It's time to do it again! The walk takes place September 30, 2007, in Toronto [and at sites all over Canada] and there will be at least 10 of us fundraising and walking/running to do what we can to help!

How can you help? Simple. Visit this page and make whatever donation you can. You're donating in Canadian dollars, so US residents...your money goes even further! Canadian residents will get a tax receipt by e-mail -- just request it when you fill out the donation form.

The donation page is on the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's own secure server and they accept credit card payments. Even a dollar will help! Please give what you can!

If you hate credit cards but want to donate, here's a suggestion: send a check/cheque, payable to "Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation" to this address:
Knitty
2255b Queen St E
Box 527
Toronto, ON
M4E 1G3

I'll take all the checks/cheques that come in and make sure they get directly deposited to the charity . No fees to third parties and all your money goes directly to the charity.

Please be generous, and send your donation with a wish that this is the last year we have to raise funds to fight this disease!

Thank you for your support.
Amy & Team Knitty

anotha qwiz

knitty -- [adjective]: Visually addictive 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

And now, more knitting!

I'm knitting another Tuscany. For those counting, this would be #3. I wanted to do a summer-weight one, so of course I reached for the Seasilk. In fact, when I saw the super-sized skeins that somehow leaked into the yarnstream [for sale at The Sweet Sheep], I snapped one up pronto. Because people have told me it takes a skein and a half of seasilk to do a nice-sized Tuscany, and that's the yardage in these larger skeins. Again with the two ends to weave in. Happy happy me.


Did you know? Americo got their summer yarns [aka the non-woolly kind] in stock recently, and I grabbed three skeins of the cotton/silk in sky blue. This bundle is all three skeins twisted together. I love that they do this at Americo. Dammit, I love everything at Americo. The yarn even smells good...delicately botanical. I think it just picks it up from being in the store, but it lasts a while as you knit, and even sensitive-nose me likes the aroma. Mmm.


The puffy part is cotton. The shimmery binder thread is silk. What will this be? Can you say moebius? I thought you could.

They have this yarn in a billion colors [almost] and variations on it as well -- lumpier, bumpier, smoother and the new stuff - cream or black laceweight pure silk. Desirable? I think you know. I loves me the Americo. If you're in town to see Ms Harlot tonight, be sure to stop at Americo before you leave the city limits. Promise me.

Thank you.

Do you like big, big boats?

I do. So when Patricia Babischkin [of Cruise Planners] asked me -- thanks to a connection made by Mama E -- asked if I'd like to join her and her guests on the 2008 Sea Socks cruise to Alaska, can you imagine how long I hesitated? Yup, barely a millisecond.

Well, details are now finalized, and guess what: we have another cool cruiser coming along with us. Are you sitting down? Brenda Dayne. Yes, you read right. The patron saint of knitting is coming from across the sea to sail with us! She and I will both be teaching classes, and there's way more going on than I even know about.

You can find full details here -- or if you're really keen, just call the lovely Patricia at 888-286-9827.

We sail May 9, 2008, from Seattle for 7 days aboard Celebrity's Infinity, with stops in Victoria, Ketchikan and Juneau. I believe I need to lie down now.

silversmithy!

We're having a blast on Tuesday nights. What a great class! This week, the last of us finished soldering our bands closed and then we got to bang the crap out of them with a rawhide mallet until they were round like real rings. Wanna see?


Not bad, eh? It's intentionally shaped that way so that the two ends meet straight on.


Unless, of course, your sawing technique is as unpractised as mine. Look at that huge gap!


But look! All filled in with solder [which is a really cool process that uses the torch and is very challenging for me who can't see so good close up].


Not looking much like a ring, though, is it?


There. That's better!

It's been on my hand since the class and is insanely comfortable. It's not even close to done [there's polishing to do and stuff and then we still have to make the bezel and set the cabochon on top], but it's a ring and I made it and I'm all proud and stuff.

We're also allowed to do other projects during our time at the workshop, and what I'm currently working on cannot be disclosed here for reasons that will become apparent later on. Suffice to say that it requires the one thing I'm really bad at: sawing. Perhaps by the time I'm done, I'll be better? I can hope.

