Roadtrip!

Over Memorial Day weekend we drove to my in-laws, about 4 hours away. I got some knitting done on the green socks and also some cross stitching done over the weekend. Not sure why i did not do more of the letters before

I think the letters will really help me figure out the cat placement. Adding the grid has helped me not be so lost on the project. It may take a while but i feel like i will actually finish this project someday. 

Here is my Hitchhiker. I need to weave in ends and maybe block it. I am happy with it! It was really fun process knitting, simple but you still have to pay attention on what row you were on. 

I bought yarn for a shawl for my mom. I have been listening to the knitting pipeline podcast for years. I finally checked out quince & co yarns. I love that they are made in the USA. Also i wanted to knit something for my mom. I decided to go with piper's journey by paula from knitting pipeline. Hopefully i can start on that soon. http://quinceandco.com/products/pipers-journey

Here is the yarn. The color is glacier. So excited! Happy to splurge on USA yarn for a special project. 

Another thing i am working on for band postcards. My husbands band just finished their 2nd cd and the special package includes demos, their 1st cd and some post cards. (Maybe something else i am forgetting) so i need to make 2 postcard designs. This is one but i need to finish and print it. 

Busy times!! Planted part of the garden today because we finally got soil! Yay!

Finally finished knitting

 Yep, you guessed it, I did finally finish the fingerless gloves, and the Blue Green Socks.
They were finished last week, (I wove in the ends on a beach daytrip) but I have not gotten photos til now. Slightly washed out, I believe I mentioned previously they are a pretty/ugly green/brown.

The heels look funny in the photos, but feel pretty comfortable.

I started another rainbow toddler sock, but have not made a lot of progress. I also started a toddler mitten in a pretty colorway that goes from navy to dark green to purple. It is in my purse, and I did a little bit of knitting on it, not a ton of progress...
BECAUSE...

We have moved in with family for at least a month and I have been cleaning the old apartment, and then today trying to organize all the piles of stuff in our bedroom, plus do laundry, cook etc.

I am hoping to knit from some of the random stash that has been in a box here... we'll see. Once we move to our house, I will probably primarily do lunchtime work knitting.

Baby Hat

Here is a little hat I made to go along with the blue sweater. I had a little extra of the yarn. The pattern is here. It is a great little pattern and I'm sure I will use it again. I believe the sweater and hat are both the 12 month size, though babies vary so much, so I don't know. The baby is due in July, so hopefully they will stretch or maybe he can wear it in the cool mornings. Haha. 

I have been trying to keep this one a secret until I give it to the mom, so am posting it after the shower.

Sweater & Socks

Two finished projects!

Baby sweater, I finished it a while back but had to block it and get better photos. It is so cute, I would like to make another one someday. (This photo is after it had been folded for a while).

The buttons are grey.  

Here are the rainbow toddler socks. I know I made mistakes, but the pattern helps hide them. I think one is also a little longer than the other, oops.  I may make another pair, I have a lot of rainbow yarn left. I think in a more solid color or even bigger stripes, it could look really cool. 

We have been busy packing and cleaning our apartment, in two weekends there will be an open house, so everything has to be in tip-top shape. Not a lot of crafting has been happening. 

I have finished another project but it is a surprise so I cannot share it quite yet. 

Gray Gloves

 Gray Gloves knitted for my brother in law. From "Weekend Knitting". I have made this pattern many times, but I think only 3 times in the Men's size.

This yarn is rough and scratchy. I don't remember what brand it is, but I did do a burn test to confirm it is wool. I hope to make another pair this year for my other brother in law.

Other knitting news; Still waiting for the right moment to pick up stitches for the collar on the Baby Sophisticate jacket.

Reversible skirt

I realized today that my friend's birthday was tomorrow. (I think she is turning 10?)

