American-Idol-Be-Not-Idle-athon....

OK, I confess it. I am an American Idol fan. It is the ONE (and only) reality TV show that I find entertaining. Yes, I do find these first few episodes a bit uncomfortable, where people's dreams are either crashed, or they are just willing to make total fools of themselves to be on TV. But after that, when they really start singing, I enjoy it. I love music, and I get caught up in it, though I've never bothered to figure out how to vote. Some of the women in my singing group and I love to watch and compare favorites and argue over it, with the friendly fervor of a group of old men talking politics over coffee in the downtown diner.

So, ANY-way, the season started again last night. I got dinner over with, grabbed my knitting needles and a cozy afghan and headed for the basement couch. I've decided that this year I'll make my Idol time anything but idle! I'm going to have my own American-Idol-Be-Not-Idle-athon (unless anyone else wants to join me - if so, let me know, and I'll link to your blog, or post photos of your projects, if you don't have a blog.)

So, for my first evening, I finished the Fluffy Bolero from the cover of Erika Knight's book, Simple Knits for Little Cherubs. It's for my grand-daughter, to keep her sweet little shoulders warm at dance class (and also to look cool, like all the other little cherubs in their tights and fluffy pink boleros.)
There is an error in the pattern, and I looked all over the internet for a correction. There are a lot of links complaining about the error, but no correction, so I'll post one here:
On the Neck Shaping instructions on page 44: it says to " Work straight until the sleeve border measures 9 (10/11) inches." That would make a 22" around sleeve for a 4-year old! I don't think so! Several knitters confessed to actually following those instructions, and having to rip out when they discovered them to be grossly wrong, which would be very frustrating. Anyway, I'm pretty sure the TOTAL sleeve measurement is meant to be those measurements, so just cut them in half, to read: "Work straight until the border measures 4.5(5:5.5)inches." The left front instructions on the top of the next page also need to be corrected in the same way. If anyone finds these corrections and finds them helpful, let me know! In the meantime, here's the fluffy pink bolero, and installment #1 of the American-Idol-Be-Not-Idle-athon.

Watching tonight's episode, I will start weaving the small tapestry that I've already entered in the American Tapestry Alliance Woven Gems exhibit. The tapestry itself is due March 1st, so I suppose it is time to begin! (Fortunately, the tapestry will be small, woven on my portable Mirrix loom, and I work best with a short deadline.)