The weather. After ‘How are you?’, it’s often one of the first topics of conversation. ‘Isn’t it cold’, ‘Lovely fine weather we’re having’, etc. But just now, ‘Isn’t it cold’ is frequently followed by ‘I can’t wait for it to end’ or ‘When will it stop?”. For the weather is still the same, and it’s been nearly a month. This time last year, we were having sunshine. I look back at my photos incredulously; the blue skies seem unbelievable.
This week has been much like the last with the same activities. The notable exception was a visit to the dentist for a yearly check-up. It was sleeting on the way there and showering with snow on the return. In between, I passed my check-up with flying colours. I mentioned I was having sensitivity in one of my teeth. She explained it was due to bone loss and would varnish the offending tooth near the gum to lessen the effects. While still wondering how this would work, she dabbed it on the tooth and immediately cured it with a handheld UV light. They cure fillings with UV light too. Such technological advances! It’s a far cry from the dentistry of my childhood. Now, if they would only invent a drill that doesn’t whine like a buzz saw.
This time last year . . .
With the sewing projects, I’ve tried on the velvety dress and the pinafore. Both have hemlines that are too long. The dress is too long through the torso and needs shortening by at least four inches. The pinafore reaches to the top of my feet and will need at least six inches taken off. The hemming will get done when I determine the best way to do both tasks. It’s not a simple matter of trimming off the excess. For that to be successful, the garment needs to have a level hem to start with. In the case of the pinafore, one part is longer than the rest.
This time last year: looking through the lifeboat house supports.
Such good progress is being made on the gansey that I’m beginning to think it might be finished by the end of the month. I’m a handful of rows away from finishing the front. The gansey will have an indented neckline. To work this, I’ve taken the number of stitches on the front and divided it by three (180 / 3 = 60). Then I’ve divided that number by four (60 / 4 = 15), and added that number to the first and last thirds (60 + 15 = 75). These augmented thirds are the on either side of the neck, and the centre half third (60 – 30 = 30) is the bottom of the neck opening. The ‘thirds’ needn’t be precisely a third – it will depend on the number of stitches and if you want to align the neckline edge with the stitch pattern. The neckline is shaped by reducing one stitch at the neckline edge every other row until the added quarter is gone. At that point, the shoulder is knit straight to the required length. In this case, the decreases for the neck edge end at the top, where it will be joined to the shoulder strap.
Quick work! I had forgotten about the sewing projects. Hemline adjustments are tricky without help.
I found a volunteer – the pinafore hem is marked with the preferred length.
Hehe! I had exactly the same dental treatment at the same time! Quite a difference from the horrors of my childhood!
At least I escaped the drill which always reminds me of drilling into concrete. Too much imagination…..
I avoided the drill this time too. The cold probe on a tooth to check for sensitivity was as bad as it got.