Here are some additional photos of Indigo Ripples modeled by my lovely assistant Suzy. Suzy is a little slimmer than I because I didn’t take the time to adjust her waist and hips to the right measurements, so the skirt is a little looser on her than on me. Also she is wearing her shirt tucked in, so that you can see the whole skirt – you can see the place where I didn’t get the shirt smooth under the skirt. I, one the other hand, will be wearing my shirt-tail out and covering the top of the skirt so this will not be a problem for me.

I made my skirt longer than the pattern so the lace panel falls completely below my knees – I’m modest what can I say. This makes the ruffle have a wonderful movement when I walk. It’s all swishy and flouncy. Really makes you feel “girly”. Even Suzy thinks so and she doesn’t have a head.

The added length makes for a heavy skirt. You notice the weight when you are carrying the skirt but it doesn’t really feel too heavy when you are wearing it. I will know more about how it wears after tomorrow, when I wear it all day long. I am sure that the cotton will stretch some during wearing but this shouldn’t prove a problem since it has a drawstring waist – just cinch the waist a little tighter and go on. Also this yarn is mercerized cotton so it shouldn’t stretch as much as normal cotton.

The next photos are at the request of Theresa from the Christian Artisans group. Here is the skirt modeled by me.

I think you will understand why I chose Suzy as the model.
But, unlike Suzy, I can show off my hand knitted socks when I model.

Boy, do we need to paint the porch – or is that the ceiling – I think I am having a reversal of gravity experience.

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Update:
Project Deets – The yarn is Omega Sinfonia 100% Mercerized Cotton in Marine Blue. The pattern is Indigo Ripples Skirt from Interweave Knits Spring 2007

I am long overdue in expressing my thanks to several people who have helped me immeasurably with the set up and redesign of the Tabitha’s Heart & Hands website. First and foremost is my dear husband – my personal Barnabus. He is an incredible Christian man who is earnestly contending for the faith. His enthusiasm and support for this project are unfailing. He is a constant source of inspiration and encouragement. He was the first one who realized the usefulness of a website and he was the one who encouraged me to take the leap of faith am make it happen. He is always willing to help when I am discouraged. He can always find just the right Bible verse when I need it. Without his support, the website would never have happened. I am thankful to have been blessed with such a wonderful husband.

Next, I would like to thank my children who are my never-ending source of ideas. They are the best cheerleaders any mom could have. My desire to teach them diligently the ways of the Lord was the spark that generated Tabitha’s Heart.

I would also like to thank my friend Todd, a young man from our congregation who is just enough a computer nerd to be always willing to review, test and proofread. His help with coding has come in quite handy on more than one occasion. You wouldn’t believe how many times I had him test the Bible Quiz before I finally got the coding correct. His sincere and candid comments have been greatly appreciated and his zeal for spreading God’s word have been a great encouragement to me.

I would also like to thank my friends Frank, Patricia and Rose who have had to listen to me talk about the website ad nauseum. Thank you for not looking bored when I rambled on and on and on about something that I was thinking of doing, trying to do or failing to do with the website. Thank you for being willing to visit the website repeatedly to tell me what you thought of this or that. And thank you for your examples of Christian living. You have helped me more than you know.

Finally, I would like to thank God for giving me the opportunity and means to make this project happen. And for blessing me with wonderful and supportive family and friends. Without Him there would be nothing.

I am happy to report that the Bind Off that Never Ends is complete and the skirt is blocking. I also completed the I-cord drawstring and it too is washed and blocking. I have decided that I really don’t like knitting I-cord. It carries boredom to a totally new level – beyond even garter-stitch-scarf boring. The color is a little irregular because the cotton yarn was drying at an uneven rate and the flash is doing funky things with the sheen in the yarn. It really isn’t multi-color. I will post a photo of the skirt modeled by my lovely assistant Suzy a little later. It wasn’t completely dry at the time of this post. In case you didn’t know, cotton yarn takes a lot longer to dry than wool. Go figure!

