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Ok, this post is going to be a bit of a Ravelry(-related) rant. Those of you who don't use Ravelry may want to skip it, or may wish to continue for an amusing insight into a meticulous* mind, namely my own.
The particular feature that I take issue with is the little status bar that indicates your progress through a project. Here's a quick screen shot:So, Ravelry is great and the progress feature is great but it causes me enormous amounts of angst. To begin with, how do you know how far you are through your project? Is it just knitting progress that you're measuring? What about blocking and seaming - how do they factor in? I mean, these things bother me.
The answer to all this is, of course, that you just guesstimate it yourself according to your own rules but, oh people, the lack of structure and boundaries leaves me in such a quandry. Not to mention that you can only measure your progress in intervals of five percentage points. Yes, you're either 25 per cent of the way through or 30 per cent; there's no in between. So how can I express that I am 95.6 per cent of the way through my swallowtail shawl?? 95.6!! Only four rows and the casting off to go. I am really excited.
Ok, on the topic of progress, where are things at around here at the moment?
diamond mittens (the second engagement) - I have started on these mittens again and am about halfway through the first one, according to a mental schema that I have instituted that divides each mitten up into four parts - rib, hand, mitten top, fingers. So half of one glove means about 25 per cent of the way through the project. I'm going to say 27 per cent, just because I can.
Baudelaire socks - I have made some recent progress on these, just a few rows here and there (well, one after the other but you know what I mean). I have finished the heel and am now just working on the leg. I have to work until I have enough yarn left to do twelve rows of ribbing? How will I possibly know when I have twelve rows worth of yarn left? This dilemma alone is enough to put these on the backburner for me.
black velvet floral printed skirt (the second) - Yes, I have two. This one is in much more autumnal tones and is finished (took in the waist, new waistband) but for the want of a hook and eye at the top of the zip. I'd say 97 per cent for this one.
black cotton floral printed skirt - Noticing a trend here? I worked on this one today and sewed in the gathers at the waist. I'll be doing the grosgrain waistband facing again and it will also be wanting a hook and eye at the top of the zip but that will have to wait until Monday. About halfway.
estate sale quilt top - I was fortunate to rummage through the linen cupboard and find a very large, dense cotton sheet that I picked up at another estate sale of sorts (except there was no sale - the bloke was completely renovating the house and wanted it cleared out; everything was free). I have tacked the quilt top to the sheet in order to stabilise it. Progress? I'd say about one per cent because there is a lot of mending to do. Anyway, it's all packed away now so that I can finish the long languishing vintage fabrics quilt instead.
Overall progress? 95.6% x big project + 27% x small project + 30% small project + 97% x sewing project + 50% x sewing project + 1% x huge overwhelming project .... umm, I'd say about 100 per cent crafting satisfaction.
* yes, that is a euphemism for obsessive
I love needlepoint. Just the plain tent stitch type, not necessarily any of the fancy stuff. It's not something that I can see myself attempting in the near future as I already have enough on my plate but whenever I see a nice piece of needlepoint at the thrift store I snap it up.
I bought this piece of needlepoint at the Goodwill store in the University district here in Seattle. It was actually framed so I'm sure that it was made with love by someone who was very proud of it. I, however, didn't really want to hang it on the wall so I took it out of the frame, gave it a quick wash and made it up into a cushion cover. For the back I used some of the leftover black velveteen that I used for the yoke of my floral-printed black velvet skirt and also the zip salvaged from said skirt. Yes, I brought myself to sew in a zip. The greatest advantage of having done this is that I definitely have to go out and get myself an adjustable zipper foot. You know I love the accessories.
