Einstein Complete

I had some time this afternoon with no engagements, and I finished Einstein!!!!! I washed it and it's on the guest bed blocking. Once again, I can't have any guests.

I love the fit of it. However, after finally coming to my senses and returning the expensive buttons, I'm not sure of the ones I chose. Yes, they are large and funky. But, are they too large and funky? I can't go back to the store and rebuy the original ones because I made my buttonholes for the larger buttons. Buttons seem to be my constant bugaboo. My plan is to wear the coat with the current buttons, see how they feel, and allow myself to buy new buttons if I'm uncomfortable with these. Decisions, decisions.

I'm hoping the coat is dry by Tuesday so I can wear it at Mohonk Mountain House next week. Getting a second opinion from Lisa will help.

April 4: The coat dried by the time I went to Mohonk, I found perfect buttons in Doylestown and I wore the coat while there. Here I am, lounging by my favorite Mohonk fireplace.

Time Marching Along

Time is Marching along quickly right now (get the pun? - it's March 11).

I've been busy with life (Flower Show, friends visiting me, gourmet dinner, passed away mother gathering, line dancing, etc.) that I haven't been knitting much, which is the point of this blog.

Another hitch in my knitting schedule is my new computer. It's taking up way too much time. I've had so much fun teaching my mom about how to use her computer (we do this over the phone as I'm in Philly and she's in Portland, Oregon). Along the way I've learned a massive amount about computers, although I really know very little. One activity that has enchanted me is setting up my Homepage. This came about during a help mom session. Now I've got a decorative homepage that has the most important details of my life on it: Netflix movies; movies at the local movies theaters; weather in all the cities where various family members live; a slide show of my Flickr photos; newspaper headlines. There's no end to what one can include on a Homepage. Who knew? I didn't.

Next week I'm off for a 3 night R & R at Mohonk Mountain House - possibly one of my favorite locations in the world. I've got the guilts about going since it's so darn expensive, but Taylor keeps encouraging me to go, so I will. I hope to finish Einstein by then, so I can wear it. I think if it's not done by then I won't be able to wear it until next winter since it is a heavy coat and we are moving into Spring. If it's not done by then, perhaps I'll finish it while I'm relaxing in front of a fireplace in one of the lounges.

Just in case Einstein is done by take off time, I plan to go to Tangled Web tomorrow to pick up supplies for another hedgehog. I've got another little baby in my life who is already alive and kicking and in need of a handknit from me.

Picture Perfect

Monday, March 2, was a perfect snowy day --- if I could have stayed home and watched from my window. However, it was the day Arlene flew in from Chicago for the Philadelphia Flower Show.

I didn't leave my house for the airport until the airline website showed her plane was halfway to Philly. I soldiered through the snowy roads to the expressway and then the road cleared up and traffic was minimal. When I got to the airport I waited, and waited. Finally, Arlene called me on my cell to say she had landed - at Dulles!!!!!!!!! The plane had circled so long in Philly it ran low on fuel.

Her plane was refueled and she finally arrived, 4 hours after I got to the airport. By the time she arrived I was happily ensconced with a new group of friends. The new friends included a young couple who actually know a person I know from Olympia Washington. The other new friend was a knitter!!!!!!!!!! She showed me a wonderful beaded abacus that she had made to count her rows.............I've got to make one before I forget how it's made.

Tuesday, March 3, was probably the coldest day in Philly history. The thermometer on my car said something like 18, but it felt like 6 when Arlene and I made it from the parking lot to the convention center for the Philadelphia Flower Show.

And what a show it was!!!!!!!!!!! It was picture perfect.

Monday Dinner cooked on Sunday

wine-braised chicken with shallots and pancetta

from Fine Cooking Magazine, No. 97

Is it just me, or does this smell really good???

Unfortunately this is dinner for tomorrow night, and now I'm too exhausted to make dinner for tonight.

I really should make Sunday dinner sometime.

It's such a nice concept.

Family Matters

I hope this means I've figured out how to add a slide show. This is just a sample: Family Matters. I suspect there's blanks at the end so bear with it.

So what does this have to do with the purpose of my blog? I guess it falls under creativity and perfectionism. Now that I think I've got the hang of how to do this I hope to make another slideshow that is more creative. In the meantime my knitting is falling by the wayside. Oh well - there's a time for everything.

Yowzah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Yowzah!!!!!!!!!!!

No knitting has been happening here.

The reason?

New computer.

This is the maiden blog entry.

Overthinking Einstein

I have come to my senses. I am going to return the beautiful, sophisticated and costly buttons. Instead, I found some larger, funky buttons that cost a fraction of the price and will also look great. While I love the first buttons, I have to admit - I'm more funky than sophisticated. Plus the funky price is much better.

In the meantime I am overthinking this "simple" Einstein Coat. I did a Ravelry search and examined most of the coats listed on the site. I paid particular attention to those with big buttons, because I'm now having a buttonhole crisis. None of the other knitters addressed buttonholes so they clearly did not have the concerns I have. It must be my tendency toward perfectionism which is causing me a major headache.

Sally Melville has the knitter make a simple yarn-over button hole on the coat. However, when I saw the results of this button hole on several coats at my LYS I realized it is way too small, as well as hard to locate, for my taste. Since I have my big buttons, I've been experimenting with various sizes of the one row buttonhole. Even though my buttons are 1 1/2 inches I have found that a 2 stitch button hole is all I need. The buttonholes on the lower part of the coat are veritcal, and they look fine. The buttonholes on the top will be horizontal and they are gaping a bit. It appears that the weight of the knitting pulls them apart.

Will I be able to live with this?

I continued to experiment. In Nancy Wiseman's The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques, I found directions for a larger yarn-over buttonhole. It fits my buttons rather snugly, but it really gaps. It's a large hole as a matter of fact, and I can't live with it.

Now I'm back to my 2 stitch one-row buttonhole. I've complete four and am moving on.

Most Ravelry knitters who completed the Einstein Coat reported that it was an easy pattern. I too, thought it was an easy pattern, until I started mucking with it. Trying to improve what is already a beautiful pattern is just plain crazy.