Knotty Knits and Naughty Kids

It Followed Me Home....

2012-01-31T06:08:00.000-08:00

While at the school last week, I was sure I saw on the clothing drive signs that it was going until February 4th. That was great, I thought, because I was going away for the weekend and wouldn't have my machines, but I would have access to a great store with a good selection of yarn suited for charity items. So I popped in to see what I could get. They usually have a lot of the "1lb Mill Ends, Unknown Fibers" bags, and quite often I can tell what yarn they really are. This time, most of the bags were cotton, or baby type yarns (you know the crimply one with a shiny white strand in it). However, there were two bags that I instantly recognized as Patons Lace. One bag was entirely in the Porcelain colourway which I LOVE, and the other bag was mostly in that too, but also has two balls of Sachet which I'm not too fussy on, but might still look nice worked up. This yarn normally sells for $5.99-$7.29 (according to Mary Maxim), for an 85gr ball. I got 454gr for $6.99! Actually, I got 908gr for $13.98, or, 10.6 balls for the price of two, just because there are no labels and they're not all in 85gr balls. How could I pass that up?!
I also bought two balls of Patons Decor in Rose Country Pink for $3.00 each, and a giant ball of Red Heart Comfort in blacks/greys for $9.99. I was going to use this to make more of the hats and scarves, but Lucy came home from school on Monday and said everything had to be in today. However, I have a friend who's currently living in a small, remote, northern town, and I might be able to send stuff directly to him!

Here are my new totals:
2 1lb Mill Ends;                908gr           $13.98
2 Decor                             200gr            $6.00
Red Heart Comfort          340gr             $9.99

Total In                             1448gr           $33.87 inc. 13% tax

Year In Total                      1917gr + 1448gr= 3365gr
                                           $77.19 + $33.87 = $111.06
                                            Average $3.00/day

I'll do my Year Out totals in the next post when I show all the items I made for the clothing drive!

I Love This Hat!

2012-01-27T07:53:00.000-08:00

Absolutely no affiliation with "I Love This Yarn". :)

This is my version of the Magic Sideways Hat, sized up to fit me. My first attempt was a little large, would probably fit a man, and I'll include that info in the pattern. I'd also like to acknowledge Roberta Kelley's Sideways Hat.

Machine: SK155 Bulky (gauge can easily be matched on 8mm and 6.5mm machines)
Yarn: TLC Essentials "Surf n Turf" and Bernat Super Value Dark Brown. These had slightly different gauges, but look for a yarn with 17-18st/4" on 5mm/US8 needles. Total weight is 116gr ; I was aiming to use up the entire 142gr ball of TLC Essentials, but was uncertain, so I used two colours to be "safe" (my first attempt was all in the TLC, and it was too large (used the method at the end to make it bigger) and I ran out of the yarn with a couple rows left).
Gauge: T4 (I'd suggest T4* or T4** if you're a larger lady). 17st/4" and 22rows/4"

Using an open cast on and smooth, highly contrasting waste yarn, cast on 80 sts. This will allow for a fold back cuff, about the center 20 stitches. You can eliminate this if you don't want the cuff--it will be warm!). Knit about 6 rows with waste yarn, ending with carriage on left (COL).

Make sure Russell Levers are set to the I position, and put the first needle on the left side to hold position. Change to main yarn, and knit across. The yarn will drape over that first needle.
COR, put first needle on right to hold position, and knit across.
Repeat these two rows, using claw weights as the short rows start forming, ending with COR after putting the 8th needle into hold on the left edge.

Put the 8th needle to hold on the right edge, and start knitting back across. If using a machine with Russel Levers, once you've cleared those held stitches on the right, put the left lever to II. If using a Bond, etc, push the left needles back to work position. Push slowly and firmly.
COL. If using a second colour, change colours here. Put left needle to hold. Start going across, and once you've cleared that first needle on the left, put the right Russel Lever to II (or put them back into work position). Knit across, getting those right stitches back into work.

Put Russel Levers BACK to I before continuing!

You're going to do eight wedges. With the last one, there are two options. To keep the same number of rows in the last wedge, change to waste yarn before knitting back to the left to put those 8 needles back into work. You can change to WY right where you left off, or move the carriage to the side and go that way. The main yarn will be between the center part of the hat and the stitches in hold on the right and you need to cut it (don't need to leave a long tail). When you graft, you will start at the end and work across, which means you'll have an extra tail to weave in.
If you're not too fussy, instead, you can knit the left stitches into work using the main yarn, cut the main yarn leaving a tail 4x the width, and then change to waste yarn and knit across, getting those right needles. Knit a few rows of waste yarn. You can then use the main yarn to graft across.

I really like how the top of this hat mimics a "standard" hat with an 8 segment decrease pattern. Much smoother and less bulky than the double thick hat patterns that start at one end and knit to the other end and just double up the sts 4 rows from the end.

This is what it looks like once you've grafted the first row to the last. When grafting through the short rowed sections, make sure to get the wraps with the stitches. There are lots of tutorials on how to graft. Some people like to do it following the waste yarn, some like to put it onto hand knitting needles and do it that way, some like to take it off the machine, flip it around, and graft on the machine. You won't be able to graft it from the purl side and turn it inside out though.

This hat is super quick to make, and if you leave waste yarn between them, you can do a long strip of hats on the machine, then separate them later and graft while watching TV.

To adjust to a larger size, once you've got 8st in hold, you can knit to the left, putting those sts back into work. Do not put the first left needle back to hold, and knit across, getting the right sts back to work. Do not put the right stitch to hold, and knit back to the left. Now start putting a needle to hold like above. This adds two rows to each section, so you might want to see how that will affect your size based on your gauge. You might even try doing that on every other segment if you need 8 more rows, rather than 16 more rows.

Yarn Confession Time

2012-01-26T06:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, I spelled "confession" right this time :)

The school board and police services are having a cold weather clothing drive for northern First Nations communities. I don't have a lot that I can donate in the way of winter boots or snowpants, but I do have a lot of yarn to make hats! Or so I thought! After about 5 hats, I was getting worried! The pattern I'm using is a doubled hat, and it uses a lot of yarn, up to 160gr for a man's hat! I wanted to get the kids involved too, so we went to Zeller's, where they just happened to be having a sale on Bernat Super Value and TLC Essentials. Buy One, Get One 1/2 off. We picked out 8 skeins, but I found out when we got home that one of the ones Hugh picked--Bernat Camouflage--was not on sale, which meant that one of the other yarns could not be half price. Oh well!

Bernat Camouflage           142gr   $6.49
Super Value Wild Flowers 142gr    $5.39
Super Value Super Pink     197gr     $6.49
TLC Dark Brown                 170gr    $3.24
Super Value Damson          197gr     $6.49
Super Value Lotus               142gr    $3.24
Super Value Luxury Ombre 142gr    $6.49
TLC Surf n Turf                    127gr    $3.24

Total                                  +1259gr     $46.41 (inc 13% tax)

Year Total In                      +1917gr      $77.19
Year Total Out                  -1246gr
Total Surplus                    +671gr yarn in

However, I have over 1200gr of hats and scarves for donation that won't be totalled up until Sunday night. Although the yarn in got a huge boost last night from a donation from a friend of my mother in law. Wish I could have gotten it last weekend instead of buying more yarn, but it was fun teaching the kids how to use the machines. So far, I'm averaging spending about $2.50 per day on yarn.   I expect that to go down though!

Superbowl Scarf

2012-01-25T09:56:00.000-08:00

What's that? A Superbowl scarf on a Canadian knitting blog? LOL! Yes!

My sister in law lives in Indianapolis, the city that is hosting the Superbowl this year. For Christmas of 2010 she sent me a scarf kit from the Super Scarves program. Basically, the week before Superbowl, Indianapolis is having a winter festival. They've done a lot of changes to the downtown, and estimated they needed 8000 volunteers. To make the volunteers easily recognized, they would each get a handcrafted blue and white scarf. With 11 days to go before Superbowl (or before the festival, not sure which), they have received over 13 000 scarves. And mine was one of them!

The yarn in my kit was awesome. Alpaca with a Twist is from Indiana, and I'm assuming created this yarn just for this project, as the yarn is called "Touch Down". It's 60% fine highland Wool, 20% Bamboo, and 20% FS Alpaca. Soft, slight sheen, nice twist, it would lend itself to any number of designs. At first, I thought I could use it on the standard gauge machine as it looked to be about a DK weight. However, the gauge on the label says 4.5st on 5mm. I really thought that seemed a little loose, although this was for a scarf, and the yarn would probably bloom nicely. In the end, I decided to do it on my SK155, which, co-incidentally, I bought on Superbowl Sunday last year (had to go to several bank machines just to be able to get enough money out--never had that happen before!). On the site's website they also listed other yarns and the official colours they would accept, and I have to say, I think this yarn was the nicest out of the list!

I tried out some punchcard designs, but it wouldn't make a long enough scarf. I still couldn't get the tuck function to work, so unless I wanted to hand manipulate 6 ft of patterning, I needed to go with stripes. I just realized from another project that I could have done vertical stripes using the slip stitch function! Oh well. I opted for a diagonal stripe of two rows each colour. I did this by decreasing on one edge while increasing on the other edge. I hoped this would tame the curl. Along with steam, it did a decent job.

The scarf wasn't quite how I wanted it to be in the end, but I will admit to leaving this project to the last minute (they had to be in by the end of November 2011 so they could be sent to the women's prison to get labels handsewn on). But it's still a lovely, warm scarf, and I hope the receiver appreciates it and enjoys their memento of Indianapolis's chance to host the Superbowl.

Sheldon

2012-01-24T05:58:00.000-08:00

Early in the fall I remembered that I wanted to knit Lucy a Sheldon. I thought about taking it on our cruise so it would be done for her birthday the next week, but decided it'd be too much hassle with different colours and a long pattern. Not sure exactly when I started it, but I was pleased at how quickly it was coming along. Until I got to the part where it says to install the safety eyes. I had searched this town a while ago for safety eyes for a pair of owl mittens, to no avail. Lucy has a large bead stash now, so I went shopping in her bead box.

Simple little bronze beads for the eyes.

At the start of December, I was contacted by a friend of my mother in law, who needed desperate help with a bootie pattern. I got distracted by that and totally forgot about Sheldon until the week before Christmas! I managed to get him done though.

Lucy loves turtles, and got a few turtle related items for Christmas. Right now there is a commercial on TV for Earth Rangers. This environmental group for children was founded by the man who owned the company that Rob used to work for. The commercial is sponsored by the company Rob now works for. The girl in the commercial is named Lucy, and she is working to protect the spotted turtle. If only they had known OUR Lucy!

Used Easy Knit "Georgia Wool" from Wal-Mart.

Magic Sideways Hat

2012-01-23T08:41:00.000-08:00

I want to start off by making it clear that this is not my pattern. The info I have on it says it's from "Ann in Tenn" and has an email (though I haven't tried to contact her). The printout is dated January 26 2006 and was a message in a Yahoo group, most likely the ISM Club. I'm reprinting it, along with the gauge and size info that I got on my machines.

Worsted Weight Yarn
ISM/USM: KP 3 with 8 wedges on 70-72sts or KP 4 with 7 wedges and 58 sts
SK155: Plymouth Encore, 54gr, T5, 58st, 7 wedges; 18sts to 4"/23 rows; resulted in a toddler size aprox 16 1/2" circumference
LK150: LionBrand Fisherman Wool, T5.5, 70st, 8 sections; 20st to 4"/23 rows; don't know the exact size but it was too small for a 20 1/4" head.

Sportweight Yarn
KP 2 with 7 wedges over 68 sts and short row the end 16 sts (instead of 12).

Use an open cast on, and cast on 72 sts. One layer will get folded into the other, resulting in a hat that's 36 sts tall. 12 of these are for the crown and 24 are for the length down to the forehead. If you want to adjust the length or add a pattern, do it in the 24st section on both sides of 0. The hat that I made would have only a tiny brim, but I do not have a toddler to try it on.

Knit one row.
Put a needle into hold at each end of the bed, knit across. Repeat this row until there are 12 needles in hold at each end and you have knitted the row after pulling out the 12th needles. Make sure to use claw weights.
Place the needles on the far end of the bed into work position and knit across. Repeat.
This makes 14 rows for the section, plus the original first complete row.
Knit 7 or 8 wedges the same way (not including that very first plain row).
Take it off on waste yarn, and graft. Use the yarn ends to close up the little holes at either end.

There will be one row for the grafting, so the total number of rows will be 7 (or 8) x 14 + 2.
You may, if comfortable with grafting, eliminate the first plain row and the very last return row on the last wedge.

You can use an intarsia technique to make the inside and outside different colours. Change colours between L1 and R1. You can also change colours for each wedge. Or do intarsia and make the center 16 sts a different colour for a contrast brim.

In the gauge I got, adding an 8th wedge would add 2 1/2" to bring it up to 19", still a small child size; a 9th wedge would make it 21 1/2", an exact fit for my head which is not really a good idea; you want a little bit of negative ease. I think I'd try T4 for a wedge and see what that tension gives. Nine wedges of 14 rows makes a total of 126 rows; I could also try doing 7 wedges with 18 rows. To keep it to 12 sts at either end, instead of one stitch to hold at each end on each row, I'd have to do a little figuring. I do think that the sections are a little narrow which results in a pointy hat.
I'd also add about 18 sts in the middle so that there would be a fold back brim.

Yarn Confession Update

2012-01-18T10:25:00.000-08:00

I've decided that the easiest way to keep track of my yarn usage would be by weight. Many of my yarns are odd balls, or old, or unlabelled, and many of my projects use multiple yarns. Trying to figure the yardage for these yarns and projects would be too much work. But I can always weigh a project!
Starting right after Christmas, here's what I've used up:

Cream tuck scarf        50gr (estimate)
Rose tuck scarf           40gr (estimate)
Green tuck scarf         75gr (estimate)
"Blankie" skirt           279gr
felted slippers           129gr (after felting...my pattern says 117gr for the last pair)
sock monkey            125gr (estimate; he's already stuffed)
Marble Scarf              54gr
Meg's cowl                 38gr
Bonnie mitts and scarf   156gr (small amount was Classic Wool; about 6gr)
donated sock yarn     300gr

Total:   1246gr/1.246kg

Yarn that Came In the House:
Green Classic Wool                 77gr/$2
James Brett Marble                 54gr/$2
2 balls Black Classic Wool   200gr/$10
Brown Fisherman Wool       227gr/$11.24
Brown Handicrafter              100gr/$2

Total: 658gr/$30.78 (inc HST, 13%).

So, I've used up about twice as much yarn as what I've bought so far! That's awesome!

A Tale of Two Nightgowns

2012-01-18T07:38:00.000-08:00

Sometime ago, Meg decided she likes satin nightgowns. Then, one day I was looking around ikatbag.com and came across her free pattern for 45 minute raglan sleeve nightdress. I realized this was very similar to the raglan sleeve dress pattern that I have. But I didn't have any interesting satin (just some cream and some brown). I was at Salvation Army and couldn't find any satin sheets, so headed to the lady's lingerie, hoping to find a big robe or something. The selection wasn't that great, but I did find a long La Senza nightgown. I knew I'd be losing a lot from the bust up, but thought there'd still be enough for the rest.

However, when it came time to cut out sleeves, there wasn't enough left. I searched my stash, and wasn't thrilled with either satin option, but found this lightweight gold material; I think it's silk. I cut the sleeves from that, using the selvage as the sleeve hem, and then cut a long strip (actually, pieced a long strip from the leftovers) to make the ruffle. I did a really simple hem for the ruffle that I think is neat. I serged the raw edge, then just folded it back that much, pressed it, and stitched on the wrong side, following one of the serger threads to keep it straight. To tie it together a bit more, I did the hem in red. Well, actually I did that cause I didn't have a gold thread to match, LOL.
I gave it to her for her birthday, and she loved it. However, there is one big issue. Her blankets slide off her and she wakes me up about three times during the night to get tucked in again!

Undeterred by the sleepless nights (and thanks to my mom who suggested laying the blanket down, having her lay on it, and folding the other half over her!), I decided that I'd make her annual Christmas Eve nightgown, out of satin again. I was at Value Village and found this seafoam green satin fitted sheet. I wasn't thrilled with the colour, but didn't know if I'd get back out shopping. After VV, I headed across the parking lot to FabricLand. There, in the remnant bin was a piece of printed satin with this exact same green shade!
I think the sheet was homemade--there were no tags, and there was a French seam going up the middle (about 1/3 of the way across actually). There were also some holes. And the sides had been sewn as a separate panel. All of this cut down dramatically on the amount of usable material, which I didn't notice till I was cutting it out.
I laid it all out first, so I could decide how best to use the contrast fabric. This time, the bodice and the bottom ruffle got it.

I hadn't decided on how to finish the sleeve hems, but they seemed a little short. I opted to just serge the edge, using a combo of teal and brown threads. I finished the larger bottom ruffle the same way as I had on the first nightgown--it didn't look right with just a serged edge...too much patterning I think.

This satin sheet was a nightmare. It wrinkled terribly, and was SO slippery, I ended up cutting three skirt pieces, none of which were terribly accurate. I used pins, I used weights, I traced before cutting (instead of using the uhh...the round blade thingy right next to the pattern). I tried scissors, I tried the round blade thingy. I've used satin before, but this was in a class of it's own. The wrong side wasn't shiny, but it was still slippery. Thankfully, it's a nightgown, and not a prom dress!!

Yarn Confussion Update

2012-01-16T11:47:00.000-08:00

The ball of James Brett Marble I picked up just after New Years has been knit into a scarf. Two balls of Louet Bonnie has finally been knit into convertible mitts and a scarf. I mailed 300gr of sock yarn leftovers to a friend.
Today, I picked up two balls of Classic Wool ($10) in black for a mitten project, two balls of Handicrafter cotton ($2) in browns for dishcloths, and a ball of Lionbrand Fisherman Wool ($11.25) in brown (I wanted brown marl, but they didn't have it) for another "blankie skirt" for Meg. These were all either on sale, or with a coupon, and I have immediate plans for all. Whether or not I will actually get to these immediately is another story, LOL.

Swimming, swimming...

2012-01-16T09:46:00.000-08:00

...in my swimming pool; when days are hot, when days are not, in my swimming pool....

I may not be a "swimmer" anymore, but I do spend lots of time in pools/hot tubs (and the beach on the cruise) so I do need good swimsuits and have, like most women, some challenges with fitting.

After making my first suit, and Meg's first suit, I went ahead and bought a couple Kwik Sew patterns, and made the animal print bikini for Lucy.

I decided to try the first one I link to above; KW 3779. Because it's somewhat of a tank, I thought I could use my original suit as a bit of a pattern guide. It did all go together pretty well, although I had to take in the crotch/bum seam, the center bum, and the side seams. I did a FBA, however, it doesn't "cup" me quite like it does on the envelope. I think I need to make my right side bigger. It's also a little more revealing on me than the pattern...particularly on the right side. I think because my breasts are closer together (although maybe not evenly spaced on center), and because my shoulders are narrower, the V neck spreads too much. I have to figure out how to adjust that width and have it line up with the back. Lucy says it's too low cut, but I think I can fix that on the next one by stitching the cups together at the lower center front for an inch or so. Or, finding a clasp/decoration that could join the two cups together.

I did have a little trouble lining up the two cups with the center front seam, and the right side is a little off.

Overall, I was impressed with my first suit for me, from a pattern. The fabric was a find from Value Village!
I decided I wanted to make another version, using some fabric from Spandex World. I figured I should start with the next smaller size since I had to take in the first one so much. I wanted the back straight across, and the cups wrapping around (for extra coverage) towards the back. This presented a lot of construction challenges which I worked through in my brain for awhile before starting. I also needed to line the back pieces as the fabric was a lot thinner.
In the end, I don't think it was worth all the extra hassle. The back ended up higher than I thought, so it's not really sexier. I could probably have not bothered with the angled sides on the cups, especially if they fit better, but I didn't want to risk a blow out. The thinner material has meant that this suit really stretched when it got wet. I think I need to find a buckle, bauble, or clasp for between the cups to prevent them from sliding over. What do you call those ornamental bits...they're not functioning buckles or clasps...I do have one from the suit I took apart, but I think it might be too wide.

Knowing where to position the straps on the back piece was a two person job, thereby voiding the idea of this suit being a surprise for our cruise.

One of these days I'm going to tighten up the elastic around the cups, maybe shorten the straps. It's fine in our private hot tub, but a little scary on the public beach.

I can't wait though to make another suit, probably the tankini. If I can find some brown or black that matches these fabrics, then I can use the scraps as contrast. I highly recommend making your first suit from a real pattern!

The Dress that Nearly Made Me Quit Sewing

2012-01-09T07:15:00.000-08:00

Back in early July, I made a dress pattern for knit fabric. Of course, there were lots of issues, many of which were my own distractedness, and some were due to the fabric. Overall, I was quite happy with it, and with the purchase of the serger, I thought I'd be whipping out comfy summer dresses by the handful.

After we got back from our trip in July, I started another dress. The fabric was a Value Village score. There was a huge amount of it. Maybe 3 yds, 60" wide. I had bought "Built by Wendy" book "Sew U, Home Stretch" and liked the pattern where she extends the shoulders to make little sleeves. I didn't want real sleeves, so I thought this would be a nice solution. However, when I went to lay out the pattern I had made, I couldn't find the front piece. In a moment of delusion, I opted to use the back piece for the front as well.

I woke up the next morning and realized my error. Duh. I couldn't believe I did that. Once I got it basted together, I had to think of how to keep the dress on my shoulders. I thought maybe I could take some brown ribbon that I had and make ties for the back neck (I have a t-shirt like that). In the end, I opted for nothing, LOL. I did find that it didn't slip too much once I had a bra on, and a little bit of fashion double stick tape helped.

This is the only picture I have of it. I've worn it a few times, but since I didn't get it finished until just before our cruise, it's season was limited. I was a little disappointed that the fabric faded a bit.

OMG, I nearly forgot the real reason this dress was nearly the end! LOL!! I had an idea to make the bodice waist be ruched. Not sure why I thought this up. I did a ton of googling and found a really nice dress that was exactly what I wanted, but out of print (OOP). I couldn't find out much about the construction, but I tried several things to try to get the ruching to look right. It kept drooping. I thought maybe I could use the earlier mentioned brown ribbon to sew three strips to keep it from drooping too much, but it still did, and it looked a little odd. I thought about just ....uh, what's that word....the elastic thread gathering....but it wasn't what I wanted, and that had been challenging with my machine. In the end, I took the inner panel that I had cut with the grain going the opposite way (to help prevent it from stretching out), and used that by itself. I thought the slight variation in the grain/pattern, would be a bit of an interest piece. Not sure that happened, but oh well.

I also could not come up with a neck finish. I wasn't too happy with the different ways I've tried knit bindings. Finally, I did an edging with the serger. Stitches very close together, with wooly nylon, but not a rolled edge. It's fine. I did rolled edges on the hem and armholes, lettuce edges actually. Oh, did I do lettuce edge on the bottom? Don't remember. I do like doing the lettuce edge--if I can't get the flat edge to look right, and not stretched, then a lettuce edge is a great solution to play up the stretch, LOL!

Confession #1 and #2

2012-01-05T15:22:00.000-08:00

After started to clear out stash yarn, I had a trip to Value Village so of course had to pass by the yarn wall. Snagged an almost full ball of Classic Wool, $2.99 (or was it $1.99?), sage green. Then yesterday we were in the thrift store in Bancroft, while we're up here visiting, and I got a partial ball of James Brett Marble. Good for a baby hat or booties. $1, I think. Also grabbed an old Sirdar pattern book of assorted novelties (legwarmers, tea cozy, lipstick cozy, etc), and 3 girls' patterns in sizes the girls are growing into, 25cents each.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T13:41:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been a crazy busy month! I hope you had a good holiday season, and either gave, or received, lots of fiber goodness!

