Highland Triangle #2!

I have been knitting like crazy lately, so I am through 5 out of 6 repeats of the main body pattern. Then on to the neverending border.... I don't have pictures, but the shawl looks just like the last one, so it shouldn't be hard for you to use your imagination.

In other news, I have been sewing, and I made two new regency dresses. You can see pics at my livejournal.

Best and Worst of 2006: Installment Two

Next up, books! Note that the books included here are from those I read in 2006, not from those published in 2006. I'm not that up to date on my reading material. Also a warning: I didn't get much time to read for fun this year. Even when I was riding the subway to work in the summer, I spent most of my time reading The Economist. So this list is short. *Sniff*

The Best:
1) Daughter of Fortune and Zorro, both by Isabelle Allende. Allende has an amazing voice. She carefully crafts a detailed world for her characters, but doesn't let the environment overpower the story and plot (unlike some talented authors...I'm looking at you, Tom Clancy!). Both of these books examine the immigrant experience with breathtaking honesty and poignancy.

2) Jane and His Lordship's Legacy by Stephanie Barron. Barron's Jane Austen mysteries is one of the best historical mystery series I have ever read. Although early installments were a little obvious (as in you could spot the villain well before the reveal) and mired in their attempts at historical scholarship (Barron frames the books as lost letters and manuscripts by Jane Austen herself), Barron has managed to get past the gimmicks and write engaging stories. This entry is the best of those I have read (I haven't yet gotten to the newest book, which was just released), a fitting end to the Jane/Lord Trowbridge relationship. I'm just not sure where we go from here, as Jane died relatively young, and the series is now nearing the last years of her life.

3) Cavalcade by Walter Satterthwaite. This is the third mystery in the Phil Beaumont and Jane Turner series. In it Jane and Phil investigate an assassination attempt on Hitler. It's a really weird book, but Satterthwaite makes his characters accessible and really tries to take the darkness of his subject matter seriously. But not too seriously. If you want to check out this series, I would recommend starting from the beginning, though (with Escapade). The previous two entries were stronger.

Honorable mentions to Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding and North by Northanger by Carrie Bebris. Just some chick-lit goodness.

The Worst:
1) The Edwardian mystery series by Marion Chesney. These mysteries are on crack. Chesney just likes to jump from one situation to the next, without any explanation, and then suddenly reveal the murderer in a cliched final reveal scene. Skip these.

2) Yet again, all the books I didn't get to read this year. Damn you, lack of free time!

Best and Worst of 2006: Installment One

Yes, it's that time again! Time for Gloria to make pointless lists about what sort of books, tv, and movies she was into this past year. I know I'm running a bit late, but bear with me; I've been dealing with end of semester stuff.

Let's get the ball rolling with TV.

The Best:
1) ER. This has been at the top of my list now for two years in a row. This is probably because it is my favorite show ever. I realize that this makes me a little biased. However, this show has also been surprisingly successful for NBC during it's 13th (!) season, so much so that they decided not to put it on mid-season hiatus. Season 12 ended strongly, with a massive shoot-out in the ER and with Abby going into labor. Season 13 has been even tighter, with effective guest appearances by Sally Field and Forest Whitaker. But now Laura Innes is leaving! She made Dr. Weaver an interesting and compelling character for 11.5 seasons. Yet, I have faith in the show's continued strength. Even John Stamos is working for me (I got over the Full House connotations).

2) The Closer. This show just keeps getting better. The second season had more zany moments, which really endeared it to me. Even the mysteries are getting less stupid. Kyra Sedgwick is doing a wonderful job, and the entire cast meshes incredibly well. This is the series that will restore faith in the police procedural.

3) The West Wing. It's over! The show ended after 7 years. I was very impressed by their ability to rewrite things after the untimely death of John Spencer. They managed to honor his work while still carrying on with the plot. I'm still a little miffed at the way in which things ended for Toby, but at least he didn't go to prison. And Bradley Whitford finally got me to love Josh, despite the fact that he's a self-righteous bastard. Somehow I like John Wells' softer Josh better than Aaron Sorkin's crazy "I know what I'm doing so just do what I say" Josh. I know, that's blasphemy, but I respect John Wells and Aaron Sorkin. It was a fitting end to a great show.