I made a very simple cushion insert from a decorator fabric sample - just tore out a square twice the size of the needlepoint cover, folded it in half and sewed up three of the sides. The fabric came in a grab bag of decorator fabric samples that I bought some time ago at Value Village. I bought that bag for only one of the fabrics (which I haven't yet used!) but I did use another piece to make some covered buttons. The stuffing came from a small cushion also purchased at Value Village. I bought it because it was covered in dozens of shell buttons which I promptly removed and have used since on a couple of projects that needed buttons. Today I actually cut it open and used the stuffing in my cushion insert. Total cost? Umm, the needlepoint was $4.99 and the rest really came from stash, so yes, cheap cherries!
As in, about blooming time. Yes, I have finished the lily of the valley border on my swallowtail shawl. Hooray!! I did get a bit held up there about halfway through the first repeat and lost some of my motivation but the desire to get on with some other things in my queue and my commitment to the knit list (can't start any other project knitting until this is done) pushed me along.
I had also misunderstood how many rows of the lily of the valley border I would need to knit That was very discouraging because I thought that I was only some 30 per cent of the way through when I was really 60 per cent of the way - phew! And now with the border done I am a smidge more than 80 per cent of the way through.
I can't wait to block this out and see what it looks like when it's all evenly stretched out. And those nupps: I tell you what, I'm nupped.
Also as in, it's blooming time out there in the garden. Yes, spring is sprung (although we are still getting some snow).
Baby bear knows that I have a cup of tea in the morning. When she sees me with my white mug, she asks, 'cup of tea?' In the newest issue of Mixtape (that's issue 8, out now!) I have written a bit about how you can't manage to do everything but how important and rewarding it is to do the small things, the things closest to you - like making pyjamas for your little girl. Yes, I did manage them.
I used Simplicity 8173 that I bought at the thrift store and re-used an adult pyjama top and a pair of adult pyjama bottoms for the fabric (similarly purchased). I love that tea cup print, it's hilarious. Again, I tried to use the existing features of the original garments as much as possible - the button placket there at the back and the elasticised waist in the pants so there was no need for a casing or new elastic.
Needless to say, baby bear adores these pyjamas. When she puts them on she says 'mummy made it' and my heart just melts.
Well, a lot and wow, do I have a lot to say this week. It's actually given me pause to stop and look at my recent output and realise that I am being really productive at the moment. What is it - the approach of spring? the coalescence of ideas? heightened sensitivity to buzzing?
Speaking of buzzing, here's one that has really been bothering me. On 1 July 2006 I read this fantastic post over at Wardrobe Refashion about making 'sleeve pants' - refashioning the arms of adult t-shirts into leggings for an infant. I have been desperate to make a pair ever since.
When we were in Las Vegas last year I scored big time with an alpaca-wool blend long-sleeved knit dress. I unravelled it for the most part with the intention of making the Knitted Veil from Pyrenees Wool (Ravelry link) from Victorian Lace Today. Only problem with it was that the shoulder and arm seams were overlocked (serged) which meant no unravelling there. A spare pair of sleeves; hmm, what to do with them?
They're a bit rough as I just winged it with the pattern shape. I made the back seam longer than the front to help them fit in the crotch and then used the neck of the garment as the waistband instead of making a casing and putting in elastic. Only problem is that the buzzing has actually gotten worse on this one. I want to make more - many, many more.
ps. am I talking to myself? do leave a comment and let me know.
This is a common complaint among intelligent women (if you'll excuse the modesty) and it can at times be quite crippling. Take for example this Simplicity 8173 sewing pattern that I bought last December. I have been wanting to make some pyjamas for baby bear since then but have had some trouble with thinking too much. The problem was (or seemed to be) that the pattern is for size 2-3 and I know that you should never actually cut the pattern pieces out froma multi-sized pattern but trace them instead, just in case one day you want to use another of the sizes. And I wasn't sure whether baby bear would be best in size 2 or size 3 and I just couldn't bring myself to do any tracing and just thinking about it made my head hurt.
Until a couple of weeks ago when I finally decided on some action. 
I actually removed the pattern pieces from the envelope. Good start, eh? And lo and behold - it was not a multi-sized pattern. It's a medium, encompassing sizes 2 to 3.