I still have some sewing posts to show from as far back as the early fall! As for knitting...not much has been finished...and what I did finish, I forgot to take a picture before giving!

Like many people, I'm starting the new year off saying I'm not buying new yarns, fabric, or patterns. Since Christmas Day, I have actually used up some yarn! I'm going to keep track, although some times it's difficult. I'm not always starting with full balls, and sometimes I will have a bit leftover. But here's the rundown so far:

1) Pink mohair narrow scarf; I think it's an OLD Paton's mohair blend. Used the entire ball (don't think it was a full ball).
2) White mohair scarf; might be the same yarn. Larger ball, used it all up.
3) Green scarf, two balls Red Heart Shetland Chunky, Heather Forest. Each ball was a different dye lot, so I did random stripes. Sort of looks like marble! I do have a picture and will post later.
For these three, I used the free pattern from Machine Knitting Fun. Super easy.

4) "Lyndee Sock Monkey". Not sure if I have the link on this computer, it's a free pattern for a machine knit sock monkey. I can't find it on Ravelry, but perhaps a Google search will work. I used up nearly one ball of Paton's Decor in dark grey (Not quite a new ball probably).

5) "Blankie Skirt". A wool skirt/diaper cover in a huge size (for Meg, nighttime). Base yarn of LionBrand Fisherman Wool in dark brown tweed (used up most of the ball, still enough left for something small), and used up (or nearly used up) several small balls of left over yarns like Headwaters Wool, Briggs & Little, and Patons Classic Wool. I will have a picture of these later too.

So, how do I count balls? The three scarves did use up 4 balls, sock monkey makes it 5; blankie skirt...lets call that two balls. So, that's 7 balls of yarn in less than one week! I'm going to make another blankie skirt with a different punch card, and that will use up even more of the small balls.

I'm still working on two shawls, a pair of duck booties, the "all in one sweater" I made at the machine knitting group, a pair of Noro socks in "clown barf"....

Some Good, Some Bad

2011-12-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

It's been one of those weeks. I'm working on wool longies on the Singer 155. Nothing is going smoothly.

I love the Kroy Stretch socks that I've made. Unfortunately, one got a hole! It's not like a worn out spot, but a real hole. I'm sure I can mend it, but because they're mostly not wool, it might be tricky to make sure it stays. Don't let it stop you from trying this yarn if you haven't yet.

Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned a machine knitting workshop in next May? The date has been changed to the week before since that weekend was Mother's Day. Mmmm....seemed like a nice way to spend Mother's Day to me! However, this works even better for me since my concert band is doing a concert on the May 12/13 weekend. They also want to move it up a week, but I hope that doesn't happen. I already had to miss a concert in October, I'd feel really, really bad missing another one, LOL.

I washed two shawls this week, and blocked them out. The first one, the Moonlight Sonata shawl seemed a little bigger, and "crisper" (not as in, feeling crunchy, but just more defined). I see that the first time, I couldn't stretch the sides enough to get the bottom edge stretched out. I didn't remember that as I blocked it this time, and I seemed to have no trouble with the bottom edge. I'm loving it even more now. The other shawl was the Sweet Lily Shawl. I don't know how I did it, but I got it stretched out more this time, and now the points reach my elbows! It's still not a wrap it around shawl, but I'm much happier now. Although, it doesn't seem as warm, LOL. I don't think of dark brown as a summer colour, but I think the lightness of this shawl would make it ideal in the summer for those air conditioned places, and also for blocking the sun on bare shoulders.

The magic of wool.

Book Reviews

2011-11-29T08:34:00.000-08:00

I am SICK right now, and although I'd love to be updating my other blog about our cruise, the pictures are on the downstairs computer and it's cold down there, and I just want to snuggle up on the couch. While I have been knitting quite a bit, I don't have much to show. I did recently though get some new books from the libary. The library in my old town was small, but I think there was a knitter on staff as their selection wasn't too bad. They had a display section near the front door where they put all new books, so it was easy to keep up with new knitting books. Now, we're in this much bigger town. The library is huge, and there's three branches. I hate using the online catalogue, it's too ...clinical? They do have display areas where they set out books on a topic, and I grab some interesting books that way. The last time I was there, I was able to scan the shelves as I was looking for Cookie A's first book. It wasn't in, but I did find some other gems!

"Knitting Plus" by Lisa Shroyer. There is an extensive section on designing/altering for plus size figures. It's actually a pretty intense section. The patterns in the book are actually from multiple designers, which is nice. They are arranged by the type of shoulder/armhole. The designs are contemporary and classic. What I find strange is the size ranges. The sizes are not consistant. For example, one cardigan (for which you'd want some positive ease), starts at 39 1/2". Another more easy fitting sweater, starts at 47". So, if the size small for the cardigan is meant for a 36" bust, then the loose fit sweater (actually, it's the cover sweater), would have 11" of ease...it does not look like that, and 11" of ease on a plus size body? No thanks. So just make sure to assess how you want the sweater to look and fit before choosing a size.

I like the Barton Cardigan although the excess fabric on the back wouldn't look good on me with my swayback. It also reminds me a lot of the February Lady Sweater, which (for my own reasons) gave me a real kicking. I also like Passyunk Pullover, mmmm....on Ravelry, it's called the Passayunk Pullover. I'm not sure about a yoke sweater on me, but I don't have any to compare it too. I'd just have to watch that the neckline is not too high on my sensitive neck. The Waltham Cabled Cardigan is charming and probably the most popular in the book, judging by Ravelry. Vauxhall Tunic is a great fair isle option for women who don't want horizontal patterning that is the norm with fair isle. This could also be adapted for a man's sweater.

"Knitted Wild Animals" by Sarah Keen. I have my favourite teddy bear pattern, and I've made other stuffed animals (pig, dinosaur, elephant, alligator, bunnies...), and I love knitted stuffed animals. However, I am torn between the quick and easy but often bland animals, and the more intricate but time consuming patterns. These patterns seem to be a happy compromise! They all evoke the "aaaahhhh" response, but at the same time, I'm not thinking "look at all the itty bitty pieces to sew together". I also like the added touch of whimsical animal facts. Watch the yarn recommendation. It does say, in the pattern, "Light Worsted" and 3.25mm needles. In the back, it does say that Light worsted is also known as DK. I can't find anything that says what yarn was used for the patterns. There is a small "learn to knit" section at the back, but it's very basic.

"Wendy Knits Lace" by Wendy Johnson. I like the variety of projects in this book; even the beginner projects are quite nice. There's something for everyone. I do have one BIG peeve with this book though. There are no "flat out" pictures of the projects. They're all arranged, styled photos. In some of the pictures you can't really see the stitch pattern clearly. I really like to see pictures of the details, or the shape, etc, so I can gauge my own piece and know if it's going right. I am planning to make the Garden Party Cardigan, I just have to do a little math to alter the sizing to fit me better. For some of the other patterns, I'm going to wait until there's more projects posted on Ravelry and hopefully better pictures. And maybe I'll check her blog to see if there's pictures on there (I used to read it all the time, but got a little bored of socks all the time or shawls all the time).

What's your favourite new knitting book?

A Blonde Walks Into...

2011-11-27T19:10:00.000-08:00

....a machine knitting club meeting and knit a pink baby sweater. It's an "all in one" design--the sweater is knit in one piece, and then the edgings are added at the end. She's happily knitting away on the first cuff, when she suddenly realizes that she had started a handknit baby sweater in the same yarn early in the spring...and she now wonders if the skein she had grabbed off the shelf was designated for the other, hibernating, project....

Warm Feet

2011-11-22T07:03:00.000-08:00

I suffer from chronic cold feet. Even in the summer, my feet get cold easily.
Although I've been showing a lot of sewing lately (and have more to show!), I did do some knitting over the summer. Like always, I needed a small project for sitting at the park, and a bigger project for on the couch at night. I have been working on "Omelet" (a large shawl)

from Knitty.com for a while now, but my "purse project" went much quicker. I showed the pictures of the socks from the day we went to the beach and it was cold. It wasn't too long after that that they were finished. However, the weather turned warm and I didn't feel like putting them on to take pictures. Finally, on Oct 12, I was tired of seeing them on my end table, and I had the camera out taking pictures of my son's sprained ankle, so I snapped a few of the socks. Always a challenge!

Kroy Stripes, Mulberry. I didn't want yarn left over, so these ended up tall, which is a nice change!

Toe up, two at a time on one circular needle. The eyelets going outwards on the top of the foot are the heel increases. The eyelets going up the middle are paired with decreases.

Once I got to the heel turning, I had to pair the outer eyelets with decreases too, so that they moved inwards and met at the middle. In this picture above, you can see the little short row wedge (speckled grey) at the top of the dark pink heel. This just gave me a little extra heel depth to get over my high instep.
Part way up the leg, I realized I forgot to do the heel in a slip stitched pattern. And that I wanted ribbing at some point. I looked at my stitch dictionaries and found a diamond pattern to mimic the foot, and repeated it around the calf. In the top half of the diamonds, I gradually shifted to ribbing. It's a little hard to see in the striped yarn, but this would be a good way to add ribbing if you don't want a sudden start.

Not much else to say about them. I did a little extra calf shaping at the top since they were getting tall, however, I did it a little late and a little sharply, so the top edge is actually a little loose. They still stay up though. I think they might become my new skating socks.

Racer Back Dress

2011-11-10T11:26:00.000-08:00

Back in the summer, I started reading a blog, www.ikatbag.com. Shortly after, she posted a pattern/tutorial on making a racer back girl's dress, in a knit fabric. I just knew I had to make it! I especially wanted to try the way she showed the neck binding. I had read other tutorials, but they left the inside edge with a raw edge showing. This one treated the neck binding like bias tape, but in a knit fabric...could I do it (and if I could, then I could use it on the brown and black dress that I recently showed, and another dress that I was working on).

I had a bright pink jersey sheet that would be great for Meg. The pattern came in three sizes, the largest was a 7, which is what I used (I'm pretty certain....this was a while ago now, LOL). I did have an issue with cutting the binding for the armhole. You have to measure the armholes yourself, but I didn't include the part of the back in the middle for some reason.

It's a great pattern! She can put it on herself, the back is very different from the front so it never goes on backwards, it doesn't fly up high when she spins, but there's plenty of room for movement. I really want one in my size, and I've been trying to figure out how to do a sort of shelf bra. I think I've got it figured out, now that we're headed into late autumn, LOL.

I did have some issues with doing the binding; lining it up, sewing it even, how it should look on the inside. But I'd still do it again! I did a lettuce edge on the bottom. I didn't have bright pink cones of serger thread, but I did have a red cone, and several spools of various shades of pink. Later on, I did get wooly nylon and if I had known how great that would be, I would have gone to get some for this dress too.

Bear and Booties for Blake

2011-10-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

I found out in mid-May that one of my cousins was expecting her first baby in mid-August. I thought for awhile about what to make her, and then it suddenly came to me that I usually make a large teddy bear, either for the birth or 1st Christmas or 1st birthday.

I didn't remember this though until the start of September, and her shower was on Sept 13. No problem. I have a pattern I always use, and a basement full of yarn.

I LOVE a teddy bear pattern by Jean Greenhowe. I've used it many, many times over the past 12 years. I use just about any yarn, with appropriate sized needles. I've made teeny weeny bears, and giant grizzly bears. This bear qualifies as a grizzly!

Made with Paton's Divine, and I think 5mm needles (the yarn calls for 6.5mm because of the mohair, but for this use, it needs to be tight). It's big, squishy, slightly fuzzy, and SO huggable!

The day before the shower, I saw some baby booties on a blog, and realized I could make some too! I googled for a while and found a pattern, I think it's at "Starlight Shoes". I searched through the fabric stash, and found several fabrics I liked. I selected two, one for the sole, one for the body. I didn't do the interfacing, and there were some other construction details I wasn't thrilled about (I thought the casing for the elastic on the heel was too bulky; I have some ideas to change that, but I think it would add a few minutes to the construction). I realized after I cut the first one that there is the letter B on the fabric, so I made sure it was placed well on the second booties.

I definitely have plans to make more, some themed ones for certain. They'd be something great to keep in the gift box as they can use up small scraps and don't take long to make, or require special trims or closures.

They do have a left/right distinction, however, I think for newborns, it's probably not necessary.

Machine Knitting Seminar

2011-09-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

Although Yahoo! Groups are international, there are often members really close to home. One such member in my machine knitting groups is Marg Coe. I got to meet her last year when she dropped off some cones of yarn, and we keep in touch. Marg is part of an active machine knitting group about 45 minutes from me, called Kawartha Carriage Knitters' Club. I was hoping I'd get to join this group this fall once my kids are all in school full time. I missed this month though--I'm still getting used to this new life!

This group is going to host a seminar on May 12 and 13 in Peterborough. I LOVE Peterborough. You betcha, I'm going to attend this seminar. I might even get to spend the night at my younger-taller-twin-cousin's house! For more info on this machine knitting group and their seminar, check out their site!

Simple Dresses

2011-09-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

It's the summer of shirring! There was Meg's green dress, a strapless lady's top that Lucy found at Value Village and made into a dress, the blue dress for me, and a dress for Lucy. I had been eyeing the pre-shirred fabric at Fabricland, but didn't want to pay $20/m. It eventually got marked down to $10/m, but until I made Meg's dress (and then mine), I didn't know how much I would need. All I knew was that just buying my bust size as the length would not be enough. One day I had taken the girls to Fabricland and there was a cut of smocked fabric in the clearance bin...however, they don't actually mark down the remnants; it's still $10/m, even though it's a pre-cut piece. Lucy liked one piece and agreed to a dress. I think it was .8m.

We cut some length off (maybe a smidge too much), and we can't agree on straps. She doesn't mind it strapless, but it doesn't stay up very well. We might do clear straps, but the school dress code probably still won't allow that. She does have a little black shrug that looks really cute over it. I did the one seam as a French seam, however it made it really difficult (for me) to line up the rows of shirring.

On another trip to Value Village, I found a piece of pretty, floral knit. The white background has a very slight texture/thick-thin affect. It's quite thin and stretchy. However, the piece was rather odd...there had been a section (poorly) serged onto one end, and there were some holes scattered here and there.

Lucy liked a dress design in "Built by Wendy"'s knits book. Based on a raglan sleeve shirt, it gets a little extra width added, and no sleeves. I made the front and back exactly the same (although the book shows them different). I based her size on a girl's dress pattern I have, with raglan sleeves. I don't remember if I added any to the width though, as the pattern was for wovens. The length was pretty much just what I could do with the length of fabric I had. I could do another panel in the same fabric (pieced together though), or in another fabric if I could find something to match). She figures she'll just turn it into a shirt as she grows. I did a lettuce edge on the bottom. For the neck straps, all I could find in my trims stash was some fuchsia rickrack. It looked good until it was washed. I'm not into ironing rickrack.

This is pretty much the same idea as a pillow case dress...cut a rectangle and angle off the top corners (you don't even have to do that I suppose, although it cuts down a bit of bulk), then fold over a casing on the front and back. Sew the sides, feed a ribbon or something through the front casing and then the back and sew the ends together, or use one piece for the back and one piece for the front and make shoulder ties (Lucy wanted to be able to get dressed herself so shoulder ties were not an option).

Simple design, maximum impact with a non-juvenile fabric!

Way Back.....

2011-09-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

Way back in late June, I decided to copy a favourite dress with a cross over bodice/empire waist. I used plastic tablecloth on a roll to copy an outline of the dress onto. I had this lightweight knit (Value Village find), and cut out the bodice and basted it together. Well, I don't know what happened. Even though I added extra to the bust, it was way too low cut! I decided to scrap it right away and cut a new, scoop neck bodice. I basted the bodice together, and saw I needed some changes, and altered the pattern, but I was confused. I had to add a bit to the bust width, but take out some in the upper chest width, but somehow, it resulted in basically no change to how it fit! LOL.

I was working with a bit of a deadline--we were heading to Indiana (check my other blog), and I wanted to take it. So I was rushing a bit. I decided after basting together, that the skirt front was too narrow for my comfort. So, I cut another piece to go in the middle. However, somehow (uh, because I made my pattern without seam allowances and writing "add S.A" wasn't enough to clue me in), I made the center piece about 2" too short. I also decided the dress was a tad dull. I don't have a huge stash of knit fabrics, but I have been collecting old clothes to re-furbish/use as fabric. I had a perfectly good black turtleneck sweater that was about the same weight. It felt sinful to slice off some strips from the bottom, but it was the perfect width!

I turned the armband and neckband edges in and did a double needle topstitching. However, it didn't work as well as on the bathing suits. It didn't survive very long. More on that later.

It was quite comfy, I wore it down to Indianapolis for over 12 hours. However, I found myself sweating, despite having the air conditioning on in the truck!
After I wore it again, I decided to take the sides in a little, and use my new serger to redo the the bottom hem, and the armholes. I wasn't ready for that! The bottom went okay, but there were some things I just didn't know about doing the armholes (clearing the stitch fingers, doing a complete "circle", going over the shoulder seams was rough...). I really wasn't happy with the armholes. For the neck, I decided to follow a tutorial I had just found at ikatbag (I made the dress in the tutorial too!). I had seen other tutorials, but they result in a raw edge on the inside. This tutorial treats the binding like bias binding. However, I did have some difficulty with going around the curves. The end result was okay, although there is some wrinkling on one strap.

But after wearing it again, by the end of the day, the underarms had stretched! From my body heat?

Hard to get a good picture, but you can see it sticking out. I can't just take the seams in again; the back is a good width, and it's mainly the front parts that went wild. And if I take the fronts in again, will it just stretch again?
It's a nice enough dress, the upper bodice needs the straps angled inwards a bit more, but the rest is good. I started another dress but man, it's giving me a tough time!

You Know It's Cold....

2011-09-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

This summer I did a lot of small trips with the kids. We found new splash pads in town, and went out of town a few times too. One trip was to the awesome Cobourg Beach. Due to trying to fit in so many activities before the girls went to daycamp, we were down to two possible days to go to this beach. I choose the earlier of the two days as I really thought we'd be doing something else on the other day, which was also a Friday so I wasn't keen to head out on the highway on a Friday.

The morning of the beach trip started out nice, but by the time we headed out, big grey clouds had formed, and we actually had a few drops of rain on the way. The beach was not crowded at all, but man! was the water ever cold, despite being a shallow and usually warm, beach.

After I forced the kids out of the water, I had to warm up a little. Wool socks in progress was my only option!

Two at a time, toe up, magic loop on KnitPicks nickel circulars. Yarn is Patons Kroy Stripes in Mulberry, that I had picked up on clearance from Michaels'. Instead of the Fleegle heel, or a short row heel, I did a similar idea to the last pair, except that I made the increases as yarn overs. Then, I also included vertical rows of yarn over/dec in the center. I did a heel flap (sort of like the Fleegle heel) and brought the yarn overs (now paired with a dec) back towards the middle. Then, when they met at the middle, I went down a needle size and did a band of lace diamonds. I went down the needle size because the number of sts needed, based on the stitch repeat, was exactly what I had, and eyelet patterns tend to be larger gauge. When I got to the mid-point of the diamonds, I started ribbing between each diamond. I'll show more pictures later when I'm done. I thought I might do some diamonds with travelling stitches, but I can't be bothered now, LOL.

It did clear up and warm up slightly....as we were near the end of our visit!

Roar!

2011-09-10T09:51:00.000-07:00

I had to take the girls with me to FabricLand one day. We past by the bin of swimsuit fabric remnants (not really remnants as they are on small bolts, but they don't stock particular prints; these are mill ends). Lucy found a nice leopard print but I said no way, she's too young.

When I was on line shopping to order some swimsuit fabric to get delivered to my SIL's in Indiana when we went in July, I found a colourful "leopard" print. Lucy liked it and I thought it was much more age appropriate. Lucy wanted a one shouldered suit--Meg has one so I thought I'd copy that. Then sewingpatterns.com had the Kwik Sew sale and I bought the basic kid's suit pattern. I really wanted to make it as is (one piece) before altering, but no, it had to be a bikini. I followed advice from the Creative Chicks. Lucy also wanted ruffles, but although I had her ruffled suit to reference, I just could figure how to do them like she wanted (along the shoulder and part of the top). Then when cutting the fabric, I found it rolls in, and it's a print so the backside is sort of white. So, no ruffles.

I had issues with the elastic around the top's top and bottom edges. I don't know if it's because it's the crosswise grain, or if it's cause it's a more cottony fabric, but it was wavy. I redid parts of it a couple times.

She tested it at a splash park, and deemed it a success, although a little loose on top. I took it in a bit, and then we went to a pool. Well, it didn't work so well there. She was trying to do handstands, and it kept falling down. LOL. I cinched it in with my hair elastic, but it still wasn't enough and it was a miserable public swim....esp. after she cut her toe, the bandaid wouldn't stay on, the power went out and we had to get out for 15 minutes...

I had a great idea to use some clear elastic I had just bought to make a safety strap. Along with re-doing the upper elastic, the strap really did the job. However, it's ripped off twice while she's taking the top off. I tell her to slip it over her head, not wrestle her way out! However, I've been told there are clear bra straps that might be a better option.

We had promised to take them back to the beach one evening, but it was pretty rough! The loved it anyway!

I love the fact I have made three swimsuits! It totally stuns me! Six years ago, it took me nearly a week to make a fleece pouch and I didn't believe that would work! I've stocked up on swimsuit fabric and patterns, and am looking forward to the next one!

I Wear My Pink Bikini...

2011-09-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

...in the summer when it's hot; I wear my yellow Speedo in the winter when it's not;
But sometimes in the springtime; and sometimes in the fall
I jump into my little pool with nothing on at all!

Anyone else sing that at Girl Guides/Scouts? LOL!

Early this spring I noticed my favourite one piece bathing suit (actually, the only suit I was wearing in public anymore) was becoming stretched, saggy, and transparent. Eeek. Bathing suits were just coming into the stores so I was able to find a new suit quickly, but I figured it couldn't be too hard to make my own. Right? There's only three pieces...

....on the front. Plus 3 pieces for the back. Plus two pieces for the ruched accent band. And some power netting and cups on the inside....but still...all sewing is is assembly flat fabric in the correct order to make it shapely. Right?

I closely examined my suit while sitting in the hot tub. Multi-tasking! Then, I took some pictures (many more than just these two), and cut it apart. I made some pattern pieces and went to the fabric store.

Wow, bathing suit fabric is expensive here. The solid colour stuff is $22/m and the "mill end" prints were $15/m. I didn't need much, but also power netting, and thread, and elastic...Just like any project, it's not cost effective to just make one! I chose a darkish blue-purple that was the same intensity as the brown, and a fun print for the cups. I didn't see any that I liked for the contrast band, except a bright lime that I thought was too radical. I thought maybe I could just use the cups fabric, but I was also stuck on the fancy do-da in the middle.

As I made the pattern, I did add a little to the cups as I felt the original was a tad small. I could probably add even more. I even tried the twin needle top stitching after a crappy trip to a small sewing store in Oshawa where Lucy put her best pout on display. I didn't have a matching colour for the top stitching, so chose a lime, but I'm not sure I'm keen on it. And it looks like it was top stitched by a drunken monkey. But over all, for my first bathing suit attempt, I was pretty darned pleased.

Till I paraded it through the house out to the hot tub and the girls said I looked fat :(

Oh well. I do think the legs could be cut a bit higher, and maybe I should make a contrast band for under the bust to shrink the sea of blue. It's still good for in the hot tub, although my "good one" that I bought in the spring is already showing signs of fading! And I have bought some "real" patterns to make another suit or two. And some more fabric online that I had sent to my SIL's when we went in July--it's WAY cheaper from American on-line stores, although I don't know what the Canadian shipping costs would be, and of course, you can't actually see/touch the fabric. More about that when I show Lucy's suit!!

