Hooray, it’s done!!

Thank goodness that’s over! That pic was taken before it was quite finished, it now has feather tufts in alternating pink and blue on the end of each of those rows of beads at the back.
Now please don’t look at that costume and think I’m one of those freaky stage mothers who dresses her daughter up to look like a small adult who is ridiculously overdressed and has no childhood. Em knows that what is okay for stage is not okay for everyday. As soon as a performance is over, the makeup and sequins comes off and the little girl comes out to play with her Barbies. She is very much a normal (possibly even a little immature) eleven year old who just this week asked for a new Cabbage Patch doll for christmas. (already!) I can’t stand many of the clothes that are available for preteens these days, and refuse to dress my daughter in a skirt that qualifies (in my opinion) as a belt.
The dance that costume is for will be performed for 3 or 4 years, so she’ll still be wearing it when she’s 15 – that’s why it’s a little sophisticated. Lets hope she doesn’t grow faster than the lycra can stretch! 😉
In knitting news, I was so happy to have the costume done that I cast on my Making Waves sock for the six sox knitalong. I’m not much past the ribbing yet, but Yay! for knitting 🙂
The lovely Jill sent me another parcel, this time with the new Interweave Knits, a lovely new fat circular and a cute notepad shaped like an “E” for Em.
The circular is a US17. It is 12.75mm. Last week, Jill sent me a pair of US17 straights. They are 12mm.
Is it any wonder I can’t get gauge??? How do I know that I’m using a 4mm needle? How do I know that the designer used a 4mm needle? Perhaps the needle was a 4.2mm needle and that’s why I can never get gauge?
That sounds like a good excuse, doesn’t it? 😉

Emily baked her first cake today 🙂

It tasted quite nice, too 🙂 She was aiming for blue icing – she obviously gets her culinary skills from me.
Still very little knitting done 🙁 I did a great deal of web surfing, and found a lace hat pattern in the correct gauge for my yarn to knit for Em. This hat pattern came from the old faithful, Knitty.com. Haven’t even cast it on yet, though. Managed a couple of rows on DH’s sweater, and the end is in sight for the sequins. Could be wishful thinking though 🙂

To save myself from the monotony of sewing little blue discs to a lot of blue fabric, I decided to cast on a lace beanie for Em from a pattern I got off the internet. The pattern claimed to use Patons Beehive Baby yarn. I bought a lovely pale pink 4ply merino wool from STYK which is a similar gauge to Beehive Baby. I bought the yarn and found the pattern months ago.
So tonight I cast on (no swatch, yes I know, but I’m not in the mood to put up with my gauge inadequacies) The pattern called for 97 stitches. I cast on, and realised immediately that something was very wrong. This yarn knits at 30sts/10cm on 3.25mm needles. The pattern calls for 20sts/10cm on 3.25mm needles.
And of course, I can’t find the site I originally got the pattern from. I googled Beehive Baby yarn, and it definitely calls for 32sts/4″, so I’m not quite sure where the gauge of 20sts/4″ comes from.
I think I’ll go back to sequins!

Four rows of DH’s sweater. Sequins, sequins, sequins.
Save me. 🙂

I’m starting to worry about this stupid costume. I don’t think I’m going to get it done. This is the costume.

I have to fill in the blue bit fully, front and back with sequins. One at a time, individually knotted. This is alot of work. I started the pink sequins in April. It took me 2 hours this evening to do half of the pink on one sleeve. The panic is rising.
Now, I have 17 days, and no doubt I will get it done, but it’s my nature to panic.
I did restart DH’s Jo Sharp sweater, and I did 4 rows, but thats the only knitting I got done. Sequins, sequins, sequins.
Why do I come up with these harebrained schemes???