4) Veronica Mars. I started in on this show just this season. Then Mike and I watched the DVDs of seasons 1 and 2 in about a week. Suffice it to say that I am now obsessed with this show. Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring are phenomenal. Plus the mysteries are compelling (if a little oddly plotted and paced--I hate how they sometimes drop things for episodes at a time). I do think that the Lily Kane case is the best arc the show will ever have, and that it suffers now because of it. But I'll still watch for the Logan and Veronica scenes alone. It seems unlikely that this show will get another season (they only got a 20 episode order for this one). I just hope Logan and Veronica end up together in some suitably happy relationship.

5) Heroes. This show creeps me out. The gore in the indestructible cheerleader scenes is a bit much for me. But so far it has been really well constructed, with tight cliffhangers. And it balances a lot of characters effectively. I've been a fan of Adrian Pasdar since he had a recurring role on Judging Amy, so I'm pleased to see him, even if he is playing a horrible person (though I am sure he will be redeemed somehow). It is also great to see Milo Ventimiglia and Greg Grunberg (of Gilmore Girls and Alias, respectively). Plus the Tim Sale artwork is beautiful, as always.

6) Scrubs and 30 Rock. All hail the return of Must See TV Thursdays! I am not normally a sitcom person, but these two are just too much fun to pass up. Plus, they're on right before ER, so it's no big deal to turn on the TV a little early. At first I was puzzled by 30 Rock, but Alec Baldwin kept me coming back. But now the show is genuinely hilarious. Scrubs has always been strong, and it is just rolling through what looks to be another great season (apparently its last, as Zack Braff is not coming back).

7) Gilmore Girls. It's weird without Amy Sherman Palladino, but Gilmore Girls is still trucking along. At first I was afraid that the dialogue was going to get just fake enough to become annoying (it's not as if it has ever been that natural). But the new show runners seem to have ironed that out. I really hope Lorelai can just settle down and be happy. Christopher is trying so hard to make their relationship work. The Rory/Logan storyline is getting a bit boring though. Somehow Rory is just not as cute as she used to be. I did love the knitting episode. Lorelai even had a shirt from Craftster!

8) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. This show has SO much promise. Great cast, great director, great writer...but somehow it's not quite right yet. Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry are really working it, as are Amanda Peet and Steven Webber, but the plots and dialogue aren't really singing. Many of the situations feel stilted (after having watched West Wing and some Sports Night, I keep thinking, "...and here is where we get the patented Aaron Sorkin touchy feely scene...and here is the classic freak out scene...etc."). But Nevada Day was nice, and I still have faith that this many talented people will make something of this show.

Honorable mention to Without a Trace. There is just something about Anthony LaPaglia that is watchable.

The Worst:
1) Alias. Arrrrrrrgh! At least they brought Michael Vartan back. That and the fact that Victor Garber's Jack ended the show credibly are really the only saving graces. I would prefer to forget that seasons 4 and 5 ever existed.

2) CBS for canceling Smith after only a few episodes. I was very intrigued to see John Wells working on a show that had such unlikeable characters. And the first episode was so well made that I thought it could be a feature film. A good feature film. Ah well, better luck next time.

Highland Triangle #1 Finished!!

Ta Da! (Click for a bigger pic.) I finished Highland Triangle #1. Only 2 more to go! This pattern was actually quite enjoyable to knit, and it wasn't a bad introduction to lace. I used about 3/4 of a cone of Brown Sheep Nature Spun, on US 10 Denise circulars. I have to say I was surprised by how big it came out. I wasn't expecting something this wide. But that does make it very snuggly. Considering that I didn't touch this for weeks at a time, I was also surprised by how fast it knit up. I started it in the middle of October, and I finished it right at the end of December. My hope is that I will be able to speed things up a bit on the next two. And I already started the next one.

Happy New Year!!!!

Man, sorry I went so long without posting. December got sucked up by finals. Anyway, I finished two classes, International Trade and Cross-Section Econometrics. I only have Industrial Organization to deal with during reading period. Plus, I have signed up to present a research paper in February at the International brown bag. I am not anywhere close to being ready for that, but I think I can get something together this month.