Look! I Knit!

2011-09-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still knitting. Not too much, but some. Early in the spring I was working on a baby sweater...that needs to be measured, compared to "standard" baby sizes, and then the armholes worked/sleeves. I'm still chugging along on "Omelet" from Knitty.com. Those pink socks that ran out of yarn got put in time out. But back on the Father's Day weekend in June, I started another pair of socks using Kroy Stretch. We were headed to my parents for the weekend, so I wanted something "brainless". I think I still had to re-start one of the socks, LOL. I worked on these whenever we went anywhere that I could fit them in my purse. I made them two at a time, toe up, on Magic Loop. I wanted to make the increases similar to the "Spring Thaw" socks by Cat Bordhi that I made in 2009. I had to search the house for the magazine (found it in the bathroom, LOL), and scanned the pattern (again) just as we were leaving for Indiana (see my other blog, LOL). However, It was too much of a headache to try to fit it into my sock, without ribbing, etc. I decided to work the increases on the top of the foot, like some of her other socks. As I increased, I started the new stitches in ribbing.

Add caption

While we were in Indiana, I needed to turn the heel. I'm not sure why I didn't pay attention to the pattern...I think I misplaced it while there. I worked most of both heels, tried them on and decided the foot wasn't quite long enough. Re-did the heels and realized I had done the short rows in the wrong direction---I had done my standard, top down heel turn. I had done this also on the first attempt, but didn't notice it when I tried them on. Ripped again. Third time worked out, although I had to add some short rows in the back of the heel flap, as usual for me.

Then I realized I hadn't done the heel flap in my usual slip stitch pattern. However, I was not going to rip it again. I figured since these are mostly cotton, they'll get worn mostly in the summer with sandals or slippers. I continued to increase the ribbing stitches around the sock as I worked upwards, matched with a decrease on each side as I wasn't needing to increase the number of stitches now. Previously, I had done this on other socks by working the edges like cables, but it didn't give the effect I had wanted. This way was much better.

I continued up the socks until I ran out of the first ball of yarn. I had two balls, but I decided not to break into the second ball. The socks are on the verge of too short, but for summer I can fold them down, and in winter they'll be okay. I'd rather have another whole ball to make another pair (a gift?), than have 1/2 a ball of an odd yarn in my stash. Like I have of the purpley-orange-green pair I made in this yarn.

Although I liked how I had done the transitions from ribbing to stockinette, I didn't like my increases. I couldn't decide while knitting what type to use, and then hoped that the holeyness would look "intentional". Uh, no, it didn't. So I just simply sewed shut the holes formed by the increases. Easy peasy. I had these ones done in under two months (I think I finished them the first week in August--6 weeks), which is pretty sad considering there was a lot of road trips (12 hours to Indiana). However, I was also working on the shawl and doing a lot of sewing.

I immediately cast on for another pair of socks and incredibly, they are almost finished (mmm...I wonder if I had cast on before I finished the green ones, or if there was a much longer delay between finishing the green ones and their photo shoot?)! I don't know how. Concerts in the Park, Movie in the Park, kids playing in the park....guess that all adds up even better than 2 hours on the couch, LOL.

The Second Blue Dress

2011-08-24T07:11:00.000-07:00

I had enough of the blue and white sheet leftover to make a simple dress, and knew I wanted to make it shirred. I've been wanting to do this for awhile, but it kept getting postponed. I read tutorials, I wound my elastic thread, and cut a large rectangle from the remaining sheet, using the hem as the dress hem. I sat down to shir.

I've mentioned before, with machine knitting, how tuck rhymes with *uck....well....ever notice how close shir is to shi* ? LOL. The elastic thread in the bobbin was not feeding very well, and was WAY tighter than any of the tutorials showed. As in, the tutorials showed it would be barely gathered with the first few rows....I had it severely gathered as it was sewing. I read more tutorials, esp. ones relating to Brother machines as those machines don't seem to like to shir... however, I have a Kenmore. One tutorial showed a similar drop in style bobbin, and she said she had to tighten the shuttle screw. Well, I knew I did not need it tighter, so I tried loosening it, bit by bit. That worked, and finally by about the 4th row, I got a good tension.

I hadn't drawn my guide lines on, and my presser foot is too narrow to use as a guide for 1/2" rows (so many tutorials said they did this!). I thought I'd be able to use the extended hem guide markings on my machine, but no...you can't see them when you're sewing in the middle of the fabric! I finally got fed up and drew guide lines on. I did as many rows as I thought I needed (I wanted it to cover my bust and a bit below), then I went back and redid the first three rows since I still had some elastic left. I could get about 3-4 rows per bobbin of elastic thread. I actually did stop mid-row and start a new bobbin, even though the tutorials say not to...I just backstitched really well over the end. Of course, I was using a patterned fabric; I might not have done this on a solid fabric.

I serged the side seam, wrong sides together, then did a French seam on the regular machine. I cut two strips for the straps, and tried sewing elastic inside them to make them a little more interesting. That was a disaster. Maybe if the fabric was more fluid.

Once I had it on, I could see the front hem was higher than the back, since I had used only one piece, and there was no way to make the front bodice longer than the back bodice to account for the extra length over my chest, LOL. I also saw some bagginess at the sides which could have been the poor shirring job or a size issue. I was going to take the sides in, but that would disrupt the stretchiness of the shirring. Next time, I will use two pieces for the bodice, so that I can taper the sides, and make the front longer. One thing I did do was to add an extra row of shirring just on the front, to create an optical illusion of the front shirring being the same length as the back. It could use another row.

I'm actually not fond of the straight line across my upper chest, although I like the height of this one compared to one I bought. Which is strange because they are both just straight, and the RTW one has adjustable straps, so I don't know why it seems/is lower. Maybe because it's a knit and slips a bit? I made the straps wide enough to (mostly) cover bra straps, but found it was actually fairly supportive without a bra on. The shirring though does trap sweat!

A Tale of Two Dresses

2011-08-23T08:08:00.000-07:00

Early in the summer I picked up a blue and white floral window topper, thinking it was a sheet (early June). Later, I found a blue and white floral sheet, Mainstays brand (Wal-Mart?), 60% cotton, 40% poly. I'm pretty sure it was a twin. It had a nice, crisp hand; not a wimpy polyester 70's sheet. I also found two dress patterns at Value Village in my size. One is a shift dress, Butterick 5628, and one is a sheath dress, Simplicity 7965.

I had just tried making another shift dress, McCall's 3173. During tissue fitting (my first "real" time), I was worried that it was going to be too shapeless, despite the large darts, so I went with making a top. However, I didn't quite finish it as I was disappointed in the shapeless shape, and the feel of the fabric irked me (I think I live in knit t shirts too much). Shortly after making that dreadful top (it probably isn't so dreadful, but compared to t shirts...), Elizabeth wrote a few posts about shift vs sheath on her blog, SEWN. This was so timely for me as I was struggling with trying to break free of the empire waist style. I thought a loose, flowy shift dress would be a nice, cool, summery dress I could quickly sew in a variety of fabrics and just throw on and wear easily. However, I had just bought a gorgeous stretch twill sheath dress (with empire waist, but not noticeable), and it made me feel fabulous.

Despite my now second guessing a shift dress, I went ahead with Butterick 5628. The pictures show the dress as a jumper, over a long sleeved shirt. It also says "fitted, A-line jumper". Doesn't look too fitted in the tiny envelope picture! I don't remember exactly if I did a FBA or just cut smaller shoulders (I think that's what I did). I did take an inch out of the upper bodice, the inch shown above the waist, and the inch shown in the skirt for petites. I also made it shorter. I had some issues with pinning the dress...stupidity, actually. After pinning the first piece, I realized it should have been on the fold. Re-pinned it, then realized I wanted the hem to use the sheet hem. Unpinned it, started pinning it at the hem, and realized the sheet wouldn't be wide enough to cut both pieces along the hem.
The sewing was going good, however, when I went to sew up the sides, I got a surprise...poor pattern drafting meant one piece was longer than the other!

I've never checked pieces prior to cutting! I guess I should.

I didn't want to do the facings; I never get a good finish on the edges, I don't have a good stash of plain fabrics to use (the fashion fabric would show through if used), etc. I went and bought a 1" bias binding gizmo after the (relative) success on the last two dresses with the smaller binding. The package has wrong instructions though---it said to cut the fabric in 1" strips! I cut 2" strips using up the odd shaped pieces leftover from cutting out the dress, sewed them together, and ended up with way more than I needed. What a great way to use fabric! I finished the edges, and tried it on.

Blah! It might have been "fitted", but only at the sides, and only if I wore a sweater under it.

I can understand how fashion "experts" say a shift dress is flattering...it totally hides any of the mid-section curves. Supposedly, this makes viewers look at you and think "Oh, I can't see her waist, it must be REALLY small under there!" Ya, right! LOL!!

So, I added some front and back vertical darts, and took the sides in a bit (actually, I think I did this before finishing the openings). It affects the lay of the skirt, but it's acceptable (to me). I hemmed it, and washed it, and I think it shrunk! It's way shorter than just the hemming would account for. The first time I wore it out, I used a dark blue wide ribbon as a belt, but looking at the pictures now, I don't think I'll share those! I wore it recently to a pool party and forgot the belt. I had a couple compliments, so I think the belt is out.

At least now I know, a shift dress just isn't for me. Maybe as a nightgown. Even though the alterations probably took as long as the initial sewing, I DO have a wearable dress that I really like (and I found some blue sandals at Value Village!!). Sometimes quick isn't worth the time!

Time to Catch Up

2011-08-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

A number of issues has caused a slow down to my postings, but I hope to get back on track soon, at least, when the kids go back to school!
While at my parents for Father's Day (mid June), my mom found this fabric. It was a pre-shirred piece, sold by Simpsons-Sears, is 50% cotton/50% polyester, and probably from the mid-70's. I had a very similar (commercially made) shirred dress, in the same shade of green, but plaid. I wore it when I was about 5, it's a little too short for Meg to wear as a dress by today's standards (ever look at old patterns and wonder about just how short those little girl dresses were?!). There's no way Lucy would wear green flowers, so I had to make Meg a new dress.

The fabric is about 52-56" wide along the unshirred edge. The package said you could make a dress for up to a 36" chest. Indeed, I tried to stretch it to fit me, and it wouldn't. I think that the more shirring there is, and the closer together it is, the less it will expand back out. Also, commercially shirred fabric uses a different stitch than a home sewing machine, so maybe this affects it too.
I cut off some from the bottom for straps and to shorten (I cut maybe 6-8") and blindhemmed it flat. Then I went to sew the side seams (Meg has a 28" chest, so I didn't take anything off the width). I lined up the shirred section and pinned the smooth skirt. And one side was longer than the other!

Crappy picture of the hem, showing the difference between the two sides, on my crappy looking ironing board.
I ripped back a few inches of the hem on either side, and lengthened one while shortening the other so that they'd meet at the edge. Annoying.

It is on the long side, but she grows quickly, and most of her dresses are on the short side. She really wanted a halter tie since Lucy has a halter dress, and she doesn't. I used my 1" bias tape maker, but cut the fabric on grain. Pressed it like double fold tape and top stitched it closed. So much nicer than making a tube and turning! The instructions on the tape maker are wrong though! I think it's the "Unique" brand, not Clover. It says to cut the strips 1" wide. Same as for the 1/2" tape maker. Good thing I'm far enough along in this journey that I knew better!!

This is Meg and my cousin's daughter, who is almost 3. She's adorable!

I'm glad I got the chance to sew this up for Meg, it was pretty quick and easy and looks commercially made (I guess cause most of it is). Stay tuned for more shirring escapades that weren't quite so quick and easy!

SewingPatterns . com

2011-08-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

Somehow I got on sewingpattern.com's email list. I never look at the emails since by the time you add shipping it's usually not a deal to order from the States, compared to waiting for a sale. But recently, Kwik Sew patterns were on sale and they hardly ever come on sale at the fabric store here, and I wanted some bathing suit patterns. The four patterns, with shipping, came to just over $40, so I saved some money, esp. since not going to the fabric store means I didn't buy anything "extra" LOL.

However, I just got a notice today that they have shipped my patterns. That's a week after I ordered! Is this normal for this company? I did once get a shipment notice from Knitpicks that was dated the day after I got the notice, LOL. Does this mean that they JUST got mailed today, or that today was just when they sent the notice?

Itty Bitty

2011-08-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Almost forgot to show this project from late spring! Lucy got a new camera for Christmas and had been keeping it in a sock. I kept saying I'd make a case, but after some not-so-wonderful experiences trying to make a cell phone case for Meg, I put it on hold for a little bit longer. Finally, I decided a zippered bag would work fine enough and got to work. There's lots of tutorials for lined, zippered bags/pouches out there. It's not a terribly difficult project, although I found it hard to figure out some steps due to the fabric choices/photos of the tutorial I used.

A few years ago, Rob's brother, who works in the film industry making/supplies props, brought me a BIG bag of remnants, mostly upholstery weight fabrics. That's the outside fabric, the inside fabric is satin from a Christmas mei tai that taught me slippery fabric does NOT work for straps!
I'm not sure why the top corners are angled in. It's okay, but I'd like to know what I did wrong.

The zipper is a little bright for the fabric; I didn't have it with me when picking the zipper out and totally forgot that brown would have been a nice choice too.
I do have plans to make more of these, but there's lots of things out there I want to make! I do have materials to make one for my band "stuff" (oil spray, tuner, mouth piece, pencil...).

Answers!

2011-08-01T17:16:00.000-07:00

I just got a comment on the last post about the hat and mitts in my profile picture.
I just did a quick scroll through the posts under "LK150" and "Machine Knitting" and it's not there---I might have posted it before I learned about Labels. However, it's a self-made pattern using the tuck stitch design that's in the LK150 manual. The mitts are based upon several mitt designs out there; that was in my early days of figuring out what I like in a machine knitted mitt.
I recently washed all my winter stuff, and had trouble getting the rinse water suds free. So there were many (hot-ish) rinse cycles...and this hat felted! Didn't shrink too much, but it's felted alright. Oh well, I don't wear it much.

A very similar pattern can be found in another post and there's a link to Ray's site, the designer. I haven't checked recently to see if he's selling the pattern or not. For my hat, I just made one wide rectangle to go around my head, ribbed for the band, then tucked till I got it high enough, and casted off. Fold in half and stitch the top closed (graft) and sew the side seam. Add some tassels...
Such an easy pattern since you don't need to work decreases into a stitch pattern, or transfer stitches.

Sorry I'm not much more help!

Something Knitted

2011-07-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

Apparently, on March 28, I started a pair of "Stricken" socks, by Cookie A. I needed a small portable project for working on while the kids had their various extracurricular activities. Parts of the pattern are easy, esp. once you get into the pattern, but then other portions are not so mindless. There were numerous little issues with these, but mostly due to not paying attention. I did find it annoying that the instructions for the different symbols were not on the same page as the chart/symbol key. So I'd have to flip the pages, then find my place back in the chart...and several of the moves are very similar, but some have a twist and some don't, etc. (I was doing two at a time on magic loop).

I was using a boo-boo bin yarn from Sweet Sheep that I got from the last time I went to the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitter's Fair (2008!). The yardage on the tag said 360yd, I think. But I was having some doubts as I got near the heels. I don't know if it was the cables or what, but it became clear I wasn't getting full socks from this ball. I thought some sandal socks would be fine, but indeed, they were still too short!

I am having a REALLY hard time getting the pictures to move where I want them. This "What you see is what you get" format is crap....and once it's posted, it never looks like it does in this window anyway...right down to a different font!

I thought maybe gloves/fingerless mitts might be an option, and from the front, they looked great. However, even taking out the heel, the leg is still too wide around my wrist. I loved how the leg pattern was brought down into the heel flap (although I did NOT love the change from working in the round to working back and forth and doing those cross overs!!!!!!!!!!).

I have no idea how this post is going to look. LOL. Sort of how I feel about these socks.....rip? All the way, or back to mid-calve and try to pick the pattern back up and work decreases to fit, and then try to figure thumb gusset increases into the pattern? I have pink tipless gloves already; although I really felt diva-ish with elbow length "gloves" on, and could see that they would be nice on those days I'm wearing a t-shirt in the house and need arm warmth when I go out but don't want to wear a full sweater under my coat.

Ideas?

Not a Funeral Dress

2011-07-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

Last July, when we received word my aunt was dieing, I set out to make a dress for the funeral, as I had no sad, summer clothes. I had a lightweight black woven, with a beige floral embroidery. It had been bought as remnant pieces, so I had to have a pattern I could work with, and chose Simplicity 5189 (which I posted a few posts back, in a different version). This was before I knew about needing a FBA. I made the dress based on my measurements. And hated it. It was baggy in the shoulders, my arms couldn't move, it was too long, baggy in the back....I took one picture, which didn't even turn out good (blurry, and my hair was in a towel). I put it in the closet thinking "someday....". In August, I learned about FBA, but didn't know how to alter the princess seams of an already made dress...especially the shoulder/sleeve relationship.

In June, I decided enough was enough, and I really wanted a dress with sleeves. I thought it might be faster to alter it than to start new. Not too sure about that, LOL.

I knew I needed to cut the shoulders narrower, and have a little less length in the upper chest. I played around, but was worried about how the princess seam would fit into the armhole, and if the sleeve would end up fitting right, with a higher, smaller armhole (it seems weird that the solution for a constricting armhole is to actually make it higher/shorter). This picture above makes my left shoulder (with the sleeve) look very sloping! So I cut it back even more!

Better, but I still felt the sleeve was somehow too low...do I need shoulder pads in EVERYTHING?
I snugged up all the seams from the shoulder to the hips. I wanted to keep the skirt fullness, but this resulted in a weird , giant pleat...the side front pieces folded inwards and the front center piece came to the front....

Edit to add: I also shortened the sleeves. I realized that while I don't like little cap sleeves or little flutter sleeves, I don't really like sleeves that go down my arms past my bust line (unless in a pattern, or slim fitting like a t-shirt). I feel like I look a lot wider than I am in the first picture above, because my arms blend into my bust.

I hated the neck facings. I couldn't get a 100% cotton in black, so had to get a poly-blend, I hated the edging of it, nothing was nice. Since I had just made my own bias tape for the other version, I went back to the store and got a bigger bias tape maker (it's for 1" tape, but the instructions say to cut strips 1" wide...the same as for the 1/2" maker!). Doing it around just the neck was certainly easier than having to do the armholes too!

Once I lowered the neckline, I became perplexed with how the upper chest was laying. I thought the bodice had too much length as I could pinch out horizontal darts. But I knew horizontal darts were not the answer. I could rotate them and make pleats along the neckline, but thought it looked a little slapdash. I had hoped the bias binding would help, but it didn't.

(I also hacked off a lot of length!). The neckline is held down by double-sided costume tape. Which doesn't please me either. I was just looking at the picture, thinking I could make it into a bit of a cowl neck...but how? It doesn't need anything around the back neck, just something along the front neck. What do I do to avoid this next time? How do I make the upper bodice narrower but get the armholes in the right place compared to the shoulder? And does this have something to do with how when I tried the FBA, the armhole ended up being a really weird shape? Argh. Just when I think I'm "getting it", something throws a wrench into it.

I did just pick up two plain dress patterns from Value Village...a sheath dress and a simple dress with more of a full skirt. I think I'll be able to do a basic FBA on them and get a good, dependable pattern. Of course, neither has sleeves!

Bathing Beauty

2011-07-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

Back in early May, I decided to copy my bathing suit that was falling apart. I figured, it had only a couple pieces, how hard could it be? I found on line tutorials, blogs by people who sewed bathing suits, and got some supplies/material. I dissected my suit (uh, there were more than "a few" pieces) and promptly got stage fright.

A little while later, I was at Value Village and took a look at the sewing patterns. And wouldn't you know, there's Simplicity 8553, from 1978, in Meg's size! I thought that might be a good way to get going. We picked out the fabric together and then I had a panic attack at home when I realized the fabric didn't stretch as much as the guide on the pattern. And the pattern called for 2 way stretch fabric, but isn't swimsuit fabric 4 way stretch? Added to that, Meg was one size in the chest, and a much bigger size in the waist. Bigger than any of the sizes on the pattern! And then, there was the issue of the length. Just how much should it stretch to be the right length? She's only 5, and is tall, but probably not as tall as the size 8/10 that I was using.

I carefully followed all the steps, in the order given (although I didn't really pay attention to the lay out of the pieces, so I've ended up with a LOT of the bright pink left; it called for .8m but since I laid it out differently, I used maybe .4m). If I was doing it again, I would change when I did the button holes for the ties to come through to after sewing the side seams and putting on the binding, to ensure it lines up better. Or, make it like my suit and have the ties come through the binding.

There is no elastic used in the pattern. I thought that was great for a young girl who often complains of things too tight. However, her hips are not as big as the pattern, so I added a small amount of elastic in the binding at the outer thighs.

I have only two complaints...it seems a bit long, esp. the back. The upper back is I think too tight, and it rolls downward, hiding the binding....and then it gets all droopy bum. The neck tie at the front is stitched on the inside where the binding joins the suit, and that means the top edge of the binding rolls forward. And the front droops too, I think pulled down at the sides by the back rolling down.

She loves it though and we've already bought fabric for another suit. Or two. However, there really wasn't a single skill I learned while making this suit that I then used to make my own suit. LOL.

Name That Tune....

2011-06-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

Back when I was a kid, I watched "Name That Tune" game show quite a bit (I don't remember that part of the show, mainly the "I can name that tune in 5 notes" bit. But there are other links there too....). I love listening to music, all sorts, and had a good aural memory...until I had kids, LOL.

Today's blog post is a sewing version. LOL. I was at my parents' on the weekend, and was hoping they had some specialty presser feet I could borrow. We found this little case in the cabinet. It has a silver gizmo on the left side, and the center indent is empty. It says Sears Kenmore on the clear lid.

It doesn't have the usual notch on the side to screw it on, nor is it possible to snap it on (this is, assuming it is a presser foot!).

It's shaped like a pie server, although the back is higher, and one side curves up.

There is a hole in the top of the shaft, and a tiny screw on one side.

Any suggestions? I'm totally baffled. I've googled Kenmore presser feet, and it doesn't show up. I've googled specialty parts, accessories, etc. This makes me even more fascinated and determined to figure it out!

Finished!

2011-06-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

So, I finally finished my "muslin" of Simplicity 5189. I made my first version last summer when I had to go to a funeral, but it turned out too big...even though I had made the right sized based on chest measurements. It wasn't until the next month when I was trying to make a sundress did I learn about a "full bust adjustment" and why my sewing attempts were failing (patterns are based on an average frame, with a B cup bust, so because I was a D cup, to get it to fit my bust, the rest of the body was too big). I never showed a picture of it, as the only picture was blurry, over exposed, and my hair was in a towel, LOL.

I decided to give it another try, since I had found a tutorial on how to do a FBA on princess seams. Well, as I posted a little while ago, it wasn't as easy as the tutorial showed. I started by taking an inch out of the upper bodice, but I still ended up taking another inch out! The bust curves were too sharp, there was too much material in the center panel over the upper chest. I took the sides in quite a bit too.

The weather turned warm finally, so I ditched the plan to add the sleeves...I figured with the adjustments I was making, the sleeves would never fit right.

I had to get Rob to mark the bottom to hem it, as all the panels ended up a different length.

