MAGPIE'S MUMBLINGS

A blog about my interests, which include fabric landscapes and various and assorted other artsy pursuits and sometimes known to contain mumblings of a random nature.

Friday, November 03, 2023

Just a knittin' away

 Not going to bother showing you a picture of the four hats I've made over the past week...you've seen them before and these are the same pattern just in different colours.  Currently lamenting the fact that knitwear designers aren't exactly uniform in their measurements.  There's something called 'positive ease' that is supposed to be built in to sweaters but some pattern designers don't tell you if it's included in their pattern or if you need to choose a different size in order to get that 'ease'.  Well, one of the sweaters I'm doing for a grandie is, I know, going to be really big.  I went by his chest measurement and his age and crossed my fingers.  Now that I have it pretty much finished I see that it's going to be 3" too big in the chest.  Oops.  At this stage I'm not about to start over so I guess he'll just have to grow in to it (sometime in the next three years!!).  Sadly, it has a Minecraft design I added to it and chances are, by the time the sweater actually fits, he'll have outgrown the Minecraft phase.  


- If you have fabric scraps and happen to need to make a Christmas stocking, how about THIS?

- And, if you have to fill said stocking, HERE are some great ideas.

- THIS is rather cute (and calorie-free too!)

- And THIS is another one of those things that proves you never quite know what you'll find when you visit here!

Today's quote..."Life's biggest tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late"




16 comments:

  1. If I wanted this sweater to fit, I would have bought it! 😂😂😂

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    1. Somehow that cartoon seemed fitting (hah - pun intended!)

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  2. Ceiling fans are not a thing in my house. The overhead movement drives me bats. Neighbors have them and don't seem to register the endless movement. But one of them does that one way for heat, other way for cool idea.

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    1. We have ceiling fans in my sewing room and the bedroom and use the bedroom every night...the sewing room one only gets use in the summer when it's hot.

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  3. That's interesting about the knitting patterns. It's too bad about that sweater - maybe he won't mind it being a little bigger. We had an electrician replace a ceiling fan last month and he asked us whether we knew about changing the direction, which we did, but we had never done that. I guess it would be more efficient, but mostly we use a fan to cool things off.

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    1. Our bedroom fan goes at night year round and we do change the direction. I like to have air moving a little bit while I'm sleeping and we don't have a/c in our apartment so it helps keeps us cool in the heat of the summer.

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  4. I don't really, to tell the truth, understand totally that concept of "ease". If something has 20" of ease--should you add 20" to your actual measurement--or to the finished sweater or what?? Aaaargh!! I saw a cardi, on Ravelry with 20" of positive ease--so should I make it a smaller or a larger size than usual???now -- Negative? Huh??? Guess I am not able to get my head around it all...;((((
    Hugs, Julierose

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    1. You and me both Julierose! I have NO idea what the significance of positive and negative ease is and why it's necessary to confuse us. You'd think, if you knit to gauge, the sweater should fit. I knit to gauge but it's going to be 3" too large around the chest. I don't think the 'ease' (positive?) should be that much.

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  5. Anonymous2:58 PM

    Sherry of createology: I hope the Grand loves his sweater and wears it no matter what. Cute ideas in the links. Too old and too wise too late is so the truth! Fans are the Engineer’s department and he does change them for the cold and heat.

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    1. I'm sure it's going to be too big for him but perhaps by the spring he'll be able to wear it - fingers crossed!!

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  6. Oh my that quote hits home! I hope the sweater finds a way to grow with him.

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    1. I'm sure the sweater will fit him - eventually - but the concern is if he'll still be interested in Minecraft once it does. Oh well, can't say I didn't try!

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  7. I love "If I wanted this sweater to fit... I would have bought it." I often say that when Harvey asks if something is a bit too large. Then again I am a sloppy fitting sweater person. I am sure your grandie will grow into the sweater.

    God bless.

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    1. I'm sure he'll grow into it too but it's to be hoped he'll still like the design I added to it by the time he does. Oh well, I tried!

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  8. Good morning Mary Anne,
    I love your blog and look forward to seeing your work in progress and completed. You share the most interesting craft sites with such a large variety of interests. I appreciate the quotes very much and find that they are a good reminder of the most important things in life…..not what we hear on the news.
    I found your blog about six months ago and you amaze me with your productivity. I am a novice quilter and crocheter and I do far more reading and admiring the work of others than actually constructing anything myself. You definitely inspire me! Thank you very much for being such a wonderful inspiration to so many of us around the world.
    Thank you from a slacker in Oklahoma who appreciates the time you spent encouraging us.

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    1. Welcome Cora! So glad you introduced yourself and it's wonderful to have you visiting my mumblings. And please, don't think of yourself as a slacker - we all do what we are capable of and need to be happy with that. I'm lucky in that I have a Resident Chef (DH) who does all the cooking and helps with the housework too. We live in an apartment so not much to keep up with. That frees me to pursue my creative side to my heart's content. I'm also not a person who can sit and do nothing so my hands are always busy with something.

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Thank you so much for leaving comments! I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy life to talk to me. It's wonderful to know that someone is actually reading my mumblings and even more fun if I can connect with you and visit your blog.