Christmas was nice. Mike and I spent most of Christmas weekend watching 1.5 seasons worth of Veronica Mars. That rocked. But it also made all the episodes blur together. I guess that just means we'll have to watch them again!

In knitting news, I have FINISHED AND BLOCKED Highland Triangle #1. I even started Triangle #2. I will have pics soon.

Also, I Play With Pins and Needles has tagged me to list "6 Weird Things About Myself." Let's see....

1) I like eating ice cream for breakfast. Mint chocolate chip is my favorite breakfast choice. But not for when I'm eating ice cream for a snack. Then french vanilla or cookie dough is better. I haven't indulged in a breakfast sundae in quite some time, though.

2) My nose makes a squeaky noise when I blow it. It's really embarrassing sometimes.

3) I have a fear of geese.

4) I love the way my parents' dog smells at the spot on top of his head between his ears. My sister calls it the "puppy corn chip smell." Somehow that scent reminds me of home.

5) I have a friend from high school who has repeatedly given me a stick (as in a twig from his backyard) for Christmas. It started as a joke many years ago, for some unknown reason.

6) I collect those souvenir spoons you see in vacation spots. I have hundreds.

I tag Jessie, and anyone else who wants!

So Many Stitches

I am working on the bind off for Highland Triangle #1. It's taking forever, because it involves making this pointed edging as you bind off. But I like the look of it. Hopefully I will have it done soon!

In other news, I have been sewing some more. I decided to try to confine most of the sewing chatter to my lj, http://quincy134.livejournal.com/. Feel free to visit!

The semester is almost over here at Harvard, which means it's crunch time. I will have one final during January (Harvard has it's official exam time after Christmas), but I will have one on December 20th too. So I'm off to study!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, to those in the states!

Shawl Update

I managed to get an okay picture of the border on Highland Triangle #1. It's going alright, but the knitting is getting a little mindless now. I liked the center stitch pattern better. I've got 2.5 more repeats of this chart to go, and then I have the bind off edging.

In other news, I am waiting for Matlab to run through my code for an econometrics problem set. Matlab is the slowest program I have ever used. It even takes forever to start up. Now I'm getting it to run some Monte Carlo experiments, and waiting for it to crash my computer. I was driving through Framingham last weekend, and we passed the Mathworks building (the company who makes Matlab, you may have heard them mentioned on NPR as a sponsor). I thought about pulling over and giving them a piece of my mind. Except it was Friday night and no one would have been there to hear my rant. But the idea seemed like a good one at the time.

Quick Note

Yes, I have been knitting! I have started the border to Highland Triangle #1, and that's going fine. But the stitch count is growing rapidly, so each row is taking longer and longer. The gauge is still pretty big, so I'll have a maximum of 400 stitches at the widest point. Hopefully I'll have a pic, though the shawl just looks like this big black blob on my needles.

In other news, Mike is super happy over the current Democratic Party sucesses, so we've been watching CNN more than usual. I'm also quite pleased over the outcome, especially since Representative Barney Frank (Democrat from Newton, MA) spoke yesterday about liberalizing trade and working on economic growth issues. I'm also very interested to see what Deval Patrick has in store for the state. So I'm optimistic. But I'll leave the real political analysis for those who are more in the know.

In other news, it's raining here. And it rained yesterday too. This really puts a damper on my mood. And the problem set I have to do isn't helping. Back to work!

Sorry for the lack of posts. I haven't got any good photos to share of my current adventures, so I figured I'd hold off until I took some.

If you live in the US: PLEASE VOTE TODAY.

I am an economist, so I know all about the "my vote doesn't really matter because the probability that I will be the marginal voter is basically zero" models, but it's the best political process we have, so we might as well use it!

