by Kat | Feb 22, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Despite a topsy turvy week that was very out of kilter on any kind of schedule yes, it’s finally Friday! I am reminding myself of that because it does not feel very Friday-like to me…but hopefully I am over that feeling by the time Happy Hour™ starts! And if not an icy beverage and some fun eats will certainly help me get into that Friday Mood, right?!
Totally over – winter! I mean really. This week was my tipping point. It was a week of almost all the weather seasons happening in.the.same.week. It is impossible to know how to dress and I need hip-waders to walk in the swamp that is my back yard! I just am really ready for spring and all the spring things! I am itching to get outside and not be hampered by the bitter weather!
Grateful for – The Amazon email suggesting I watch Agatha Christie’s ABC Murders! The casting is spectacular with John Malkovich as Hercule Poirot and the trio of stories are brilliantly done and I can thank the ABC Murders for all the knitting company! Yes – I have just 3 colors to go to completion!
Inspired by – Katrina Rodabaugh! Yes, I finally check out Mending Matters from the library. I started reading it last night and oh my. The ideas are mind-blowing and brilliantly executed. I also had a lovely chat with the librarian who checked me out – she had just finished the book and her enthusiasm for hand sewing encouraged me to not knit last night and instead dig into the book! I was profoundly struck by her motto: Just begin. How true that is for everything – stop worrying that your technique is not perfect or that your skills are lacking, “Begin this journey with whatever skills you have today and trust…You’ll improve techniques as you practice.” This is definitely a book I will be adding to my library!
Fun, fun, fun – Pittsburgh Indie Knit & Spin is Saturday. And though I don’t need any yarn, but I do want to knit this sweater and I do not have enough of any yarn to do so. Right now, the forecast is just calling for a rainy day and if that does not change this is on the list for the weekend!
That is all I have for this week; the knitting is calling! Have a wonderful weekend and I will see you back here next week!
by Kat | Feb 18, 2019 | General, In This Moment
I did indeed finish my first Thea Rachelle Raglan on Friday. Sewing time was about 2 hours total. Yes, I like it, but I need to make some pattern adjustments. The neck line needs to be a bit narrower and higher in the back, at least for a cold weather garment! I am not sure how easy those things will be to adjust – what with facings and all. However, this exact pattern would make a truly lovely summer top from linen!! So, yes! I will sew this again!
Saturday, we had the most amazing visitor in the tree in my front yard!! A Pileated Woodpecker!! I know – my heart about stopped. I was not quick enough to get a photo, but oh.my.gosh. A Pileated Woodpecker in my front yard! I am pretty sure it was a female, because I did not see any red stripe on its face.
More BIG excitement here on Sunday when the water main that supplies our housing plan broke leaving us with no water for most of Sunday afternoon and evening. I won’t even go into all the complaining that caused. However, things seem to be back to normal this morning and I have laundry underway to prove it!
I have been entirely enamored with Cara’s 100-day Sashiko Stitching Project. You should especially look at her stories…so.much.fun!
AND!! I started listening to the latest Armand Gamache installment, Kingdom of the Blind – I am limiting my listening time each day to make it last as long as possible.
How is your Monday looking?
by Kat | Sep 17, 2018 | General, In This Moment
The Sedum is just gorgeous this year and I caught this lovely little bee in my photos last week. Summer was full on again over the weekend, which I will count as a blessing especially with the rain we are having today. But, for all the summer weather it was a weekend of thinking, list making, and planning and, yes, my list for this week is long!
This Instagram post made me laugh. 50-60 pairs of mittens??? What??? Maybe I need to up my mitten game…but, all those mittens are surpassed by the airing of the socks…I just love knitters!
There was a bit of sewing and, I even finally got the binding done on Rock the Lobster! I could find no ribbon that inspired me for the sweater, so instead I made bias tape in just the right width to cover the zipper and the steeked edges. I am just thrilled with how this turned out. As for the sewing, I made another Esme tunic – this time with a bit more of a scooped neck from some repurposed blue chambray. It needs some adjustments at the neckline and at the armscyes, but once those are done I think I will be ready to sew a flannel version!