I decided I'd try making my own bias binding. Well, that was....fun. This is a light, gauzy, woven material that I don't think is 100% cotton going by the sound the fabric made when I pressed too much with a hot iron. I had issues making the tape...the rotary cutter made the edges open up, not fray exactly, but splay. When I seamed the first piece, it didn't line up right so I had to figure out that it's the sewing line you have to match up. The folded tape is really narrow...my gadget was for 1/2" tape, so it was really fiddly to sew it on. I wasn't happy with the first sewing on job, and I noticed I needed to shorten the upper bodice more on one side, so I took the trim off the arms (hadn't done the neck), and re-did it, much better. I had to cut a new neckline. Trimming it went better than the armholes. There still seems to be too much width in the upper chest, but I don't know how to fix that.

Oops, the continuous mode on self-timer didn't give me enough time to "suck it in" LOL.

It is a nice, light dress, even with a slip on it was still comfy. I do have to watch what bra I wear, some show under the arms.

Edit to add: I forgot to mention that I sewed a little strip of elastic across the back waist, to pull it in a little but still let me get it over my head without a zipper. It's a nice little touch that I might do on other items; I like it better than sewing long ties into the side seams (too maternity dress-ish).

I had planned to use this as a muslin, but I made so many adjustments, I don't think I could transpose those changes onto the paper pattern, and now that it's summer, the fabric I was planning on isn't appropriate. Next time, if there is, I will try using smaller shoulders as the adjustment...

Little Gifts

2011-06-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

My to-do list is not getting shorter! These items were on my longer to-do list, planning to do them later in the summer. They're for my "grandma" as a thank you for letting the kids ride her horse briefly last summer. I figured I'd make them before we go out there again. Well, she's dropping by this afternoon to give Hugh his birthday gift, so I got to it!

This is another neck cooler. After our afternoon there last summer, I looked around for some horsey fabric, but couldn't find any (not even through Freecycle). A month or so later I found some nice quality horse print at Value Village! It's a bit larger print than I would have liked, but oh well. I wanted it a little wider in the tails, and my fabric was about 5" longer than I normally use, but that's okay. I kept the length for the crystals the same, and centered the width that I normally use and sewed a tunnel (I normally cut it 4" wide, this time it was ...uh...there's just shy of 3/8" on each side...so that's 3/4" wider times 2, so it's a total of 5 1/2" wide?).

Next, I wanted to make a snack bag. I wanted to use PUL to line it, but worry about the food-safeness of it (some sites say it's NOT food safe, some say it's not TESTED one way or the other), so I got some gold taffeta like fabric. I sewed the three pieces together, turned right side out, tucked the open ends in and topstitched closed. I wish I had pressed the seams first. Then I followed the directions here.

However, the tutorial doesn't mention anything about using one way prints! LOL! The seams inside were a little bulky, but at least it's not the raw edges like if I had just held the pieces together. But if there's a better way to make it double sided, let me know!

This (above) shows the backside, which is rightside up (it's one long piece) and the gold taffeta flap open.

I decided to make another one, without the lining, but this time I cut the front piece separate, and stitched it at the bottom to the back. Then, as I was sewing the sides, I realized I could have just stitched a U shape around the three sides.

I folded the inside edge over and stitched it down, but for the flap, I fringed it a little and left it for that rustic look.

I've got lots more fabric pulled out to make more!

My Wish Came True!

2011-06-09T10:52:00.000-07:00

I've had opportunities this week to visit Value Village, Bibles for Missions, and Salvation Army thrift shops this week. On Monday, it was VV. I didn't find any fabric, or patterns, or anything to refashion, but I did get a Cleo sheath dress in a hot pink bamboo print. It's not a Cleo Petites, but I think Cleo is geared to an older crowd, so it still fit. I wore it that evening for Hugh's birthday party, and it was great; I wish I had gotten a picture. Not a style I would normally try; it had princess seaming in the bust, but then a high waist seam, and was 98% cotton/2% spandex, a nice, solid fabric and well built too.

On Tuesday, Meg was upset that Lucy had gotten a purse at VV, and I had just seen a neat re-fashion of a men's polo shirt, so her and I headed off to Bibles for Missions thrift shop. It's more like the Salvation Army, but I couldn't find a single men's polo shirt that was big enough! I did get some "fabric". The first item, I thought it was a sheet, in a crisp cotton, but it turned out to be a 20ft long valance!

I like the print though. I think I can piece together a dress, although it will be on the shorter side. I also got a twin sheet, 100% cotton, with a nice pinks floral pattern...not the 70s floral, but a modern graphic print. The only issue is that the side pieces of the fitted sheet are seamed on, not just notched at the corners, so this limits the usable amount. Might end up being used for a child's dress or top.

While at this shop, I did find this plus size Maxi dress! It's a crinkle cotton gauze, and definitely too big AND too long--you can't see it, but it pools on the ground a little!

The extra neat thing is that it's got a wrap skirt! So there's a LOT of fabric to work with. The back waist seam is angled though, I guess that's to go over an ample booty. And there is a center back seam, but that's okay, they don't show much and I'll just work with it.

I'm thinking of sizing it down, taking off the wrap, and keeping it sheath like. Shortening the straps to fit me will mean the waist seam will move up, creating more of an empire waist. It'd also be neat to have a real waist seam, and a gathered skirt. Could I use the overlay to make a new bodice, and have the resulting skirt be gathered enough? I wonder if there is enough length to cut it short and either use that extra for the bodice and then the remaining skirts gets gathered, or maybe make a midriff band like the very first dress I made...

There's no size tag, but it's a little too big, LOL.

Last night Lucy and I went to the Salvation Army, to search for a plus size polo shirt, and found a few things. This dress is a little too big, mainly in the upper bodice...to get my bust to fit in the proper location, I have to pull the shoulders up quite a bit. So, I'll shorten that, maybe keep the sleeves, and shorten it.

The lower seams are split, so I'll lose that, and I'll lose a lot of volume, but since it's princess seamed, how can I keep that volume? Make a waist seam anyway?

However, the back has a bit of detail that I want to keep.....suggestions?

At the Bibles for Missions shop I did find one polo shirt that I got, but it wasn't terribly big on me. I had some ideas of what to do with it, but it would be fairly involved for a refashion. So I had Rob try it on, and of course, it fit him fine.
I did find one at Salvation Army that I thought I could play with. I don't like it as much as the one I lost to Rob, but it'll still work.

Seems a little shorter than I thought though, I'll have to remember not to raise my arms!

I also found this Liz Claiborne knit sheath dress. It is a heavy weight knit, so perhaps not a summer dress, but I was thinking maybe a nightgown. I'll need to stitch down the button placket though, the edge of it is flipping upwards. Again, the upper bodice needs some shortening. The dress is a little snugger than I'd like, but man, it did make my booty look lovely!

I'm looking forward to doing some refashioning over the summer, I'm stocking up now since it's a little harder to shop with the kids over the summer. One idea I want to explore is some shirring....I'm seeing it a lot on strapless maxi dresses right now. These dresses are so long that I could probably cut enough off the bottom to make a bra-friendly bodice and move the shirring down to my midriff. But do I want it there? I do have one dress, in a heavy cotton knit, with a shirred bust, but it also has shoulder straps; most of the ones I've seen in the cheap store are a light woven cotton. Yeah or nay?

Grooooowwwwwwwwwlllllll

2011-06-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else having trouble posting on Blogger blogs? Or is it just me? I write my comment, click "Google Account" and it sends me to the Google sign in page, I do, then it sends me back to the comment page, but as "Anonymous" and when I try to post it goes back to Google Accounts sign in page...repeat....

If you're having trouble commenting on here, please email me at tracykm at yahoo dot com.

A few weeks ago I had plans to go to Value Village after a doctor's appointment as they're close by. Then I saw that it was 50% off day....I went before on a 50% off day and it was nuts. But I decided to try again as I had just seen some fabric there that I had passed over but I couldn't stop thinking about. It was gone though :( I did find some jersey sheets that I thought I could use to make summer dresses, muslins, and/or a baby wrap sling for Lucy's teacher. I didn't find much else that I thought would work for me as is, or to refashion. I did grab one dress that caught my eye.

I didn't get a before picture, but it was long! I didn't think the bodice would fit me (it was a size Large), but thought the skirt was long enough that I could take the bodice off and get a short dress just from the skirt. I tried it on at home, and surprise, it DID fit! So then I thought I'd take off the woven strips on the bodice, and use them to make wider shoulder straps, although I don't seem to need a bra. However, when I held them out of the way, the bodice was really boring looking.

I needed to shorten the dress by about 7 1/2". I know "maxi" dresses are still in (I can't wait for them to be "out" so they'll appear in the thrift shops!), but it's a summer dress, and I like my legs! I marked the new length, but saw that the skirt was several inches wider at the bottom. I debated how I could shorten it from the top of the skirt....there's a band on the front, but no "waist" seam on the back. I thought I could cut the back and make it seamed, but worried I'd mess up the seam allowances or something. In the end, I do wish I had tried, so I could preserve the swishiness of the skirt. But it's still okay!

I took the 7 1/2" off the bottom and slip it in half, and hemmed the half from the top. I tried a twin needle to see if it'd match the original. The needle wasn't a stretch needle so it didn't work. I gathered the long strip, pinned it on, sewed it down, and presto! A great, new summer dress! The ruffle sweetens up the sultry animal print, and a black stole gives a little coverage. Perfect for a day trip to Toronto, or for date night!

More On Illusions

2011-06-02T05:30:00.000-07:00

How nice to get comments again! :) I know people are reading, but it's just nice to get feedback.

Z suggested re-working the maple leaf chart. I could probably manage to make it symmetrical, but to be honest, I still can't really figure out how it all works! LOL.

Carla mentioned she wants to try doing illusion knitting on the USM (Bond machine). The ever-wonderful Heidi has instructions on her website. I haven't really read it, to be honest. But while I was knitting the dishcloth, I'd do the knit side row and think "This wouldn't be too bad on the machine" and then I'd do the wrong side row...and think about converting all those stitches...The dishcloth took me one day (mmm...maybe actually two) to knit by hand. Not a big time investment, and I don't think the machine would be faster for something that small. Now, for a scarf or wall hanging....I'd think about it some more. There are some pretty cool illusion designs out there!

As it stands today, I think I'll give the dishcloth to my inlaws' guest and explain it's the prototype, LOL. I will look at the chart some more and see if I can alter it to make a better one for my sister in law, who is the type of person who always wants the best....if not....then I'll whip up a bunch of Marg Coe's circular dishcloths, and I can use the two day drive to graft them all and sew in ends, LOL!

Update to List

2011-05-31T06:34:00.000-07:00

true up pattern and make swimsuit
finishing sewing muslin
-perfect fit
sew green dress based on muslin above
copy pink/black/white knit dress and sew copy
make at least one other knit dress, preferably two
make woven dress
make tops
make shrug (black?)
make cardigan with penguin for Nya
make Indianapolis Super Bowl scarf

Update: Forgot to put Lucy's camera case and hem animal print dress on the list.
I'm almost done the muslin. I've decided to not make the green dress at this time...I think the fabric would be too heavy for summer, and I feel a little frumpy in the princess seamed muslin. Although the vertical seaming is supposed to add height, what I see is a big blob, LOL. With no horizontal definition, you can't tell that I have (a bit of) a waist. Sure, it's loose and flowy, and probably nice for summer (but so sheer it needs a full slip), but I'd rather have the horizontal seam of an empire waist dress. I've also been experimenting with tucking in my shirts. OMG. It's been like, 15 years since I've tucked in a shirt!
Right now, I'm hemming the animal print sundress. Cause summer came!

Eh?

2011-05-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

Back in September 1995, I somehow convinced Rob to go on a road trip to the States. We'd been dating only a few months, but had gone on weekend camping trips, so, hey, what's a 10 day trip to another country? LOL. I had hoped to get to Tennessee, but we made it only as far south as Kentucky, which we loved. We spent a few days at Mammoth Caves National Park; it was just after Labour Day and a great time to visit. One day we were looking at a large info board and struck up a conversation with another tourist. At one point, he stopped, and asked "So, what part of Canada are you from?". I laughed, Rob was confused. The "eh?s" gave him away.

Right now, Rob's parents have a house guest from England. She's come every year since 2006, and stays for a month. I thought it might be nice to send a little bit of Canada back with her.

We're going to Indianapolis this summer to spend a week with Rob's sister. I thought it might be nice to bring her a little bit of Canada too.

I've never done illusion knitting, but when I saw this maple leaf chart posted on Ravelry, I thought that would be a cool way to try. Finding a bright red dishcloth cotton was harder than knitting it! The stores around here had only a faded red.

I'm not 100% pleased with it :( The chart is not symmetrical, and I don't know if that was intentional. It's a little harder to see the leaf than I thought it would be, which is sort of cool though.

I don't know if I should try to alter the chart or just leave it as is. Your thoughts?

Cutie Pie!

2011-05-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

A while ago, I found through another blog (Angry Chicken?), a link to a EDIT: tutorial on making sock monkeys using dollar store novelty socks. I knew I had to do that, esp. since two of my niece's like sock monkeys. I bought a pair of Valentine Socks, but one of the girls wore them and got them dirty before I got around to sewing. So I went off to Dollarama to get more socks. Poor selection! And, the two socks were not quite the same size!

It was fairly easy to follow the tutorial, although I changed the ears a little. I also used the purple heel that came from the second pair of socks in the set...I thought the black wasn't contrasty enough. The buttons are from my stash. Slim pickings for those!

I sent this off to Nya, Rob's sister's daughter, for her birthday. I also made her a neck cooler, like the ones I made last summer. I had to piece the fabric a bit, the center, with the beads, is two layers, I thought the fabric was a little thin. It's left over from a girls' dress last summer.

I also included some Canada temporary tattoos, and a Canadian 5 dollar bill (she's American, and turning 5), all jammed into a decorative box from Dollarama, and cushioned with all the metallic foil strips that fell out of the pom poms I bought for Meg from Dollarama.
This wasn't on the list I just made since I actually did this last weekend. Today, I sewed a little camera bag for Lucy, which I had forgotten to put on that list. So, there's nothing to cross off yet!

Plans

2011-05-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

I've got so many plans/projects going on that I think I need to make a concrete list, make it public, LOL.
In 6 weeks we head out to Indianapolis to spend a week or so with Rob's sister and her family. Many of the things I really want/need to get done by then!

true up pattern and make swimsuit
finishing sewing muslin
-perfect fit
sew green dress based on muslin above
copy pink/black/white knit dress and sew copy
make at least one other knit dress, preferably two
make woven dress
make tops
make shrug (black?)
make cardigan with penguin for Nya
make Indianapolis Super Bowl scarf

Is that it? Oh my. Since it seems to take me at least two weeks to sew a dress....yikes. I'm hoping once I get the muslin done, the actually dress will be quick. And since I'm copying my knit dress (and enlarging), hopefully that goes quick. The shrug should be fast as I'll do it on the machine, same with the cardigan, although I don't know what pattern/knit radar I'll be using.
This weekend is busy. Next weekend is busy. Busy weeks. So, I might not blog a whole lot for now :)

Why Is It So Hard?!

2011-05-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

First off, some proof I do still hand knit! Lucy took this picture on Tuesday night during Meg's skating. If you read my other blog, you'll have read how I got really distracted during Meg's swimming class and I didn't get much knit then, LOL.

Next up, more sewing. I want some dresses with sleeves. I don't have many patterns, I bought a pattern at Value Village for a dress or top with or without sleeves. I decided to try tissue fitting, but I decided while doing that that the pattern didn't have enough shape for me to make a dress.

There was one dress I made last summer and never showed you. I made it before I learned about "full bust adjustment", so I had made it for my chest size. Well, it fit like a sack everywhere else. The only picture I took was blurry, dark, and my hair was in a towel. So you never got to see it, LOL. I decided I would give it another try, since I found a couple blogs with awesome instructions on how to do a FBA on a princess seam pattern. It'd be no sweat, right?

Why are things always so hard for me?

I started out by folding out an inch above the armhole and an inch just above the waist. This made the waist a little high, but that's okay. I then followed the steps and tried to move the pieces apart the two inches I needed. Things went REALLY wonky (look at that armhole, so I backed off to 1 1/2" (it's not a closely fitting dress). I finished up the steps, which was not as easy as the tutorial made it seam. The bust point is not marked on my pattern, and it seemed to be in the middle front piece while the tutorial showed it being in the side front piece. The tutorial didn't show the notches, so I wasn't sure where to put all the slashes. The amount I had to lengthen the middle section seemed humongous compared to the tutorial, and that threw off the pattern line.

Today, I decided to retrace the side seams. I had graded from an 18 to a 22, partly cause I want some swishiness, and because I was worried since I needed the 18 for the shoulders but the 18 waist (body measurement) is way too small. I realized last night that the extra 3" I added in the bust would be going all the way down the length of the dress, and hence, over my belly (while it wouldn't be added over the back or bum, where I don't really need it!).

However, when I laid the pattern piece back on, I saw how weird the armhole had changed, despite the tutorial saying the armhole wouldn't change. So now I need to go back and do something about that. I decided that while doing all these adjustments I would do a muslin, despite hoping that the dress that I was making was going to be a (very) wearable muslin. It might just be a top though. I found out I have a shortage of woven tops in my wardrobe! This is why I didn't know I have very big problem with "forward shoulders", the other dress I was going to make, which turned into a top, is woven and the shoulder seams were strange.....

Quick Dress

2011-05-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

A while ago I thought I might try sewing underwear. FabricLand had a bin with stretch knit remnants and I picked a couple pieces, but once I got home I found they were rather narrow. And this one, felt a little thick, but it probably would have been fine. However, Meg found it a couple weeks ago and wanted me to make a wedding gown, or at least, a train (thanks Kate & Will!).

After the success of my last knit dress, I figured a simple dress for Meg would be nice. At first, I had this hilarious idea of folding it in half, cutting out a neckhole and armholes, and stitching up the sides. LOL. But I wanted the bottom more gathered. I took a knit tank top pattern for kids that I already had, and traced a shortened version for the top. I actually went a little large cause I didn't want it tight, but I didn't want it too loose. And it's a smidge loose, but actually, it's not gaping and being indecent though.

Then for the skirt, I wanted it gathered. But when I picked up the fabric, I discovered that it's a 2-way stretch (up/down and side/side). So, I could do the skirt in any direction, but I was worried about it being too short, although the fabric was almost square, so it didn't really matter. I did the gathering stitch across the top of the bottom piece (which was about 4" bigger), and then pinned it to the bodice and gathered it to fit. But as I sewed, the gathering seemed to disappear! I don't know if that's because of the stretch, or what, but it lacks the gathered look I wanted.

About a week after creating this, I was at Value Village and found a Simplicity pattern, in the right sizes, for this style of jumper dress, in wovens. Of course.

Yes, I Still Hand Knit

2011-05-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

I was wondering today, have I showed you any handknitting lately? There was the dropped stitch in the black socks, but that's not new knitting. I showed new yarn and needles. I showed that I finally sewed buttons on a baby sweater and made a little hat for it. I showed that I finished off some other baby items that were just needing minor work. But it's been two months since I showed the "Fumbling Fleegle Socks" (and I think I finished them in February actually). Wow. What have I been doing?!

Before finishing all the baby stuff in February, I was having post-Christmas letdown, I think. I had finished all the 'interesting' stuff, and all that was left was some uninteresting stuff to finish--like the baby items. There were MANY projects I wanted to knit, but trying to find the right yarn for the right pattern was feeling overwhelming. I was keeping busy with the new knitting machine, and then a big project on the LK150, but I knew I had to have handknitting too! I started a pair of Cookie A. socks (Stricken Socks) but quickly realized I need the chart with me for awhile until I got into the rhythm. Then it became portable, but fairly soon an even more complicated section started, relegating it to the couch project again.

I also started a baby sweater or dress. I have a LOT of vintage patterns that all seem to take fingering/baby yarn (a few take DK). I always think that maybe I'll knit up some, perhaps using DK or worsted, so they're a little bigger. The yarn I wanted to use this time is a light worsted (what I used for the machine knit baby cocoon), and although I didn't want newborn size, it seemed every pattern I liked was already for a bigger size, which meant, when knit in worsted, would be quite large. I finally picked one but after a few repeats of the pattern, I still was not getting into it, and I couldn't even tell if I had been knitting it right! Ripped it back to the band, and picked an easy pattern from a stitch dictionary. It's my "purse" project right now, although the ball of yarn and the size of the sweater does make it bulky, LOL.

And lastly, my other current project is Omelet, from the lasted knittty.com. It was a total impulse cast on, although I had been wanting to knit a shawl for awhile. I decided to use a cone of mossy green yarn, quite fine. I had previously wound (is the past tense of "wind" ("why-nd", not "win-d") wound...the same as "woo-nd, or injury? English is so weird sometimes!) off a ball, so I didn't have to knit directly from the cone, although I was looking forward to having only 4 ends to weave in. However....twice now (still using the small ball), I've found the yarn broken :( It's not a soft, squishy yarn (although I think it will wash up a bit better than it is now). I felt that this pattern, due to the small motif, needed a solid colour yarn, and my choices were fairly limited--some off white, some black, grey, and some other coned yarns. However, I sort of wish I had chosen a thicker yarn as I think this is going to take forever! Luckily, although it's not a fuzzy, squishy, warm, wool, the colour seems more autunmy than summery, LOL. I still want another summer shawl, so I might do it on a machine, LOL. The shawl started as a couch project, but now that it's grown, I can do the right side rows on the couch, and then take it with me and do the purl row while Meg has her swimming lesson/skating lesson, etc.

I'd still like some brainless sock knitting, however, I always feel that brainless socks can be so easilly knit on the machine that there's no point doing them by hand, LOL. I have more of the Kroy Stretch, and I'm not sure how the machine would handle it, so maybe I should cast on for another pair of socks with that. I really like the first pair I did. Any other ideas?

Good Things Come in Threes

2011-05-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

Back in February, I was worried I wasn't going to have any projects to show you, but I'm actually behind in posting new projects! I decided, in a lull while working on a big project on the LK150, to do some pinwheel blankets for the donation/gift box. I had gotten 4 balls of Bernat Co-ordinates in yellow, white, tealish blue and pink, from the Salvation Army (plus I had a white ball in the stash). I would make the blankets on the Singer 155 as the LK150 was sort of in use (and on the backside of the table, a little cozy).

The first one I did was this tealish blue and white. I used 50st, hold 2st per row, 10 wedges, T6 (I think).

I felt this blanket was a little small for my liking, although I'm sure it's fine for a newborn/infant.

The next blanket was a challenge. I picked up this interesting yarn at the Spinrite Factory Outlet tent sale one summer, probably no later than 2006. It's a chenille which changes shade and texture, from a dry, thick pale pink, to a shiny, thinner, almost white. I used T10, but it wasn't quite loose enough for the thicker sections. I was really concerned about having enough yarn as I had tried to make a square, mitered blanket a few years ago, but ran short. I got the blanket finished with a small amount left. However, this blanket had a terrible problem...it wasn't laying flat. I don't mean at the edges...I mean, in the middle!

It looked like a volcano! I gave it lots of steam, and it started to behave. I knew I didn't have enough yarn for a worm trim, so I decided to crochet around it, ending whenever I run out of yarn. Well, on the first try, I did two rounds but made it a few inches shy of joining the third round. It looked dumb. I ripped back, hoping to space the sts so that I'd make it on the next try. But I lost the crochet hook. I had to use a smaller one, so I ripped back even further, and this time I JUST made it to the finish line.

I took a bit of a break after the two as I wanted to make the next ones with the Bernat Co-Ordinates a bit bigger and had to figure that out. Turns out, you just add more sts, keeping to the 2st taken out of hold each time, and 10 wedges. Adding more sts automatically means more rows.