Meme

48 Things You Could Care Less About
1. FIRST NAME? Gloria
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nope. I think my mom got my name out of a "here's how to name your baby" type book.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? When I saw my new problem set this morning. I didn't actually have tears, but it was close.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? It's okay. I can read it, so that's fine with me.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Ham. Very un-Kosher.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I hope so, but I do make fun of people a lot, which could probably become annoying.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Just this blog. I have never been good at keeping a handwritten one.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way. I'm afraid of heights.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Raisen Bran
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope. I wear holes in the heels of my sneakers because I'm too lazy to untie them.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Strong enough to deal with things, but I could be stronger both physically and emotionally.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Chocolate. I am so boring.
14. SHOE SIZE? 10. Actually one of my feet is 10.5 and the other is 9.5 . I don't know how that happened.
RED OR PINK? Red.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? The way I can go from being happy to freaked out in one minute.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My sister.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Why not?
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans, black turtleneck, grey sneakers.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Tostitos.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The new Killers album, which is a bit unsatisfying.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Blue? Maybe?
23. FAVORITE SMELL? My parent's dog.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Mike.
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Color of hair.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I've never personally met Elizabeth, but she sounds like my kind of person based on her blog.
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Ginger ale.
28. FAVORITE SPORT? Horseback riding (English hunter/jumpers)
29. EYE COLOR? Dark brown.
30. HAT SIZE? 23". Enormous.
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Glasses.
FAVORITE FOOD? Cheez-Its. Somehow I can eat those whenever.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings. I am too easily scared. I'll get nightmares for days if I watch a scary movie.
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Whichever isn't now.
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Depends on who's doing the hugging and the kissing.
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Ice cream.
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? My sister Jessie?
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Hanover Square Affair by Ashley Gardner
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? It's plain grey.
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? I was at a meeting, so nothing, but I avidly watch ER, Gilmore Girls, Studio 60, Heroes, and Without a Trace.
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Couldn't really say.
44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles, but I have little exposure to the Stones except for in passing.
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? China.
46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? uh, studying a lot?
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Baltimore
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? nicked it off of A Mingled Yarn (Elizabeth).

Regency Dress

Here's my regency dress that I'm planning on wearing to Amy's halloween party on Saturday. It's far from perfect, but I'm proud that I was able to sew something like this at all. It took me about a week to finish, working in the evenings. I want to try to make another, and see if my skills can improve. It's tough, because I find that sewing takes too big chunks of time compared to knitting. Although I spend more time per project on knitting, it's easier to just pick up and put down. So I can knit in between doing other things. With sewing, I have to sit down and devote a lot of time to it, or else things get messy really fast. But I want to try more sewing projects.

In other news, shawl #1 is going well. I'm on the fourth (of six) repeat of the chart for the body of the shawl, but then I have, as mentioned before, the giant knitted-on borders. We shall see how those go.

New Project!

As some of you may know, I've been engaged for a while now, and Mike and I have decided to get married in the summer of 2008. My current project is to make shawls for some of the women in the wedding party. I'm not sure if I'm going to be sucessful, as this means I have to knit A LOT, but I'm giving it a go. Plus, Michelle has graciously offered to knit a couple for me too (thank you, Michelle!!!).

So, I ordered three cones of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport from Paradise Fibers, and now I am knitting away. I chose the Highland Triangle pattern from Folk Shawls. I cast on for the first one a week ago, and now you can really see the pattern coming together. But I still have a long way to go, as this shawl has giant knitted on borders. I chose black (not a wedding color, I know!) because I know it will match well with the colors both Michelle and my sister wear a lot. Wish me luck!

FO Galleries

I just finished making some rough picture galleries of my FOs. Links are on the sidebar. Take a peek!

Historical Knitting/Crocheting Links

I have been collecting up these links for inspiration. Maybe they will pique your interest too!

Elizabethan Hand Knit Hose
Glamarama: Vintage Knitting Patterns,
Godey's Lady's Book: 1852-1860
HJS Studio Tutorials: WWI and WWII Knitting Patterns
Lady's Treasury of Costume and Fashion: The Work-Table
Once Upon A Pattern
The Victoria and Albert Museum: 1940s Patterns to Knit
The Vintage Connection: Knitting Patterns
Two Sisters Vintage
White Lies Designs
Yarn Lover's Room: Antique Knitting Patterns
Yarn Lover's Room: Antique Crochet Patterns

More to come...