More on the Habu stainless/silk scarf

For those keeping score, this is not the actual Habu Kushu Kushu pattern, which calls for woolly yarn to be used along with the stainless and silk. For obvious reasons, that's not suitable for me. BTW, that photo is Olga's -- nice work, Olga!

Instead, after seeing the original, I decided to go wool-free. I bought two cones of the silk and stainless, cast on a bunch of stitches on a 6mm needle and knitted. Further details in the movie.



Why did I choose this as my Austin project? It was so hot, I couldn't bear to knit anything more substantial. I'm very pleased with the final result and will likely wear it Harlotting on Friday night.

Well, then. Here's some knitting content for ya.

I know it's my blog. :-) I still don't like to bore half my readers. It's a personality quirk. Consider the Daily Tidbits retired. For those who loved them [a distinct minority, bless your hearts], I may pop one in every now and then. But no more dailyness.

Instead, then, I offer a little peek at something. With no commentary. The ladies in Austin will know what it is, because I started it there and everyone was reasonably mesmerized by the weirdness of it. I'll have more for you shortly, including a wee movie.





It's done, btw. You won't believe how I bound this sucker off. But you'll have to wait to see.

I can take it, really.

Tell me the truth. If you're hating these things, I'll stop.


[final results above. sigh.]

Daily tidbit for May 18

Page 6: Alger, Horatio Jr.1834-90. Some 20 million copies of Alger's 125+ books taught 2 generations of US boys that economic and social success comes to the virtuous, however humble his beginnings.

Daily tidbit for May 17

Page 9: Alberta, most westerly of Prairie provinces, Canada, 248 000 sq miles, population 846 000 (1948 est), cap Edmonton. A large plateau rising to Rockies in the west, with rolling prairie land in south. Drained by many rivers, Alberta abounds in small lakes and streams. Mostly fertile soil is irrigated by canals and dams in Calgary-Lethbridge area. Main agricultural products are wheat, cereals, livestock, wool and dairy produce.

Working with my hands [without yarn!]

It's really nice to have a new creative outlet that's not knitting-based. [When you make your living from your favorite hobby, it can get a little, um, inbred around here.]

So I'm taking an intro course in silversmithing. We cut the bands for our rings last night after fumbling over installing saw blades, learning how to read the alethiometer [or whatever you call that measury thing that jewelers use], messing about with annealing and soldering. I like playing with the propane/oxygen torch. Fire good.

We get to build a basic ring first, then create a bezel and set a cabochon on the ring [like this one that another student did]. And we get to do another project of our choosing as well. So I've got to get trolling the web for ideas.

Great. Just what this shopaholic needs - an excuse to obsessively browse Etsy.
Our teacher is Sarah Wan -- take a peek at her work. Totally inspiring!

Can you see how big I'm smiling? This is great fun.

---

And big Michigan news...are you within driving distance of Lansing, MI? Read on!

As part of its September issue, Figure Magazine (plus-sized grooviness) is conducting a knitting roundtable. Guest star speaker: Jillian Moreno, co-author of Big Girl Knits!

We're looking for women who are willing to talk about being plus-sized and knitting & appear in the magazine. We just need two more. It'll be a really cool experience!

It's going to happen May 22 (Tuesday) from 9am-Noon at Threadbear Fiberarts in Lansing, MI.

If you are interested, please contact Lindsay Wurst: Lindsay.Wurst@meredith.com

p.s. No one is getting paid & all must provide their own transportation.

Daily tidbit for May 16

Page 8: airplane, [or aeroplane]. Self-powered heavier-than-air craft with fixed wings, capable of flight. Modern airplanes are monoplanes (1-winged) but in the early development of aviation biplanes and triplanes were common. Single-engine craft have given way to 2- and 4-engine, and recent developments in jet propulsion include the introduction of jet liners on regular passenger schedules.

Daily tidbit for May 15

Page 7: age of consent, the age at which one is deemed legally competent to consent, esp. to marriage or extramarital sexual intercourse. For marriage, the statutory trend has been toward the 16 to 18 yr level for both sexes. Age of consent to sexual intercourse, which may be inovked as a defense by the male to a charge of statutory rape, was 10 yrs under common law, has been raised by statute to the 13 to 18 yr level.

Monday morning!