There was only one pattern outline, so I cut it out.
Look what I finished!
Not the whole skirt mind you - just the yoke but that took long enough. With the assistance of my lovely friend Di from Clementine's Shoes, I cut out the new yoke for this skirt (which I had bought at the Sacred Heart Mission op shop in East St Kilda - I remember the very moment) sometime previous to September 2007. That's more than eighteen months ago. Here's a bit of the pattern with, look, architect's handwriting.
I have many, many unfinished and unrealised projects on the go, mostly sewing ones because this is what I find most difficult to get around to. There's a bit of a list over in that right hand column labelled 'best intentions' but really, that's only partial. And all of these projects and ideas buzz around in my head as I try to find the time and sort out my priorities. It's not that I don't want to finish these projects (or get around to starting them in the first place), it's just that I have to attend to whatever is buzzing most loudly at any particular moment. Projects can buzz for (many) months until it's too unbearable to not to work on them. Sometimes just a little bit of work quiets them down again, other times they just have to be finished. Like this skirt. Finally.
Yesterday, after eighteen months of buzzing I just could not bear it any longer and voila, I finished it. Well, the sewing part at least - the yoke, the grosgrain waistband facing. I did some finishing today - the buttons, the crochet buttonband, the hook and eye, the press stud.
I am absolutely delighted with how this has turned out. A new skirt - hooray. And a whole heap of inspiration to keep sewing - I have already pinned up two other skirts that were just waiting for new waistbands in order for them to fit me. But really, thank goodness my clothing is 30 years out of date to begin with.
In the introduction to Glam Knits, Stephanie Japel defines glam as, well, pretty much anything. It's in the yarn, it varies from person to person - whatever. The only thing that I found glam about this book was the styling, which is gorgeous and indeed glamorous - 1940s-style sirens with coiffed hair, porcelain complexions and serious eyeliner.
The only pattern that I liked though was the Romantic Bell-sleeved Cardi, a sweet little number in cashmere with a picot edging and. But the others? 
Well, to be perfectly honest most of them are just dreadful - take the Trapeze Jacket in a bulky variegated thick-and-thin yarn with a lace pattern on the hems and sleeves that all but disappears into the mix. In short, a really unsuccessful pairing of pattern and yarn. Not glamorous. And as for the mustard-coloured dress on the cover ... sorry, ugh.
There is indeed a good range of garments - from simple accessories to full length coats with tunics, sweaters, shrugs and dresses in between - and a good range of yarns - super bulky through to 4 ply/fingering weight although, as per my previous complaint, I really can't see how anything knit in super bulky yarn could be glamorous. There is a tweed coat, a shrug and some lace that I think are ok but wouldn't be interested in knitting.
I could look at the book all day and dream of buying some liquid eyeliner but glam? No, lame.
The vital statisticsPattern: Meret, the mystery beret, by Woolly Wormhead, accessed through Ravelry.Yarn: a heathered red lambswool recycled from a mens Old Navy vest.
Needles: 4mm for the brim, 4.5mm for the body of the beret.
Start to finish: 17 February 2009 to 25 February 2009.
Comments: I knit an inch in stocking stitch and then an inch in 2x2 rib and included four repeats in order to make it super slouchy.
Verdict: Super! This is really what I was looking for when I knit Fern Glade. I think that I may have gotten the gauge wrong on that project or the yarn just didn't suit it. This one came together really well. I love the shape and the size. I also found knitting this to be really inspiring - the whole time I was thinking that I could use the basic parameters and substitute lace patterns, even gauge if I felt really adventurous. The pattern calls for an Aran/10 ply weight yarn that knits at 18 stitches per 10cm but I guess that you could do some maths and work out how many stitches are required to get the same brim circumference in a lighter weight yarn. I also thought that you could create a diamond/leaf shape by shifting the alternating pattern repeat along by half a repeat. That's hard to explain - might have to knit one up to show!
