Monday, June 26, 2006

Knitting Progress & Stargazing



I'm kind of between sewing projects right now, although as you can see, the knitting continues apace. The photo above is the bottom portion of the Schachenmayr Lacy Cardigan in Toy yarn. I had hoped that this would work as a somewhat outré twinset with the Schachenmayr Lacy Shell, but the colors just aren't going to work together. I hoped that there would be enough pink in the rust of the shell to go with the pink cardigan, but it's too deep a divide to bridge. Oh well, I like them both as separate pieces, so that's okay too. The cardigan is an interesting piece to knit, as it's worked back and forth in one piece up to where you divide for the armscyes, so it goes quickly, and there will be less to seam, which is a plus. Here's a close up of the lace pattern. I just love the different colors that make up this yarn.

I'm still coming along with the Lavold tank with the lacy straps, and am getting close to where the lace pattern starts on the back, so not too long now, I hope.


I am also working on a top in Katia "Bolero" yarn, which has little pieces in the main yarn that almost look and feel like grosgrain ribbon. I think it's such a fun look, and I started knitting up the pattern they have for a cute tank top with buckles in the straps. I'm above the waist with it now, and have just about decided that I think I will change to a shell pattern so that I have more shoulder coverage. I don't know why I was seduced by the tank pattern, but it is really cute, just not for me.

For some reason this weekend I decided that I had to see if I could get to 3 stars on PatternReview. The formula for stars is arcane at best, but I finally figured it out. The upshot is that I either have to write 25 more reviews OR hope that 8 more people will add me as a favorite reviewer. It turns out that the part of the formula that counts ratings of your reviews is almost useless in getting stars. But, you may ask, why exactly do you want 3 stars? That is a really good question, and one to which I don't really know the answer. It was just one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time. Or something.

I think I am going to start on a pair of nice, summer drawstring pants, and I want them to be long enough to wear with heels. I loved it in the '70s and '80s when we wore heels with pants, and I like it now, too.

8 comments:

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

Well that explains why there were sooo many reviews from you on Patternreview last week! I got my daily notification in my email box on Monday and wondered what was up with you?! Mystery, solved! *smile*

Liana said...

Yes, well, apparently I went slightly nuts. But I suppose there are worse things I could be doing..... :)

Debbie Cook said...

Helping you to see stars ... I added you to my favs (where you should've already been but weren't).

Lisa Laree said...

Wow! You actually figured out that formula? I'm SOOOO impressed; how'd you do it, Sherlock? I don't think I've ever seen anything about it other than D's comments that 'it's a complicated query'...

But I did figure that the sheer number of reviews was a key thing; I'm not on a huge number of fave lists, nor have I gotten tons of ratings on the reviews (I'd say an average of about 5 per review) ...but I have written a slew of reviews, which I have decided accounts for my stars.

So, is the star system really an indication of the reviewer's knowlege/credibility/communication skills? Maybe...maybe not. But it is kinda fun to see the stars show up. ;)

Linda L said...

Funny,(ironic) that you wrote about the rating system with PR. I was wondering about that several weeks ago and did a search on PR and read how it was calculated. It is convuluted.

I was amazed that after writing almost 60 reviews at the time I still had only 1 star but others who had written much less had two stars. It appears that it is based most on the rating of the review and being added to favorite reviewers.

Since then I got another star. I think if you write a review with extinsive detail, lots of photos, through in some animation, etc. you get higher reviews. Most of the time this is helpful information.

Why should it matter what your rating is? Not sure. For me it was interesting since I have been a PR member for several years and posted a lot of reviews. I decided I will post what I can, hopefully it helps someone decide about the pattern and that's that.

mamafitz said...

did you get your third star yet? i added you to my faves too. :) we WILL get you your star!

the whole thing makes no sense to me either, and i don't know why i care, but you certainly get a little thrill when you see another little star.

gawd, it's like we're all still in kindy!

Lisa Laree said...

Ok, I went looking and discovered that D really did post the formula; if you click on the stars on any review it will take you to a page explaining the formula. One day when I'm a little more awake I'll plug my numbers in and see exactly how I rate.... ;)

Anonymous said...

I'm delighted to see you now have 3 stars. I enjoy your sense of style and always check your reviews.