Jillian says all things are possible on Monday mornings. Sure. I'll buy that. :-)

---

Anyone still watching Nip/Tuck [it's been hard to stick with it, but I am SO fond of Julian McMahon, I force myself.].

I just saw the episode about Conor set in 2026. And thought, "that's gotta be the end of the series." Except it isn't. If they were SMART, that would have been the end of the series, but I'm not sure smartness is an adjective associated with the producers of that show.

However, the brilliance of casting Jennifer Elise Cox [I won't mention which role in case that's a spoiler for someone] cannot be understated.

---

I've signed up for a silversmithing class on Tuesday nights. It starts tomorrow! I'm excited!

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Where is my Schwinn? I'm just asking. I've been waiting for months. I want to get my bottom on the seat and start moving about! Let's go, purolator!

---

This is particularly disjointed, isn't it? Well, such is life. It's Monday. Anything is possible, especially disjointedness.

Daily tidbit for May 14

Page 6: aeolian harp (from Aeolus), musical instrument, popular from c1600-1900, consisting of a box over which are stretched a number of strings of equal length and different thicknesses, tuned in unison. Placed outdoors or on a window ledge, the strings are vibrated by the wind, their varying thicknesses creating different harmonics.

---

you want one now, don't you? well, here.

wasn't that a party?

I planned for most everything, except rain [which thankfully stayed away until we were all in bed] and cameras [i left mine at home]. Thanks to Julia, we've got pictures of the evening!

I never know what to do for events like this, so I just got a lot of STUFF. Hit of the night, besides the guac [which was devoured] were the Milk Duds. Canadians didn't grow up with them like we did in the US, so when I found them at Loblaws [!], I had to put them out for the evening. Old skool chocolate and chewy caramel beats Werther's any day. Hub also insisted on bringing the good pizza from Regina, which I hope was worth the wait.

Anyway, as Julia reports, I had so much stuff to give out [from culling my review cabinet] that there was no way I could just call "Scrambles!", even though Stephanie was pushing for it. I figured we'd do numbers and people could pick in order. That worked for about half an hour, until Sarah kept looking panicky and staring at her watch. She was minutes away from missing the last bus to Mississauga, and we couldn't have that. So I just called her number. :-) And when she hugged me, the box went flying, tickets everywhere.

See? The power of the Harlot cannot be denied. She got her scrambles, and it was pretty damned funny. But as Julia said, people were well behaved and the boxes left Lettuce Knit nice and empty. Just the way I like 'em.

The book came out several months ago, so the party was oddly timed, but since it was our first night on the patio since last fall, I think it was worth the wait. We never could have fit in the shop, and honestly, there's something magical about the market on cool spring nights when we're out with our yarn and sticks and a suitable beverage.

Thanks to everyone for coming out and helping me purge. I feel lighter.

---

One of the foody hits of the evening was not my doing -- Barbara, designer of Arietta, isn't only a kickass sweater designer, but she can bake a mean cupcake. I begged the recipe and am going to share it here.

Sez Barbara:

I love this recipe. It takes only a few minutes to throw together, and it is yummy if you serve it while it is still warm (with vanilla ice cream!) It is very moist, so it keeps for several days, or you can freeze any leftovers and zap each piece for about 30 seconds in the microwave. It has the advantage of having no eggs or milk, so not only can it be fed to vegans, you won't have to run out to the store if you keep basic ingredients in your pantry.

You can omit the topping and make icing if you choose.
[sez Amy: don't you dare. the topping is so unique and delicious, you'd be nuts not to use it!]

B.'s Chocolate Cake
(no cow, no chicken)

- combine (sift):
1 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt

- add and stir until smooth:
1 cup cold water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. vinegar

- batter will be thin.
- pour into ungreased 8" square or 9" round pan, or make 18 small cupcakes (bake them only 20 minutes).

Topping
- stir together:
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tsp. cocoa

- sprinkle over surface of raw batter in pan, along with:
3 to 4 tbsp. chocolate chips

Bake at 350° for 30 - 35 minutes.

Thank you, Barbara!

Daily tidbit for May 11

Page 5: adolescence, period following puberty, circa 12-21 in women, circa 14-25 in men, when an individual approaches the culmination of his physical and mental growth, marked by rapid growth of the reproductive organs, increased glandular development, great increase in the size of the muscles, bones, heart. Mental development accompanies intellectual expansion and increased academic experience. Seeking status as an individual the adolescent desires freedom and independence, often comes into conflict with parents and other adults. Emotional disturbances often occur during adolescence.