The third is yellow and white, and I think I used 60sts and T6, which is a bit loose. I like the size of it though. I finished off one ball of the white Co-ordinates, but there's still quite a bit of the 3 colours left. I did weigh it, but I didn't write it down, LOL. I'll probably make little sweaters to go along with these blankets. I predict I'll make more....they take about one hour for the blanket, and then there's the edging/sewing up!

Ahhh, Man!!

2011-05-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by the revelation that I could take a knit contour/radar pattern and turn it into a sewing pattern. I wanted to make a simple pullover. For awhile, I've thought of using the red fleece sweater that I based the green striped one on, as a pattern to sew another simple top, but altered to fit me a bit better. So, I'm not sure if I'm going to make a sweater based on the red top, or based on the knit contour pattern that's based on the red top, LOL!
I was at Fabricland, picking up a "couple small things" (thread, zipper...) and of course I looked at the clearance bin. There was some perfect knit fabric pieces. I wasn't sure how much I'd need, but at 1.3m and 1.5m, I thought I should be able to do something. I've also thought maybe a wintery nightgown. It'd be more comfortable than flannel, and perhaps not so granny-ish.

Meg took all the bands off the pieces of fabric that I bought. I was feeling chilled, so I shook out one of the knit pieces to wrap around me. I was stunned to see two patches where there wasn't any dye! (The picture shows one spot). The label didn't say it was flawed! I don't know if I'll be able to layout a sweater and avoid the two patches. Maybe a pattern with more pieces that could be jigsawed around the patches. Bummer. I'll probably end up with a nightgown after all (and this was the bigger of the two pieces!).

Seeing Things From a Different Angle

2011-04-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

The Knit Radar/Contour is a nifty device; I've talked about it before. You have a paper pattern, either half width or full width, and it's drawn to half the scale of the finished item. You do your swatch and measure it, and put a ruler with your stitch gauge in a slot at the bottom of your pattern. You turn a dial to your row gauge. As the carriage trips the row gauge lever, the pattern moves up an appropriate amount. The stitch ruler tells you how many stitches to have, where the pattern line intersects the ruler is the row you're working on. You can draw a pattern using your own measurements, you can draw one using schematics from a handknitting pattern, and you can even take a sewing pattern (for knits), and reduce it by 50% and use it. It's even been suggested to me that if you have a handknitting pattern with no schematic, you can use blank paper, and no yarn, and "knit" your item, but mark on the paper every time you dec/inc/etc. Then connect the lines and you have a new pattern.

Recently, I encountered something else. I have some yarn I want to use to make a springy, drapey, cardigan. I have a pattern for the standard gauge (and even the recommended yarn, but I don't want to use it!), and it has schematics. However, the yarn doesn't work on either of my machines with Knit Radar! If I were handknitting, I'd just start and then work out the pattern (dec. for shaping) as I go. But that's not easy on the machine. I was wondering if I could make the KR 7 on my bulky (which comes off), work for the LK150 as I didn't want to work out all the pattern calculations for a new gauge, and then write out the pattern.

A Ravelry member said to:

A) Work a Gauge Swatch on your LK150, block it and then measure the rows and stitches.

B) On the KR7, set the row setting dial, then select and insert the appropriate stitch ruler. Insert your 1/2 Scale Garment pattern, either pre-printed or one you have drawn yourself.

C) With pen and paper or laptop/iPad handy to take notes, and without any yarn in the bulky carriage, move this machines carriage back and forth to trip the row advance lever. You’re not knitting on this model, just using it’s carriage to advance the lever, and you can really fly through a pattern this way. Write down the pattern instructions; IE How many stitches to Cast On; How many rows to first decrease/increase, write down how many stitches to bind off for armhole shaping, rows to shoulder, etc.

What this method allows you to do is to quickly work through and write down the pattern instructions for the front, back and sleeves. Then you use this information on your LK150 and knit the sweater, when time allows. The front one evening, back the next, both sleeves a couple of nights later, and then onto blocking and finishing.

This process allows you to do a dry run in a sense, to think your way through and consider things like closures, IE button and buttonhole placement, or facings for zippers, how you might want to work the shoulder finishing, attach and work a neckband or modify a pattern to incorporate the shaping required for a shawl collar. This way you don’t have to unknit any mistakes that come from surprises or construction methods that you did not consider until the knitting was underway.

Isn't that clever?! "Ghost Knitting" is what came to mind. Using the Knit Radar instead of a calculator. On one hand, the thought of taking the time to knit WITHOUT yarn...LOL...but I'd really like to use this yarn, and on the LK150 (I know you can get a proper KR for it, but that's money!). I thought once I had the bulky and the standard gauge, I'd have all yarns covered with one or the other, and this yarn should have a gauge of 26st/4" which is doable on the standard gauge. I think however, the fiber mix, or the structure of the yarn, just didn't work on the standard. I do have some other little things to take care of first, but I'll keep you posted on how it works out!

Edit: I totally forgot the other part to this! LOL. I recently saw a nice, sewn, hoodie on a blog. I was lamenting that I don't have any sewing patterns for things like that. Then I realized that I could take the KR pattern that I've altered to fit me (perhaps not as shaped as the SWS sweater I just showed), and use that to make a sewing pattern! After all, it's just a flat representation of fabric!

Time Travel Would Have Been Useful

2011-04-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

This is weird, but my typing screen is grey, and I can't see my cursor, and when I type, the type is showing up in a white strip. I'm not sure I like the changes to blogging....I did this cause the "solution" for getting a space between paragraphs didn't work...

I haven't blogged this week (now the white strip is gone, but the background is still grey and there's no visible cursor) cause last Wed. I got a notice that we're at 75% of our internet usage for our new billing plan....and not at 75% of the month! Then Lucy was home sick on Thursday, then it was a 4 day weekend for EVERYONE in the family. I'm trying to cut down on blog surfing, etc. However, today I looked at my emails, one was from Patternreview.com and they had a contest and the winner was shown in a dress that I thought I had in my pattern collection. So I went off to her blog and fell in love. Yup. A sewing crush. Sigh. You know how on some blogs, they have at the bottom of posts "Other pages you might like" suggestions? Well, one of the suggestions looked a lot like my "Empire Strikes Back" dress I worked (click on the "Sewing" label at the right and then scroll down,down,down to see the three posts) on last August. I read through it and it was like re-living everything I did! It was a different pattern, but extremely similar (Simplicity and New Look are the same after all). I searched and googled so much last summer and if only she had made her dress LAST year instead of this year! I feel very validated now, knowing that what I was doing was more or less the way to do it! I also feel like it might be okay to have to grade a waist up 5" so that I can use the patterns I do have that are not quite big enough. I just might give that dress another go now!

I've been really good about not buying yarn this year. Earlier in the year I did find a good score at the Salvation Army, and I bought that Chromos yarn from Knitpicks.com but I've been really good. Then I took Meg to Michaels for some craft stuff, and they had some Patons Classic Wool on clearance, so I bought 6 balls. I know it'll get used for felting, so I like adding to my CW stash when they clear out colours. Then, Meg and I dropped into the yarn store in Oshawa, cause I needed some wool wash. She had the bright red "kitchen" cotton I need for a special gift project. And she had a ball of James Brett Marble in boyish colours in the sale bin, so I got it, and one more (full price) ball of a different dye lot just to be safe. And then I turned to my left and saw the Patons Lace, which I did pass up, for the more expensive but lovelier, Regia Lace, in black/charcoal/grey. Ooops! Still, I am using up yarn at a good rate this year, as I'll show in another post!

Catch Up

2011-04-19T10:34:00.000-07:00

Okay. I was having trouble with my other blog, and not being able to get blank lines between paragraphs. I did what it said in the help section, but that didn't seem to work. So I changed something, and now the whole editing is weird. I know I've complained about being able to load only 5 pictures at a time, but what I normally did was get typing while the pictures were loading. Can't do that now. And you don't choose at that time the picture alignment, and now I'm not sure how to get them in the center but the text to go to both edges....it's really weird typing! Anyone out there can help me?

So, I made these socks just over a year ago, and when I put them on them on the other day, I thought something at the toe looked odd. I looked closer, and it appears I missed a stitch when I grafted the toe!

I turned 40 in January, and like every other year, my "grandma" sent me a cheque. I usually get myself something knitting related, like a magazine subscription. This year, since I was turning 40, I wanted something a little more indulgent, significant, noteworthy. I had seen the Namaste circular needle holder at www.knitpicks.com and thought about that, but it won't hold ALL my needles. Then I saw this little box. It's actually "eggplant". I had been using a chocolate bar tin, but the hinge broke so the lid often got jammed down and then it got stuck and Rob had to pry it open. So that sealed it, LOL, and I had to order the Namaste notions box.

I thought it looked longer in the catalogue, and now I need to find a shorter "emergency" crochet hook. There is a divider inside, which is great, and the shell is magnetized inside...however, I'm finding that much of my stuff isn't sticking.

It's a nice little box, not embarrassing to take out of my bag in public, LOL. I started with a little tiny plastic box years ago, so it's nice to upgrade. And since I was ordering, I had to make it worth my while, and treated myself to some new Chroma fingering yarn. I wish there was a bit more yardage though. It's marketed as a sock yarn (don't think I'll use it as such, because of the single ply nature), so 396yd is plenty for that use though.

And my main present from Knitpicks. New needles! I've been frustrated with the large number of circular needles I have (over 60), but so many of them I don't like, or are too short, too stiff, etc. A while ago when I started stocking up on 16" circulars, but got annoyed at still needing dpn when I'd get to the tip of the hat or mitt. Then I learned about Magic Loop and suddenly I needed long, flexible needles. I often bought needles at thrift shops, but I couldn't find smaller needles (under 4mm) in the local stores, without having to buy the real expensive needles. I created a spreadsheet of all my needles, including their size, length, and attributes. I asked in my online knitting group which of the Knitpicks Options tips they liked (I could afford the nickle or the acrylic only). But then I wanted to start some socks, and I didn't have needles long enough to do two at once, magic loop. Even doing one sock magic loop was tough, as the tips were way too long. I decided to get the individual needles in the smallest sizes, with a 100cm cable. I'll wait to get the Options set the next time it comes on sale (or if I'm somewhere, somewhat local, that is now carrying the needles).

The six needle above pretty much replace all the needles below, about 16 pairs. I had planned to give some away, although it's still hard to part with them. I think I'll wait awhile and see if I do ever need any of these...I know it's good to have maybe two pairs of each size. So far, I'm really like the KnitPicks. The cables really are flexible, however, I have gotten some small kinks in one (not annoying like with the other needles). I'm also finding the join on one of them to catch on the stitches. I would also like if they had etched the sizes into the tips. But I do like them!

2011-04-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

Last summer I had brought the LK150 up to the kitchen so I could knit while the kids were in the yard. I was planning on making a diagonal knit sweater using Patons SWS that I had bought as "1lb Unknown Fibers" yarn at Wal-Mart. I did lots of swatching, and had the back and most of the front knit when it got put on hold....long term hold. There were some little issues that were bugging me. When I got the Singer 155, I knew I'd just "whip up" a plain sweater. I made the green stripe one and did some fine tuning of the shape. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the neck, I couldn't decide between a hood or a shawl, but I went with the shawl collar, although it didn't quite turn out how I was hoping....it's not big enough and tends to flip up (which is also okay, but not what I planned).

There is a bit of an issue with the back. I did do short rows in the bust, and I did make the back narrower, but you can see that it's saggy. I need even less length in the center back, which is not a fun adjustment in knitting. Basically, I'd have to do short rows along each edge, and leaving the center stitches unworked. Maybe, instead of doing that in wedges like for the front (but in reverse), I could do it in stages as I go up the back.

At first, I felt it was a smidge snug, but I think it's loosened up. I hadn't planned on how I wanted to do the edgings either, so I had casted on with waste yarn. On the body, I rehung the open stitches, doubled up on every other needle, to get a picot edge, then knit 7 rows and joined and cast off. However, I somehow didn't get the front and back the same and one of the hems rolls and the picots are not quite along the bottom edge. For the sleeves, they were a little long, so I just turned it under and stitched it down. They look good. I do think the body is a bit long, and I had thought about redoing the body hems....but that'll be later, LOL.

Felted Clogs Update

2011-04-07T11:10:00.001-07:00

I got around to felting another 3 pairs of the felted slippers I wrote about last week. So much fun. It's fascinating how the same wool, knitted exactly the same, all felted at the same time, turned out differently. The pair on the left were the first ones, that turned out too small after I let them go into a cold rinse cycle while putting the kids to bed, LOL. The next pair are the bolder lime green and purple, in the same fair isle. Then there's the brown/lime green where I reversed the yarns on the bottom, and the right pair are the same polka dots, but I made them 30sts wide, short rowed down to 10 sts, and did 42 rows. The purple ones and the brown ones should be the same. They are very close, but the purple ones are a bit bigger. Both of them are a little too long on me, but snug across the top of the instep. The blue/pink ones are too big for me. I'm keeping the brown ones for me because of the mistake on the top of the toe (see the original post, LOL).

Man, look at the difference, LOL. The polka dot ones feel kinda neat when I first put them on, almost like textured insoles. I don't know if that will last though. For my next attempt, I'll stick with 28 sts, short row down to 11 for the heel, do 40 rows (plain) for the sole, short row down to 12 or 14 for the toe (so they are a little shorter and not 'pointy', and then as I go up the top, I'll increase a couple stitches. Then, I'm going to knit a second sole in fair isle, hopefully seaming as I go. Stay tuned.

(I can't get this picture deleted below, so just ignore it!)

Nearly Forgot

2011-04-06T17:03:00.001-07:00

When I got the call from my MIL for baby items, I had one little sweater that had been in a time out for awhile. I started it in the early fall when I needed a 'brainless' project while the kids were doing their evening classes. I had found a ball of Bernat "Olympic" ("Olympia"?) in my stash, with a Giant Tiger sticker for 2.99 (GT is a bargain store in Ontario). I know I would not have bought it there, but I might have got it at Sal. Army. I started a stockinette stitch Baby Surprise Jacket. Not really brainless even though it's stockinette! I HATED the yarn. I could have used slightly bigger needles, but still...ick. I had set it aside to finish up Christmas presents and I just never wanted to get back to it. I decided to finish it up for the donation, but it was way down on the list...I thought it would be better to sew the buttons on the sweaters that were actually finished, LOL. And then I found I didn't have enough buttons. There are 5 buttonholes, and it seems most buttons come in 3 or 4 per card. Since I missed the donation date, I decided to use up every last bit of the yarn and make a hat. There wasn't enough so I added plain white. Well, the first attempt didn't work, yarn wise, and the second attempt took me about 3 tries to cast on and do the garter stitch band and I still didn't have it right. I alternated rows of white and the variegated, but each time I changed colours, I knitted a few stitches in the old colour before starting the new colour. It's a nice way to make a 'matching' hat that isn't exactly the same.

Butterick 5382 Part 2

2011-04-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

After the first fit photos, I sewed the sleeves in using a zig zag as the basted stitches seemed tight. I took in the waist seam; I just used the old seam and ran the edge of the Q foot along it, which amounted to 3/8" taken off the bodice and 3/8" off the skirt. This brought the seam right at the top of the darts, which I didn't adjust. There is a little puckering but I think it's okay. I didn't adjust the back seams at all as I didn't have anyone to help pin it and I didn't want to get silly. This is the "real" look...hair, make up, good bra and undergarments, LOL. The pictures in the last post were unhemmed, and I hemmed it, I think 1 1/2" (even though the patterned "allowed" for 1 1/4"). I see here that the front is a little shorter than the back, so I do need to adjust the back center and waist seams.

I'm not sure why I'm standing crooked, LOL. The pleating around the neck is not too obvious with the patterned fabric, but it is visible in real life. I think the fabric worked well with this pattern, considering that it was a Value Village find. Again, not my ideal colour, but I needed a thin fabric that wouldn't be too thick with the pleating.

The shoulder/sleeve seam is a little off my shoulder, although in this picture, it looks like I don't actually have shoulders, just a gradual slope down from the neckline to the elbow, LOL. Would it be possible to take out the sleeve, trim the shoulder back just a little, and resew in the sleeve? Would that create other issues, or could the knit fabric compensate? I know if I was redoing this, that sort of alteration would mean lengthening the sleevehead too, right? Or widening? I am really pleased at my first major attempt at sewing a knit garment. For the most part, the seams weren't nearly the issue I thought they'd be. While I had used a 3 step zig zag on the sleeve hems, I used a straight stitch on the skirt hem. I did hear that dreadful sound as I was getting in the truck though, and indeed, I will need to re-hem it. I also think the join between the bodice and skirt could be better--I had just used a straight stitch, but it seems a little jagged when you look at the inside. My biggest beef was using the seam tape on the shoulder--oh boy, the first step and I was hating it....LOL. Then, you fold the seam taped shoulder seam so both seam allowances, AND both seam allowances of the facing are pressed the same way. Well, that's six layers (plus the knit interfacing, which actually worked for me!). I opted to spread the shoulder seams open instead.

Today I got some Threads issues, and one of them had an article about knit patterns, and how you have to make sure the back armhole is this much bigger, and the seams match, and this and that...and I'm SO glad I didn't read this first! LOL. I'm eager to sew some more knits! I don't need a lot of dresses, but this blue dress is actually my only dress with sleeves!

Well, Ain't That Odd?

2011-04-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

Back when Meg was a newborn, fall/winter 2005, I decided to join the blogging world. I signed up for Blogger, created a blog name "Knits and Knots" and got it all set up. But then, before I posted even once, I couldn't get logged in again! I tried various times over the next 7 months until I gave up and created this one from scratch. Today, I opened my yahoo email and there was an email from blogger saying that I had inquired about my tracykvm account and here was the info. Skeptical, I clicked the links. It seemed real, but I had to give an email address and I was leary of giving my yahoo or Rogers email, so I created another one. But it all seemed legit, so now I have two knitting themed blogs. I could turn this one into a sewing blog as the web address is generic, or make one for machine knitting and the other for handknitting, but it seems silly to split things up. Is there a way to move posts from one blog to another one (like some of my early posts from here that should be on my 'general' blog instead)?

Butterick 5382 Part 1

2011-04-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

I really took my time with this dress, although in the end, I wish I had another day or two to fine tune the fit. But I'm still happy. I made a garment with a knit fabric, with sleeves, adjusted the shoulders, AND, I wore it in public! The fabric was perhaps not my first choice--I don't really like the pale colour, but I think I paid $5 at Value Village. It's a thin double knit (I think--it doesn't roll), but the inside is slinky nylon and the outside has a sueded feeling finish. It stuck to every little rough spot on my fingers, and to its self. It felt great when I put it on, but then I noticed when it was hanging up to dry, how see through it is! So, I had to wear a slip :( and it kept sticking to my nylons below the slip. These pictures are from the initial try-on; don't worry, I didn't go to the concert with my hair like that and wearing socks! It's supposed to be an empire waist, and I did add a bit to the bodice to make sure the seam wouldn't end up in the bust zone. I even added a little extra in case it needed adjusting. As you can see, there wasn't a problem! There is some problems with the fit of the back. I'm pretty sure I have a bit of a swayback. I left the center back seam in even though I wasn't putting in a zipper, so that I could make adjustments. I was worried about getting the dress on, being that it's fitted at the waist, but there was plenty of stretch. I tried clipping the excess together on the back with a hair clip before I took it off, and I still had no trouble getting it off. It's not too bad from a distance, although I think the back hangs a little lower. But up close you can see the baggy bits.

I tried pulling the skirt up higher, I tucked it into my bra, LOL, and although I sort of liked it from the front, it felt very maternity-ish. I also hadn't hemmed the skirt yet.

Holy cow, I can't believe how fat I looked when I pulled the skirt up! I was having a fat day anyway, but this is horrid.

I wish I had a local friend that would help me with pinning, etc. I'm sure my MIL probably would, or my SIL actually. But really, I'd like someone that lives next door, LOL. I'll show the finished results in the next post and some more thoughts about the dress/pattern.

Versatility

2011-03-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

This is post 450! Woo Hoo!!

I was a little disappointed when I realized the Singer 155 came with only 5 punch cards (plus a couple the owner had punched). It's true, the 20+ cards with the Singer 327 were a little overwhelming, but there should be a happy medium! However, I'm having a lot of fun with what I do have so far! This is one area where hand knitting and machine knitting really differ. With hand knitting, you're more likely to get bored/tired of a stitch pattern after one project, because it's what you focus on. It's one of the primary reasons to knit whatever it is you're knitting and takes a lot of brain power. However, with machine knitting, it takes very little brain power to knit a stitch pattern. Put in the card, get the yarns in the right feeders, and off you go. The real work is in the pattern prep and swatching. Also, with MK, if you're going to commit to punching a punch card, you want to make sure it's a pattern you like, and probably re-use. For the small hat I made, and the current obsession I have, punching new cards seems indulgent. So, I'm having fun re-using the same card over and over!
This is the pattern in it's most basic form: (The Fair Isle pattern on the right half) My biggest complaint is that each band is overlapped with the one before it so when you change colours, one of the repeats gets gypped.

That effect is a little hard to see on the hat, but if you look at the first dark brown triangle band above the red one at the bottom, you can see that I finished off the red band, but the lowest points of the brown band are actually in red as well as the uppermost points of the red band. One plain row after the band would have solved this (or, if I were hand knitting, I'd just carry a third colour on this row, but the knitting machine carriage only allows for two yarns at once).

One pattern that is constantly requested in machine knitting groups, is a felted clog type slipper, like the Fiber Trends ones that are SO popular. I love hand knitting those, but I don't find them quick enough (esp. if for a gift for someone I don't want to invest a whole lot of time in). I've made other MK slippers and some are better than others (for me!). But the nice thing about the clogs is that the sole is two layers, and both layers are in garter stitch. While we CAN put in a little extra work to get garter stitch on the machine, it's a drag to do. And the construction method of the clog does not transfer to the machine very well at all. As in, do not even try.

A while ago, there was chit chat about making the Fuzzy Feet from knitty.com on the machine. But of course, MK style--a short row heel, and knit flat with side seams. I had HK those slippers, and didn't like the thinness of the single layer of stockinette felted fabric (and the sock shape bothered me). Last week, one of the members of the Yahoo group, Kris, from www.kriskrafter.com, posted a felted clog style slipper, doable on a flatbed bulky (like the Bond, KnitSmart, or metal bed machines). The group has gone crazy for these! They are SO simple to make. I opted to do them "seam as you go" and for some extra thickness, I did Fair Isle on the soles (Kris had done weaving, but I haven't tried that on the machine yet). Here, you can see, on the right edge, blue stripes instead of Fair Isle. This is what happens when you forget to unlock the punch card mechanism and it just knits line one of the pattern over and over again until you realize. I also learned (but apparently not well enough as I repeat the error more than once) that when switching back to stockinette stitch, after taking the second yarn out of the carriage...turn the selector back to stockinette!! Otherwise you end up with empty hooks where the second yarn should have been! Here's the felted blue ones (don't start felting at the kids' bedtime...they turned out a smidge too small). The felted Fair Isle is thicker than single layer stockinette, although since they felted a bit too much, it's not a huge difference. There are some ideas floating around about how to make it a double sole, I think two layers of Fair Isle would be very cushy.

Next to them are the next pair, done with a higher contrast to see just how much the pattern might show when felted (the blue ones are much more subtle in real light).

Then, I thought, what about a different card? I looked through them, and saw that I could use a polka dot pattern. Weee! To spice it up, I switched the yarns around for the second slipper (the tops are the same green though). These ones gave me some challenges...you can see on the right edge of the lower one that I had the card locked again. I also forgot to stop the Fair Isle at the tip of the toe on one, so the Fair Isle continued up onto the top of the foot for a few rows. I also had settings wrong, forgot to turn back to stockinette, etc.... But that didn't stop me from casting on another pair with this pattern; the first one is still on the machine....how many will I end up making? Not sure yet!

