My knitting is taking a backseat at the moment because there is so much work to do in the garden. I'm still working on my stripey jumper and since I last posted I've completed the button bands and I'm working on the collar. The button bands took two attempts, although I'm pleased with the second version, and I'm on my second attempt at the collar.
I'd really like a fold down collar similar to the type of collar you would find on a denim jacket. I've searched the internet and youtube but so far I've not found a simple formula for shaping the collar.
I'm looking for something like this:
Source I like everything about this bolero jacket, and the collar design is what I'm looking for my stripey jersey (although my jersey has softer drape). Do any of you have a pattern or formula for increasing to get this collar design? (incidentally, I love the little dutch clog brooch!
So far, the pattern shaping I am trying is this:
Pick up required stitches around the neckline.
Place a stitchmarker at each of the shoulder seams.
Knit rows 1-6 in pattern without increases (I'm knitting in garter stitch).
Row 7 (right side): k2, M1, * knit to two stitches before shoulder stitch marker, M1, k2, move stitch marker to right needle, k2, M1 *, repeat ** once, knit until two stitches before the end of the row, M1, k2.
Even rows: knit
Rows 9 and 11: repeat row 7.
Rows 13 and 15: k2, k2t, * knit to two stitches before shoulder stitch marker, M1, k2, move stitch marker to right needle, k2, M1 *, repeat ** once, knit until four stitches before the end of the row, k2t, k2.
Row 16: cast off all stitches.
Meanwhile, you may have come across 
Now,
This is really aimed at those who have a few thousand SP, but everyone is very welcome to participate. I can only give up to around 20c in a vote if I am very careful with my voting power, so there is not much I can do alone.
I have about 5,000SP voting power, my 100% vote is about 13c (if I'm careful with my votes)! If you have a couple of thousand SP in your account, perhaps you will join this initiative and support some smaller accounts to help them grow.
Find a community to support. I plan to support the OpenMic and RunningProject groups as music and running are two of my passions. I think you need to look to what you enjoy so it is more fun. This should not feel like work.
One of my passions is the fabulous #needleworkmonday community which brings huge pleasure, enjoyment, fun and learning every week, so that's where I'll be putting my efforts. You might join me, or you might have another community that you enjoy interacting with.
Here's some further ideas from@steevc:
Follow some specific people who are close to being a minnow. Give them votes and comments to encourage them. Re-steem a few posts to get them more support.
Delegate to small accounts. This increases what they can make from curation and allows them to give more support to others. I am okay with them self-voting their posts. Over half my SP is currently delegated to various people and projects.
Buy them some @SteemBasicIncome shares that will get them extra votes for life. You benefit from that too. I must have bought about 100 shares so far and others have bought them for me.
Reduce your own self-voting and support of bigger accounts to free up more voting power for the smaller accounts. Circumstances vary, but many of us can afford to earn a little less for a few months to help build the Steem community.
We have some much smaller but very active accounts that post in #needleworkmonday. I would like to support two of those to see how much we can grow their accounts. For each of those accounts, I will:
Provide a delegation of 100SP. This will help accounts earn more from curation and give more support to others.
Provide a daily upvote.
Support with comments and some resteems to get more exposure.
Sponsor some SBI shares so the accounts will earn votes for life.
I've had (and continue to have) great support from other steemians which has helped me to grow. I'm in the happy position that most of my posts earn a reasonable amount and I'm self-voting less and less - especially now that 
(Incidentally, I always give bigger votes to people who leave good comments on my blog to encourage more interaction).
So, what am I looking for?
accounts with less than 500SP who regularly post in #needleworkmonday (not necessarily every week), following the posting guidelines:
- at least one picture
- at least 100 words (ideally telling us something about your process)
- positive comments on at least two other posts in #needleworkmonday.
accounts that want to grow by:
- posting two or three times a week.
- powering up their steem, rather than leaving it sitting in their account.
- not powering down.
- use their voting power (that is, it's not sitting at 100% VP). If you're not on steem every day, you can use an autovoter to manage your voting and make sure you're using your voting power to benefit other accounts.
I'm really looking for posts that provide more than a picture and four or five words - 100 words is fine - and written in English (or with a translation), so that I can follow what they are posting.
I haven't set a time limit on the delegation or the support - let's see how things go.
I discussed this with 
PS Don't forget I need help with that collar!
#needleworkmonday with 
