Simple Knitted Bodice

I took these mirror pics this morning prior to doing my mu & hair, so they've got the obligatory cropped off head look.

Pattern - Simple Knitted Bodice by Stephanie Japel
needles - size 1 & 7 KP circs
Yarn - Brooks Farm Four Play (wool/silk) in Brown C (color not online)
mods -
Started w/the medium size but had to add another increase repeat to get the thing to fit over the shoulders & armholes which resulted in ending up in the large size at the arm separation point. Not a big deal as it would give me more arm room. So while I added length & short row shaping in the bodice section, I decreased the sides down so I only had 3 sts to decrease for the lace section, bringing me back to the medium size again. I fiddled around w/the neckline shaping when I finished the short rows, so it's not quite the same as the pattern.

And for some reason, I decided that I wanted Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Sarah Michelle Gellar) length sleeves. I suppose that if the impractical length really bugs me, I can always undo the bind off and take off some length later.

As I stated in a previous post, I forgot the last 5 rows of the neckline hem, but it does make it match the other hems better, and moved the lace panel on the sleeves down to be approximately the same level as the one on the sweater body.

Notice the transition from the first skein of the Brooks Farm Four Play into the next? Lame me didn't notice this 'til I finished the body. Was so not going to rip the darn thing again and alternate skeins. H-E-double hocky sticks-no. Just frickin' no.

So while I'm waiting for my first Rockin' Sock Club package (still working on my BFF sock though), I practiced the toe-up sock method w/tapmouse's leftover STR med wgt Fairgrounds. For one toddler sock I used Judy's magic cast on, a short row heel using misocrafty's tutorial, and the EZ sewn bind off. The other sock I used the short row toe & heel (but using a regular method like in Nancy Wiseman's Finishing Techniques book) and a regular bind off so I could compare different techniques. So, yup, the EZ sewn bind off is definitely stretchier. I'll probably undo the regular bind off sock & try the Russian or crocheted bind off.

All I can say at this point is that if I do the toe up method on an adult pair of socks, I'll probably want to do Judy's magic cast on and a reverse heel flap. I'm not too thrilled at the way my short rows look and it still doesn't eliminate the need to pick up an extra stitch to close the hole made at the heel.


Last month on my trip to Sacramento, I stopped by the Twisted Stitch & picked up a ball of Tofutsies. I had a hard time believing this thin yarn would knit up on size 2 (2.75 mm) needles and not be too loose 'til I saw a bunch of their sock samples at Stitches West. So off I swatched and I'll be darned! It's actually pretty nice on size 2's. However, I'm going to wait to knit these 'til SWTC releases their sock patterns (free?) on their website sometime after this week to see what they've got though I've seen some samples on their blog & in blogland.

And lastly, monkey1 and I are debating the color selection for her Modella Guiditta. This is what she wants, but I'm having heartburn over the Carribean Sea (blue) and Holly Green (all Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece) next to each other. I've tried subbing in other colors for the Carribean Blue from my Cotton Fleece stash, but it's hard to get agreement since I don't have every single color of theirs nor does she like what little leftover I have in the same gauge in other yarns in my stash. Then again, she did tell me she's the one wearing it, not me. :P Out of the mouth of babes...