eye candy friday

06Nov09

The tree in our backyard, soon to be not our backyard.

I’m going to miss being able to walk across the street to the little shopping center to buy groceries, or get coffee, or checking out the little shops.

I’m going to miss walking the 1.5 miles around the block, with the trees and the park, and the geese, and ducks, and people with their dogs.

I’m going to miss only being no more than 5 miles from everything we need/want, including a yarn store, another grocery store, the public library, the fabric store, our wonderful mechanic, and other various and sundries.

I’m going to miss this little place, where Matt & I made our first home as a married couple.


Filed under: Catch- up, eye candy friday   |  1 Comment

NaBloPoMo fail & I need to clean my mirror

04Nov09

I tried, valiantly, to post here. It seems that unless I blog first in the in the morning, it doesn’t happen.

It’s still morning, and I’m sitting down to post, so we’ll see how this week goes.

Today I finished this skirt. Skirts are a tricky thing for me, as I am tall and long waisted, and have certain requirements for my skirts.

They have to reach a certain point on my waist, and they must cover my knees when I am sitting [this is a touch of modesty and to remind me that I am indeed wearing a skirt and should not sit as if I am in trousers]. I wanted a longer skirt, touching the top of my shoes, for the cooler fall/spring and cold winter months. This was spurred on almost two years ago by my Burial Rituals in Medieval Europe history professor, who has the loveliest khaki skirt with pockets and a zipper fly a la jeans.

One of the problems in finding skirts like these lies in what is popular in fashion/culture at the moment. I’m lucky to find a skirt that hits my knees, much less goes past the middle of my calves. I managed to find a few websites that sell longer skirts for either Muslim or Tzunit women.

Wonderful skirts, not so wonderful prices.*

Last month, while waiting for Matt to finish a meeting, I was in the university bookstore, and picked up a book on how to draft your own skirt patterns. There were sections on straight skirts, layered/tiered skirts, and circle skirts.

I thought to myself:  “You’ve made lots of skirts for yourself. ” How hard would it be to draft a pattern of my own, make a muslin trial, and go from there?

Not too difficult, luckily.

I used 4 yards of a silvery grey courderoy, matching thread, and an invisible zipper.

Newspaper was my pattern piece. I put it together, then added the invisible zipper. I would like to say that adding an invisible zipper was easier and simpler than installing a normal zipper, and I did it with a normal zipper foot. The key is just to be very careful and slow.

It went together without too much fuss, though I did have to re-sew most of the seams to make it fit. I added a facing at the waist, and my MiL was kind enough to pin the hem for me. Normally I would just pin it all the way around, but I am a curvy woman, and we found out the giggly way it would look ridiculous.

I did a decorative embroidery stitch around the hem, and voila, it is done.

I plan on making one out of denim, and one out of black linen. I also plan on writing up a pattern/tutorial, as I think this is a really flattering skirt, and easy enough to draft for women of larger sizes.

What are you making for the winter?

*Please ignore the fact my mirror is horribly dirty, and the boxes hovering in the background. We’re in the process of relocating.

 


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Uh, this is a little belated

01Nov09

I’m going to try and participate in NaBloPoMo here, to try and blog more regularly.

I write this blog more as a way to keep track of what I’m doing for myself, and for the random family members that don’t get to see my knitting very often.

No pictures in this one, but tomorrow, I plan on showing my swag from my travels this summer, as I just realized that I didn’t post a thing, and I got some neat stuff, in my opinion.

Happy Knitting!


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starting from the beginning

26Oct09

The first weekend in October is the Fall Fiber Festival and Sheep Dog Trial in Montpelier, Va.  Matt and I made it down there on Sunday, in the late afternoon. I ran into a few friends from my knitting group, saw all the vendors, and watched the sheep dog trails. [The only reason Matt goes with me to these things is to make sure that I don't buy anything yellow, and for the animals.]

I came away with this beauty, 8 oz of Screaming Wild Monkeys from River’s Edge Weaving Studio. It’s 70 Merino/15 Banana Tree/ 15 Seacell impregnated with silver, and oh, it’s so, so pretty. This is high on my to spin list.

The next weekend I went to visit my parents for my birthday. I was told it was to be a ‘working weekend’, so I didn’t bring my shawl to work on, but this pair of socks and yarn to start another pair [I had originally intended Leyburn socks.]

This is how close I was to finishing before I ran out of yarn. A row + kitchener. I had thought to bring scraps in the same kind of yarn, but ran out the door without them.

Then [insert dramatic music here], the yarn I had brought was not compatible with the needles I brought.

No knitting, for the rest of the long weekend.

Victory was had! After a lovely bit of encouragement from Alison, and spending a Wednesday night whinging about the stinkin’ edging on this shawl, I sat down, determined to finish before last weekend.

It was on the floor blocking Friday afternoon, before I spent the evening with a friend, spinning and catching up.

This shawl is huge and pretty, and I will have a detailed post up soon.

I spent Sunday afternoon outside in the lovely autumn weather staining.

I spent this morning taking the above to this:

I’m four screws and a tack short of a wheel. I did this as a favor for a friend, and really enjoyed the process. The smell of wood stain reminds me of the garage of the house I grew up in, and spending weekends refinishing things with my dad.