Is it indeed possible to be too practical? It is certainly possible to do too much practical knitting, if only that other endeavours in the sock and project categories get sorely neglected.
Since I instituted my 'knit list' in November last year, all that I have managed to cast on and complete are practical knits (and crochets) - fourteen of them! My sock and project knitting at the time, Baudelaire and the Swallowtail shawl respectively, are still on the needles. This is not, per se, a bad thing. The whole point of the knit list was to restrict the number of projects on the go at any one time and to prevent a proliferation of barely-more-than-cast-on lace shawls, under the mental weight of which I would surely have suffered a nervous collapse.
So there has been some success there at least with being disciplined. I cannot cast on for another pair of socks until I finish my Baudelaire pair. Which means facing them again. Way back on 10 December I discovered two dropped stitches and have barely looked at them since. Until today. I just decided that it was time. Thankfully the two dropped stitches had miraculously been repaired (by me, I guess - I've blocked it out). And like many things that you put off and put off because they seem too dreadful, once I actually started again it was a real pleasure. I'm using a lovely Addi Lace 2.25mm circular and how different it feels in my hands to my current practical project. The change in needle, the change in yarn weight, the change in fabric - going from one project to another. I am in love with these socks again.
And because I do always like to include a photo, here is my current practical project. It is Molly from Debbie Bliss' Junior Knits. 
This is something that I have wanted to knit since ... well, before baby bear was born I think and here I am knitting the 3-4 year size. I'm using some yarn that I recycled from a Boden cardigan, it's 60 per cent silk 40 per cent cotton and the project is knitting along at a good pace. It is always a bit of a gamble to substitute yarns, particularly fibre content, so I hope that the pattern will hold up in the silk/cotton blend.
Ha ha, I do love a good neologism. So, according to the Chicago Tribune,
here in the United States 16 per cent of consumers shop at thrift stores and this is expected to rise to 20 per cent this year. My question is, why so few??
I heard on the radio that luxury good retailers are also having trouble, so perhaps they and Goodwill should join forces. Here are some brands names that I have seen (and some purchased) at op shops or thrift stores:
- Comme des Garçons
- Sonia Rykiel
- Yves Saint Laurent
- Gucci
- Prada
- Costume National
- Pringle
- Helmut Lang
- Akira
- Hugo Boss
And now, Louis Vuitton:
I have some vague recollection of seeing some very mens style shoes in ... what, a magazine? when do I ever read a magazine? but anyway ... let's just say the media just before we left Australia and I put them on my mental shopping list. And then I met Mary Jane here in Seattle, knitter, artist and mother extraordinaire, who wears the best mens shoes and I put a star on my mental shopping list. And then I found these shoes at the Lifelong Thrift Store. $25 (and $50-odd to have a protective sole put on them. Never mind, they'll last forever).
I am very suspicious of anything that claims to make you 'an expert in minutes' or that calls itself a 'miracle holder'. Miracle schmiracle. But, lo and behold, it's true! I'm a believer.
Similar to my reluctance to try diy snaps and eyelets, I had always been suspicious of self-covered button kits but this one works like a charm. I finally tried it out in order to make buttons for the Clara neckwarmer and was delighted with the results. And it was so easy to do - baby bear was watching me make them and then she was putting them together herself. I needed to do the actual pushing to get the button back to snap into the shell, but otherwise, yes - a two-year old can manage them. And the results are fantastic, crease free, expert, miraculous even!
And what's more, here is the, ah, less than delightful scrap of 1980s decorator fabric that I used for the buttons. I had this in the stash - it came in plastic bag of several decorator fabric scraps that I bought at ... Value Village I think ... for another piece that was in there. The colours in that corner were just right for the neckwarmer and abstract enough that the overall pattern wasn't obvious!
I can think of so many uses that I could put these self-covered button kits to. I have heaps of cross stitch-decorated vintage linens that would make the sweetest buttons.
