Rapunzel continued and Merry Season..

On Rapunzel, I made it past the chart and tried it on with two needles. It fits really well and so I decided to continue (instead of frogging as I thought it was initially too big).  The bust increases act like vertical darts, so the fit is very flattering, although it can be visually disturbing when I look in the mirror. I'm just past the armhole split now and working on the 6" of stockinette at the back.

I think I'd hoped to complete this for the end of the year..but after 6" and 6" to finish the body, I'll still have to do sleeves..so I think I'll still be knitting this in the new year.

I do have 2 weeks of vacation though from work, so we'll see how much I get done. Lots of stuff to do at home, and projects I want to work on, reading, catching up on some updates, and hopefully meeting with friends.

My Christmas Tree is up and it's beautiful, with alternating fading from white, to multi-color lights and back..and this week, I spent 3 days writing Christmas cards for work colleagues, and knitting friends. Still a few pkgs (non-Christmas) to go to the Post Office and one big project to replace an aging cell phone. I have a 3G. Yep. I'm 5 generations behind on that...definitely not an early adopter..but I would be..just locked into the 3-year..then, was waiting for the 3-year to 2-year contract change.

In case I don't get back here in time with photos - hope anyone reading this has the Merriest of Christmases and a safe and happy holiday season.

Pssst...VG is having a sale

Friday Dec 6 - Sunday Dec 8 (EST) - all yarn at The Verdant Gryphon is 20% off.
No code needed.

Red Rapunzel

ok, I burned through the chart..and it's coming along nicely:



and the side lacing cable looks good too:



the pic looks a little pink on my monitor..it's really a red with darker black streaks in it..similar to Madtosh Tart.




Just a few rows to finish up the chart..and then, I'll be measuring and knitting on the body.
The designer put the 2 charts on separate pages and they're different sizes..so you can see the physical mash up I made to enlarge the main chart 165% and copy the X chart so it could continue and match the main chart. This made it a lot easier to knit. Also, my little diagram in the forefront there to keep track of the sections until it was more apparent what to do...and I love.love. the yellow highlighter tape - way easier to use, and reposition if you need to go back.

The cable rows set up the following row's knits and purls..so if you swing the cable the wrong way, it's pretty easy to detect and fix.

Rapunzel and Audrey Finished Photos

I'm about half way through the chart for Rapunzel. I was a wee bit worried that it would be too big, but as it turns out, it was too early to measure at 8 rows. I put it on a bit of yarn and it sucked right in. now, it's looking lovely..

I also returned the Canon last weekend, yep, after I just bought it on Friday...the color just wasn't accurate enough to warrant keeping it. Instead, I bought 2 extra batteries and a battery charger for my Panasonic Lumix..from Batt Depot and they arrived in 2 days..took 2 hours to charge and now my camera (the one I love!) works.  cameras these days just seem to be going down hill.

Turns out also that I'd rather spend the $ to install a baseboard heater in my room..so that'll be in the next month or two..esp. since we've had a bit of a cold snap here and it's been cold enough to switch to my boots, thick alpaca hat, handmade socks, and gloves.

hopefully, some new pics this weekend - of both audrey and the current Rapunzel.

Added 11/24: Audrey Photos





and a close-up of the buttons, which I found in my stash - they're made of shell:



this next photo is a bit dark..but you get the idea of the button:

November Lavaliere

Completed Lavaliere and blocked..the cardi used just 2 skeins of bugga..and it was a bit of a challenge to do so. The fronts are a bit short..so i'm thinking i'll break the band on one of the valentine skeins which has a bit more red in it to add some width to the front bands to make it more closed.

Lavaliere Finished Smocking Photo (11/24):



I'm beginning to realize as the weather grows colder that I do like having open cardis, but I like having the cardis cover my front, even if I choose to leave them open and not zip or button them.

Audrey in Unst is off the needles, and I will have to re-block the fronts to stretch a bit to close and not have that pulling on the buttons. I did find the perfect carved shell buttons in my stash. The arms are snug as well, so I will have to re-think ease options the next time round.