I am always amazed by what wet blocking does to lace. This pattern is unbelievably puckered and pulled when you finish knitting it due to the plethora of double decreases. Add to that the fact that the cotton yarn is slippery and slide-y and so the stitches look uneven and you end up with a mess. But just add water and Presto! Lace that looks even and neat and pretty and flat. Hope it dries soon. I would like to wear it on Sunday.

One final note, in case you are wondering about the slope of the waist in the skirt. This is done deliberately as I am incredible short-waisted. The pattern has a more normal curvature but I have never been guilty of being “normal” so I adjusted it to fit my curvy figure. Don’t you just love custom tailored clothing!

In other knitting news, I finished the Ravenclaw Hogwart’s House scarf for my little one. It looks like a garter stitch scarf so I won’t bore you with another photo. Now if I can just finish MS3 I will have clean needles – for a few minutes anyway!

Lately everything seems topsy-turvy. My calendar tells me it is autumn but the weather is screaming summer and the family is recovering from “winter” colds and I have more flowers blooming now than I did this spring. I am so confused.

This is a variety of hibiscus called the Confederate Rose. I got the plant from my friend Rose so we call it the Rose Rose. I was afraid with all the dry weather that it wouldn’t bloom this year but is has pleasantly surprised me.

I finally made it to the ruffle and bind off for Indigo Ruffles. I have been knitting on this thing for half a century months. I know that part of it is my own fault for deciding to lengthen it. And then there was the problem with the pattern that resulted in my reknitting the first third of the lace panel three times before I realized that the mistake was in the pattern. So it has been a long process. I have been thinking that if I can only get to the ruffle, I would be home free. It’s only 11 rows and then you bind off – simple, right!? Here is the catch. On the last row of the lace, you have between 250 and 300 stitches on the needle, but on the second row of the ruffle you double that number to a whopping 600 stitches. Suddenly, your 11 row ruffle becomes the equivalent of 22 rows. At my knitting pace on this project, it is taking at least 30 minutes per round usually more because the yarn wants to split. And then there is the bind off. I am certain that the designer has a very good reason for using this particular bind off but it is eternal. This silly skirt would be off the needles if I had used EZ’s sewn bind off. For every stitch you bind off, you cast on a new stitch so you are in essence binding off twice as many stitches – or 1200 stitches. I started the bind off yesterday afternoon with the idea that I could get it finished so it could be blocked today. Ha! I still have a least third of the distance of the hem to go – argh. My family is calling it the Bind Off That Never Ends. Someone remind me why I wanted to knit this particular skirt.

Okay I am done whining now. Here are the results of the latest Stash Enhancement. No, I didn’t take the No New Yarn in 2007 Vow.

The first one is Cascade 220 Heathers destined to become Fetching gloves. The photo doesn’t show the color very well. In real life the color is a dark royal with a fuschia and green thread working through it. Quite pretty. I think I have enough yarn to make a matching skinny scarf but that remains to be seen.

This one is Jagger Spun Zephyr laceweight in Sage. The beads are an earthy coppery color with a green overtone. They are for Secret of the Stole for which I have yet to cast on. The first hint was released Friday and I am still not cast on. I was hoping to finish a couple of other projects before I started it but I really need to get started.

This one is my latest sock yarn to try. It is Dream in Color Spring Tickle colorway. I am still deciding if I like the color. It looks different in every light. In one light I adore it and in another, not so much. I have no clue what pattern this yarn will want to be but I am looking forward to seeing how this knits up. Any pattern suggestions??

I am curious to see whether the yarn lives up to its non-pooling, non-patterning promise. I sure hope so. It is very, very soft yarn. At first glance, it looks larger than fingering. I think it might lean more toward the sport size. I haven’t actually compared it to any of my other sock yarn but my gut instinct is telling me it is on the large side of fingering. I will have to remember to pay attention to the gauge on this yarn.

The names of the winners for the Tabitha’s Heart & Hands web contest have been posted. If you entered you can find out if you won by visiting my website. Congratulations to the winners. You have one week to contact me with your snail mail address so you prize can be mailed.

The redesign is continuing. I have added several new articles lately and I have a few more things planned that should be completed soon. Be looking for another contest and a new knitting pattern in the near future.

Thanks to each of you for taking the time to visit and support Tabitha’s Heart & Hands. Please recommend my website to a friend.