Clara is baby bear's dearest friend from childcare and on the weekend we had the pleasure of celebrating her third birthday.
The vital statistics
Pattern: A child's neckwarmer, designed by me and again inspired by Olga Buraya-Kefelian's Cabled Cowl; I can't remember now where I got the cable from but I added the bobbles. I also made eyelets all along the inside of the double knit slip stitch edging and welt to enable the neckwarmer to be buttoned up tightly or loosely. Yarn: Just over half a skein of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky in Victoria Pink, purchased at Value Village for 99c (in a bag with another skein of something red and acrylic which I directly donated back).
Needles: 7.5mm - I deliberately went big because I am always knitting things too tightly and creating a fabric that is too dense for my liking.
Start to finish: 26 January 2009 to 10 February 2009 - knitting took less than a day, it was the button inspiration that held me up.
Comments: Ah, the buttons! I shopped around, looking for white ones, clear ones, considered daisy-shaped ones but none of them were right. I first added fabric trim to a knit garment just before baby bear was born. I had knit the Garter Stitch Wrap Top (Ravelry link) by Erika Knight and was just not happy with the edging. So I bought a little bit of Liberty Tana Lawn in a coordinating colour and trimmed the edges. Since then I have experimented a bit with matching up woven fabrics with woollens - Carmine being a case in point. I love the contrast between the smoothness of the weave and the texture of the knit.
Anyway, on this project for the first time I decided to do self-covered buttons because I couldn't find any that I was happy with. I delved into the stash and found some (to be honest rather awful) 1980s decorator fabric that I had a sample of and carefully chose some sections with appropriate colours. I'm going to write separately about the self-covered button process - it deserves it!
Verdict: This was lots of fun and very easy to knit and I'm quite taken with the neckwarmer concept and the opportunities for combining different yarns, textures, gauge, cables.
Crocheted hearts for 21 students and six staff members at baby bear's childcare centre. I don't remember any deal at all being made of Valentine's Day when I was at school. Celebrating it certainly wasn't instituted as an activity. But then, it's no longer 1977 either.
I took the opportunity to hand make the cards that baby bear took to give to all of her classmates. The yarn was recycled from a cotton jumper that, if I remember rightly, I bought from an op shop in Seymour in country Victoria. Phew - more of the stash used up (although only one out of several balls). The tags also travelled across the Pacific to be here (and I still have plenty more of those too) and were decorated by baby bear. The hearts were a very quick crochet but still ... my right elbow aches a bit.
I just love this cover for issue 8 of Mixtape. You can pre-order the next issue now but get in fast. This is going to be the first professionally printed issue - only 1500 copies and then they're all gone (although I understand that it will still be possible to print issues 1-7 demand).
The front cover artwork is by Madeleine Stamer of Little Circus Design. Those animal heads peeping out from behind the matroyshka doll almost makes her look like she has angel wings ...
I have an article in there. It's all about my etsy shop. What etsy shop? Precisely.
Splendid sunshine in Seattle today.
So you can imagine how surprised we were to open the door and see this:
Well yes, I would have been very surprised to see my swallowtail shawl out on the ground but look under the shawl - that's right, snow. It came as a total surprise. I thought that the snow was over for the year and that I would be able to avoid the swallowtail shawl until next winter because I have started this tradition of only taking photos of it in the snow. It seems that nature, however, has other plans and has forced me to take it out of its bag.
It's hard to see here but I have actually started on the lily of the valley edging and it's those nupps that are getting me down. I have mastered them but am not really enjoying knitting them. So I have been procrastinating for a good few weeks on it. Now that it's out of the bag I might just do another row.
So what have I been knitting since I put those cubic zirconium mittens away? I've been working on practical knitting, almost exclusively I must admit. It's all been gift knitting too so I'm not ready to post pictures yet. Two of the projects (a matching set, a neck warmer and headband for a little girl) just need buttons, and need them by Saturday so I expect they will be finished soon. I'm about halfway through the other one, a lace and cable scarf.