Now, I am off to tackle that list – have an amazing Monday everyone!
by Kat | Aug 24, 2018 | General, Making
It’s a 2-fer Friday! I finished up my AC-esque tee yesterday, I also finished weaving in the ends of last years End of Summer MKAL and I love them both!
I learned so much in the construction of this tee and I absolutely want to do this again! One thing I know for sure is that I need to practice stitches! Even a simple running stitch performs differently in knit materials. I see some more stitch sampling in my future! Ha! Also, AC patterns run small… holy cow. However, a quick fix of a side gusset solved that problem. I used one of Steve’s no longer worn Old Navy tee shirts which I cut apart and put back together. The front pieces are double layer (with a white tee shirt). I love how this double layer worked! It feels so substantial and is really much nicer than just a plain old tee shirt. I think for my first try, this worked very well!
Now, the End of Summer Wrap…it is huge!! I used Briar Rose Fibers Joyful and it is so soft! However, I am ashamed to say that just 3 partial days of knitting were all that stood between unfinished and finished. The unique construction of this shawl is also just wonderful! And, the huge rectangle shape is so wearable! It’s pretty sad that it languished in a basket for the better part of a year, however, I think this will be in heavy rotation this fall!
How about some links?
First up, Beth Brown-Reinsel has a couple of new Gansey books out: Gansey Style Accessories and Knitting Ganseys
Churchmouse Yarns & Teas has released a new fall collection that has some really lovely pieces! Plus, they included a little bonus hat pattern that is free!
Not a sweater knitter? This week has some lovely things for you!
The Sweater Was Strong this week:
And, finally… this one is for Carole! Beach Hair Don’t Care
That is all I have for the week! See you back here on Monday!
by Kat | Aug 17, 2018 | General, Making
On Wednesday, I headed off to JoAnn’s to find a separating zipper and a “Knit Picker”, the zipper I found but the knit picker? No luck there, but I did find these needles with a latching eye. I thought they would work better, especially since I could not get this zipper.
Yesterday, I began the Zipper Undertaking on my Rock the Lobster…
Step One: Determine how many loops to “pick up” on my zipper and mark my “dots” on the zipper tape. How did I determine this? I used my row gauge, which was 8 rows to the inch. **Key tip if you cannot get the above zipper – use a wing needle on your sewing machine and contrasting thread to easier see where to pick up stitches! A wing needle makes a larger hole in the zipper tape making the insertion of the darning needle much easier. I stitched on paper first to count stitches per inch and adjust stitch length so my gauge would match.
Step Two: Pick up the loops and place them on a spare knitting needle.
Step Three: Pick up the same amount of stitches plus two on the sweater (why two extra stitches? The bottom of the zipper tape when lined up with the bottom edge of my sweater was had a space of 2 stitches between the bottom and the zipper teeth, I just did the I-cord edge to continue to the bottom of the sweater edge) and place on another knitting needle in preparation for this applied I-cord method (on step 3, I inserted the needle through a stitch on the zipper and a stitch on the cardigan.)
Step Four: Repeat the above steps on second half of the zipper. Oh, and how did I make sure the zipper was even on both sides? When I started the second half, I began with the zipper closed with both halves together. Once I had a few stitches complete, I unzipped and continued with the I-cord join.
Step Five: Cover zipper tape and steeked edges with ribbon (which I have yet to do. But, the row of picked up stitches on the zipper will make the perfect edge for stitching one side of the ribbon on.
If you click on the images, you can scroll through the gallery:
Things I learned: I thought I could mark my stitches with a dressmaker pencil, but the point of the darning needle was not sharp enough to penetrate the zipper tape. The wing needle made a nice hole, but it was impossible to see on the black zipper tape, so contrasting stitching solved that problem.
The first half went slower than the second half, but I completed both sides yesterday. Now I just need to find the perfect ribbon for the inside! I highly recommend this method of zipper installation as it gives an absolutely gorgeous finish! And, again – thank you Vicki for making this recommendation!
Now, how about a couple of links?
This is a gorgeous transitional knit!
Thinking about fall? Aine
And, finally (and free!) Verity
That is all I have for the week! Happy Friday and I will see you all back here on Monday!
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