I wondered what I could sew up quickly using the few pieces of fabric I have at home. I looked online at some quick tutorials but nothing really seemed like the right project. Then I saw a reversible skirt tutorial. I did sort of read through the tutorial, but I also just went for it. I used striped fabric from a pair of pajama pants I had made (and only worn a few times), and fabric from one of my friend's skirts they had chopped shorter.  I had to figure out a waistband since I didn't have any wide elastic. (I ended up using a stretchy piece of fabric I had, and also included thin elastic in that so we could make it smaller if needed.) Then I figured out the gathering and which order to sew things so it is truly reversible. I sewed a bias tape binding over the raw edges inside the skirt at the waistband. The way I sewed the waistband to the skirt it is stretchy, but not quite as much as I had hoped. Also the navy skirt on the inside had rough edged seams, so I put just a few inches of stretch lace vertically over the seams just to hide them a bit. The bottom of the skirt is maybe not totally straight, but since the fabrics I was using were from previous projects I was taking advantage of the fact that they were already hemmed. It is nice to use up scraps. 

So, I'm sure I did some of it the hard way, but I am pleased with the result, and my friend plans to wear it tomorrow! I may try to make one for me someday, we'll see,

Clothespins

A very quick project I made this afternoon. It is spring and currently sunny and 63 degrees. I decided to put some sheets and things out on the line. Last summer I managed to get some of my clothes pins mildewy by leaving them outside. Oops. So I bought some bamboo ones and kept the ones that were best from last year. I hope to keep good habits and always bring them inside. Here is the tutorial I used though I modified the size just by a few inches. And I basted the top over the hanger rather than making button holes. I know I will probably be washing it and so I sewed it in big stitches in a contrast color. tutorial

Clothes on the line. The sun has passed but I assume everything will dry fully over the next few hours. 

It is so satisfying doing a very quick project, especially for something I needed.

Just a note, my grandma gave me the clothes line "tree". And I believe she told me it was my great grandmas. In the summer I probably dry 3/4 of our clothes outside. My work clothes I usually dry in the dryer.

Altering

Here is what used to be a dress. From Forever 21, a sort of short dress. (Not sure why i bought it, it is probably for teenagers to go dancing and meet boys)... when I bought it I altered it by adding (old T shirt) triangles on the sides to make it a little less hip-hugging. It also has a see-through pattern in the fabric (which I thought was cool), so I had to wear a slip. Anyway I think i wore it maybe three times and then realized it really was too short for my age/personality.

So. It has been sitting around for a few years, waiting to be given away. A few weeks ago I realized I could crop it to a tank top and solve two problems (I also never have enough shirts.) So here it is, with a little blue lace at the hem just to try to finish it in an interesting way. The only kind of weird thing is it has a zipper down the back. And I do of course have to wear a tank top underneath. Anyway, I was glad to resolve the problem and make something wearable! It only took altering it twice.
Part of my problem is seeing potential in things and then never fixing them or taking a year to do it. Right now I have a sweet home-made strawberry pattern dress that is sadly sewn a little crooked and makes me look bigger than I am. Perhaps I can make it into a skirt? I also have a blue and white floral polyester dress that I started changing the neckline on and need to finish. And a purple jersey dress I was going to try to turn into a top... and one of mike's button ups to hem.

Knitting of the Past

Well, along with recent organizing of project documentation, I just updated a few projects on my Ravelry page. I have done so much knitting in my life and I have so few projects up there. I know I need to go through my digital camera and see what is on that. Also I'm sure I have at least a few photos I can scan someday of projects I made in high school.

Part of this whole blogging thing is getting photos to load from various things, ipad, phone, camera, etc. I spent a while today trying to figure it out.

anyway here's a photo for fun! I'm sure it is on my old blog. It's a knitted TV. I know, right. i think i made it in like 2007.

Catch up 2: The list so far..

Remember this list? See part 1 if you wish... Here's what I have finished lately!