I have since started on Rapunzel, and lovely sport-weight pullover with cables on the side, and two triangle pieces with cables on the front and back. The pattern calls for a gauge swatch of the standard 24st/36R per 4" for sport weight yarn which the designer achieved on a US4, in the round and blocked. I met gauge on a US5, and like the fabric, so I picked a 34" size, and started. It's too big so far..i'm 8 rows in on a 53 row chart and it looks huge. Conservatively measured, it's 40" around, and I'm 37.5" at the hips, which is where the pullover starts, being knit from the bottom up.

I'm using bugga in Strawberry crab:



and it's a joy to knit. I have 3 skeins well-matched - 2 from SG and 1 from CY, but perhaps I didn't take into account the stretch of the fabric..since the designer used a 100% merino yarn...or it may be that I haven't knit far enough to get the suckage of the cables that should happen.

So far, I like the yarn, and I want to knit the pattern..but I'm not liking the fact that I may have to either (a) ignore the gauge swatch or (b) rejig the pattern to fit me. Already, I had to do a bit of copier enlarging to get the charts to match for easier knitting.

Also, my camera battery officially died..won't hold a charge..so I have to buy a replacement battery and wait for that. In the meanwhile, I checked out new cameras..and I made an early Christmas purchase - a Canon Powershot Elph 330 which I'll have to test out soon. Primarily, I'm taking pics of yarn and projects not people, so color accuracy is important to me without having to rejig in software.

My skein yarn order arrived and colors are not as expected again. The denim dip-dye looked quite periwinkle on my monitor - skein's photo here:

and pic on kim's camera phone which arrived quite blue but not as expected..although a very soft base.



The topaz looked light and bright, but came dark and murky.

Here's skein's pic;

and the pic taken on my friend Kim's phone camera which has a much brighter aqua tone than actual. In person, the gray brown is more prominent:



These skeins look pretty in the picture, but i'm not quite sure I like them in person.

Other pics to wait until I can get the camera up and running.

ETA: 11/24 - Skein yarn destashed locally to someone in my group who loves the colours!

Knit City and a fabulous Saturday

Yesterday, I went to Knit City, a knitting convention in Vancouver, BC. I went for the marketplace as there weren't classes I wanted, and  it was for a day trip only. Although small (50 booths), it was very professional looking and lots of beautiful yarn was to be had.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics...and I didn't buy.any.yarn (!). I know, this is a first for me. I think it was a confluence of events...I went over with a new friend in my group who was on a budget. Also, I ran into quite a few people I knew at the show and chit-chatted. I had pre-cased the list of vendors, and thought I'd be in and out of there in a half hour..but it took me about a half hour just at the first booth - Melissa's bags - misocraftyknits.  I snapped up 2 large sweater box bags, and a small zip bag.





zip bag:



Then, took pics to send to a friend in Chicago who was also lusting after a bag but didn't know for sure which one she wanted.

After that, I met up with a gal from my cpa swap group on rav who had brought me yarn I won in a lottery swap..a skein of Tri'Coterie Merino Tencel in Quoth the Raven, and a skein of BFL self-striping in White Walker:




so I did receive yarn and have yarn to squish through the show..but I didn't buy any there. I think that helped..just having yarn in my bag.

I also bought a pattern book Cascadia on behalf of someone in our group who couldn't go

I met up with Emma at Everything Old Crafts who showed me a lovely new BFL-silk blend which is dark, but soft and shiny. Next to her booth, I spotted bottles of Soak Wash, and replenished my supply with a large bottle of the Celebration scent.



I had planned to be tempted at Sweet Fiber, but she didn't bring the bases I was looking for - the cashmere dk, and the heirloom. Also, Sweet Georgia but there were only a few single skeins of the Merino Silk Fine..so nothing to buy. They did have knitted up swatches of the tough love sock..so that was interesting to see how some of the colorways looked. For some reason, the end booths didn't get as much light as the middle of the show, so the yarn was on the whole, hard to see.

I also picked up some business cards for a few booths where I'd was interested in getting a custom dye or other project:

Pokdej - interesting and compact interchangeable needle cases. These were about the size of a small book (~ 4" or 5" square) had little pockets for needles 4 to 10.5, and a mini notions cases included for $48.