It’s an Ashford Traveler, double drive, Scotch tension, double treadle. I stained it with two coats of a cherry stain.

And… that wraps up October for me. Only 1 pair of socks finished and another on the needles.

I plan on spending tomorrow morning doing the final tweaking for Dad’s sweater. [No, really, I am this time. Promise!]


Filed under: Catch- up, Project: Shawl, Project: Socks, fiber festival   |  4 Comments

wishing…

21Oct09

Happy Anniversary, Beloved!


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turning the point

05Oct09

Ha. Ha ha. Ha.

I’ve reached just past the middle part of the edging on my Lightweight Mountain Peaks Shawl. All that is left is seventeen [!!!!] repeats of the edging, and I’m done! I had hoped to get this done for my birthday, but life and knitting ennui got in the way.  I love the way the edging looks, but I hate the turning after only twelve stitches. Knitting backwards isn’t really an option. I just need to sit down and make myself knit it. It’ll be a much used shawl, once it’s just DONE.

On a less whingey note, I love the point edging. It’s done with a really nifty short row technique, and I can’t wait to block this sucker out to see what it looks like. I’m predicting huge, as half of it stretches to almost my wingspan. Can you see my excited dance from here?


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Look! Ribbing!

03Oct09

Look, Dad! Ribbing! It’s started!

On a random note, did you know sweater is typed with only the left hand?


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socktober!

01Oct09

Vanilla pink & brown socks to start off Socktoberfest. Another pair I hope to finish this month to add to my sock drawer. Finishing this pair, even though I must confess this is the first sock, brings me one step closer to going all hand knit.

60 stitches around, 12 rounds of ribbing, 8 inch leg, 32 row stockinette heel. I don’t even really have to think to make these socks anymore. They’ve been my travel, book signing, and waiting for things to load socks. I’m enamored with the huge blocks of pink on the front and on the bottom because of the gusset. Hopefully, the other sock will do this, too.


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Birthday FO

29Sep09

Silken Smoke Cowl | Sandnes Garn Alpakka | US 4 [3.5mm]

I knit this for my friend Elle for her birthday. We’re almost birthday twins, and she always loves and wears the knitted stuff I send her. Last year it was a hat and gloves set, this year, a cowl. I really enjoyed knitting this, and have enough left over that I’m going to make myself a pair of stranded mittens. The only modification I made was that I knit the plain stockinette portion for 12 inches instead of 16. Ravelry says this pattern is no longer available, but when I got it a month ago, it was from the Elann website.


Filed under: Birthday Knitting, Project: Cowl   |  2 Comments

So, I present, a List:

10Sep09

It’s time for a little organization

Things I really should be knitting on:

  • my dad’s sweater. I did rip back to the ribbing, and am at the correct stitch count now. I really just need to sit down and chart the cables, do the tiny bit of math needed, and dedicate myself to at least and hour a day knitting this.  My goal is Christmas, but I’d really be happy with before the New Year, as that is when it would actually be cold enough for my dad to wear his sweater.
  • Lightweight Mountain Peaks Shawl. I’ve started the fifteenth out of seventeen plus a partial repeat of the knitted on edge before the short row tip repeat that signal the more than halfway point. I can get two repeats done in one episode of Stargate: SG1 [now showing on Hulu], and can stand about three shows a day. This can be done, and I’d like it done before my birthday at the end of the month. We’ll see.

Thinks I really want to be knitting/sewing/weaving:

  • Egyptian Mittens. I have purple and grey alpaca I’m going to use to make these. I have pink cotton mittens, but they are only useful during the beginning of fall and the end of spring. I want something that will get me through the winter. Shouldn’t take long
  • Bee Fields Triangle Shawl
  • Irtfa’a
  • socks for me. I just finished my Pomotamus socks, and would like another pair. It was so nice to knit with wool again, that I’m tempted to rip out the two inches of knitting I did last night on the cotton socks.
  • weave handspun rug
  • finish spinning the 50/50 silk/mohair 2 ply lace weight
  • finish spinning Creatively Dyed seawool in the green, 2 ply fingering weight
  • sew interchangeable needle organizer.  I’m tired of the plastic case that came with my interchangeable needle set, as it doesn’t really hold the needles. Am thinking of sewing little ribbons with numbers on the end to mark the size.
  • sew new DPN holder. I ran out of room. Yes, I do look sheepish. The one I have will make a nice Christmas gift.

Christmas Gifting [?]:

  • socks for Matt
  • triangle woven shawl for my MiL. This is on the loom, and taking up space in my living room. Am hoping to get done soon.
  • [?]Bee Fields Triangle Shawl for my dad’s partner. She’s a gardener, and I have a lovely dark red merino lace yarn that she would love.

Repairs:

  • knit matching Endpaper Mitt to replace the one I misplaced last winter. It only took me a week to knit one, so this shouldn’t take long. Want to get this done before it gets cold.
  • Central Park Hoodie. I need to take off the zipper, rip off the button band, and take about six inches off the body. I really like the bottom of my sweaters to hit just underneath my hips. The plan is to put in a life line, snip a single stitch, then move up the ribbing, and graft the two together.  I hope to get to that this Saturday afternoon.

What are your plans for fall?


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