Monday, April 03, 2006

Sunrise Sunset

Remember that scene in everyone's favorite, the ultimate, original boytoy movie, The Outsiders, where Cherry Valance runs into Pony Boy, and there's a beautiful Francis Ford Coppola sunset framing her red hair, and a Stevie Wonder theme song swelling in the background? And she reminds Ponyboy of that poem - Nature's First Green is Gold, her hardest hue to hold, and yadda yadda yadda - and then she asks him, "Can you see the sunset from your side of town?" And Ponyboy nods, "well, you can see it from my side too," and she bounces back into her snobby soc world, leaving him with Soda Pop and the boys at the gas station? Well, here is the Sunrise on my side of town. Not quite the Kate Gilbert creation, but I love it, and I'm so pleased with the finished project. As you can see, I went with the funky shaped buttons. I liked the ellipse/cat's eye buttons that got the most reader response, but, because I went with a very different yarn, something very me, and I wanted to keep that feel to my jacket.

As I mentioned before, I totally screwed up the hem - my hem is half the size it's supposed to be because I didn't follow the directions (I think I've mentioned I don't drive - good idea, eh?), and between the Silk Garden, and the smaller hem, I think my jacket is much drapier than it would have been had I hemmed it properly. Also, I wear a size 36 bra, so I went with the jacket sized for 37" - I've been pretty successful by going with a medium with most patterns. If I had hemmed properly, and lost another inch on each side, I think it would have come out too small. So, for anyone thinking about making this jacket, as painful as it might be, I would err on the side of too big, as opposed to too small - because as we all know by now, I am gauge challenged, but I heavily blocked this to the schematic in the pattern, and it's the right size for the 37.

So, I can check this off my knitting queue. Just in time to get a few wearings in before the weather completely changes. I think making April 1st Show Your Stash day was enlightened - because it certainly had something to do with fools, fiber and frivolity. After bouncing from blog to blog looking at everyone's stash, I realized - I do not have a stash. That catalogue below - not stash. And, again, it goes back to that drug business analogy that I cannot get away from. As I've mentioned before, dealers deal from a "stash," and if the stash is a certain weight, they get mandatory jail sentences. In order to get them out of the mandatory jail sentence, we do what's a hearing, where we call an expert (yes, there are actually experts in drug dealing, just as there are expert's in car accident cases, malpractice cases, etc.) to divide the stash into personal use and actual sale. If the personal use portion is subtracted from the total, and brings it under the mandatory weight - no mandatory sentence. That folks, is my stash - complete personal use. The stashes I saw on line, could never ever in a million years be consumed in a lifetime. Beautiful, stunning, worth bathing in (see Knit and Tonic), enviable, addictive - but for me, well, I'll never be looking at state time based on my pititful closet of unused fiber.

10 comments:

Liz K. said...

You sound awfully modest about a great FO. I love this in Silk Garden - a great version of the Sunrise. Stay gold, Wendy. Stay gold!

yahaira said...

your version of it kicks ass. love the way the noro behaved with the jacket's construction and the buttons fit the style perfectly. I cant wait to start this jacket.

some of those stashes I saw online almost gave me a heartattack, I cant handle that much yarn at once. why would you need an office stash AND a home stash?

Knitty Delicious said...

sweetie it is gorgeous and I want to make it now!!! GREAT JOB!
Yarn Harlot Monday at Loop--are you going?
I feel like I should just sleep there...C

Anonymous said...

It is just fabulous! Perfect yarn choice and incredibly flattering--whether your gauge was right or not (masterful blocking, perhaps?)
Beverly

Alison said...

Your SCJ looks faaaantastic! You've made me a little scared, though -- I chose the size smaller than I really need, since my row gauge is off (24 instead of 28 sts.). Yours seems to fit perfectly, and it's gorgeous in Silk Garden.

Merrill Mason said...

IT IS FABU!!! Inspired. An A-list object. I'll even concede the buttons. Even though it's lighter weight than you expected, I still think you could wear it as a suit jacket substitute at work. Black pants and tee, black boots with heels, some dangly earrings, and the Sunrise. Dressed.

purlewe said...

GORGENE!!! (my favorite word for one of my favorite patterns..)

It is truly fab on you and I do just luve how the colors flatter you.

PS I got my book from Joseph Fox, but then I ordered it. I'm sure there will be some there on Monday at Loop.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely adore your jacket - it looks so beautiful! I think that might just be the best sunrise jacket I've seen!

Theresa said...

That is stunning! Gorgeous! The best one I've seen. Now I might have to add it to my list . . .

Anonymous said...

The sweater is reallllllly beautiful and the unusual buttons really add a lovely visual to the finished product. I agree you're too modest - the sweater looks wonderful!

First time visiting your blog and I love it.