I'm using the Singer 155, T7, Patons Classic Merino/Classic Wool; about 117gr per pair.

Patience!

2011-03-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

After re-drawing the bodice pattern, I set it aside to start on the back alterations. I had to clean up for dinner and I had a few questions to myself, before I kept going. In the end, it was a good thing I slept on it because I remembered something I had to change on the front (shorten the armhole).
I cut out all the pieces, and it's just waiting for the sewing. I do have to get some interfacing (I do have some in black, but it's woven and since the dress is a knit, I should get knit interfacing, right?) and some seam tape (never used that before) and I think some finer needles (ballpoint or stretch?) and probably some matching thread (haven't checked what I have). I can do the front pleating before I get to the fabric store though. I've put it on hiatus this week as I have a concert on Saturday and I really need to do some practicing! Plus, I had to bathing suit shop while they were on sale, and I thought I might get back to exercising...the sewing is supposed to be easy, so I should get it done fairly quickly, but I won't have much time for it on Saturday. And, of course, I hope the alterations worked!
I've also been working on some machine knit felted slippers (awesome), and a crazy lace baby sweater that I ripped out last night. I need to start some new handknit projects (and finish a few old ones), and I'm having trouble deciding what I want to work on---there's SO many things I want to knit, but not a whole lot that I'm madly lusting over. Or, I'm concerned about matching yarn and pattern. I'm just having a hard time making decisions! I'd like it if I gave my pattern list to someone, they looked through my stash, and told me what to make, LOL. I do know that my indecisiveness does usually pay off in the end, with items that I do love, so I'll just have to be patient with myself and not settle for less than what I love!

Can anyone help me?

2011-03-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

I usually use about.com for sewing questions, but I have to say, I don't get much help with specific fitting questions. Like, last summer, when I posted about my dress with the wrap bodice that was showing too much cleavage...no one suggested a FBA, they just said it's hard to fit a wrap on a larger bust. I basically figured out how to do a FBA by slashing, moving, lengthening....

When I posted about this dress, someone did suggest comparing my bicep with the pattern and seeing what size my arm is and base the sizing on that. Everything I've done for myself so far has been sleeveless (except one dress that I never blogged about because it was at a sad time and the picture was terrible, and I didn't do a FBA so the whole thing was a baggy mess). She then suggested cutting the shoulder and upper sleeve for an 18 and taper to a 22 at the lower armhole and sides, and adding some length to the center front.

I pretty much did that after all, although I didn't take the armhole to the 22 line until the bottom of the armhole. But I think I need to be at that size by the time I get to the level of my bust point. Right?
Now, what about the back? I cut the shoulders and armhole to match the front, but what about the sides...I think if I cut it on the 22, the back will be baggy, as what has happened when I knit sweaters with the front and back the same width. I think I need to actually measure the front vs the back piece and see....Most of what I read about fitting, and grading from one size to the next keep the front and back the same, the sizing changes from say, bust to waist, not front to back.

And I'm worried about the sleeve head...cutting it to fit with the changes in the body. I realize that although the pattern has symmetrical sleeve heads, if my back is a 18/front a 22, then my sleeves will need to match this so I must flip the pattern over for one....I've forgotten to do this in the past!

A while ago (maybe during Christmas break), I read a sewing blog where the writer made a plain muslin, and wrote all over the picture, showing things like her sway back, and how the side seams move forward (like I complained about last summer), and other assorted stuff. It was an awesome lesson on getting good fit, but now I can't find where that was! I know which blogs it wasn't, but can't find which it WAS. Anyone know? I think it's a great idea to actually photograph yourself in the muslin, rather than just looking at it in the mirror (where you can pat and smooth and wiggle...).

Back to Sewing

2011-03-15T18:41:00.000-07:00

Rob and I are going to a 'dinner theater' on March 30 to see Jason McCoy (a Canadian country artist who's from not too far from where we were living for 12 years, but we just couldn't find a time/place to see him). Of course, this means a new outfit, especially since my weight gain last year. I got several patterns last summer during sales, and I really wanted to try sewing knits....but not a summer dress....that limited my patterns to two (I think). One is this one, Butterick 5382: I'm making longish sleeves. I had seen the dress on SlapdashSewist's blog and although we have very different body types, I like this style on me too, as long as it's not too tight around the belly!
But first....what size? I have learned alot about "Full Bust Adjustment" (FBA). According to this idea, I should make a 18 and do a 4" FBA, even though my bust (and waist) are a size 22. My shoulders and back are not a 22, but I'd need that length and width in the front (maybe even a bit more length). I traced out the bodice size 18 and took a look at it, drew some lines, cut some slashes...and sighed...
It seemed like 4" FBA would be a lot for this pattern to handle, and I was struggling with the odd shaped front bodice which is cut laid open, not placed on a fold. The pleats around the neckline mean the shoulders and sides are off at weird angles. Even though the tutorials I looked at said you don't have to do anything to the armhole/sleeve, as I rotated the wedge, the armhole took on a very strange shape (upper right in the photo)!

I gave up on the FBA and decided to cut the neck and shoulder and most of the armhole as an 18, then do the width of the 22 under the arm and it's length. I'm worried about the bodice being too short though, so I wanted to add more length. Oh, that was fun too, LOL. I made side darts to take out the extra length at the sides, but they didn't line up to where the tutorial showed (I think due to where my bust point is and due to the odd shape of the bodice).

Tomorrow I will figure out the re-shaping of the sleeve head and hopefully cut out all the pieces! Wish me luck!

Hats Off....

2011-03-12T15:33:00.000-08:00

We had a recent cold snap, which is what prompted me to make the brown and red Fair Isle swatch recently. Then it warmed up again. Then it went cold again. Then it went warm again, but I figured I better make that hat, just to ensure that it actually does stay warm now :)
It went pretty well, once I got my javascript/cookies sort out (not sure of the issue....I used "The Diet Diary's" generator one day, but the next day it said my javascript was not on). I'm glad I still had the swatch so I could follow along with it, rather than trying to figure where I was on the punch card! I followed the pattern and took it off the machine. Looks great, doesn't it? Yeah, but flip it over...

Because I wanted some accent rows that were only one row, there were quite a few ends to weave in! No problem, it's just a hat. Then I went to sew it up, and realized that when the generator told me how many to cast on, I never thought about how the punch card pattern repeat would work out. For most of the hat you wouldn't really notice the misalignment of the pattern at the seam, but there was one section with the rose accents...
But then I put it on. The funny line just above the earflaps, bottom of the hem is where I had tension problems with the carriage (Singer 155), resulting in two or three tight rows.

It's a little tall, no?

And because of taking it in a few sts to get the pattern repeat to work out, it seems a little snug looking (feels fine though).

I ripped it back out a little and decreased the top again. It's still too tall! I didn't want to rip out a whole 'nother pattern repeat!

You can't see the pattern in these pictures, but I guess I can take out the whole green section at the top.

My big question is, do I put a pompom on it or not? I don't think I have a hat with a pompom. I'm just not sure they're suitable for adults, LOL, and I'd hate to waste the yarn with a bad decision, or a bad pompom!

Warm Again!

2011-03-08T11:26:00.001-08:00

I'm harsh on slippers. I've often said that Mother's Day is 6 months from Christmas because that's as long as my slippers last. I love the Fiber Trends felted clogs, but I wear through them surprisingly quick. Last fall I made their "ballet slippers", but the first pair was huge, and I wore out the second pair a month ago (I cut the soles off and use them as insoles in my boots!). I made a couple pairs of crochet slippers, but I don't like the feel of the crochet, they're too holey, they don't fit well, etc.
Last year I had made a few pairs of "14 minute slippers" (I was sort of ticked recently when I realized that the "ugly slippers" on Lucia's "KnittingFiend" website was a generator for making your own 14 minute slipper pattern and I didn't have to work out all the math myself!). They are warm, however, they seemed too low around my ankles. So when I found Diana Sullivan's lined slipper pattern, I knew I had to give them a try. And the new Singer 155 would be perfect! Suddenly, we can't find the camera, so I had to use the laptop camera, LOL. Any roughness around the toe/grafting is due to my own laziness and late night sewing, LOL. There is one difficulty though--the tension given in the video is different than in the .pdf. I followed the video and the first slipper was too small. I ripped it as I knit a new one, and I used 30 rows, T4 and T2. I did run out of the outer yarn after 3 of the 12 cuff rows, so I just switched to the inner yarn, and made the second one to match. The outer yarn is a jumbo ball of something cheap; the inner yarn is a Bernat, jumbo ball, 20% wool. They are warm and cozy! And, since I have a punchcard, the next pair might need a bit of fancying up!

Speaking of punchcards. The Singer 155 comes with only 5 cards! Dumb. There's only one Fair Isle style card. I want an earflap hat to match my beige flip top mitts, so I did some swatching with the Moda Dea superwash wool. Look at that backside! Ever seen anything neater? What about the front?There were a couple cards that the previous owner punched herself. I tried the first one, wasn't too impressed, maybe it was for a tuck pattern. The second one, although not suitable for the hat, might be interesting for something else. The Singer 155 has a 12 stitch punchcard while the standard gauge has a 24 st card, but you can use them for the 12 st machine, as long as you punch the right columns....if you look at the left most section of the swatch above, you'll see it doesn't represent the card at all. The remedy is simple--turn the card around! In fact, you can actually punch one pattern on the front of the card, and one pattern on the back of the card!! I haven't gotten around to testing it again though. So many things to make, so little time! And now the afternoon sun has returned to my studio, so I really want to be down there, plus, I finally got my sewing machine out again....

Fumbling Fleegle Socks

2011-03-07T09:52:00.001-08:00

Way back sometime in the spring (of 2010), I needed a no-brainer knitting project for during the movies (my brother works for AMC and gave me an "almost unlimited" free pass!). On my Ravelry page, I say I started them in May. That could be true. LOL. It's Patons Stretch Socks, and I had two balls. I knitted them toe up, at the same time, because I was sure I would run out--the balls look really small! Well, I finally stopped knitting at about mid-calf cause I was tired of brainless knitting, LOL. There was still quite a bit left it seemed. One ball is not enough, but two is too much.To add a bit of interest, I started a ribbed pattern, mid-foot, starting with the center stitches and gradually converting the stitches to ribbing. I'm not fond of a short row heel (even with my use of additional short rows at the top of the heel to get it deep enough), so I thought I'd try the "Fleegle Heel". At first, it seemed like it was going to be too much brain power involved. In fact, I think I did re-do the first one cause I had started it a bit too early. Oh, on Ravelry, I said I had to add a few short rows at the top of the heel as well! But in the end, it is a great, easy, heel-flap style heel! (I don't know how much the stretch yarn helped though). I'd use it again, for sure. I've tried a couple other toe up heel flap heels, and didn't much care for them, but this one works!
As I went up the leg, I did a nice decrease at the center back. Then, as it seemed my yarn wasn't going to ever run out, I increased those stitches back in at the top of my calf.

According to Ravelry, I finished these on Dec. 22, just in time for the cold weather (LOL, they're only 39% wool). And just in time for the two more balls I got for Christmas, LOL. I really like the yarn. Before washing, it felt a little stringy, but now, they are quite soft, springy, not too warm, not too cold, not too thick (Cascade Fixation is too thick for me). I hope they keep this yarn around, but bring out some solids, or near solids.

How I Spent my Wednesday

2011-03-04T10:31:00.001-08:00

I had hoped to show the pink striped sweater today, but it still needs THREE ends woven in, and the collar steamed. So, I'll show why it's not quite finished!

The kids have been asking to make a scarf or something on the knitting machines. They were all empty on Wednesday morning, and I just had no more excuses, LOL. Meg wanted pink and purple, and we settled on a cone of purple (I think it was Newry) and the giant cone of Patons Lacette. Meg picked a fair isle pattern, and I got started with some ribbing at the bottom. I had intended to keep some stitches on the edges in ribbing, but couldn't figure how to do that with the ribber carriage. Meg had wanted the circles in purple but I forgot to move the purple to the #2 feeder, but she's flexible, LOL. The pattern side isn't too fuzzy because the pink is only single/double sts, so the fuzziness of the Lacette doesn't come through. But the backside...I love the evenness of the floats, the fuzziness, the subtle appearance of the pattern...

I ended with stockinette stitch in purple, then hand sewed the two ends to the back side for hems. The edges of course had a significant amount of curling, but I was really pleased with how the 25% mohair in the Lacette responded to steam! It was totally flat, but now there is some soft rolling--not the tight edge rolling of fresh stockinette, but I don't think ribbing on the edges would have done much. Edges like that, or in garter stitch, etc, tend to flip inwards and create their own problems.

The scarf is the length it is for a reason, LOL. Meg started off trying to knit it herself. She wasn't quite tall enough to get the right angle, so we did a lot together--I'd put my hand over hers on the side that is pushing, after pausing at the start of the row so she could pull the edge needle out to D. Then Meg went off to do something while I knitted away. Then she came back and wanted my attention. I turned to her but kept knitting. All of a sudden, it all jumped off, leaving only a few purple strands on the machine!!!! I got it back on and it was time for lunch. Meg said it was okay the length it was. After she went to school, I ripped back till I had all the stitches on the same row, and took a good look . I figured out where on the punchcard I was, reset it (without opening the manual!) and kept on knitting for a few more inches.

It was great to bring it to school when I went to pick her up! I love how easy it was, and it looks great. I have a kit to make a scarf for the Indianapolis Superbowl/Winter festival next year, and I was planning to make it on the machine. It's 100% wool/alpaca, I think, so hopefully steam will be enough.

Sneak Peek

2011-03-01T12:43:00.001-08:00

I've been working on a few projects, they're taking a smidge longer than expected, for a number of reasons (some knitting, some not!).
There was a really popular machine knitting magazine published in Canada, called KnitWords. Sadly, it ceased publication last year, after more than 10 years. The owner is now doing a "Pattern of the Month" club, and I subscribed for the first three months. A bit risky as she had only February's patterns done to show, so who knows what the next two months would be. There's one pattern for 4.5mm standard gauge, and one for 6.5mm (particularly, the LK150), per month. I got started on the pattern for the LK150, called "In The Tweeds". It's a sideways knit piece. I had a few issues with the row counts not matching the pattern, and in one spot, the needle numbers were totally off. It looks really large, but I did get gauge. She says sideways knits will lengthen and get narrow, and this is an 'outer' garment...I hope she's right, LOL. I have to do the sleeves, and there's a hood, and a ruffle trim, and a zipper....

I'm also finishing up the details on my Patons SWS sweater. I went simple, just the same basic Knit Radar pattern as the green sweater, but with a bit of waist shaping, no hem shaping, and some bust short rows. I did more of a round neck, but then after it was done and I was thinking of neck treatments, I realized I wanted a shawl collar. So, it's sort of improvised. Not too shawly, but cute.

I swatched this afternoon for another sweater. It's Patons' Divine, a fluffy mohair blend. I did the first part of the swatch on T10+ on the Singer 155. It's pretty stiff feeling. I haven't measured the gauge, but it lacks the softness, loftiness of other things done in Divine. I'm still enamoured with "Scribble Lace" by Debbie New, and there is a cardigan in "Unexpected Knitting" that I've always wanted to make. So, I gave that a try.
The cardigan is a sideways knit, so we'll see....I'm not sure if I like the wrong side better, or if charting it for sideways knitting might be too much effort. I'll look at the swatch later when it's "rested". Seriously, you have to let them rest after taking them off the machine, LOL.

Oh, and by the way, I'm SO excited to be up to 25 followers!! I thought I'd never get to 20, and then suddenly it jumped to 25! And there's names there I don't recognize! Thank you so much for adding yourselves. I'm starting to add myself to the blogs I read too!

Is There a Reason Tuck Rhymes With F....?

2011-02-25T07:09:00.000-08:00

I tried to swatch in tuck stitch again on the Singer 155, and the stitch selector would NOT move into tuck setting. Not, "it's stiff and needs lube" feeling, not "if I push it will going sproing or snap", just nothing. It just wouldn't go!

I took the cover off again, that little piece that bent before is still okay. The stitch selector cam just won't go past slip stitch. I took that off, and underneath, at the bend in the groove near the end that I think means it's in tuck, it's been worn. When I turn the carriage over, I can move the levers and flippers freely. When I try moving the plates under the stitch selector by hand into the tuck position, it's very difficult....a lot of resistance. Not stiffness, but it's like pushing against a spring. Should it be like that? Everything else works fine, although I do check after putting it in slip stitch that both flippers underneath have moved; it was slipping in one direction but not the other for a while. But I don't really like slip stitch. It's neat for Fair Isle look, in that there aren't floats, but it's a pain to change the yarn every two rows (in Fair Isle, both yarns are in the carriage all the time). I did cheat at the tuck, by having it in slip stitch, and manually putting the float onto the needles, but I think the float in Tuck stitch is a bit looser. I would like to be able to do tuck stitch---I can do it manually on the other machines, so it was nice to get a punchcard machine to do it for me :)

Baby Items

2011-02-24T07:07:00.001-08:00

Back when Lucy was a wee thing, I decided I wanted to try selling at craft shows. Two of my knitting group members and I did our first show the day before Lucy turned 1. Most of my items were baby things...stuff I had made that was too big or too small or not my thing, or wrong season, LOL. We did okay, I made some pocket money, and we said we'd do it again, next year, at some bigger shows. We improved our display, made more stuff, and sold less at the next two shows the next year than we had at the first show (one of the two shows was on a day of freezing rain!). The knitting group folded, and we sort of lost interest in doing another show. But I had this box full of items that I've kept adding too over the past 7 years. Whenever someone has a baby I look in the box, and think either "That's not good enough for THIS baby" or "That's too good for that baby". And make something fresh, LOL. I kept hoping maybe I'd do another show, or find a place I felt good about donating the items (like, there's a couple really nice hats that won ribbons at the fair...)

Two weeks ago I got an email from my mother in law saying that her women's group was having a "baby shower" for the local young mom's help center and did I have anything I could donate, as they like to present a complete layette to the newborns, and they have a 'shop' for items up to two years old. I was currently trying to finish a baby sweater in a yarn I HATED and knew I'd be sending that item! LOL. But I got the box out and decided it was time to pass on most of the items.

Some of the items are 'sets' , you'll notice in the pictures, say, one hat matches a blanket and a sweater, but not bootees. The hats: I love the flower hats. Some of the sizing on a couple hats might be weird, I'll let the center decide that. The blue hat with the two pompoms was one of the first things I made on my first knitting machine. The multi-coloured bonnet at the top left is an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern, to match her BSJ.

The bootees:

I've had a hard time finding baby bootee patterns I really like. Many are SO cute, but annoying to make, or the yarn I have doesn't match the gauge, or the size turns out wrong for the other items in the set...
The blue sweater on the left I actually kept out, as my sister-in-law's sister was having a baby this week and they didn't know if it was a boy or girl. Turned out to be a boy, so this is perfect. The poncho was crocheted during the poncho craze. The white/multi colour sweater is a "Baby Einstein" jacket I never blogged about because it had been sitting in my drawer waiting for finishing for ages.

This set was partially made on the Singer 327, as a ribber learning project. Patons used to publish machine knitting patterns and the sweater and pants are from a booklet. I had some issues, I won't bore you, LOL. I wasn't sure of the size, so I made two pairs of bootees ("Blue Steps") and two hats ("Aviatix"?). There is also a tuck stitch blanket in this yarn (blogged about it a few summers ago). It's from a Patons/Bernat yarn that I got at their tent sale as a "Tangled Skein" for $3 and a few evenings work (I think I blogged about it....someone "helped" when I was winding it up). The blanket is very soft and squishy, but the top and pants are knit tighter and are not quite so snuggly.

These three sweaters were some of my earliest items on the KnitSmart, summer of 2005.

These are Elizabeth Zimmerman's baby surprise jackets and baby surplice jackets (number 4 and 5 from the top...date back to 2003/2004). The bottom sweater is a stockinette version of the BSJ, done as a pullover instead of a jacket. I thought I had another one of these...

The blankets:

The top 3 are tuck stitch blankets done on the LK150, soft and squishy, they don't even need edging! The yellow one was an early Singer 327 project, I blogged about it back in 2007 probably. The pink stripes one is garter stitch, done on the diagonal. Lots of ends! The thick blue stripes one was also done on the LK150, using short rows to make a "square". Generally, you can't miter a corner in stockinette stitch by short rowing one stitch at a time...the row and stitch gauge are not the same like in garter stitch. It turns out not bad, but I was really bothered by how the striping matched up at some of the diagonals, but not others. It's a lovely squishy, large blanket, but I'm annoyed by little things, LOL. I hope the items can be used, and are appreciated. If so, I'd love to make more things! There aren't going to be babies in our extended family again (although I do have some cousins that "should" be going down that road...), but I still have lots of baby yarn and ideas!! This was a great motivator to get several items out of the drawer and buttons sewn on, seams sewn up, etc. And as for that baby sweater with the yarn I hated....I got it finished finally, but didn't have any buttons!

Baby Cocoon

2011-02-21T18:48:00.000-08:00

In the Yahoo USM/ISM group, there is a fairly new member who runs a charity that donates much needed baby items to hospitals and families. She does incredible work, running this organization from the goodness of her heart. One of her current focuses is knitting and sewing baby cocoons for her local hospital. Baby cocoons have been popular among baby photographers for awhile, for a cute and cozy look. They've become popular among new moms now because they are cute and cozy and easier to manage than blankets or swaddling. It's like an external womb :)

She has started making them on her Bond, and there have been a few attempts to write patterns, and one other member make a YouTube video that got me thinking. The first pattern on Yahoo involved using a garter bar to do decreases at the bottom. The YouTube video involved using short rows, but also having to graft parts together. I thought that was too much work. So I made my own pattern :)

Machine: LK150

Tension T5, 20st/27rows to 4", worsted weight yarn, I used 111grams, sorry I can't give a yardage as it was a mill end yarn

Cast on 50sts. I used a chain cast on with the latch tool because it matches my cast off, and I didn't know at the time what I might do for edging.

Knit 100 rows.

Short row down to having the center 20sts in work, 15 sts on each side are out of work. To do this, pull the needle on the side closest to the carriage, out to hold/D position and knit across. Pull the needle on the edge closest to the carriage now, out to hold/D position and knit across. Now, pull the next needle that's in work on the side next to the carriage, out. You don't need to wrap the needle, it will do it by itself. Knit across. Keep doing this, pulling the next needle into hold and knitting across. Look for videos by Diana Sullivan on YouTube :) And make sure to have a claw weight under where the stitches in work meet the stitches being held.

Once you've got 15 needles pulled out on each edge, you've got to reverse the process, this time, putting the first needle of the group of needles on the side furthest away from the carriage, into C/upper work position and knit across. No wrapping needed.

This short rowing process will take 60 rows total.

Now, we're going to work up the backside, seaming as we go. To do this, on the edge away from the carriage, find the first edge loop after the short rowing. You'll notice on the edge that there is a tight stitch (a knot) and then a loop. Stick the transfer tool through the loop, and put it on the first needle in work on that side.Knit across. Do the same for the other side, and knit across.Sometimes, it can be hard to see which is the next loop to use, but if you just pull it out a little, you'll find the empty loop.Do this, joining one side to the first stitch on that side, knitting across, for 100 rows. You're back at the top! Cast off.

I did a little pie crust trim across the top, using 3 sts, and 6 rows. I used every cast on/cast off stitch, and I probably could have skipped a stitch in between each loop as it's a bit thick and heavy. I also steamed it a bit to help the curl. I also steamed the seams.

