#but i only really use them if I've got pattern repeats like lace

[ishkabibblethings]

March 23rd

A fluffy Suits ficlet | Marvey (established) | Rated G "I had your secretary clear your afternoon. It's time we hit up that spa again, especially after the last few weeks." Harvey declares distractedly as he flips through their mail. Mike is still working on his breakfast at the kitchen counter and only mumbles an agreement. A real vacation is out of the question while they're so occupied at the firm, but an afternoon off together still sounds beautiful.

"I'll make us something nice tonight," Mike offers.

"Let's go all in, I'll find us a table somewhere good," Harvey replies and Mike can't find a reason to disagree. Mike secretly suspects that their time at the spa is more for Harvey than he'll admit but he's got no complaints.

"That sounds wonderful. It's been, what, like a year since we had a day like this? Good idea, dude." Mike moves around to the sink to drop off his dishes and pecks Harvey on the cheek as he passes by. "I'll just be a few minutes and we can head out."

"Don't call me dude, puppy," Harvey responds with a grin and watches Mike disappear into their bedroom.

Mike is in the bathroom wondering what it was that made Harvey plan another spa trip. Was his personal grooming slipping? They've been living together long enough but he's heard no complaints. He thinks back to their last trip, and the one before that, just when they'd started dating. It's a rare indulgence, and now that Mike thinks about it, it's always happened in the early spring.

Wait, now that he really considers it, picturing his work calendars, it has happened on this date each time. March 23rd. A knot starts to form in Mike's stomach. Fuck. Some sort of anniversary, it has to be something important for Harvey to move work around for it. Mike searches his brain, picturing every calendar he and Harvey kept, trying to remember similarities and differences, the reasoning behind the repeated treat day.

He must have taken longer than he realizes because Harvey comes to check and see if Mike's ready to go.

"You okay?"

"Uh yeah I'm good," Mike responds and checks the mirror again. He slips on his shoes and grabs his messenger bag.

In the car, Mike checks Harvey over for signs of emotions tucked away - disappointment, grief, frustration - notices nothing alarming and finds himself relaxing just a bit. Nothing he's done wrong, at least. Time to test his hypothesis.

"You know what, Harvey I forgot I've got a thing with Katrina this afternoon. Let's move the spa appointment to the weekend?"

"What thing with Katrina? Your secretary said she could move everything."

"I don't know if it ever made it in the books, she needs help with an in house thing for Louis." Mike bluffs.

"Well I'll encourage her to let you reschedule. It was hard to get these appointments today and you deserve a break." Harvey reaches for Mike's hand between them and laces their fingers together.

"Harvey, what's special about today?" Mike tries to keep his tone neutral.

"Aside from my stunning good looks and charm?" Harvey hams, and Mike actually scoffs.

"That's the same every day and you know it. Really Harvey, what's today?"

"I just want to give you a treat today, can't I do that as your loving boyfriend?"

Harvey's gone playful, so Mike knows he hasn't messed anything up. Harvey is also still avoiding the question so Mike knows he's on the right path.

"Of course you can. And I accept. But when my loving boyfriend happens to want to take me to a spa and dinner yearly on the same day without context, one is driven to wonder."

Harvey chuckles, knowing he's been caught.

"You really thought I wouldn't notice. Me, of all people? Twice is a coincidence, three is a pattern."

"Oh really, smart ass? Think back further." Harvey challenges.

"We weren't dating bef-"

"No we weren't together before that. Think back anyway."

Mike's eye focus on nothing in particular, and Harvey trusts he'll find it.

"The ties. You gifted me ties." Mike's head tilts a little in confusion and it's all Harvey can do to hold back a laugh.

"And lunch too," Harvey offers, feeling generous.

"I don't get it. Harvey, tell me. What's today? Why today?"

"So it started as a stupid joke, but you never caught on so I just kept going with it to see if you ever would." Harvey shrugs like he's almost embarrassed it's become a thing. Mike just watches him expectantly.

Harvey leans until his breath and lips are just close enough to make Mike's ear and neck tingle. Harvey's voice is private and Mike can hear his fond smile. "Happy National Puppy Day, Mike."

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

PSA to newer knitters

bc it seems no one is telling y'all some of this:

You do need to make a gauge swatch, for anything that's meant to fit a human body especially, but also to check whether your yarn + needles combo is going to make the kind of fabric you want. If they don't, you need to do it again with another needle size, and check that, regardless of whether the pattern says you're already using the "right" size. Yes, even if you're using exactly the same yarn the designer did.

