Running, and a Tunic

I am so in love with my new purchases, I can barely stand to take them off. I'd sleep in them if they didn't get sweaty and gross.

I got this from Athleta, in charcoal, yum, and I feel there are many more running skort thingies like it to come. I'm also lusting over this for the summer. Bring on the cute tank tops and flops. And someone make me a margarita.

I also snagged this (sooooo in love. and it has a super secret pocket inside for my spygirl needs.), this and this (omg a pocket for my inhaler! and it's orange! not normally a color i'd chose, but i have so. much. blue. and also pink.) from Title Nine. My new favorite place to shop, other than Amazon.

Karen will be dragging me to run very often as soon we return to Mecca, er, I mean Athens. I've missed running the campus track, the campus hills (my lungs don't miss those), and through downtown. Five Points is an awesome place to pound the sidewalk, but I prefer to avoid the sorority girls whenever possible. Yes, that is semi-hypocritical since I used to be one, but that just means I know what goes through their heads, and I rarely choose to subject myself to it.

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Prairie Tunic is finished.



But why is it not on my body, you ask? I love it, really I do. But the pattern is flawed. If I had made the size smaller, I would probably be swooning over it and refuse to take it off. However, I made the correct size for me, and since the pattern has *NO* shaping for the waist or bust, I look like a big slouchy box. Some surgery is forthcoming. I will probably sew new side seams and create shaping then cut (gasp!) the original seams, eliminating about 2 extra inches on both sides.

If I had been smart, I would have added shaping myself while knitting this up, because I could read the pattern and see clearly that there was no shaping. But I need some practice with making adjustments to patterns, and frankly, I wasn't ready to start screwing it up, because the top was coming along so well. Why take a swing at my knitting karma?

Yes my gauge was right (shush Denise), and I blocked to the stated proportions in the pattern. This particular pattern just needs some love and shaping. It looks just fine with some jeans and cute flops, but if I wanted to dress it up (and I do, because damn it's cute) then it needs shaping.

Oh, there's also a pattern correction for the front triangle shaping here on IK's site. For the record, I used the recommended yarn, Jaeger Sienna in Blush, and US3 Addi Turbos (knit back and forth, obviously).

I've already cast on for the Honeymoon Cami as my second cute top for the summer. Cami and I have a history, you know. I chose this project as my first attempt at knitting a garment, and to say that I wasn't fully aware of the importance of gauge at the time is a grave understatement. Let's say tactfully, that the sucker was way too big. Much to my dismay. But, I'm not one to let a little knitting pattern kick my ass, so I'm knitting it again. This time as a much wiser knitter. I hope.