This was a super fast project! The first side, down to the tip, took about 15 minutes (I'm slow at casting on, LOL). The second side also took 15 minutes, doing the seam as you go slows you down a little. The pie crust trim less than 30 minutes I think. It's about 10" across and 18" long. I couldn't find a definitive answer on what size it should be, but about 16-18" long is good.

I hope you make one or two, or 300, to donate somewhere too!

Edited to add: Thanks for the great response to this pattern. It's been suggested that it could be snugger around the neck. I think you still need stretchability, to get a wiggly baby in. Instead of casting on fewer stitches, I'd still cast on 50st, then knit about 3 inches, and convert the previous 2 inches to ribbing, leaving the top 1 inch to either roll over, or to add an edging to. If you have a ribber, doing the whole thing in ribbing would be awesome....it'd be more close fitting but still very stretchy.

Yarn Diets

2011-02-18T06:54:00.000-08:00

Are you on a yarn diet?

It's so popular, at the start of the new year especially, to go on a yarn diet. I find it interesting to see how others interpret the word "diet" LOL. Some people will say no new yarns except sock yarn, yet they have enough sock yarn to keep their entire family's feet warm for the next 40 years. Some say no specialty/designer/keepsake single balls because they already have lots of single balls that they don't know how to use up, so they're always buying just "one more". Some say only yarn for gifts, or only yarn on sale, or only yarn for actual projects. Sometimes knitters say these things as a way to justify their current yarn addiction ("sock yarn doesn't count as stash"), or sometimes because they can be honest and stick to a plan.

I'm a frugal yarn shopper to begin with, but for years I felt I was personally responsible to adopt orphaned sale balls of yarn, or thrift shop balls. The poor ball, it's been in the sale bin for months, what will happen to it if I don't rescue it? LOL. I've gotten much better about that. I'm usually able to pass up single balls, esp. if I don't LOVE it, or if it's a sock yarn but less than 350yds, or something unknown. On Wednesday, I did fall off the thrift store wagon though....14 balls of Novita Came, a worsted weight (on the finer side) of 90% Falkland wool, 10% camel, 9 balls soft white, 5 balls dark green. For $1 a ball, how could I pass that up--and it fits my other resolution to buy "project" amounts. I did also pick up 4 balls of Bernat Co-ordinates (which I do already have a tiny bit in my stash), as I'm making baby items for donating (and I actually do have a donation place now, not just throwing them in the Rubbermaid bin in the basement).

When Meg was having speech therapy in Shelburne, instead of Orangeville, I had to resist the temptation to visit the yarn shop there....for 12 weeks. Oh, it was hard. I knew if I could get through the first few weeks, it'd get easier, and I had intended to visit on our last week up there...but somehow even managed to not do that! I'm pretty good when I go to knitting festivals too, and being out here, that's not much of a problem anymore :( The Spinrite tent sale always sucked me in but as they moved from single balls to bagged amounts, it got easier to pass yarn up (even with the "buy 3, get 1 free" as there was often not colours I really wanted). I was still a sucker for the cones and the "tangled skeins" though!

And, in reflecting back since we've moved here, I do still have some trouble spots. When FabricLand was clearing out the Moda Dea Superwash Wool, I bought quite a bit, along with the "Georga" wool from Wal-Mart. Neither match the gauge of other wools in my stash, but there's enough of each to make a lot of mittens or hats. I did buy some wool to make gloves for Christmas presents, but got tired of working with the dark colours. I did buy some other wool to make gifts, and some did get used up, but some didn't. I'm trying this year to not even buy yarn to make gifts! That really adds a new twist to the challenge.

So, since this new year started, all I've bought is the yarn this week. That's not too bad! Oh yeah, I did buy a ball last weekend at Michaels' to re-knit a cowl I made last year...I'm going to keep track here of exactly what I buy, and what I use.

Wow, I didn't think I could write so much about not buying yarn!

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss....

2011-02-15T10:48:00.000-08:00

A few years ago at a Spinrite (Patons/Bernat) tent sale, I picked up a large cone of Bernat Masala in beautiful shades of green. I probably paid $20 for it and it weighs 1126gr (includes the cone), which is equal to 11 balls, or 1705 yards (the sweater below used 357grams, or 3.6 balls). Even if I was going to handknit it, working from a cone is great--reduces the number of ends to weave in! I knew at the time I could knit it on my KnitSmart, or maybe even my LK150. I didn't know if it would be a sweater, or an afghan.
After the new year, with all those "Potato Chip Scarves" I decided to give it a try on the LK150 as a scarf. It turned into a very long swatch. It felt a little big for the LK150. It also felt terrible. I hand washed the end of the swatch, and that seemed to improve it. However, it got set aside for other things.

Then, I got the Singer 155! Although there were many ideas running through my head on how to work this yarn (sideways, yoke on a different direction, plain...), I opted to go simple. I measured my favourite fleece sweater and compared it to the largest size of the lady's sweaters for the knit radar patterns. It was almost identical, though the fleece was longer. I also liked the curved bottom on the fleece sweater. I thought I had it all worked out, but the finished sweater turned out a bit shorter than I expected. Perhaps washing in the machine is also partly to blame, even though it's totally acrylic/polyester. When I went to measure the swatch, I couldn't find the gauge ruler with all the knit radar stuff. However, I could use my standard gauge ruler and figure it out. I had some issues with the setting on the Knit Radar. Even though the instruction book is quite good, it was missing an important detail. The row gauge of this sweater was 18.5rows/4" but the knit radar gauge scale starts at 30rows. If you have less than 30 rows, you set it for double the row gauge. But there are two trippers on the carriage....I won't get into it, LOL.I wanted a split neck, but not a V neck. I thought the neck would fold outwards....duh, it's stockinette stitch, it rolls inwards (although I thought about sewing it with purl side out, but I didn't need more texture). For the neck, I split it in two, and dec. one stitch on each side. I didn't need to dec. that stitch. It's also perhaps a tad low...I like to show some skin, but I do have my limits, LOL. Because it's rolling in, I think what I'll do is single crochet around the neckline, and make some small button loops near the bottom of the split, and sew about 3 buttons to close it up a smidgen. I'll also single crochet around the bottom, which will straighten it out and give me another centimeter or two.I decided to do two row stripes for the body. I wound off a large ball/cone, and nicely, for the back (first piece), the ball lasted for the whole back. I did have to cut the large cone and wind a second ball halfway up the front. Then there were ends where it split for the neck...and then on the sleeves, I didn't bother with the stripes, and used up the large ball and the swatch, but to keep the colours in large blocks in the proper colour progression, I did have to wind a few more small balls... Something feels a little funny with the shoulders. Maybe they're a smidge wide. When I sewed in the sleeve head, it did seem a little too short. Somehow the sleeves turned out a little too short, but I don't mind, I'm usually pushing up sleeves anyway! I also think sweater (esp. the back) is a little wide at the waist (I think I have a sway back), but the knit radar contour had straight sides and I didn't want to mess with it too much. I did add a couple inches across the front and didn't do any bust short rows ( because of the stripes). I think for the next one I'll nip it in at the waist a little.

I'm not totally sure how I feel about the sweater. Rob gave it his approval though. The yarn does feel better after being washed (SO important with cone yarns...the yarn has a good texture, but was very flat from being wound tightly on the cone), but it is still totally acrylic and the static is huge! LOL. And something just feels a little off....

The $120 Dishcloth

2011-02-13T18:48:00.000-08:00

I was excited to start exploring the new Singer 155 last week. I tried to be patient though, LOL. On Monday (or maybe Tuesday?), I got a chance to sit down with an online version of the manual and tried casting on. The manual showed a way I wasn't familiar with, the weaving cast on. I could not get it to work! I moved on to trying the standard ravel cord cast on, which did work. But it was really hard pushing the carriage. I had it on T6 and kept loosening the tension, right up to T10, and it was still very hard. I looked at my swatch later, and found it had 22st/4"....no difference from T6 to T10 :(

We replaced the sponge bar that night. Oh, was it gross. Ever seen foam go gooey? It was tight getting the new one back in. The needles had been flush on the bed, but I knew the old "sponge" bar was toast. I tried another swatch, with the same results. At one point, I had to give the carriage a good push, and I know I also tried turning the stitch selector dial. I remember hearing a noise or something, at some point. I don't know if that was at the start, or later on, or if that even was the cause...

I took the carriage off the rails, and turned it over. I turned the tension dial, and nothing happened! I took the Singer 327 carriage off, and turned it over. It was pretty much just a smaller version, but when I turned the tension dial, arms underneath moved, and when I turned the stitch selector, other things happened. Flippers flipped and arms moved and it all seemed so complex.
I spent some time spraying some silicone spray into it, underneath. After some time, things moved a bit. When Rob got home, he played with it, and used some penetrating spray. Things loosened up more, but it was still not right. We planned to take it to his father the next night.

The next morning, I opened my email, and there was a message from a woman who thought I needed the service manual, and sent me a link to her Photobucket site where she has scanned a TON of old patterns and manuals. A service manual!! I took a look through it, and it showed how to take the carriage apart! Starting with removing the handle and tension selector, and cover...I thought I could just take that off, to get Rob started....I just couldn't help myself! I didn't take anything more apart, but I could at least spray it some more....got it moving better.

After awhile, I tried putting the stitch selector dial back on, and try it again. It would not go into tuck stitch. It just wouldn't. It wasn't that it was stiff, it just wouldn't go! I looked very carefully inside and watched how the little bits moved as the stitch selector went around. Fascinating! Little notches hitting guide levers that moved other things...But...something was getting hung up between slip stitch and tuck stitch.

I finally figured out what it was! It doesn't show up on the schematic, but here it is:See the little upside down J pieces, one facing left, one facing right? Underneath those levers are matching ones. You can see in the picture that the lower left one is bent over onto its side!!! It was jamming into the stitch selector cam!!

I put the stitch selector back on before Rob got home but he wasn't pleased I had started without him, LOL. I was so pleased with myself! He carefully bent it back up, put the cam back in, lubed it more, and it was working! It was stiff to go into tuck stitch, but it didn't feel like the carriage would crack in two.

I set out to try another swatch. I could tell right away that the tension arms were working! I put in a fair isle card, and wow! how wonderful! I wish my yarns had better contrast--they did as two separate balls! Then I tried a tuck stitch card. Mmm. It was doing slip stitch. Rob came down and wiggled it, and pushed it a bit harder than me, LOL. And look...there's tuck stitch! It looks so BIG compared to doing it on the standard gauge!I had a million ideas for the inaugural project. I had a bunch of pattern sheets for a variety of things, including slippers, which I need. I started out trying the pattern. There was no indication of size, except as "small, medium, large". I gave the large a try. It was the same pattern I had tried before but didn't like...where you short row down, out for the heel, then down and outwards again for the toe, then repeat for the inside. I liked the pattern that did the heel, then a long section straight, then the toe. I did the outside, but stopped before doing the inside so I could take a look at the sizing. I didn't want to continue. There were still many other projects I wanted to try, but opted for my favourite dishcloth: Isn't it lovely?! Sure, I could make it on the KnitSmart, or the LK150...but this is a "real" machine!
Why is it the $120 dishcloth? Well, I've made two projects so far, so it's the machine cost divided by two, LOL!

Knowing When To Call it Quits

2011-02-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

I love the whole knitting process...designing, trying, knitting, wearing....some people just want items, some people don't care what the result is as long as the knitting is fun/educating, whatever. I'm a bit of both.
Some people are aghast at the idea of ripping out "hours" of "work". Not me! I've learned, if I'm not happy during the process, how can I be happy at the end? I knit to keep my hands occupied on car trips, while I watch TV, etc. It's a time filling with an awesome end result. With machine knitting it's often easier to rip it out totally than to rip back and carry on. Gasp. And sometimes you change your mind. Gasp!
I picked up two bags of "1lb Mill Ends" from Wal-Mart, for $5 each, which were very obviously Patons SWS. Normally, it'd sell for about $5.99 for an 80gr ball...and I got over 800gr....The one downside of course, is that it's a hand wash only yarn and I wouldn't even try to machine wash it on the gentle cycle! I knew I wanted to do something to show the stripes and brought my LK150 up to the kitchen last summer to try this out while the kids played outside. I had to swatch quite a bit to get the right row:stitch ratio of increases, which is different than if I was doing it in garter stitch. I liked the use of eyelets for the bottom increases.

Despite getting the ratio to make it square, the edge stitches on the side were tight and the fabric was ripply. Blocking could have helped....but I prefer to knit an item without having to rely on blocking (unless it's lace).

I wanted it to be a slightly set in sleeve, a modified drop shoulder. I figured out how to do it...but it looked a little weird.

I had the back done, and was working on the front, getting ready to cast off stitches for the neckline, when I took it off on waste yarn so the table and machine could go back downstairs. Once an item if off the machine....it doesn't always go back on!

I've been swatching and trying to figure out what this yarn wants to be. I tried a big gauge Brioche stitch sweater from Interweave Knits....but the texture (it wasn't a Brioche Rib) made the fabric quite thick, and I didn't think I needed a thick layer over my thick self. I swatched "Tailored Scallops" from Interweave's "Lace Style" book. I really like that swatch, but I'm hesitant cause I wanted to do something to show the stripes in an interesting way. I looked through my machine knitting books and couldn't find anything that meets the gauge. I could just do something simple and cozy, and go with the horizontal stripes....

Any suggestions?

My New Toys!

2011-02-07T09:40:00.001-08:00

On Friday evening, I took Meg and we went to Future Shop, and bought my first laptop! A Gateway NV53, with 15.6" monitor, 4GB memory, 500GB HDD.....my brother assured me that it was a great computer at a great price. It's been interesting getting used to it, and Windows 7. I did my last post here using it too. I have trouble highlighting text and moving it, and sometimes I press something and the whole page just disappears, LOL. But, after I write this, I am excited to be able to take it downstairs and use an online version of the instruction manual for my other new toy: A Singer 155 chunky knitting machine! This is my 4th machine (although I had bought one other machine for my parents). So, for those of you keeping track, I have a Singer 327 (standard gauge, 4.5mm), Singer LK150 (mid-gauge, 6.5mm), KnitSmart (8mm), and Singer 155 (Bulky gauge, 9mm). The "mm" is the spacing between the needles. Only the 327 has a ribber, but the 155 does have a ribber available, I'll just have to be patient! The things that made me want this machine, is that it's a "real" bulky knitting machine...it has a 12st punchcard, and can do tuck, slip, punch lace, and fair isle. It also has a knit contour! It's a separate piece that you place onto the left end of the bed, behind the needles. I'm wondering if I can set it next to the LK150 and have it work with it too.

The Singer 155 will have quit a bit of overlap of suitable yarns with the LK150, but it can go much thicker, and just has many more features. Yes, I can easily use worsted weight with the LK, but the knit contour means I can take a schematic from a magazine (and I just picked up a pile of Interweave Knits from Value Village!), and make it so much quicker, and then have the pattern to use again, with another yarn.

When I went in to see the machine, I was surprised at how ....bulky, LOL, it was. The carriage looks huge, and I kept thinking the needles looked too far apart, or were missing every other needle. I haven't had the KnitSmart set up in awhile, so I've been focused on the 6.5mm and 4.5mm gauges. Yes, the 9mm is double the 4.5mm and a lot of tools/patterns can be easily adjusted. I thought a comparison of the every other needle selector tool would be interesting:

Thank god for auto-save! Some how, this window just switched to my stats page (that I had been viewing prior to writing this), and I couldn't find this post page anywhere! That's happened a few times, I wonder what I'm doing!

By the way....I never expected the Superbowl would affect Canadian banks! I had to go to FOUR bank machines on Sunday afternoon to get money! I wish the machine had said it was out of money before I wasted time, or maybe I should have tried a lesser amount, LOL.

Mmmmm....Nooooo....

2011-02-05T19:35:00.000-08:00

Inspired by all the slouchy hats---some of which I, myself, actually knit---I decided to try again to make one for myself. Sigh. I either need to just stick with a proper pattern, or give up. Or get a new head. Yes, it's not a good picture, overall, but still...I started out trying the "Sweet Honey Beret" from an old issue of Interweave Knits. The Yarn Harlot made it earlier in the fall, and it perked my interest. I thought if it were worn slouched to the back, instead of to the side, it would be "cool". I started the ribbing, and launched into the set up rows. I think there were THREE set up rounds. I barely made it through those. Then, I headed into the pattern rows. It just wasn't worth it!! It says it's a "brioche" stitch, but it's quite different from the brioche rib that I did those super cute baby bootees in. I ripped it back to the ribbing, and scanned my stitch dictionaries for a different "brioche" stitch. I found one that's super easy, two rows, one of which is a knit on the wrong side (or, since I was knitting in the round, I did a purl row). The hat moved along quite quickly, although I had to break into the second ball of the yarn ("Bonnie", 95%wool, 5% silk). I wasn't sure if I liked the rings of colours. I used this yarn before, to knit Rob a "Thorpe" earflap hat. That version was orange, with red. Yes, I could see that this one was different--with long lengths of different colours, but I just wasn't sure how it would knit up. I think it's a little too colourful for me :( Of course, it looks adorable on Lucy (although a little big...I've just lost another hat to Meg last week, LOL. Why do my hats look better on the girls than on me?!).

So, I started ripping it out. It's too full around the face, instead of hanging behind the head. I'm not sure I'll make another hat out of this yarn, I'm not 100% sure I'd like it on my forehead, and I'm just not keen on the colour rings. I was briefly thinking about just making another sideways, garter st, short row hat. Or, there was a funky one on Knitty.com, I think it was Vortex? Too funky for me with the top point, but I think there's a rounded version. I think a cowl would be awesome. I did start some mittens, but they're on hold while I clean up some other things.

Any suggestions for this yarn? It's great on 6mm-6.5mm needles, down to 5mm I suppose, even 4.5mm for a dense fabric (it's a very lofty yarn).

Just In Time!

2011-02-02T09:59:00.000-08:00

So, I had made Hugh two pairs of blue mittens, neither of which he was really excited about, although he wore the blue Kroy (doubled mitts) the most. I knew I could do better, and that my kids deserve better, especially since it took me awhile to convince them that wool mittens are so great! I had extinguished all options for bright blue wool in my stash. That meant one thing...dyeing some of the wool I bought a few years ago to dye for making mittens (would have been January 2009, when I made some for Lucy's grade 1 class!). It's elann.com Superwash Merino. They give the gauge as 19st on 4.5mm needles I think...but if you read the comments on Ravelry.com you can see that I'm not the only one who thought it was much thinner. It's very similar to the "mercerized merino" I bought at Wal-Mart for Lucy's teacher's mitts (the bright green ones). That yarn also gave a much looser gauge. I was pretty certain I could knit it up on my standard gauge, but I figured I could still use the LK150 if I needed to. But first, it had to become blue:

I wound it into a cake, and stuck it into a measuring cup with some Wilton's food dye in Sky Blue. That's the turquoise part on the bottom. I did it in the microwave, about 45 seconds at a time, let it cool, then repeat.

Then, I remembered that I had bought some Jacquard dyes in the summer! Indeed, one was labelled Sky Blue, so I decided I'd dip the other end in it....it's the dark Royal blue. What's the colour of your sky? The bright blue reminds me of Caribbean oceans....sigh...I was too impatient to wait for it to dry before re-winding it (how long would that take?!), so I put it in the oven on the lowest setting, and gradually unwound a bit at a time. Then, when I got to a portion that hadn't got much dye, I repeated the dyeing...with the darker, re-wound part hanging out of the microwave, LOL. I really liked the speckled look of the yarn, although it wasn't until it was knit that I could see just how much variation in intensity there was.

I traced Hugh's hand, and made a pattern for the Knit Contour. I knit the inside mitt, using the Kroy 3 ply, then switched to the merino, which I had gotten 24st/4" at T10. I got the first mitt done, and was loving it (had done the thumb gussets using my new 7 prong tool!), but as the second one was coming along, I began to feel the "there's no enough yarn" doubt....big time. Indeed, there was not enough of the dyed yarn!!!

I decided to do a pattern, with another ball of the undyed white. We looked at my patterns (I just got a bunch of new punch card patterns, but they have to be punched out!), and the only ones he wanted were 24 st repeats, and he needed at most, 40st, so they wouldn't center, nor match up at the sides. He liked a 12 st pattern from the manual, so I went with that, using 38 sts (36 +2 to seam). It went okay, but once done, I was pretty certain it was too narrow. My Knit Contour told me I needed 40sts as I was now getting 25st/4" in the pattern. I said, to heck with the seam matching, and re-did it with 42 sts.

But now, my machine was mad at me or something. Nothing went right. I won't bore you with the details, but if you've ever machine knitted with a ribber, a punch card, and a knit contour, while trying to simultaneously care for 3 kids and a old puppy.....even the knit contour acted up and one mitten came out way too long. The other was too short. The inside mitts were two different lengths. Argh. I finished off the tops in the solid blue, by hand....I found out I could have done more on the machine but I wasn't about to tempt things anymore. I undid seams, reknit one inside mitt top, or was it both....

On Monday night I still had the outer thumbs to do. I figured I could do them easily on the machine. But after two tries, I kept coming to the end of the gusset area on one edge, but not the other edge. I decided to do the thumbs the same way, but by hand, so I could see it and fiddle with it easier. Got it right the first try. I also had to reknit the inside thumbs...

Even though it took me at least 2 days longer than expected, I LOVE these mitts! I want my own! I think it's really interesting how the one mitt pooled the more intense colours, but the other one is much paler. Wish I had realized this was happening, I would have stopped it. What I find fascinating is the punch card. It looks nothing like this. I did it as a slip stitch pattern (which unfortunately doesn't create floats for extra thickness), but the same punch card will give a totally different pattern if done in Fair Isle. How does that happen?

Still Doing Mittens...

2011-02-01T09:38:00.000-08:00

When I visited my parents recently, I got to see first hand the sad state of the "mitten drawer". I knew I had to do something about that! My mom was wearing a pair of green mittens, like "Newfie Mitts" although they seemed to be lined (which was good because I think they were also acrylic). She thought they were warm though, and I thought I should be able to whip some up for her. I had been wanting to hand knit that pattern, but her coat is so hard to "match" and well, I'm really on a machine knitting kick right now, LOL.
I tried out a tuck pattern that I thought might give the same sort of look. Normally, you use the purl side of a tuck pattern for the right side, and although it did look nice in it's own right, it wasn't the look I wanted. It was a little more blended.
I used Headwaters Wool in a beige lace weight (what I used for my Flowerbasket Shawl), and Tanis Fiberarts Pink Label Lace weight that I used for my Sweet Lily Shawl. After I was done, and searching for a better yarn to sew it up with, I found a brown sock yarn that I had actually intended to use for these...the brown yarns are very similar! I thought it would be neat to make the ribbed cuff be on the inside only. I think it turned out exactly like I wanted! For the inside mitt, I used a standard increasing thumb gusset, using my three prong tool. But, I didn't think I could do that on the outer mitt because I didn't want the tuck pattern to get messed up. So, I put markers on the edges as I knit the outer part, where I wanted the thumb gusset based on the measurements of the inner mitt. Then, I did the thumb gusset like I showed with the two-toned purple mitt--picking up one stitch on each side, every two rows...

The math didn't work out exactly, given the nature of tuck stitch, and I had to space the 'increases' out to get to the full height of the gusset. As I was doing this, I was thinking....if I had taken an outline of her hand while there, I could have drawn a pattern to use in the knit contour! Then, I could make mittens when ever the mood struck me! The thumb gusset looked a little misshapen on it's own, but seemed okay once I tried it on.

The other idea I had, was that I could have knitted these from the outer tip down to the cuff, then re-align it on the machine to make the inner mitt circularly. That would have been good given the fragile nature of the single ply beige. You can't go from knitting circularly to knitting rib though, which is a bummer, but I'm sure I'll have other mittens I can try this out on!