The swatch needs to include whatever major techniques are in the project. If it's got big sections of stockinette and of garter, you need to swatch both. If parts of the project are knit in the round and parts worked flat, you need to swatch both. Many people's knit & purl gauges are very different!

If it's heavily cabled, you need to do a swatch of the cable pattern, several repeats both wide and tall. Lace? Swatch a big chunk of that lace pattern. Stranded colorwork? Dear gods yes, swatch the actual designs involved, as well as plain stockinette. It's not going to be the same.

Your swatch should be significantly bigger than the area you need to measure, in each technique. So if the pattern says the gauge is 15 stitches and 20 rows for 4", you need to cast on at least 22-24 stitches and work 30+ rows. More than that, if you're not sure your yarn is the same size as the one the designer used.

Using the actual cast-on from the project is a good idea, because it lets you practice it and also see how it interacts with the fabric growing out of it, but it's not going to be part of the gauge measurement. Same goes for any edge treatment/selvage stitches and your bindoff. You'll be measuring a 4" square in the middle of the work, so your math isn't thrown off by distorted stitches near any edges.

Oh, and you need to block your swatches. Ideally in whatever way you'll wash the finished object (good way to check if that yarn really is superwash!) but at least get it soaking wet, squeeze it out, and let dry flat. Don't stretch or hang it unless you'll do that every single time you get the garment damp (lace swatches obvs can/should be stretched for blocking), just let it dry. Now measure it, carefully. Measure in a couple places, and average your results.

I could write a bunch of caveats & exceptions, and no, I don't actually do all of this every time I sit down to knit a sock. I just start the toe & measure once I get going, & decide how many stitches I'll need then. But A) I've made 20+ pairs of socks in the past few years and B) if I'm super wrong & have to unravel 6" of sock, so what? But you do not want to finally get through a complicated sweater yoke, reach the underarms, and try it on, only to find you were way off. Or wash a finished garment & find it grows 3 sizes, or the fabric opens up so much you can see right through it and it hangs wrong. Heaven forbid you steek something before you realize it's the wrong size.

Also, experience. The more you have, the more corners you can cut - but never all of them! And if you're fairly new to the craft, or just to a certain technique, you don't yet know which corners are essential.

I know proper swatching can feel like a waste of time, and yarn. But the yarn is usually recoverable, and the time is worth it.

[vinceaddams]

top five, or any five among your favourites, from your wishlist/to-do list, please

I have a million things I want to make! (Which happen very slowly because I have no time management skills and can never maintain a good sleep schedule, alas) For this list I'll exclude anything that's already sitting on my Unfinished Things Pile.

1. I really really want to do some printed to shape clothing using a custom fabric printing site. I've made repeating patterns, but I want to try digitally drawing on garment pattern pieces to get a design that fits the shape exactly, like that blue one in the top 5 waistcoats post. Copying one of the historical designs would be fun, but I also want to do a waistcoat with funky little monsters on it. That would be so much fun. And I definitely want to do one that looks like leaves.

2. A 1720's suit. I have most of the materials, and I can copy my 30's suit pattern and make some minor adjustments to make it more 20's. I just need to learn how to make early 18th century metallic passementerie buttons. Preferably in a way that doesn't require me to spend horrifying amounts of money on the good quality metallic thread... Aside from that, I have the fabrics and just need a bit of appropriate shirt lace. Oh, and a wig. Here's a sketch I did ages ago.

3. A 1790's overcoat. I have some very dark green wool for it.

(1792)

4. I'm very much looking forward to making some plain wool everyday waistcoats, because the brown one that I wear constantly in winter is getting shabby and doesn't fit me at all anymore. I have several small bits of wool in my stash that I mean to make into new waistcoats, hopefully soon-ish. The only reason I haven't cut them out yet is because I keep feeling guilty for not working on other things.

5. I have some wool felt hats from the thrift store that I want to re-block. I haven't got any hat blocks, so I'll have to try and make some, or find objects the right size. I once used a big coffee can for stretching a hat I felted years ago, so maybe I can find another one, or a paint bucket or something. The trouble with that is that I have absolutely no storage space for hat block things.

Today I sewed the sleeves onto a plain brown cotton nightgown I'd cut out a while ago. I'm also working on that leafkerchief tutorial video I've had mostly filmed for ages now, but it's getting close! I need to do a few more sketches and record the voiceover and then I can finally start editing.