Kattikloo - hand dyed yarns from Saltspring Island. This lady was the most laid-back i've ever seen. She didn't want me to buy yarn unless I was really interested in it (!) Turns out I fell in love with one color she had (which was red-pink-purples, no surprise there, on a base she didn't have it in.....Merino-Silk DK yarn was to die for...a very soft hand. All of her skeins were $25 which seemed very inexpensive for hand-dyed yarn.

Dragonfly Dyewerx - had some lovely fingering merino-silk in beautiful blues..but I resisted because I already have a lot of single skeins in my stash and didn't have plans (I know, weird for me, right?)

The organizers did a great job of making sure that people selling similar stuff were not co-located..but the booths were narrow and skinny which made it difficult to get into some of the booths.Melissa's was a bit challenging, for example, because the booth next to hers was pottery and I feared tipping any of it over. It was exhilarating seeing all the colors, and feeling the yarns...seeing friends.

Near 2:30pm (about 3 hours), I made it through all the booths, and had put my name in for the swag bag draw. I hadn't eaten since early morning. My Chicago friend got back to me about the bag..and I went back and purchased another large box bag from misocraftyknits to send to her:





Most of her bags were cleaned out by then..and lots of empty pegs. My feet hurt, and I'd been texting friends (former victoria bees who moved to vancouver) to meet up.

We walked back to the car, and then, went down the street to the an Indian Restaurant to meet for some food. My friends was just walking randomly down the road and found the place - Siddhartha's  - it was amazing. I (and 2 friends) had the Meat Platter for $10.99, and 1 had the veggie platter. It was just the right amount of food and tasted really good. 3 little portions with rice, chicken, and naan on the side...and I had the masala chai which really hit the spot. They apparently do facebook discounts if you live locally.

After that, a short visit to Canterbury Bookstore up the street, and back to the ferry. I think I knit part of my right sleeve of audrey in unst.  All in all, a fabulous day, great conversations and company, and saw some amazing yarns.

I think I'll plan to go next year again.

Lavaliere is done

Lavaliere is done..blocked..but I couldn't find my sewing / blocking pins so the front band is still a bit curly.

and I discovered on my Audrey in Unst that I was only not paying attention on one sleeve, as the left armhole is 7" as per the pattern, and the right armhole is 6" hence the need for the extra math.
so, once i'm done the right arm fix..i'll see if I can follow the pattern instructions for the other arm.
6" is snug but not too snug.

pic to come.

Fall is here

Fall is here, and I'm finally zooming through Lavaliere.. I've done the body, and sleeves to the elbow matching the smocking pattern that I had on the back. Just need to do the front band. It required blocking, so I've blocked it and need to do the pick up of the front and knit the smocking pattern on the front band.. So, that's at 90%  (Yay I passed the 70% mark)..and the yarn is so soft. so, i'm happy there.

While that was blocking, I re-picked up Audrey in Unst.. Do you remember ? The lovely blue that taunted me earlier in the year ? The body is done, and the sleeves top down were pretty frustrating, as my armhole was 6" in height, instead of the minimum 7" called for in the pattern.  I tried a bunch of iterations but none of them worked. Happy to have internet, as I found short row sleeve instructions here which appear to be working.

UA = Underarm
T = Total stitches to pick up
C = Cap

C = T-UA = 72-13 = 59

Split 59 stithces in 6 sections - 10 9 10 10 10 10 
(Folded fabric of armhole in 1/2 and then, folded that in 3 and added stitch markers and did the pick up.

Short rows from beginning to end of 4th section, wrap.
Return row to end of 2nd section, wrap.
Continue until I'm at the end of the 5th section, and 1st section.
Then, continue in the round.

So far, it looks really good.
I also did not hide the wraps on this method and it seems to be fine.

It's been foggy and overcast the last couple of days..fall has set in.
I'm still hopeful on a few good sunny days..but it's been sunny without warmth for a few weeks now.

Should we update with a few shameless yarn pics ? Ok!

