This morning, I went up to M+J to get a button for Cece. I think I must have chosen the absolute least matchable color possible to knit this sweater. All of the reds were too red, none of the pinks were red enough. The one I got will work color-wise, I think, but it may be too busy with the lace pattern. We'll see. You can all lambast me once it's done.
Since I was in that part of town, I stopped at my favorite bead store to see what they had. This place is not great for findings and not where you want to go if you want your hand held while you pick stuff out, but they have the best (and best-priced) selection of semi-precious beads I've ever seen. I got the supplies to make these:
They're strung on stretchy stuff right now, but the stones are heavy enough that I want to restring them onto fishing line. I just wanted to make sure the color placement was okay and that the lengths worked without interfering with each other. (they do.) I'm going to wear them tonight with a sharply v-necked black tank and short denim skirt when I go see my favorite Balkan dance band. With comfortable shoes, of course, for dancing.
Since I was over by Herald Square, I stopped into the big H+M [sidenote: Viktor and Rolf are the next designers to work with H+M? where I have been? that's great news!]. The clothes there are pretty easy to place in one of two categories: well-designed basics or the crap I'm going to hate seeing on everyone all season. Unfortunately, a lot of the basics are being shown in either beiges or a rather fantastic yellow-green (sort of a slightly browned-down chartreuse), both of which are not kind to the fair-skinned girl. Seriously, I'd be lucky to hit 'death warmed over' in either color. That green especially makes me look more like 'death left out in the rain after a rough night drinking.' But the good news is that I bought a couple of bathing suits. The one that I currently have is an extremely unflattering child's two-piece that I bought in Puerto Rico last November when I couldn't find anything else in New York, online or in PR and I just needed something to swim in. H+M is currently stocking some great suits--I got a couple of pin-up-girl-esque halter top and plain bottom combos that should serve me well for a while.
Also, and it pains me slightly to admit it, I bought a headband. A headband, people. I ask you. I can only assume that it was being in such close proximity to so much trendiness while I waited in line for the dressing room. All I need is a pinafore and someone to dress up as the White Rabbit and I'm all set for Halloween as Alice in Wonderland.
I've had a couple of off-blog questions about how I liked knitting Cece. Honestly, it's a fantastic pattern. It's extremely well-written, has some clever yet simple details that elevate the piece fit- and finishing-wise, and contained no mistakes that I found. I made one simple change, which was to add about 2" to the length of the body to accomodate my freakishly long torso. The only caveat I'd offer is that there are several things going on at a time that you have to pay attention to. It's not difficult, but for someone like me who tends to think she'll remember what's going on and then goes through weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth while trying to piece it all together when she forgets, you'll want to plan ahead. The way I kept track is with this notebook.
You can see on the right-hand page that I've written out the pattern rows of the lace pattern. (Since you have to buy the pattern--see the above link--to know what to do with those rows, I don't think I'm giving anything away here.) Below that, I wrote out a little map for myself that tells me how many plain stitches, how many repeats of lace, and how many increases I've added. One the left-hand page, I've just listed column after column of numbers that correspond to the pattern rows. I count ahead and indicate by circling or ticking next to the number whether I need to increase or decrease. Then I cross the row off once I've done it. That way, if I put the project down for a few days, I can tell at a glance what row I left off and how long it is until I need to take some kind of action.
