Lining up the things!

What a busy and rewarding weekend!

I got to spend a day with my little boys!  We have seen this pose before.  I just had to laugh to find my little pumpkin, Emmett, sitting there, just like his big brothers.   

And like his father and big brother before him, he loves to watch the older guys play games. 

He is so cute and adorable that when they win a level, he claps his hands.  Isaac was off at his other dad's house and I sure missed seeing him.  We are going to try for a good movie night in a couple weeks here or at their house when he is around.

I finished knitting dad's vest yesterday before I went over to play with my little boys. This morning I finished the last bit of weaving in the ends and all that remains is buttons.  And a good steam blocking I think, to make it lay nice and straight. 

I am really happy with this.  I only hope it fits dad well enough that I can make quick small adjustments to make it perfect for him.  Keeping my fingers crossed.                         

Once that was done, I sat for a bit.  I had lunch, made some tea, and aimlessly looked for something to watch. I settled down with a couple episodes of Monk, which I can watch via the landlord's Amazon Prime account and picked up this to knit.                                                                                                                                                         
                                           

It doesn't look that great yet, but I have every reason to believe that it will be just fine.  The colourwork does pull in a bit but it will block out decently. I have no doubt at all.  I have one more pattern chart to do and then I have to get creative.  I want a longer sweater than this pattern is so I am going to use a couple charts from Mary Jane Muckelstone's 150 Scandinavian Motifs.  I have two prospects that I picked out last winter when I realized length was a problem.  It may be that I only need one more colourwork section but a backup motif is always good. Two new motifs might be needed. 

The green sections are a row or two longer, after each colourwork section.  The pattern has them staying the same, but I felt this might be a way to add length without an extra motif.  Lopi does have a magical amount of growth on blocking, but even with that growth, it isn't going to be enough. Adding the extra rows does have another benefit.  If you go back to the original pattern page, you can clearly see how each design row gets wider down the sweater.  My added design needs to do this same thing to make it look like it belongs and I think the wider green bands helps to keep the sweaters lovely proportions.  I hope. Okay, I am pretty sure, or I wouldn't have done this in the first place.

Tomorrow is going to be grocery day.  I've been putting it off the last few weeks, but there are some holes the landlord doesn't think of when he purchases things.  He is meal oriented in the kitchen, purchasing for two or three days, where I like to keep stuff on hand.  A well-stocked larder is a way of life.  Who wants to spend more time than you have to, shopping? Still, some things expire and sometimes I need stuff for things I want to make.  I have a hankering for some Dampfnudel,  which I came across on a Great British Bake Off a couple years ago. It is a steamed bun that can be a sweet after a meal or a meal by itself.  I had a look in my traditional German Cookbook and yup, I have a recipe, so I will start there. 

Looking forward and keeping busy.  At home.  I hope.