Cephalopodyarns had a flash sale a few weeks ago 10% off..so I bucked and bought this gradient set i'd been eyeing:



Really, the only colors I'm interested in are the 2 at the outer edges, so I'll likely use the middle ones either for shawls or minis. Also, they have changed their yarn base on the bugga so that it's way softer and it's 400 yds now per skein, instead of the 380 yds that was originally introduced. They're also dye-to-order, so you can get whatever you need, whenever you need it. They've also introduced a frequent buyer program so you collect 10 stamps (1 per skein purchased) on the bottom of your invoice, and trade that in for credit for 1 skein. Nice. They are also offering double stamps on particular colorways updated on Rav each Monday.

Mondegreen is back at Verdant Gryphon. Here is Sturgeon Mary, it's a dark blurple (yep, purple-based blue):



 and from EverythingOld - I bought this skein of Kashmir Sock at Fiber Fest in August:

September

The last few weeks have been busy. Fall stuff, and I've been trying to switch my time back to go to bed earlier, and get up earlier. First week, I ended up being short on sleep and getting a cold. coughing, sneezing, runny nose, then, congestion. A colleague thought I might be having allergies..then, the following week, I was breathing regularly again.

I'm also busy at work..and trying to keep up with knitting projects.
I did a blanket square for a lady in one of my online rav groups who passed recently. We weren't close, but her absence shook up the group quite a bit, and she seemed to be a really nice lady, generous with her time and love.

Also, I'm continuing on with Lavaliere, in a lovely pink. I was doing some swatching with a merino-silk mixture but put on hold to do a recalc of numbers, since i'm not keen on the bottom up approach for the pullover and using a different yarn and gauge from the pattern (heh, as usual, for those who know me). Trying the yarn diet thing again..we'll see how that goes. I could put some money away.

Also, stretching myself by taking a class, and we had a special educational day at work where the whole company was involved. It was nice to participate and not worry about "leaving" my work for a day. We had a reorg in summer and we're feeling the effects of it now. Though everyone seemed happy to put that aside for a day.

I'm also doing some organizing at home, letting go of some things, and I re-organized a section..I'm also wanting to revisit the sewing thing. I have fabric washed, ready to iron, and projects earmarked.

I've been twice now to Avenue Fabric Studio on Oak Bay Avenue. They are importing some heavier linen fabrics in some lovely patterns. The shop owner is quite nice, knowledgeable and helpful.  I might take some courses here.

Drama. reading about the goth socks fiasco. Lovely striped yarns started 5 years ago..and the owner had some private troubles which spilled over to her company life. now, they're way behind in club orders and are slowly trying to fulfill. seems weird that the dyakcraft fans were able to hold out patience and not file any complaints even though their order were more than 3x overdue than the gs. made to order and dye to order, there's a big hole there where people can advance money 4-6-8 weeks in advance and not seeing anything for months. pretty amazing.

and lots of endings..the end of Burn Notice, last season of Dexter, a few shows not returning.
still hoping for a few sunny days between now and October.

For sales - the Malabrigo group is running a KAL and there's discounts there, and The Plucky Knitter group has some pattern sales with their KAL Plucktember.

Photos - Canyonland Shawl

 TA DA!:







 



 

End of August

Whoa..haven't been blogging in awhile. After knitting, unknitting the Canyonlands Shawl, it's done.
Yarn - Skein Merino Silk Sport in Tundra

This was after the garter -



It's blocking now, and I'll post a photo again soon.

August

phew July just blew by..been busy getting out in the sun which is so atypical for me. Normally, I knit year round. This is the first year, I'm still knitting, but less..as I get out in the sun more. I've been visiting Butchart Gardens and taking in the sweet smell of the roses. It's August now, so hopefully, the dahlias won't be too far behind.

There's a lady who has a lovely bountiful garden of dahlias on my route to work..they started this last week to put flowers out on their stand, and I stopped by on Wednesday after my class to pick some up from me and for my mom.  $4 for 7 or 8 big Dahlias in a bunch..and they're a beautiful mix of colors.