Halloween Costume

Still not much to report on the knitting front. I am still waiting for an order of yarn to come in the mail.

However, I have been sewing! I have been working on my Halloween costume, a regency style day dress from Simplicity 4055, which was designed by Sense and Sensibility Patterns. Considering that I haven't sewn clothes in ages, it's going pretty well. This is a pic of the finished bodice. I've attached the skirt now, but I need to put on the buttons and give the dress a good ironing. The fabric (of which I have a decent amount left over) and notions for this cost less than $20, plus $10 for the pattern. And I think I'll use the pattern again, as it's working quite nicely (though I had trouble understanding the directions Simplicity included. I ended up following the "Sewing tips" section on the Sense and Sensibility site).

Weekend!

Nothing much going on here. I am waiting for an internet order of yarn to come in so I can start my next project. So I have just been crocheting a little bit. I've got a long weekend because all of my professors are Jewish and observe Yom Kippur.

I did read the next book in the Edwardian Mystery series by Marion Chesney, A Hasty Death. It feels like reading a story outline. Chesney doesn't bother to elaborate on ANY plot points. She just zips from one place to the next. It's really, really weird. One minute Rose and Harry, our protagonists, are breaking out of an insane asylum. The next they are at a country house party. Ten pages later they are confronting a crazed murderer. Because of this ADD-style, the characterization suffers. This is a shame, because the characters were the best part of the first entry in the series, Snobbery With Violence. Now I'm not sure what to expect from the next installment. These books are short (~200 pages), so I don't mind giving another a try. I just hope Chesney will slow down and take a breath in the next one. I would give this a 5.

Quick Movie Review

I'm waiting for Adobe to convert a PDF to a text format so I can use the highlight tool in it. While that's running, I figured I should write a quick post.

I finally saw The Constant Gardner this past Saturday. I had been wanting to watch that one since last year. Anyway, I thought it was very well made and very compelling. Ralph Fiennes portrays a UK diplomat who inpulsively marries a young radical, played by Rachel Weisz (she won an Oscar for this role). Then, she is killed in Africa for sticking her nose in a corrupt drug company plot. Her husband pieces together what she was doing and continues her work, in the process discovering much about her, himself, and their relationship. It's a horrifying romantic movie, though it has a typically cynical Le Carre ending. (I have only ever read one book by John Le Carre, so I'm going more off of what I hear than first hand experience.) Ralph Fiennes's performance certainly makes the movie. I was also particularly taken with the use of color and focus to signal flashbacks. Overall, I would give it a 7.

Into the groove

So classes started this week. I am contemplating International Trade, Industrial Organization, Time Series, and Cross Section/Panel. That might be too much econometrics, but I do want to take these courses.

And I finished a short book, Snobbery With Violence by Marion Chesney. It's the first in the Edwardian Mystery series, featuring Lady Rose and Captain Harry Cathcart. I found Chesney's style very appealing, full of dead-pan humor and wit. But the book is only a little over 200 pages, and the mystery part didn't start until quite a ways in. I felt the pacing was off. I understand that Chesney was trying to introduce us to the characters and their lifestyles, but the ending was really rushed. But I am looking foward to seeing how the relationship between Rose and Harry progresses. Rose is a suffragette with very little understanding about how the real world works, while Harry is a world-weary war veteran. Of course the requisite sparks fly, but these are interesting characters who can rise above the somewhat cliched "opposites attract" situations. I would give the book a 6.

Red Sweater: Finished

That's all, folks! I would probably make some more modifications if I were to do this again, but it was a positive experience overall.

Yarn: 10.5 balls Knitpicks Mainline
Pattern: My own (top-down raglan)
Needles: US 8 (Denise interchangables, then dpns for the sleeves)

As I have mentioned before, this was supposed to be the Something Red sweater from Knit and Tonic, but after a running out of yarn fiasco, I switched gears to this.

Oh, and here's the back view.

***Edited to add the pattern!

Red Blazer

Finished Size: The sweater is a small, measuring 33" across at the bust. My bust measurement is just under 32", and it fits me with a dress shirt underneath.