Hooray! Finally, a knitting book that I can gush about. I've been so grumpy about the last couple that I've borrowed from the library.
This is a book of patterns for items that you would, indeed, find in a boutique. That is, there are lots of added details and idiosyncratic touches which I don't necessarily like - for instance the buttons on the Argyle Lace Hat - but which do elevate the patterns to boutique quality. I still plan to make the Argyle Lace Hat, omitting the buttons, which is much easier than buying a hat from a boutique with the intention of altering it. And maybe that Side Slip Cloche (on the cover), less the ruffle detail. And maybe also ... actually, that's what this book was about for me - I'd like to make that but I'd change this, that or the other. And I think that's a great thing, the book is inspiring.There were also a number of patterns in here that I didn't like but was nevertheless impressed with, such as the Half-Felted Bag. It's not at all my style but it does look like something that you would buy at a boutique and I'm really glad to see that type of pattern being provided. Part of the quality of the designs is, of course, all of that extra detail including the use of adornments such as Chicago screws, cord lock stops, D-rings, and sew-on magnets. What is a Chicago screw? The book also includes information panels on the materials and techniques used.
The layout and colour scheme of the book is a but different to what I usually think of as Interweave (namely the Scarf Style, Wrap Style etc family of books). I liked the swathes of colour and pattern that accompany the images. Boutique Knits: 20+ must have accessories - must have a look.
Red, it's my favourite colour and there is so much to love: carmine, vermillion, scarlet, rouge, ruby, crimson, magenta. Incidentally, carmina is latin for song although there doesn't seem to be any etymological relation.
Anyway, onto crafting matters - the increase in my creative thinking since becoming a mother still surprises me. I had always wanted to be a creative person (perhaps I always was and it just needed to be let out) and thus paid attention to other creative people and their pursuits.
Somewhere, sometime I either heard or read or maybe just plain imagined up something about creative inspiration coming from the materials themselves. Well this week that happened to me. I was tidying up my not insubstantial stash of woolens-for-crafting when I came across a v-neck merino wool jumper (sweater) which I had long ago felted.
Actually, I bought this particular garment at the Salvation Army Family Store in St Kilda. It's a great big barn of a place, so big that you have no idea that it has started raining while you've been inside browsing. As I had no jacket to wear on the walk home, I donned this particular jumper to keep warm. It was a tad too small but did the trick. Then I subsequently felted it (not sure why), tucked it away, hauled it across the Pacific and found it again as I was sorting things out this week. Great.
So, I was sorting thing out with the intention sewing up a reconstructed woolen for baby bear when I came across this felted number and wow - I realised that it was just the right size and shape as it was to fit her. This was fortunate as often the felting process can alter the proportions of a garment. I've been trying to figure out sewing projects that utilise the existing features (button bands, hems, pockets) of the original garments but this one takes the cake.
I cut the jumper down the front to form a jacket and trimmed some of the length off the lower edge. 
That trimmed-off piece became the collar. Using my trusty Clover bias tape makers and a reclaimed Ann Taylor blazer that I purchased at Goodwill here in the US I finished off all the edges. I didn't want the fronts to overlap at all as that would have pulled the garment out of shape so I used toggle fastenings (reclaimed from an unfortunate cotton/acryclic cardi purchased at Value Village specifically for that purpose). I also wanted to keep baby bear's chest warm, so I affixed another cut-off strip to the inside of one of the jacket fronts, thereby extending the width of that side. The actual additions were quite simple but the colour and print combination is striking (I love red and cream together) and as with most things, it is the details that really make it. And all that slip stitching.
And the finished result - well, I think that it's gorgeous. I'm very happy, my heart is singing.
The particular feature that I take issue with is the little status bar that indicates your progress through a project. Here's a quick screen shot:
