I had a lot of awesomeness today just hanging out with bear, so regardless of the grumbles, I had a great day. I still managed to fit in some grumbles.
We had planned to go and see Nine Lives at the cinema, but the reviews have been so bad that we decided to skip it. Instead we went out for lunch to the local Harvester. We hadn't been to that branch before, and we were a little too early by half an hour.
Rather than sit in the pub for half an hour drinking expensive drinks, we went over to the farm shop that was just across the road. I am drawn to farm shops. I keep hoping that this time I will find one that isn't just about overpriced olives and will be local produce at a decent price. The one we went to a few weeks ago didn't live up to what I was hoping for and the queuing system annoyed DH (it was seriously complicated). However this one was promising. There was plenty of good butcher's meat out, in the sort of cuts I remembered from when I was little. There was proper neck of lamb and what I consider proper pork chops. I asked and you can order gluten free sausages that are made on site, and there were several burgers possible as well (to be eaten tomorrow). Tonight we had bacon. We asked about bacon and the very nice butcher went to the back and cut slices off a flitch (I think that's what it's called) with a very sharp knife and it was beautiful to eat. There were some local veggies as well, so it could be a good place to stock up. It is only about fifteen to twenty minutes away, depending on whether Leeds United are playing, and I never knew. We'll see how the burgers eat, but I'm optimistic.
The meal at the Harvester was pretty awesome. Bear loves the Harvester. Basically, he loves the free salad, but the 'build your own chocolate pizza with a cookie dough base' dessert also works for him. He was a happy bear.
We watched the Great British Bake Off. It's the first time I've seen it, and I was rather in awe. The first episode was so far beyond my expertise and bear has already announced that we are baking tomorrow. I can see a lot of baking happening with bear, and there are worst things. I just hope I can keep up.
The big naff raff of the day was knitting. I had been itching to try a pattern which is knitted from cuff to cuff and makes a jacket. I bought the pattern, had the needles and yarn ready to go and I couldn't resist any longer. Except the pattern doesn't work. I can't see how you can increase each end on every fourth row and increase 12 stitches in 21 rows. It doesn't make sense. I was having to guess whether it was stocking stitch or something else as it sort of hinted further down the instructions but I couldn't tell where it started, if it did. I now have 1200g of aran and a desperate desire to knit but no pattern. I feel very deflated. Still, I suppose it is a shopping opportunity, if only for patterns. I've been googling free patterns, which are my first choice, but haven't seen anything I like yet. There's no rush, I have a pattern for a different sweater and some DK so I can get something on the needles.
I wonder if 'on this row' is missing. Does it mean 'increase one stitch each end on this row, and on every subsequent fourth row' - that would give you an increase on rows 1,5,9,13,17 and 21? Just a guess - I hate vague knitting patterns, it sometimes feels as if the designer wants you to be a mind-reader! Don't give up, I'm sure it'll come right.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried Ravelry? There are lots of free patterns on there.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a misprint in the knitting instructions. To increase a total of 12 stitches by increasing one stitch at each end of every 4th row, one needs to knit 24 rows, not 21. An extra 3 rows shouldn't make much of a difference, I think.
ReplyDeleteIf the instructions say knit on the right side and purl on the wrong side, then, the it is stocking stitch. If it is knit on both sides, then, it is garter stitch. Hope that helps.