The Accursed Sweater - Part Two

Last night was Knitting Night. My friend Irene had promised that I would get a stranding lesson so that I would no longer have to refer to the sweater as Accursed. True to her word, I got the stranding lesson from her sister, Cathy. Irene was quite willing to assist; however, there were 15 people crammed into my tiny, little store. Besides being one more person than available chairs, it was just way too crowded to move around much. Cathy was able to get out of her chair, between Terry's chair and the counter, over Louise and behind the cash register. I was able to stand up, go over Emily and reach over the counter/cash register for my lesson. It was fabulous. I had never seen the technique before--despite having knit for years and years. My mentor (my mother) preferred Aran knits, just like me. Hmm. There may be a reason why I prefer Arans now that I think about it.

So ... does anyone else need a primer in stranding? I could post pics and such, courtesy of my friends Irene and Cathy. Thanks ever so much, ladies. It is a much-appreciated lesson.

The second part of Knitting Night, and possibly of even more value than the stranding lesson, was the expression of the group opinion that The Accursed Sweater would be too small for the intended recipient. "No way," I insisted. "I've measured and taken guage swatches. It'll fit!" The group expressed sincere reservations and ... quite honestly, grave doubts.

When I arrived home, I promptly measured Doug. Then I measured the sweater. Then I measured Doug. Then I measured the sweater. Then I measured Doug again. Know what? No matter how many times I did it, the two measurements were just not going to cooperate.
The solution? A trip to the frog pond. Doug took pictures. Apparently I was making funny faces. Lots of funny faces.

By noon today, this is how The Accursed Sweater looked:
I have cast on for the larger size now, and completed one and a half rows of the ribbing. I now refer to it as Apres Ski, the name given by the designer.

I only hope the name doesn't change.

And as a special treat, Louise and Emily arrived from Windsor for a surprise visit! The local guild in Windsor brought Debbie Bliss in for a talk, and they had pictures.

Talk about a great evening!