Materials:11 balls of Knitpicks Mainline (82 yards/50 grams, 75% pima cotton, 25% merino wool)
1 29” US 8 circular needle
1 set of US 8 dpns (for the sleeves, you could also magic loop these)
6 0.75” buttons

Gauge;4 stitches/6 rows per 1” in st st

The Collar:Using the circular needles, CO 57 stitches. Work in seed stitch for 2”. At the beginning of the next row, ktog. Work the rest of the row in seed stitch until you get to the last two stitches. Ktog. Work the next row in seed stitch. Repeat these two rows four more times, so that you have decreased a total of 10 stitches, 5 at each end. Break the yarn.

The Neck:Using the same needle you were knitting on before, CO 8 stitches. Then pick up 7 stitches along the slanted edge of the collar. Purl across the live collar stitches. Pick up 7 stitches along the other slanted edge of the collar, then CO 8 more stitches using a cable cast on. Start the raglan:Seed stitch across the first 15 stitches. Knit 2. M1, K1, M1, knit 7, M1, K1, M1, knit 25, M1, K1, M1, knit 7, M1, K1, M1, knit 2. Seed stitch across the last 15 stitches. On the next row, seed stitch the first 15 stitches, purl until the last 15 stitches, seed stitch these last 15 stitches. Repeat these two rows until the raglan armholes fit around your arm.

Divide out the sleeves:Work in pattern until your first raglan increase, knit across the three raglan increase stitches (where you were doing your M1, K1, M1’s before), transfer the sleeve stitches to a holder or waste yarn, knit across the next three raglan increase stitches (where you were doing your M1, K1, M1’s before). Knit across the back until the next raglan, knit across the three raglan increase stitches (where you were doing your M1, K1, M1’s before), transfer the sleeve stitches to a holder or waste yarn, knit across the next three raglan increase stitches (where you were doing your M1, K1, M1’s before). Finish the row in the established pattern.

Work the body:On the next RS row, begin the bust decreases. Seed stitch the first 15 stitches, then knit the next 13. Then perform a double vertical decrease: “Insert the right needle into the next two stitches as if to ktog, and slip them to the right needle. Knit the next stitch on the left needle. With the left needle, pull both slipped stitches over the stitch” (Vogue Knitting Quick Reference pg 21). Knit through the back, and do this decrease again on the other front. Work the WS in pattern (without any decreases). Repeat these two rows once more. Then repeat the vertical decrease every four rows 5 more times.

AT THE SAME TIME work underarm decreases: one inch after dividing for the armholes, ktog 9 stitches before the armhole join, and ktog in the same manner after the armhole join. Repeat this under the other armhole. 8 rows later, ktog 7 stitches before the first armhole join, and ktog in the same manner after the armhole join. Repeat this under the other armhole. 8 rows later, ktog 5 stitches before the armhole join, and ktog in the same manner after the armhole join. Repeat this under the other armhole. 8 rows later, ktog 3 stitches before the armhole join, and ktog in the same manner after the armhole join. Repeat this under the other armhole.

AT THE SAME TIME, work three 2 stitch button holes starting 10 inches after the start of the body (measured from the neckline). These should be spaced 2 inches apart. Work even until the body is 4.5” shorter than your intended length.

Hip increases: Work 15 stitches in seed stitch and 16 in st stitch. M1, K3, M1, knit until there are 34 stitches left, M1, K3, M1, finish the row in pattern. 4 rows later, work 31 stitches, M1, K5, M1, and then work the back and the hip increase similarly on the other front. Continue to increase in this manner two more times, every 4 rows.

End border: Work in seed stitch for 2 inches. BO.

Sleeves: Transfer the sleeve stitches to dpns. Knit in the round for 1.5”. On the next round, ktog 3 stitches before the underarm join, and 3 stitches after the underarm join. Repeat this decrease round 2 rounds later, then 4 rounds later, then 7 rounds later, then every 10th round. Continue in this manner until the sleeve is 1.5 inches shorter than intended. Work in seed stitch for 1.5 inches, then BO. Repeat for the other sleeve.

Block as desired, and sew on the buttons. Three are used as decoration, to give a double-breasted effect.

Enjoy!