For knitting, I knit the yoke..followed the instructions and then, tried on..and realized I'd knit too far compared to where I want the next to be..so I ripped back 3 repeats..and did another decrease, and bound off. Today's the first day it's been overcast, so I might actually be able to visualize what length I want the sleeves. It was too distracting to figure this out when it's sunny..as I want to just wear it now with the cap sleeve when it's sunny like this..even though it's 100% wool..and might be a bit heavy in summer weather (i.e. too toasty to actually wear in sun).

Other things that happened. The Verdant Gryphon offered another 5th monday contest for the end of July. I suggested a photo that was a lovely red-pink, blue, and purpley-pink colorway, and Gryphon was inspired..she created this:

My prize skein arrived and it's just as beautiful..

I had frogged back the couple of inches on the Lavaliere and that is re-started now, and the shoulders are beginning to shape. The color is pleasing, and the yarn is soft, even if the pattern is a bit boring at the moment...

Sotherton continued and Lavaliere restarted

I've been ruminating on my Sotherton arms issue (designer had you knit the body and 2 sleeves, and then, yoke). I couldn't decide on sleeve length..and originally had to re-jig numbers to make the sleeves be snug against my wrist (5.5") and increase towards the elbow 9", forearm 10" circumference, and arm at bust (top of body tube) is 11".

I had originally reduced the pattern repeat to 4 repeats from 6 repeats for my size to make it be snug on my wrist. Problem is that snug at my wrist means there isn't enough stretch and I end up strangling my arm if I push up my sleeves (or try to push them up past my elbow).

I contacted the designer, and also talked to someone in my group who handily could visualize and drew me a quick sketch. I'm going to try to cast-on provisionally, the sleeve stitches at the top of the body tube, and then, knit the yoke as per the pattern, and then, pick up and knit down the sleeves to the length I want.

I like the idea of having long-sleeves but right now, summer's here and it's too hot to think about what I'd like to wear in the winter time or if I think I'd wear the sweater some other time of the year.

I've also started a new projectwhile I was ruminating - Lavaliere..a pattern I received last year for my birthday..and here's the pics of the yarn with the pattern pic.



These were 2 skeins of white-faced meadowhawk from the valentines bonbons which arrived as non-variegated well-blended skeins..and happened to match well enough to cast-on. Turns out I took a wayward turn on my lifted increases, and decided last night after knitting a couple of inches that I wasn't happy with it, so I ripped it back completely and started over.

One of the projects will end up working out..

As my mom said... I would have less problems with my projects if I just followed the directions. However, I wouldn't necessarily be happy with the finished project..and I think that tailoring it to me so it actually fits me makes it so I'm more likely to wear it.

Sotherton pics

Just took a peek in here, and realized I hadn't posted any pics of Sotherton - so here you go...







I'm debating about the sleeve length now since it's cuff up. I've actually knit past the elbow, but i'm thinking of either (a) frogging back and making the sleeve a 3/4 length sleeve, or (b) trying to knit the yoke and do top-down sleeves, which would require me to veer from the pattern, since the designer has designed it to have body and 2 sleeves, and then, knit the yoke and pick up the 2 sleeves.

I hate it when I stall..but i'm too busy right now to think about doing anything else.

May starts

I'm having a bit of startitis these days..actually more like dreaming about starting. I've been reading and dreaming and imagining a few patterns, and squishing yarn. I started a new project yesterday..Sotherton with a dk weight yarn - traveller. the little swatch I made is very springy and softened up a lot. Not sure about how the variegation on the yarn will fall..so the skeins might end up going back if there's too much black popping up in unwanted places....I'm now thinking of a light lacey summer top as well...and debating about a heavier coat thing for the fall with my madtosh birthday yarn.

Also, I finally ripped back the back and two fronts on the Austin Hoodie, as it was really bugging me about the 6 stitches that had gravitated from one front to the other. so, that's sitting in little balls right now taunting me to finish.

The audrey cardigan is sitting as my armhole is shorter..and i'm not happy at all with the short-row sleeve. the body was a super quick knit. Someone asked me if I could make it a vest, but I think the armholes might be too close for this. It's a possible..the lace on the front is lovely. I just don't wear many vests.