Getting Creative

2011-01-31T10:27:00.001-08:00

After the success of the plain blue, doubled mittens, I knew I had to pump up the volume, LOL. Rob really liked his alpaca gloves, but found the cuffs stretched out, and they weren't as warm as mittens, obviously. I thought, what about doing the mittens with the inside in alpaca, and the whole cuff in the outside yarn? He has a red/white/grey coat that he wears, and I happened to have red, white, and grey sock yarns. For the grey, I actually used an unknown ball of yarn from Value Village...it did come with a little spool of matching thread, so I know it's actually Lang JaWoll sock yarn. But not enough for socks, or anything on it's own. But in a Fair Isle pattern...great!

I really haven't done much with the punch cards...rectangular items with no shaping, and with patterns that had only a two row repeat...I could look at the card, and figure out what was going on. However, the row you look at on the punch card while knitting, is not the row that is actually being knitted! It's kind of freaky, actually. I did actually make two tops in a tuck pattern, but never finished up either of them, and I hadn't done anything with fair isle. Now was the time to try. The mitten pattern suggested doing a pattern in the area between the thumb and the mitten top, but gosh, why limit yourself?
First step....swatch! You can see in the first grey band on the right, that it's not centered on the white cross. Oops. That's why we swatch. I also realized that I wanted it "the other way"..what was white should have been red, so that when I switched to the grey, the crosses would be grey.

I've got to say...knitting that swatch was one of the most fun things I've done on the machine! You feed both colours into the carriage (two colour limit, sadly...until I get a "colour changer"), and it knits with both colours across the row, in one pass! The floats are even and not puckering. I'm not sure I can hand knit Fair Isle again!!! I had to do a bit of math for these mitts, although I was lucky that I already had some details from doing the original alpaca gloves. I also had some info on gauge from the blue mitts, although of course, Fair Isle is a different gauge, but the big swatch helped with that. My challenge, after I got hooked on the Fair Isle, was making the pattern match up...I hadn't thought about that. The repeat is 24 stitches....what if I needed 65 st? As it turned out, somehow the math gods were on my side, and I needed approximately 72 stitches, or three repeats! It did mean that they would appear a little 'off center' but strangely, my husband isn't bothered by that.I did stick with the 'after thought' thumb, I thought that would be the easiest way to deal with the thumbs, and he had never stated a preference (although I had never made him this style before, LOL). Looking at these pictures, and how great it looks, I almost forgot about the huge headache they caused me! When I sewed up the first mitt, I found out I had done the thumbs on opposite sides! I tried it on, and I could swivel the inner mitt around so they lined up. I figured that was good enough, and went on to the other mitt, making sure I had both thumbs on the same side. Well, I managed that...but they were on the same side as the outer thumb on the first mitt!!

I ran through a few different options, but I didn't want to unravel the first mitt as the ends were all woven in and trimmed, and I had used exactly one ball of the red, and the remainder of a ball of the alpaca, and I didn't want to break open new balls (oh my!). So...I unravelled the outside thumb and grafted closed the slot, and snipped open a new slot on the opposite side. A little scary, but I think it worked out! I also messed up one row of grey, in one of the mitts...but that's minor!

I stayed up very late, finishing the mitts, and tucked them into his coat pockets before going to bed. Of course, the weather instantly warmed up. LOL. He really likes them, although he says the wind does blow through a bit, and could I line them with something windproof....umm...I do have some polyurethane film, like for use in making diaper covers, but it's just the plastic, it's not laminate to fabric. However, then you're into sewing, etc, and then you can't pull apart the two layers to make them dry quicker...I told him he shouldn't walk so fast that he creates hand wind :)

I haven't

More Mittens!

2011-01-31T05:47:00.001-08:00

Hugh needed new mittens, and said he wanted "bright blue". Well, I didn't have anything bright enough for him, that wasn't 100% acrylic. I opted for some Sean's Sheep "Armytage", a Wal-Mart wool. This colourway has blue, green, and a pale blue in it. Unfortunately, I was past the thumb on the first one and hadn't yet come to the pale blue. I didn't want to suddenly change colours, so I decided to do a 1x1 pattern. This also meant the mitts would be warmer due to the floats on the inside. Although I tried to keep it even, I can see that the patterned section narrows in a bit. He says the thumbs are too tight. It's really hard to measure a child that has the patience of a gnat for being measured. But, even if he doesn't wear them daily, they're still good for back up and maybe for another child. Just after I started them, someone on the Yahoo Machine Knitting group mentioned a mitten pattern that starts at one tip, does the mitten backwards, which becomes the inside mitten, then a long ribbed section, then another mitt for the outside layer. The benefit...I could use thinner yarn and my standard gauge with ribber. Two layers of sock yarn would be like mitts in DK, two layers of DK would be like mitts in worsted, and if I did Fair Isle with floats, that's another layer. Plus, I could use punchcards and get fancy! I had just bought four balls of old Kroy 3 ply from the Salvation Army, for $1 a ball. The doubled mitts took just over one ball!

There were some things I didn't like about these mitts. They have an 'afterthought' thumb, coming out of the palm, which makes the mitts left/right specific. That's okay if there's a pattern on the back of the hand, but when you just grab them out of the box, it's hard to see. I didn't like how the tip of the inside mitt was done using the EON cast on...it didn't pull tight for me. These ended up with a slightly too loose tension, and he says they're not too warm :( And, they're too small. I think this boy's hands are growing in his sleep. Looking at them today, I think they have actually shrunk a little....especially the thumbs. I don't notice this with my Kroy socks.

Since these ones, I have knit 3 other pairs, each one doing something different, of course. Stay tuned!

Momma's Got a New Thumb Gusset!

2011-01-25T06:32:00.000-08:00

Not quite the same ring as "Momma's Got a Squeezebox" but I tried.

It's terribly head-growing to see your project spotlighted on someone else's blog before you even get to post it yourself. Especially when that person is a well-published knitting designer! I had planned to blog about these mittens yesterday (or last week...) but someone on the machine knitting group wanted an easy MK mitten pattern, so I did that first. But now, back to handknitting, because, yes, I DO still handknit!!

As I mentioned yesterday, I have an old Patons free handout for mitten patterns. I don't see it on their website, which is too bad because it is one of those 'staple' patterns that everyone should have. Prior to using this pattern, I had tried mittens a couple of times, but was unhappy with the results, for a few reasons. The Patons pattern is written for knitting flat, but is easily adjustable to knit it in the round. It is written for a left and a right hand, but unless I'm doing something with a design on the back of the hand, I don't bother anymore. If you don't have a good mitten pattern, I suggest using "The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns" by Ann Budd, I think it's called.

The Patons pattern has thumb gussets, starting slightly off from the inside edge to differentiate between left and right. When I look at my hands, I see thumbs that angle off from my wrists...I don't see thumbs that suddenly jut out from my palms. I tried on a pair of Norwegian mitts, and they were definitely wearable, but I just didn't feel that they were secure, or would be comfy when trying to make a snowman. Most of the time, I need mittens suitable for activity. A close fitting, gusset thumbed mitt is my preference, but of course, it's not the only option.

In the past, I've tried to "improve" my mitts in a few ways. The first was to stop knitting the thumb before the rest of the hand. It was too easy to maneuver the mitt to make the thumb fit, but then once the hand was done, the thumb would be too short (for awhile I did knit the thumb, but didn't finish it off till the body was done--that's another good option). I tried making a more defined 'crotch' gusset where the thumb joins the body, but if you're doing a pattern, or just not thinking, it's easy to forget to decrease those stitches or not have them work in the pattern. I sometimes found that I had done all my gusset increases, but hadn't reached the 'crotch' yet. I know I could have solved that issue by doing a swatch, LOL, and spacing the increases out further....but a worsted weight lady's mitt is only 40sts.

I also found that the closer I stuck to the pattern.....the better the results :) But, I always had an issue with the thumb side cuff pulling up. The thumb would start to slide off my thumb, the mittens themselves would slide up. I was constantly pushing my mitts back down. I thought the thumbs might be too short (and that was part of the problem). I thought the mitts were too loose (also part of the problem). I thought I needed more rows before the thumb gusset....but if I stretch out my thumbs....they start to angle out almost right at my wrist. But if I started the thumb gusset closer to the rib, I would always run out of increases before running out of rows in the gusset.

When I was making the green mittens recently, I was afraid of this happening again...so I thought...what if I add a short row or two to the gusset? Give it a few more rows, for movement and length compared to the rest of the hand. It needs more length as well as width. Those mitts were for a gift, but when I tried them on, they felt good. Really good.

I needed a new pair of mitts, so I felt like trying this idea out some more. Originally I was going to make some wine mitts to go with my wine jacket, but that just seemed REALLY boring when I held the yarn next to the coat. I have a book of Shetland mitts and gloves and have always wanted to make some, but dealing with charts, and multiple colours is just not practical at this time in my life. I decided on some flip top mitts, with a band of fair isle, picking up the wine colour in my coat. When you see the pattern in the book, it looks like hearts. I chose colours that were very similar, but for some reason, the effect was lost :( I had originally used the wine colour where the burgundy is, but it didn't show up very different from the dark brown.

When I was weaving in ends and trimming them with my new, very pointy, fancy scissors I got for Christmas, I accidentally snipped almost all the way through a float!!! I was trying to be careful!

I rubbed a bit of fabric glue on it to secure it. Thankfully, it was a yarn with several plies, and not just a singly or 2 ply! At least, it's in the body of the flap so it's not against my hand.

After wearing these mitts almost constantly for the past few weeks, I have to say, they are my favourite!! The yarn is Superwash Wool by Moda Dea---discontinued, but I stocked up as much as I could when I found it, $2.99 a ball, less than 2 balls for a hat and mitts. I let Huey wear them to the park, and he did make the fair isle on the palms a little fuzzy, but they are 'activity' mitts, and the back of the hands look good still. They are warm and very secure. The short rows in the thumb really seemed to work!

It didn't take much, maybe 3 sets of short rows, two might even be enough in a worsted wool. My only complaint is that the ribbing bulges, as you can see. The pattern keeps the ribbing in the same size needles, and with the same number of sts as for the hand. I think I might start going down a size of needles, or using fewer stitches. Which do you think? Although, looking at it...if it were a sewn item, I would say it's too long on the inside of the wrist, while the back of the wrist seems fine....short rows are a wonderful tool, and so much easier than doing darts when sewing. Why not use them whenever we need just a bit more length somewhere specific? If we're going to the trouble to make something fit, lets make it fit perfectly (or, as close as we can get because no one's perfect, or at least, shouldn't think that they are!).

More Mitten Mania

2011-01-24T09:50:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, when Lucy was in grade 1, I made some mittens on the knitting machines to donate to her class, for spare mittens. They seemed to be well used and appreciated. Recently, her grade 3 teacher mentioned in the newsletter to send extra mitts for your kid as they seem to get wet or disappear easily. I asked if some classroom mitts would be helpful, and the teacher thought that'd be great. So I got going and 'whipped' up three pairs on the LK150. I can't find where I put my notes, so I thought I'd make another mitten today, and take some pictures along the way.

(If you want to see my earlier machine knitted mitten attempts, and my issues with different techniques, click on the KnitSmart label to the right, or look up March/Feb 2009. I'm very picky about my mittens, after having handknit wonderful mitts for years from an old Patons pattern. But, I came to realize that kids, in particular, are not so glued to authenticity; they'd rather have some warm, colourful mittens that fit!).

I start off with waste yarn, then an open cast on. I prefer to use yarns with at least 50% wool, although in this mitt, I used a 100% wool (the light purple), and Patons Decor in dark purple, which is only 25% wool. I figure together, that equals 62.5% wool, LOL. For the numbers, I use my handknitting pattern: Mens 44sts, Ladies 40st, 12 year old 36st, 10 year old 32st, 8 year old 28 sts, 6 year old, 24 sts...for worsted weight yarns. If I'm doing bulky, I go down a 'size', if I'm doing DK, I go up a 'size'. For donations, it's more important that the gauge match the yarn than using a particular set of numbers. For this example, I used T7, but I think it's a bit loose (however, the light purple might bloom when washed, but I don't want to take the time). If you start with a similar waste yarn, you can check the tension by that...I don't measure it or anything, I just go by the feel of the carriage, and how the knitting looks if I take off the cast on comb.

I thought I was going to use a chunky yarn, so I cast on 21 sts...but found during the waste yarn that the LK150 couldn't handle it every needle....ooops...I had used my KnitSmart for chunky yarns before! LOL. So I switched to the worsted yarn, but didn't increase the sts...so these barely fit my (large) 5 year old's hand. They also ended up too long, so I'd take out 4 rows if I do them again.

For the tuck pattern, I knit one row, then put every other needle into D, and knit the row. Then, I switched colours and set the lever on the side leading to II so the D sts would knit. Then, I put the alternate needles from the first colour into hold and knit back. I don't tuck edge sts.

I did 44 rows, ending with the dark colour, and switched to the light, 100% wool colour for the tip (I wanted this crucial part to be warm and water resistant). I knit 6 rows in the light colour, then doubled up every other stitch, and at T5, knit 2 rows (I do like to move some of the needles inwards so there is fewer gaps, and I don't double up the edge stitches). Then I double up again, and knit one row. I cut the yarn with a long tail, and starting with the first st at the side opposite to the yarn tail, I go through all the sts, then once again. Going through twice fills up the loops better than just going through once.

Meg decided that the knit side should be the outside of the mitten. Either side looks great, I think.

The thumb always gets me muddled. I've knit my fair share of thumbs with the wrong side out! To do it right, find where the bottom of the thumb gusset is (about 6-10 rows from the bottom of the mitten). Hold the mitt with the tip pointing you, wrong side up. Take a transfer tool, and put the two loops from the edge st, onto a needle. Leave an empty needle, then two loops from the other edge. Manually knit this row, doing an e wrap on the middle stitch. Knit back a second row.
For the next row, pick up the two loops from the next row up. From where you picked up the first loop, there will be first a 'knot' and then a loop (or, loose stitch really). Use the loop. Some people pick up only one loop, I do both. Put it on the next needle to the outside of the three already on the bed...repeat on the other side of the thumb, so you now have 5 needles in work. To get the stitch with the working yarn to knit nicely, bring it a little forward, and make sure the yarn is under the needle:

If it goes over the needle, it won't knit. Knit two rows. Repeat this, adding a new stitch to each side of the thumb, joining to the mitten sides as you go up. For this mitten, I did this till I had 9 needles in work. Then, for the next two rows, instead of joining to the side of the mitt, I e wrapped a new st on each side (one stitch, the side the carriage is on, knit across, e wrap on that side, knit across). Then I knit another 6 rows, then doubled up the stitches, knit two rows, then doubled up and knit one row. At this point I discovered that I had knit the thumb on T5 as I forgot to adjust after dec. the top of the mitten!

Once I get both mittens done, I do the ribbing by hand, so that I have something portable, and because I like handknit ribbing better than on the machine, and also, I can knit both, at once, on one circular needle. This way, if I run out of yarn, I can still easily make both match, and it looks better than running out of yarn near the tip of the second mitten! To make the whole process even faster, don't do the decrease row at the top of the mitten. Leave a long tail (about 10x the width), and move on to a few rows of waste yarn. Start the whole process again, so you end up with two rectangles. Take it off the machine, and do the top decreases by hand knitting. Or, experiment with the cast on (like in the book, every other needle....) and see how you can draw it up by pulling the yarn end...you can make this the top of the mitt instead.

These blue ones were the first pair I did this year, and I did the first one with the thumb the wrong side out. So I made the second one match, for a design 'feature'.

These are two of the three pairs I made for the class. The third pair was two tone purple in tuck, like in the manual. I made the first thumb right, but the second one wrong....but I left them that way. Kids don't mind---it's better than freezing hands when all your friends are making snowmen!

I'm sorry I don't have more exact numbers for you, but there are lots of mitten patterns out there, esp. if you search on Ravelry. Also, you can use a mitten pattern generator on line (see my post about the machine knit gloves), or "The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns" (I think it's called) has a LOT of info! Do give machine knit mittens a try. I have found that this pattern is the most 'acceptable' to me, LOL. I did find out that I had to make them a little longer than expected to account for the gathered top, but I like the thumb much better than sewing on a thumb, moving all the sts over to do an increased thumb gusset, or the worst...the type of thumb that comes out from the palm, with no gusset. More on those in the next mitten post!

You Can't Eat Just One!

2011-01-17T08:16:00.001-08:00

Every winter, the machine knitting groups go crazy for the "Potato Chip Scarf" (so named because you can't knit just one! And while knitting, you just can't stop at one wedge, it's addictive to just make "one more wedge"), and other ruffled scarves. I decided to finally give it a try. I found this Bernat Mosaic yarn at Zeller's, and couldn't decide if it would be something for me, or something for my colour-loving niece. I started off swatching for a tam for me, but didn't like the amount of math I'd have to do, and it was starting to look a little bright for something I'd put on my head. So, even though it doesn't match her tam exactly, nor her "monkey" hat/gloves she has that are in bright crayon colours, I decided to finally try the potato chip scarf for my niece, Allie.
There are a couple "patterns" on the internet for this, but of course, how likely is it that you have that exact yarn, machine, etc? I'm going to include what I did for this scarf, just in case someone else wants to give it a go.

Bernat Mosaic, 100% acrylic, 18st/4", 5mm needles, 209yds

LK150

Cast on 16sts with a closed cast on. T7.

Put two needles on the edge away from the carriage in hold (make sure carriage is set to not knit needles in hold/D position). Knit 2 rows.

Repeat this, until there are only 2 needles left, and knit 2 rows on those.

Set carriage to knit needles in hold, and knit 2 rows. That's one wedge.

To spread the ruffles apart, knit some plain rows before the next wedge. I didn't write down if I did for this one, but 4 rows is a good number to try (it's hard to tell from looking at the scarf, but I don't think I did plain rows, or maybe just 2).

Repeat until you almost run out of yarn. Cast off and give it a good steaming and patting.

You can see, I did NOT have a lot of yarn left! It's not extremely long but it's not exactly what you'd wear for warmth. However, it is surprisingly warm and bulky. I found that I needed to make it a little more narrow than I thought I would; if I used this yarn again, I'd probably use 14sts, and 6 plain rows between sections (otherwise, the wedges, being narrower, will really bunch up). Or may still stick to 4 rows, LOL. If you make it a lot narrower, use one needle out of work to keep the spiral effect, or 2 needles to make it more ruffly.

The scarf can also be worn so it's just ruffly, and not spirals!

I made that scarf in about 1 1/2 hours on New Years Eve. It excited me so much, I started another one for a different niece, 4 year old Nya who likes pink and got that piece of knitted fabric I made.I used Patons Lacette which is discontinued, but is a slightly fuzzy mohair blend (the never ending cone I used for all the ponchos, Christmas 2009).
LK150, T3, Cast on 24sts. Put 3 sts in hold away from carriage and knit two rows. Repeat until 3 sts left, knit two rows; put needles in work/set carriage to knit held sts, and knit 2 rows.

Again, I didn't write down if I knit plain rows between the wedges and the scarf has already gone. In the picture above, you can see how one side is spiraled, and the other side is ruffly.

Here, you can see how the short rows want to form a circle, but because you keep doing them, it just spirals around and around, like a staircase in a museum, LOL.

And because I felt bad that Allie's sister hadn't gotten anything knitted except the grey fingerless gloves, I went digging in my stash. I knew her coat was purple and grey. When I saw her open her coat at her birthday party, I thought it was a sort of dark plum colour. When I saw it at Christmas, it seemed so much brighter, so I wasn't sure what shade of purple would work and thought grey was a little boring (though I have a huge cone of grey). I found three balls of Bernat Boa that had been hibernating. One was missing the wrapper, so I thought maybe I had used a little to make cuffs on the 'magic stretch' gloves from the dollar store. One ball I had received during a gift exchange with a knitting guild...probably from 2006 or 2007.

It's very dark here, but it is various shades of plum. I thought it was discontinued, but Ravelry doesn't say so.

LK150, 15 sts, spaced every other needle. T12 (could even be looser). Put two needles into hold at a time, down until one st left, knit two "rows" on it, then put all needles into work and knit two rows. Then knit 4 plain rows before starting next wedge. Next time, I'd do only 2 plain rows, if any at all---the spirals are quite far apart. Another remedy could be to put three needles into hold each time.

The scarf feels quite substantial, for being only three balls. Out of curiousity, I weighed it. Somehow, it ended up being 157 grams....a little odd for 3 50gr balls (I had thought some had already been used, and I had a yard or two left over). Again, I think it could have been narrower, since Abby is only 8, but I think this is a scarf that she could use for a long time!

Gifts!

2011-01-12T10:09:00.001-08:00

I love knitting gifts, although I always suffer from the "What ifs". To lessen those, I try to knit only for people I know will appreciate it, and to think carefully about the item (which is partially why I changed my mind about knitting alpaca gloves for all the men, LOL). One person I haven't knit much for, but would love to, is my little brother's girlfriend. Especially after finding out she got a new black coat...cause everything goes with black, and she's young enough to be able to rock the trends, and she's working part time in Toronto so she needs to follow the trends :)
Shortly before our family Christmas get-together this year (after losing my aunt--the party hostess for over 30 years--no one knew what to do for Christmas. I had always hoped to start hosting, at least for the immediate family, but Rob didn't want a party. He, ummm, doesn't get along with everyone in the family, LOL. So, I decided to host an afternoon get together while he was at work! Perfect for everyone!), I decided to knit Miss C. a slouchy hat. I had several patterns on Ravelry marked as options, but I kept coming back to the Meret by Woolly Wormhead. I had made it last year, with hilarious results but I knew that was my own fault for bad choice of yarn. This year, I had two yarns to choose from, Red Heart Superwash wool, which was a little thick for the gauge, and Georga's "Mercerized Wool" from Wal-Mart, which, despite the gauge on the label, was too thin. I went with the heftier Red Heart as I really liked the mossiness of the green for Miss C who has lovely hazel eyes. I think I knit the small or medium size...made it a bit longer...spread the decrease rows out a bit towards the end as I was stuck in a traffic jam due to an accident, and also because I didn't want to rip out the whole last dec. section just to add another repeat which might have made it too long.
I finished it up the night before the get together, and gave it a wash and tried to stretch it over a dinner plate. They weren't big enough to get tension on the hat, so I just left it to dry. Big mistake. Not only was it still wet at the end of the next afternoon, it had grown, esp. as I removed it off the plate. Now, if I had read the yarn reviews on Ravelry, I would have found this out. I felt bad giving C. a wet hat but then a few days later I let her know she could machine dry it to tighten it back up.
Since C. is working on a career in the legal field, she's cautious about what gets shared on the internet. I asked Hugh to alter her face for me, LOL, but I couldn't find the picture he did. So I did one of my own :)

You might notice she's wearing the hat with the purl side out. It's a more subtle look, and I like it!

I then went on to make her a pair of plain, simple mitts. She said she didn't need flip-top mitts or gloves, just mitts. I did something different though, to keep me interested. I added some short rows to the thumb gusset as I did the increases. I find sometimes, the mitten pulls up on the thumb side and the cuff doesn't lay equally all around. It seems to have worked in theory, and the pair I made for myself are staying put better than other mittens that I constantly have to tug down. I thought I had been making the thumbs too short before, so I had switched from making the thumb before the hand, to doing the hand first...this gives a better fit when trying it on to check the thumb. I also tried making more of a gusset in the thumb "crotch", which did help, but seemed a bit messy and hard to duplicate between mittens. These little short rows are not the tidiest either....perhaps next pair I will try doing them between the sts that get the inc, rather than right to the edge of the gusset. I've been making mittens for over 15 years and just when I think I have it perfected.....