Hope Springs Eternal

The heat here has been so unbearable that some days I was capable of nary a stitch. Just holding my knitting in my hands made them sweat and my poor little fan could barely keep up. So fleeing from wool and my Capecho frustrations, I did get a lot of work done on my modified Clapoits. OK, I forgot the silk is warm too but it's only a scarf! Anyway I've learned a few things about Clapotis and the yarn I chose.

1. I'm glad I bought the skein of Silk Rhapsody but I am also glad that I only bought 1. The colorway I chose just isn't enough for me and the two plies being separate are a bit of a pain to work with. Still I firmly believe that to get the drape a high percentage of silk is a must. One day when I can afford 4 skeins of Lorna's Laces, or maybe some of Hand Maiden's Lady Godiva (which would only use 3 skeins) I want to do this up right!
   
2. The thinner version (half the width of the original pattern) also doesn't work for me. I made it thinner because I only had that one skein but I also wondered if the 21" would be too wide for me. It won't be. So once again, one day when I can afford...
3. I like the pattern. It's really easy and relaxing, you can let you mind wonder a bit, which is nice sometimes. And the finished scarf is definitely elegant.
   

So for now, I will leave you with my close to being finished modified Clapotis.

As I write this, the cold winds are coming in through the open balcony door. The freak heat has come to an end, or the freak cold has come back. I can't keep track but it's cold and rainy outside and I have no idea what next week will bring, so it was back to Capecho.

I've got some good news and some not so good news. After my frustration with the sleeves, I decided to put the collar in place, see if the whole thing was going to droop and then get back to the sleeves. So...

The good news: following Amy's instructions of a 1:1 then 1:2 ratio I worked the math, knit the correct number of rows and pinned the collar into place and started my seaming. True confession time: this is the first time I used the mattress stitch. Yes, I admit it! And when I think of the seams on the kids' sweaters I cringe from embarrassment. The stitch is so easy to do and the seam is so smooth I promise I will never go back to my old ways!
And now for the not so good news: After the collar was in place I reworked the left sleeve, getting just to the point where sleeve becomes pure ribbing and pinned it together. The right sleeve was still in place even though I knew I had to frog back to where the decreases should end. And I tried it on. And... it is too big. It doesn't droop or do any of the terrible things I had heard it would do, it's just too big. See if I had known it wasn't close fitting I wouldn't have made it bigger than the x-large but, unfortunately, VK didn't post that little correction until I was finished with the body. So there is nothing left to do but rip the whole thing apart and start again! But I start fearless because now I know the secret and it only has that one button at the top so I am hoping that the x-largewill be just right, and if not I have 6 months to lose a little weight! So in the meantime, I'll be frogging away, and making my center pull balls. I also plan on picking up the Heela cotton I will be using for Arietta. I've never worked with cotton nor have I done any color work so I look forward to the experience. But I haven't given up on my Capecho. After seeing Amy's pics I know it can be done well and I love the yarn I chose for it, I just won't be rushing through to get it done but I will keep you posted.