In threes sweater. Made for a sweet baby yet to be born. I have friends in mind but we don't know the gender yet so I figured make it anyway and save it for another baby if they have a boy. I may make the baby sophisticate if they have a boy. I do like personal gifts so it feels a little weird to make a random sweater, but I think since I have some free time, I should just make what I can before our lives are so busy. I have done this pattern before, in this color. It is such an easy and satisfying pattern I want to make them in tons of colors. I use cascade 220 superwash.

Here it is getting washed.

Blinded by the light!!

Pretty bad photos, but here is a pair of reflective mitts I made for my mom. They walk a lot and she has made at least one sort of arm band that reflects. When I saw this yarn i thought of her and I had to buy it. They are made so she can wear them over other gloves and hopefully the cuff will stretch enough to pull over coat sleeves.  

These socks are not yet on the list because I am not done (though I am further than this photo) I am doing the classy slip up pattern. With an after thought heel. I am past the heel and I think soon I will stop and do the heel so I can have a better idea of how long the foot will need to be. It is my lunchtime knitting! I generally have at least 30 mins to knit which helps me de-stress and I can at least get a little bit done every day.

Photos of a pretty small rag rug. I started it years ago. It took forever because the fabric strips were too thick, it was pretty hard to knit and hurt my wrists if I did too much at a time. I think they were 1& 1/2 inches and I should have just done 1. Anyway. I finished it just so it could be done and gave it to a friend. It is so colorful and cushy. (They currently have it on the seat of an old chair) I love rag rugs as a way to finish up bits and pieces of fabric. They have so much history of the various projects the fabric was used in originally.  But they can be a lot of work. I started cutting 1 inch strips to crochet a rug. It is less heavy to crochet it, and I have a bigger crochet hook than I have knitting needles. 

No pictures yet of the cowl I made. More on that later!

Ps: maybe someday I will learn to link things better. Use google or Ravelry to see the original knitting projects if you wish.

Catch up?

hi readers.
Well. I magically got an iPad. Mike being in the right place at the right time. Yay. So maybe it will help me blog more often? I also started a list. Oh how I try to keep track of  my projects past present and future. But half the time maybe I don't take photos before I give them away. And I had a book I started working in trying to keep lists but then time would pass and I would change my ideas for the yarn or fabric or just decide it wasn't worth making. I had it organized by separate pages for sewing and knitting.

The yellow ones are finished. Anyway, there are several pages, but I had a hard time keeping up with it sometimes. A few weeks ago I started a new page in the book that may help me organize only the finished projects. (I can always do a seperate page for projects I'm planning on making.) It also helps me see If I have a photo and if I have blogged about them yet. And if I keep up with it it will show me my progress over the months.  Good!

 

So. Here's hoping it is helpful and sticks, and makes me take more photos. I'm sure these iPad photos won't be the best, but at least I may have more photos or even a visual record for me. I blog for myself most of all, but also like sharing stuff, if friends care to join me. 

2015!

Well. It is 2015. Crazy.

I'm not the best at resolutions (and keeping them) but here goes... Not in any order:
- I got a Wii U Fit and have been doing a small amount of exercise (vs almost none before) and I want to keep it up. It also  has a pedometer which is fun to see how many steps I am taking!

- I would like to do more music. I would also like to be more active looking for new bands. (I used to spend a lot of time looking up obscure norwegian myspace bands etc.)

- I would like to read my Bible more.

- It may be less of a year of sewing because I am losing my sewing space, but I hope to make up for it by knitting more and possibly sewing smaller projects. I have a friend who wants to learn to sew better, and I look forward to helping. I did get some sewing tools/fabric $ and I do hope to keep up with it.

- Learn to cook better for my husbands food allergies. A recent success: Homemade Brown Rice Tortillas. We have been missing tortillas for so long.

- Maybe to learn to type better/faster. It would be helpful for my job and I have never taken typing classes and could be much better at it.

Okay six is probably too many. So I will stop there for now. And of course I would hope to blog more/take better photos/do updates that actually show the progression of projects.. but who knows if that will ever happen.

Here are a Few Christmas gifts: (photographed in our dark apartment...

 A Joy tea towel for my mom. Just look at alll that stitching!