I whipped up a quick scarf...in codex again.. I think that's the trick to keep the momentum is to mixup the gauge if one doesn't work..go bigger and whip out something quick. It took just a few evenings and I was wearing it by yesterday. 

pics to follow.

Codex Calling..

I took a short break from Audrey to knit up another codex shawl. The colors just called..and so I zoomed through in 4 days:



Colors are Through the Looking Glass (Blue), Devil's Dictionary (Black with bits of pink and blue), and a Mystery Pink.

Close-up:



Audrey's on hold. I can't get the sleeves right.
and Codex is calling again..so I've cast-on a scarf to show off the lovely sheen:

Meet Mary Reed

Audrey Cardi continuing

The Audrey Cardi is continuing. I've knit the body including the lace panels, and starting the top-down sleeves.

Here's the pre-lace progress pic:



Since the first pic I posted, I discovered I was on the wrong needle, I'd misread my project pages.
So, I had to frog back the 3" of twisted ribbing and re-cast on, on a US6. A bit of finagling later, I was on my way. I like doing the twisted rib, but it gets old after awhile..and I need to remember not to double-twist the stitches otherwise they end up being big and puffy, just like a stitch that isn't twisted properly.

Also, the bugga yarn on these skeins is stiffer..and I'm hoping it'll block out when I'm done.

My birthday came and went with lots of celebratory dinners out - Lao Ventiane for Laotian food, Lamb dinner and tiramisu at San Remo's, and a Large bowl of mussels at The Brentwood Pub. Also, since then, dinner at The Roost, recommended by Mandy, a gal in my knitting group. The roast beef was delicious and I kind of tripped down memory lane.

Some new yarn for my stash - (Happy Birthday to me! ... The lovely Coquette  in MCN Worsted-



and some new old yarn dyed over by my friend Emma as lovely teals:



The before pic below -  olive green (shown far right) and a mint green (2nd from right), both not my colors from a Pigeonroof Studios Grab Bag.  Both apparently were quite yellow - too much so for my complexion. The mint is some kind of fingering MCN very soft and I couldn't part with it. The Bacchus is a merino-silk blend with a lovely hand and bit of a sheen.

.
Not sure what the dark teal will be, but I think the blue-green will be some kind of shawl.

Pas de Valse cardi in Blue Lobster Done

Project: Pas de Valse Cardi by Marnie Maclean
Yarn: 3 skeins The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga in Blue Lobster (~1236 yds);
Needle: US 6 Signature Needle
Gauge swatch was 22st per 4" on US 6, so I picked the 33.5" size for 35", and negative ease as the pattern has 2" of positive ease built-in. Post blocking, I measured several different points on the cardi, and ended up between 22st and 24st per 4" on US 6.
 
Notes: Adjusted for gauge, as I didn't want the collar to be wrapping me in 3. I decided for now, not to do the lettuce edge as I like the way the collar curls. Due to the difference in gauge, I ended up only doing the first 2 decreases on the back piece, and then, knitting up so the back and fronts were matched. Then, I did the short rows at the shoulder as called for, and joined the extension to the back at the back neck so they matched. Like others, I had holes in the back of the neck, but I ran a yarn through to close it up.  In the original pattern, the collar is so big and floppy it covers up the back neck and the front where the extension is joined. Since I didn't want such a big extension, the reverse stockinette on the front shows more, and blocking straightened out the wows from the increases along the left side of the cardi. I also had about 70 stitches picked up for the top of the sleeve, so I followed that set of numbers on the top-down short rows, until I had 4 stitches on each side, as per the size I was making. Seemed to work out. The back is a bit tight still after blocking, but the cardi is very flattering, and the yarn softened and bloomed after soaking, blocking, and air drying.

Pre-knitted pic of the yarn - a lovely blue-green teal:



Pas de Valse pre-block:



Post - block:



Better pics when I can find someone to take a better pic.
Seems like my self-pics are too blurry to post..without give you a headache to look at them.

and my new love - The Blue Caterpillar colorway (from the Verdant Gryphon), also bugga. It is the most brilliant of blues - close to tardis blue, I think they've referring to it as - see for yourself...kind of burns your eyeballs off it's so bright.