Daily tidbit for May 10

Page 4: Adler, Alfred, 1870-1937. Austrian psychiatrist. Contemporary and colleague of Sigmund Freud. Adler later rejected Freud's sexual theories, developing a method of treatment based on the theory that personality problems are due to overcompensation.

News Flash: No Sheep Launch Party Reminder

Tonight!

Deets:
Date: this Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Time: 6:30pm onwards
Location: Lettuce Knit
70 Nassau Street, Toronto
416.203.9970
What: Fun, food, an embarrasingly large pile of door-prize freebies -- books, yarn and more!
Bevs: Bring some bevvies if you can. We'll have some too!

Books happily signed and doodled. Megan will have copies of No Sheep for sale.
Bring your camp chairs (! it should be a good night for it!) and your knitting and plan to stay until they throw us out.

See you tonight!

Daily tidbit for May 9

Page 3: actuary, a statistician who calculates the risks and probabilities of accident, illness and death for insurance companies and similar agencies. On the basis of mortality tables, etc, the appropriate insurance rates are determined.

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oh. my.

More Amy on the road!

Well, let's see. We talked about this a while ago and people -- it's happening!

Thanks to your enthusiastic support, I've booked dates in Albuquerque, NM, and Minneapolis, MN, in June! All details are on the events page. I'm teaching classes and speaking at a guild even!

Who's coming out?

Daily tidbit for May 8

Page 2: absolute zero. When a gas is cooled its pressure drops by nearly equal values for each degree of drop in temperature. With an ideal gas the rate of drop in pressure would be uniform; the pressure would be zero at a specific temperature, called absolute zero Kelvin (after Lord Kelvin who devised a thermodynamic temperature scale). On the centigrade scale, absolute zero equals -273.2 degrees.

Daily tidbit

What the hell?

Backstory: when we were coming home from our last Chicago visit, we flew out via Milwaukee. Not so interesting, you say? How wrong could you be? Because Milwaukee Airport has a vintage bookstore in it. Renaissance Books. A kickass way to kill the time before your flight.

Here's the treasure I came home with:



The Basic Everyday Encyclopedia, published in 1954. Containing nearly one million words [!] and 12,500 main articles. This book contains "many thousands of useful facts--in every field of human knowledge--right at your fingertips, in this handy, modern, desk-size encyclopedia."

Well, then. How could I leave without it? Cost: $6 [original cost $1].

Why do you care? Maybe you don't. But this kind of glimpse into what life was like before I was born fascinates me. So every day, I plan to share the best tidbit on the page with you here. Start with page 1, and working all the way to page 574. I'll still blog the same stuff as usual. I'm just adding this in for a little historical perspective and, I hope, a laugh.

Shall we begin? Yes, let's.

Page 1: Abbe, Cleveland, 1836-1916. US meteorologist. His (1st) demonstration in US of weather forecasts based on telegraphic reports led in 1870 to the establishment of the US Weather Bureau.

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It's a beautiful, sunny, cool day today. Thanks, Cleveland!

Golden Compass [HDM] catch-up for noobs

Okay. I can't remember how I found Philip Pullman -- either through Jillian [whence all good things cometh] or, a strange-but-strong memory of a cute boy reading the first book in a Starbucks, and me subsequently finding it on Audible.com...and falling deeply in love. Maybe both.

The trilogy is called "His Dark Materials". The books are, in order:
- The Golden Compass
- The Subtle Knife
- The Amber Spyglass

It should go without saying that you must read them in order. But I say it anyway, just in case.

Anyway, it's like this. Philip Pullman is an amazing writer. Dare I say that he makes Rowling look like a hack [and I love Ms Rowling. so you see what I'm saying]? He weaves worlds beyond any I've ever immersed myself in and by the time I was done listening to the trilogy, I had physical withdrawal symptoms. I ached to hear more.

Reading the books may be enjoyable, but I encourage you to LISTEN TO THEM. Because unlike most audio books, this trilogy is treated as an audio play. Pullman himself reads the narration, and is perfection. No one could have read it better. And each of the parts is played by a different actor. I can still hear Iorek's voice in my head!

