Sideways Cardigan is finished.

Vogue Knitting's Sideways Cardigan is finished. Great lacework, horrible directions. My neckline ended up all wrong because the yoke decreases didn't correlate to the schematic, and I was second-guessing the instructions. Then I got to that painful part where I was just ready to be FINISHED already. So rather than rip out the three yoke sections, I made a few crocheted adjustments. Now it fits me very nicely. The neckline is more like a boatneck, but that's actually flattering. I'm happy with the color and the drape. I'll block it today and give it a trial wear during the weekend.

Now I'm casting on a short sleeve cropped raglan sweater in a vivid green wool blend. It's a Lion Brand Yarn pattern, and I've liked the variations I found on Ravelry. Swatching shortly!

At this rate, I'll have some nice things to wear when the Fall weather starts running hot and cold well past Halloween.

Knitting with Bleach.

Last evening, I took A and his friend to one of the limited showings of Bleach, an anime movie from the Shonen Jump line-up that I most definitely did NOT want to see. A is all about manga and anime and graphic novels and animated shows with obviously dubbed American voices and stuff like that. I'm not turning my nose up, no way. At his age, I was in a world my parents couldn't follow. It's only natural.

Anyway, we headed for the Regal Hollywood 24 on an I-85 access road in Chamblee, cutting through rush hour traffic to get there in time for the guys to play in the arcade before the show. I was delighted to see benches in the lobby and main hall outside the theater.

Guess what I did instead of watching a movie called Bleach that wasn't about laundry.

I worked on the Sideways Cardigan. I finished the main body and seamed the sides and shoulders. I finished the neck edge and now I'm ready to cast on the button band. Yippee!

By the way . . . I had some preconceptions about the Bleach crowd: I assumed there would be lots and lots of teen-aged and twenty-something guys from the geek side of the aisle. Not. I watched couples, Goths, cute teenage girls, families, and more stroll into the theater. It was fascinating to see how wide a swatch anime is reaching in this country.

Knitting sideways

So, I'm knitting the Sideways Cardigan from Vogue Knitting's Spring/Summer 2008 issue. Ahem. The pattern is a WONDERFUL lesson in writing directions.

As an English teacher, I liked to give my high school students a "simple" assignment. Explain to someone, in writing with no pictures, how to tie a shoelace. "Aha!" they'd think. "Easy!"

Or not.

Writing a knitting pattern is exactly the same thing. You either include every single step of the process, or you lose your audience along the way.

I am NOT a novice knitter. But I find gaping holes in the Sideways Cardigan instructions. I can figure things out because I have a basic understanding of the end result as well as a bag of tricks for fixing anything that doesn't fit together as it should. But REALLY. The corrections page at Vogue Knitting has a marvelous diagram of the recommended shaping for the neck and shoulders.

(Sarcasm alert.)

Note to self. Stay humble when writing knitting instructions and include even the supposedly "understood" steps!!

The good news? I'm working on the front and am on schedule to finish everything tomorrow evening.

I think.

Remicade day.

Today is A's seven-week Remicade treatment, so I've taken a day off from the Nature Center. We'll get to the infusion lab at GI Care for Kids by 915 and he'll be hooked up to the IV for three hours. While he's passing the time with DVDs and Nintendo, I'll sit in the parents' micro-waiting room and work on a freelance assignment. Hurray for laptops!

This particular assignment is a "boomerang," a re-direction in style and format that has gone through second thoughts and now needs a fresh start. The client has a tight deadline, so I do, too. The three hours will pass quickly . . . my goal is to have most of it reworked by the time A's infusion is complete.

I've worked on hundreds of collections through the years, for high end designers and mid-range brands you'll find in the pages of Southern Living and Better Homes and Gardens. The furniture collection I'm profiling today is one that I would love to have in my own home. Ssshhh . . . can't say anything about the design or name because it's a big intro for my client. Even the name is cool.

Once I've finished the writing assignment, I'll dive back into the Vogue Sideways Cardigan project. I finished the back and am now getting ready to start one of the front pieces. Fun thing about the pattern (note: sarcasm) . . . the directions for the back didn't include ANY binding off point. They just stopped, as if there were about four stitches left on the needles for the shoulder area. As if. I had 24 on the needles and just bound off. I figure once I get to seaming, anything that doesn't fit can be adjusted at that stage. I want to finish it by this weekend because AG and I are heading to Savannah with her Girl Scout troop for a mother-daughter trip. It'll be a great piece to wear in the evenings.

On to Remicade. And writing. And knitting. Oh, yeah, and baking - I need to make a batch of goodies for the fab teachers and junior counsellors working summer camp this week at Dunwoody Nature Center.

Day off? I think not!

Relaxation-challenged.

I don't know how to relax. Actually, I just don't enjoy complete relaxation, or at least the way most people like to relax. I don't like to sleep late, eat a bowl of cereal for lunch and call it done, and idle away the hours.

I like to relax by DOING, having the luxury of time to focus on backlogged house chores, cooking elaborate meals, knitting something complicated, reading a book from start to finish without stopping, moving around the furniture to give rooms a new vitality, and walk miles and miles. This long holiday weekend has been frustrating in the relaxation department thanks to an ill-timed cold.

The Knitternall Clan did manage some spontaneous relaxation last night. We rented National Treasure: Book of Secrets and I prepared a buffet of appetizers for supper from whatever was in the pantry and fridge. (Way cheaper than eating out - we had chicken tenders with three dipping sauces, carrots and celery with homemade bleu cheese dip, peanuts in the shell, a thin crust California Pizza Kitchen barbecue chicken pizza cut into small squares, and homemade chocolate-oatmeal cookies. Way yum.)

All four of us totally got into the movie and, despite the usual kibbitzing from T (illogic and lack of reality bug him), enjoyed ourselves completely. It's so rare to relax together since the four of us have four very different definitions of "fun."

As soon as the movie ended, A went back to his cave for private gaming time, T wandered back to his office for bill-paying and poking around his favorite business and technical sites on the internet, AG grabbed a book, and I headed upstairs, having depleted my cold-inhibited reserves.

This morning is shining bright, and I'm getting ready to cut the grass. The cold isn't gone, but there's something so satisfying about getting grimy and sweaty, then heading to the pool. AG and I have a date at Wynterhall Swim & Tennis Club, and the weather is perfect for some time by the pool.

And, to make it really relaxing, I'll take along a new book and the blasted Vogue Sideways Cardigan pattern I've been procrastinating with. I WILL get past the pattern confusion today.

Back to the Nature Center tomorrow. The Summer Camp program begins with the arrival of 30+ darling little ones!