  A Day of the Dead themed tea towel for Liz. Picture the sculls right side up.

 A cabbage patch themed ornament. I guess I probably failed to get photos of all of the awesome ornaments I did.

 Our Radio-Cat themed Xmas card that I silk screen printed (Hand-painted stencil)

1. 

 And I made a few bunnies. Super cute and not too hard to make. I made a cream one also, and am halfway through the 3rd one. I made them have four legs instead of two.

 I also hope at some point to upload photos from my digital camera and perhaps will unearth more project photos from the past.

Sewing machine cover

I made a sewing machine cover! It is from a tutoril online I promise I will link to it soon! (Currently posting via my phone).
Anyway, i had seen the tutorial a long time ago, finally a few months ago i printed it and today i got the chance to sew it! I spent the afternoon today looking through all my sewing stuff and trying to sort it a little. (Mainly dreaming about projects).

I also finished a project from a long time ago... it was a dress i think or shirt that i cut the top off years ago. I made a sash and made it into an apron. Not that i need any more aprons, but they fun.

Also i cut a few triangle squares for a future quilt(?). Basically most of my fabric is in small amounts, a lot just scraps. Quilts are one way to use it up, also rag rugs and the like. I have some pieces maybe 2 yards or so of nicer stuff but i need to find the right patterns for them.

Holiday Making

Every year I hope/try to make gifts for family and friends. For many years I have made a Christmas print, usually cat themed. (I of course have not yet figured out this years print.)
Some years I have more sucess. Often I have too many ideas and they do not all get finished. Here are some fingerless mitts for my friend. I also have a knitting project started, embroidery project started and some ornaments in the future. There are some people of course I will buy things for. But I do love making presents and also trying to be resourceful. Currently I am trying to use yarn and fabric I already have, only buying new stuff if I need something specific to finish something.

Speaking of using things up... I am losing my sewing studio space soon. Honestly the amount of hours I spent there is probably not a lot over the last year or so. Life has been busy and I prefer to do handwork at home if I can. But, it was an amazing floorspace. I finished 2 quilts in that space and did some other smaller projects and day dreamed about being better at sewing. I do need to sort through everything and see what I can pass on to people/use up. Also I do not know where my furniture will go.

There is change once again in the air and I just have to trust that things will turn out well. Mike's studio will either move soon or be put in storage for a while... we just have to be grateful for the time we had and be more creative/ save up for paying rent somewhere else.

Anyway, I have to get back to crafting or I will never finish!

PS: Here is a photo from our beach trip.

More Hats!

 Another hat and I am also working on a purple one in acrylic. This blue one is from some handspun I bought on our honeymoon.

Also some fingerless mitts I finished. I had started the first one probably last year and then  realized I was halfway done, why not just make the 2nd one? I love them and used them primarily for driving to work in the mornings.

Hopefully before too long I will post about our pumpkins and about the wool quilt I finished.

 

oh and I finished the kid mittens!

Little hats & general October update

I started knitting short-row hats to keep in my purse/knit at lunch. I have finished two and it's a pretty simple pattern and fun. The first one I did not wrap the shortrows, the second one I did and I prefer the wrapped style. I am making them for kids in my life though I'm not sure yet what size I have made. They will grow into them eventually :0)

Other news (if you can call it news):
- I bought a pumpkin (small and cute)
- I saw a pheasant in our backyard! Wish I could have gotten a picture.
- I am working on the other wool quilt for our bed. I am almost done patching it and then i will post more photos.
- I have done some mending/thinking about altering clothes. Slowly but surely. Modernizing the neckline of a blue and white floral dress that was high-necked buttondown. Trying to reinvent a dress to a shirt.
- I may be a penguin for halloween, but I am not sure yet.
- I have also been trying to cook more & learning about avoiding food allergins. (Dairy, eggs, corn, wheat...)
- I am really hoping my tomatos will keep ripening. I have some inside and others on the vine to catch whatever sun they can.