[is it bad that I want an Armoured Bear of my own?]

I think it's very possible that, when the movie comes out, I may be a little let down, because my listening experience with the trilogy was so exquisitely perfect. But I think Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel will help ease my pain somewhat. :-)

Also, how come there are no flights to Svalbard from here?

Health at every size

I appreciate all the comments on the last post. Thank you!

Dr Steph brought this to my attention -- Health at every size. The basic principles are these: "This approach encourages self-acceptance by honoring the natural diversity in body shape and size and by exposing societal prejudice and discrimination against larger individuals. It promotes the benefits of physical activity by encouraging social, pleasure-directed movement. Finally, it helps people to re-connect eating to internally-directed hunger, appetite and satiety cues, leading to a more normal, peaceful relationship with food."

This is exactly what I've come to realize is the only way I want to live the rest of my life. I think it helps to have it laid out so clearly like this. Perhaps I should have it tattooed on my arm. :-)

Gloves off.

Who the gloves were on for, that I don't know. Me, maybe. But it's time and I'm just going to say it.

I'm really, really tired of my body ruining my knitting fun.

If you've read my blog for a while, you know my body size doesn't stay the same size for more than 2 seconds in a row. Wonder why I knit so many lacy shawls? It's because they always fit.

I've been big and little [relatively speaking] over and over again my whole life. Even when I'm in a reasonably stable body-size period, no measurement stays the same for more than a month or so. I've come to accept this. I've panicked-dieted from real big to what I consider the perfect size [for me...which is about a 14] more than once in my life. But I can only sustain that panicked state for so long. Operating based on underlying panic doesn't make me happy. It does nothing but keep me in mental freak-out overdrive and fool me into throwing out larger pairs of jeans that I'm likely going to need when the panic subsides.

Aside: This is not a rant about dieting and how I'm going to embrace it again and dammit, this time it will stick! I am D.O.N.E. with dieting, and that includes the most-sensible diet of all, Weight Watchers. I can only stay on the program when I'm in panic mode. How could that possibly be a healthy way to live my life?

This rant is the result of another sweater. I cast on for a really cute super-deep-u-necked fitted vest last night in the hand-dyed deep aqua cotton I bought at the Knitter's Frolic. And then I ripped it out before I finished the first row, because I can feel that my body wants to be a little smaller. I've pretty much been the queen of the slugs all winter, meeting writing deadlines, and now it's time to get out of the house and off my ass.

But what size will I be? Do I have to wait till I get to wherever that is to knit my damned aqua fitted vest? If I knit it now and it's too big by a few inches, it won't be a fitted sexy vest.

I am very aware of -- and believe in -- the BGK philosophy: knit for your body NOW, as it is, no blinders on. But I'm also very aware of how frustrating that can be if you're like me and your body doesn't stay the same size long enough for a sweater to fit you by the time you're done [too big, too small, what's the diff?].

Jillian and I have talked about this and we have no answer except to knit a wrap. I don't want a wrap. I want that damned aqua fitted vest.

A friend has recently gotten noticeably smaller [several inches in the chest, at least], right in the middle of a knitting project. What did she do when it turned out to be too big? She frogged it and has started over. She's a braver woman than I.

Instead, I'm knitting on my deep pink Cables & Os, which will look good and be forgiving of any up-or-downsizing of this body of mine. But the hand-dyed aqua cotton is in a basket, staring at me. I think it's pretty cruel that what I do for relaxation and enjoyment has to be so strongly tied to the size of my body.

Scrapbookers don't have this problem, do they?

---

eta: I knew there were more of us with this concern than just me. You want to see the yarn?



and because I know you'll ask:


As is my way, after the moaning and complaining, I've decided to just knit the thing. I will use good BGK principles and add in some design details that may [I hope] act as built-in body-forgiving devices. Jillian's helping me by writing up my pattern. It's not Morrigan, after all. It's not a year-long commitment. It's a vest.

Regarding my original post, I still don't know what the answer is. Maybe I'll invent some kind of cutesy way to take in sweaters with ribbons or pleating or something if I get noticeably smaller. Clever use of shawl pins? If I get bigger, well, knitting stretches. But I'd really like not to get bigger.