I've started the twisted rib of another sportweight cardi.

The Cats Paw Cowl

Ta Da!

Emma has now made available her "Cats Paw Cowl" available on Ravelry.



Knit with The Verdant Gryphon Bugga, Sportweight, on a US 6 (4.0mm) in the Colorway iSkein, created in honor of Steve Jobs in 2012 (currently a Standard colorway at The Verdant Gryphon).

Pas de Valse progress - about 80% or so; I've finished the body, and knit 1 sleeve, and I'm about 2" in on the top-down short-rowed sleeve. It's been a brain-taxing week, so it's nice to let go and just do some plain knitting.

Back to regularly scheduled programming

I took a bit of a hiatus from my regular knitting to do test knitting for a gal in my group who has a new cowl she is releasing shortly (next week).  It took me about 2 weeks of elapsed time, and I substituted a sportweight yarn Bugga for the fingering weight it called for. Cats Paw is the pattern name and I'll post a picture soon. The cowl has turned out to be very soft.

For Pas de Valse, I took a detour as well as I'd gone to knit the shoulders and back and realized that the stitch count was off, so I ripped back the armhole decreases to a number closer to what I needed, and just did the first few armhole decreases, and knit the back straight again. It has worked out well.
I was able to do the short row shoulder shaping, and extension increases and short row shaping to join the extension to the back of the neck, and do a three needle bind-off.

As with other patterns, it helps to read others' projects to see what modification you have to make. Although following the pattern from the designer makes the process of the assembly work out..I had the same problem as everyone else where the back of the neck is hole-y, so I will have to run a thread through there to make it closed up and look pretty.  I think it may have been somewhat intentional as the collar is a shawl collar and will flop over the back neck and hide this problem..also it's helpful here to have long hair..which the designer has.

Also critical to have looking good is the increasing on the extension on the front of the cardi as it can be seen when it is on the wearer. Since I'd planned to make my shawl collar less, it's more noticeable. I hope to run a strand up the back as well to tighten it up and make it more presentable. I might try this again and see if the increase can be made at a different spot - at the edge, or further in from the actual change point. It's turning out to be a very flattering cardigan.

Sleeves:
I'm on the sleeve now that I did the short rows (for the first time!) on the top-down sleeves.
I will surely do these again, although there is probably a better way to pick up so the sleeves are not so markedly recessed as mine look.

I had 71 stitches on the armhole as opposed to the 60 I was supposed to have. I think it's better to pick up more anyway to avoid holes there, and then, decrease to what you need. So, I just followed the short row instructions for the size that said 71, but went until there was 4 stitches on each side as per my regular size. The sleeve is fitting well. I will have to try it on as I go, and not blindly follow decreases - which looks like approx 1 every 9 rows for most of the length of the sleeve. That part will depend on me, so no point in knitting to someone else's arms.

I am itching to knit with my mondegreen as the yarn is so soft and it's a light weight yarn perfect for a spring or summer cardi..but still undecided about patterns. I like to read ahead and make sure I want to make them, and check out mods etc.

I'm also adding German Short Rows videos to the left side under tips.

Pics coming soon..

The bonbons 2013

The 2013 Valentine Bonbons from Verdant Gryphon - yarn love in a box:

Osmia Avosetta Nest -



Normally, I am not into baby pinks, just hot pinks. This one is a bit more sophisticated with the cream mix.  Lovely.

Weevil Wasp -


A redder version of Peacock Butterfly..no purple. This is going to a new home soon.

Pink-tipped Satyr -


A surprise for me..the lavender is hooking me in..and the pink is very pretty in natural light.

White-Faced Meadowhawk:



The Ultimate jewel in the box...
 and of course, many of VG's fans are clamoring for this to return. Sadly, they are tired of dyeing pink, so we'll have to wait for these to show later.

The silver lining is that I discovered another company who offers almost this exact same colorway -
Dragonfly Fibers - their Save the Ta-Tas colorway is almost exactly the same colors - red pink and purple. Djinni sock is the same as the former SG Skinny Bugga base.