Some days are just like that

I have been working on this crochet sweater for what seems like an eternity now - starting in Calgary and bit by bit getting all the pieces ready to put together through the big move, and the even bigger wall repair and painting.  Finally, finally it looked like it was ready to put together.  Probably I shouldn't have had that glass of wine but at the time.....
Anyway, the idea of this thing is that it is all one piece, except for the sleeves which are crocheted separately.  So far, so good.  The big attraction is that the front looks like a mobius loop as you twist the right front 180 degrees across, matching up the arm holes. 
Except they didn't - match - that is.   I inadvertently created the right armhole on the top of the piece, rather than the bottom. My mistake.

No problem I said - I can take out 6 rows, fix the mistake and we would be good to go - insert the sleeves and get it ready for it's close up, and do the edging.
Except the right armhole and the left armhole didn't match in size.  One armhole was going to be way too small.  And...it was the armhole in the middle of the entire piece.  This wasn't not good!

All that work - 29 inches of crocheting across the front which was joined at one side to the back and the armhole in question was in the middle of the join.   I re-read the pattern - I hadn't made a mistake - I had 16 offset V stitches and one shell, and an armhole no one but a small child could get their arm through. 
So..I thought - can I get the back and front separated without tearing out the entire 29 inches, which...by the way, took me most of the summer off and on to complete?  I've done crochet repairs before.  I once backed myself into a corner and took on the repair of a gorgeous Greek bedspread - the repair was right in the middle of the piece.  I though if I can do that...I can do this.

So.  Yesterday afternoon I made a strong pot of tea and laid the entire thing out on the dining room table, figured out where the first sideways row was, took a breath and cut.  Then proceeded to unravel the first row backwards - which, I might add is not quick, or for the faint of heart, but it can be done if you're desperate enough.  And I was.
The live stitches have been captured now on a circular knitting needle, but I don't think they are going anywhere.  Now I have to measure the two armholes, match them up and rejoin the side and back. 

The sweater is called the Lotus and I'm using a delicious pale mint colour from Manos Del Uruguay - Fina colour #408 - it is a mix of 30% silk/70% extra fine merino and I love working with it. and I love love love the colour.

This is an interweave crochet pattern from Spring 2014 - a couple of things about this - The first armhole shaping is wrong which is incredibly inconvenient if you don't catch it (see above)  I think Row 1 should be 14 V Stitches not 16..   I don't know if an errata was ever published.  They are also a bit off on the quantities of yarn needed - Mind you I made a substitution but - don't we all?  So I have 3 full skeins left over of this lovely stuff.  It will go into the stash and no doubt turn into something else sometime else.  Extra doesn't worry me over much.
I'm not moving this thing off the table until I have it joined up again.  

On and off the needles.

A new cowl design from me that I am teaching at the Knotty Knitter right now  Our first class was Saturday and for a learn to knit clss, it went extremely well.  Muscle memory is amazing.  These women had learned years ago but then dropped the needles.  They didn't think they remembered, but their hands did.  Gotta love that.

Boot cuffs are all the rage this fall.  Great to put together out of odds and ends, doubling  yarn to make something totally different.  And, I found that if you only get one made and run out of steam, you can use it as a cup cuff for your travel mug.  Keeps the tea smoking hot.  Excuse the blurry phone shot - I took it into the mirror.  Needs must as they say.

This morning Libby and I woke up to snow on the tops of the mountains that surround out lovely little valley.  The sun is shining and it is gorgeous.  If you look closely you can just see the border collie hiding in the tall grass there.

I'm still fine tuning here.  Moving house takes a long time to sort out.  Or it seems to be taking a long time this time.  Stage one was getting everything out of the boxes.  Now I'm onto stage two - wondering why I put that thing in that cupboard and where did I put that other thing.  It's interesting that I can see that other thing in another drawer in a former house - but I can't lay my hands on it in this house.  I swear I have gremlins in here.

Getting the pictures up on the wall was major! 
And that's a wrap, as they say, for today.  Stay tuned.