Questions Asked, Questions Answered

1. Tiennie asked, "Now, do we get the engagement story?!"

Of course :)  Tuesday night, David asked me if I would "test solve" a crossword puzzle he had been writing.  He had been working on it for a few weeks, but had never let me see it until then.  Things were going along fine, and I noticed that one of the answers was "MERRYMI".  "Merry mi?" I said, kind of questioningly.  David didn't say anything, so I kept working on the puzzle.  I did notice that he was breathing strangely, however.  Then I realized that another answer (higher up in the puzzle) was "WILLEWE". Aha!  I actually finished the puzzle, filling in the "will ewe" last. 

Be sure to look at 15 and 27 across.

I looked over at David and said "So are you asking me something?" He gave me the ring and my first words were "It's so pretty!", which he said he was expecting.  That's what I say when I get new yarn :) The ring is white gold with a pink and a purple sapphire.  I love it!

David suggested that we just "drop by" and visit our friends S & J and C & A.  We were trying to play is casual, but if your friends call at 10:00 and want to stop by, something is up! S & J already had champagne and glasses out when we got there.

Two very happy people

C & A had also figured us out by the time we got there.  It was a lot of fun to see them right away and celebrate!

2. Tanya asked "And I love the belt, too.  Not being a "visual" knitter, could you give a few pointers on how you did that?"

I started with the Jaywalker pattern, but I only did one repeat for the front of the belt.  Also, since I didn't want it to be that wide, I lessened the number of stitches between the increase/decrease stitches.
So instead of

k-f/b, k7 (8), dd, k7 (8), k-f/b

I did

k-f/b, k6, dd, k6, k-f/b

Then to go across the back of the belt, I just did stockinette stitch.  Because the biased fabric pulls in, you don't need as many stitches across the back as the front, so I did a total of 12 stitches.  I actually knit this flat and seamed it up.  If I were to make it again, I probably would do it in the round, however.  It was a pain to seam!  Regardless, this is what I did:

Row 1: [RS] k6, k-f/b, k6, dd, k6, k-f/b, k6
Row 2: [WS] Purl

I had originally intended to put some sort of belt holes in the end.  However, I had already knit maybe 15" before I realized that I wanted them to be in the beginning of the belt, not at the end near the buckle. There was no way I was going to rip back to the beginning!  We realized that knitted fabric was loose enough that no belt holes were needed anyway.

This belt also stretches a lot, so you don't need to make it as long as a regular belt.  I had to lop off about 12" from the belt after David tried it on!

3. EVERYONE has asked "Have you set a date yet?"

Nope.

Comments

[Carol]

Congratulations!!!! What a clever proposal you got :) You two look very adorable together :) oxoxo

[Jean]

That is a fabulous engagement story. Loving the crossword puzzle angle. Congratulations to you both!

[margene]

You have a very clever man there...and a nice one, too!

[Tanya]

What I fun story!

Thanks for the "recipe" for the belt. I'm looking forward to trying it.

[Brenda]

Great story! The poor man! I hope you solved the rest of the puzzle quickly after getting the merrymi!

It is a very pretty ring. Sapphires are so lovely, and they are very durable, too.

Looking forward to seeing the marvelous sweater you will knit for David!

[Jessica]

Great story! Good thing it wasn't me though or he'd still be breathing funny (I'm not so good with crosswords)! ;)

[cari]

What a sweet way to propose. Congrats to you both!

[tiennie]

Awww!!! That is a very clever and original proposal and ring. Perfect! Thanks for posting!

[Ariel]

Wow! Congratulations (on the engagement and on having such a clever and romantic fiance)!

[JulieFrick]

What a wonderful story! I won my hubby in a Scrabble match. Seems we both have whimsical guys.