I had to go out to pick up all the bridesmaid dresses today, and while I was out I stopped by Borders for the new Interweave.  And I have to confess… I was a little bit disappointed.

The Good: I love several of the designs, such as the ogee lace shirt, the josephine top, and the summertime tunic.  I think I would even be tempted by that little lace skirt thing.  And the sea silk scarf?  I’m definitely making that.  I’m all about 1 skein scarves.  I still like the redesign well enough, although this issue seems a little cluttered.

The Bad: I’m going to go ahead and say it… the sizing.  Three of the designs I really like (the josephine top, the ogee blouse, and the cover sweater) do not come in sizes small enough for me.  It’s not like I’m asking the world – while I really would like a 32″ size, I could be happy with a 34.  Don’t the Interweave editors know how many people knit the 34″ size?   It’s not just this issue… I have this problem a lot with Interweave designs, both in the magazines and in their books.  I really hope this is something that changes under the new editorship, because it’s been a consistent problem for me, and I know I’m not the only one.   The josephine top and the lace blouse are my favorites, and now I can’t knit them without rewriting the pattern.  Boo.

I am planning the summertime tunic already (I want to use up some shine sport!) and the scarf, so it isn’t a bust… and I think I could rewrite the Josephone top at least to fit me (I’d like a 34 in that, so that it has a bit of ease but not too much.)

Now that I’ve been all negative, I’ll talk about the projects I’m working on.  I cast on for the ribbing of the 80s berroco sweater, and it’s going well.

My tip for working with Glace?  Putting the ball in a ziploc bag, nearly closing it, and feeding the yarn out a bit at a time.  This keeps the ribbon from twisting and makes the stitches nice and even.

And the shoulderette is going nicely.  The color was more true in yesterday’s photo, and I think it is growing on me.   Now we’ll see if I actually wear it when it’s finished!

Coming  soon: my reviews of “Runway style” and “Knitting lingerie style”