Crap-free pattern writing is difficult

I miss knitting. Lately, I've been spending my knitting time writing a pattern for the Kelso Lace Cardigan, aka Horseshoe Corset Cardigan.

Pattern writing is a high-anxiety activity. My brow is furrowed. The stressful part is trying to make sure I don't publish something that's a piece of crap! No one likes crap.

Thanks for all the queries and compliments, both here and on ravelry. I hope to complete the pattern in August. I hope it will be sooner rather than later. I hope you will like it.

Pigs, Pancakes, and Mt. Mania

I enjoy winning blue ribbons even if the victory chiefly signifies the slowness of the field. No matter. Speed for a runner is relative, and Saturday’s Mountain Mania LAVA 5k/10k was a good, fast run for Don and I.

I was 1st in my age division (41-50, I think), and second female overall. Don was second in his age division. Not sure where he was overall. I also won a prize-drawing: a stuffed bear wearing a sweater and a set of dominoes. Don won a cap and a dog's chew-toy. He doesn't have a dog.

The 10k had crazy, hard hills (thus, Mt. Mania). We opted for the 5k with its flat, paved trail. We’ve been working on getting faster and wanted to test ourselves by running at or under an 8:00/mile pace. We ran 23:58 at 7:43/mile, a new PR. Our last 5k was 25:37, 8:16/mile.

I’m pretty sure our success was owing to the previous day’s carbo-loading. We stopped in at the Pig'n Pancake in Astoria, OR. “Pig” has a double meaning here, the sausages, yes, but also the pig-sized portions. I’ve been trying to eat more for recovery. I met my goal for the day even though I ate just three of the six pancakes on my plate.

The pancakes and PR more than made up for some mild disappointment at not running our planned half marathon this weekend. The timing just wasn't right. We’re aiming for a September 15k and an October half.

Loaded with glycogen and ready for a PR. A day later, we were still feeling full of pancake power, so we ran 6.5 miles. It was fun.

Horseshoe Corset Cardigan

I made this sweater from scratch. It’s a bottom up raglan, knit in one piece to the arms. I knit the sleeves individually and joined all the pieces on one circular, decreasing at the raglans and front neck until the yoke was okey-dokey.

I eyeballed the decreases and adjusted as I went. I was aiming for a shoulder and sleeve that are fitted but not tight. I hate it when my armpits are strangled.

The stitch pattern is horseshoe lace. I threw in a few rows of straight stitch at each “side seam” to give me the right width. The front edges are a 4-stitch eyelet pattern. I picked up stitches around the front and bound off purl-wise. This gives the edges a firm, neat finish. I thought the neck might stretch out, but on its test-drive, it was fine.

Horseshoe lace is very easy and looks cool. It doesn’t look much like horseshoes to me. The curves bisected by the ridged spine remind me of a fossilized something or other.

I didn’t want to think about waist shaping and interrupting the stitch pattern, so I went down one needle size in the midsection. This, along with negative ease, gives the cardigan shape. The width is 2” narrower than my chest measurement. Lace is stretchy, and looks good when it’s “opened.” So, I figured negative ease was the way to go.

I also wanted the look of an A-line without the extra width at the bottom. Leaving the bottom half of the front open, gives me that nice triangular shape. The lacing was an afterthought. It's a crocheted chain.

Specs
Pattern: My own.
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Lake (#110), about 3 skeins
Needle: Size 7 & 8 circulars and a crochet hook.

Photos by Don. Thanks, Don.

Run Like a Girl 10k Trail Race

Sometimes a race seems more fun after a few days of reflection and selective memory loss. Sunday’s Run Like a Girl Trail Race was, from my perspective, crowded and slow.

Immediately after the race, I felt ambivalent about the course, the jostling, and the random joggers with big muddy dogs who squeezed in on the winding trails.

We ran on a single-track trail in Portland’s Forest Park. The park has what race organizers call “challenging” hills. I call them steep and painful. I also call them “walking” hills. When running down the uneven, twisting trail on tired legs, I call them “crazy, scary” hills. My knees and shins have just about recovered .

Running on a narrow path with loads other people is a skill I have not yet developed. I never really found my stride. In fact, I realized a new 10k PR for slowness—nearly two minutes per mile slower than my pace in a race two weeks ago.

I reached the finish line in 1:02:53, 7th in my age division, 120th out of 455.

In retrospect, it was a good race if only because of the new experiences—first trail race, first race characterized by beastly hills. Also, I learned I’m not happy “going with the flow” in a race. I should’ve ignored the discomfort and run harder. I’ll do that in my next race: Mt. Mania 5k on July 26th! The course is flat :)

With only a little over a mile to go, I was feeling good...wait a minute, what hills, what crowds?