A true artist, in my mind, is willing to fail sometimes, because if you're not brave enough to say yes and follow your gut, it's never going to be good.--Alexander Skarsgard
Alexander Skarsgard
It was my birthday last Wednesday. As is mostly the case with birthdays during the week, it really didn't register properly, apart from my determination to make myself a "Japanese jiggly cheesecake." It's really just a regular baked cheesecake, but you whip up the egg whites and add them back in. It makes for a jiggly, wiggly cake straight out of the oven... much like the belly you get after eating it. It turned out quite nice, not overly sweet, and not overly heavy. I'm not sure I would try it again, but it was an interesting challenge:
Speaking of challenges: the hubby took me out for high tea at a local bistro yesterday for my birthday present. We made sure we didn't eat too much breakfast, and that was an excellent idea as we were properly stuffed afterward. I was a little worried it would all be too overwhelming (both the food and the idea of eating inside a restaurant) but it was a Goldilocks situation in the end: not too much, not too little, but just right:
But I still needed sweatpants and a timeout on the sofa with Mr. Seymour later on:
I am very, very pleased to share with you the results of my latest knitting experiment. It turned out far better than I could have ever imagined:
This top is an example of taking things I learned from previous projects and using them elsewhere. I learned how to do this stripey pattern back when I made my
Over and Over Top a couple of years ago. You use short rows to make the sloping edges, which looks complicated but is actually quite easy. It made for a very satisfying way to make interesting shapes:
This was also a really good example of really listening to what the yarn wanted to be. I really wanted to have something with longer sleeves, but the longer I worked on it and the harder I tried, the more it seemed to resist. I looked at page after page of examples, but the garter stitch just didn't seem to suit any of the ideas I had. I kept going to back to look at the stitches and the fabric, trying to imagine what would work best. It was like waiting for a picture to finally come into focus. And all I could see was a top with cap sleeves and a boat neck.
So in the end, I went with cap sleeves and a boat neck. That is the way of a Yarn Whisperer.
I picked up stitches along the upper edge and knitted a 4 x 2 rib, and then I picked up the stitches around the armhole and knitted cap sleeves using short rows. I learned that technique when I made my Mango sweater a couple of years ago. I forgot how cool and effective that technique is - it really makes such a tidy "seam" for your sleeve:
The neck is a tad smaller than I would like, but I like it just as well:
And while I would have liked to have longer sleeves, at least the weather was mild enough for me to stand outside for a few minutes to take photos of it on. I'll probably wear a long sleeve shirt underneath it on cold days, but the wool should be enough to keep me warm in the office:
I have really enjoyed playing around with these experiments, but I think it's time for me to knit something from an actual pattern for a change. I've cast on for a
Spica Sweater by Anke Telschow, which is a pattern I have tried over and over to knit but I kept choosing the wrong yarn for it. I think I've finally picked the right yarn for it this time: two skeins of Malabrigo Sock Yarn in the Eggplant colourway, with a silver grey sock yarn from Diamond Luxury as the contrasting colour. Ten rows in and it seems like I might actually knit it exactly as written, but we'll see how it goes. It's not that I feel the need to modify absolutely every pattern, but I think I'm just learning to listen for works best for me and what will work best with the yarn. But I like this pattern so much that I really truly hope it works out because I'd love to wear this sweater:
You know what else I'm learning to listen to? My stomach... and how desperately it wants something apart from cakes and sweets. I'm gonna go have some vegetables now. Have a great week!
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