Here's some of the fabric I got last week. (Try to ignore the clutter of my sewing table in the background.) I think the pink owls and the fire trucks are my favorites. And on a positive note, I got some new clear storage bins, so my room is starting to look a little more organized.I know it's been a while since I've posted any new projects, but I promise, I am working on stuff. Just slowly. Very slowly. Currently, I'm working on a few different crochet hats that I'm trading for goods and services. I should be done no later than the end of the weekend, so check back. :)
I made another little shirred sundress, this time for a friend's daughter for her 1st birthday. I actually finished it last night, but didn't want to ruin the surprise of the gift. I originally bought the fabric to make a dress or top for E, but had enough for two. And as much as I love it, somehow it's not striking me as being quite E's style, so I'll probably give the other one away too, once I make it. The shirring process on this one was just a little more involved than the first dress I did. I think because the fabric was slightly heavier in weight (the first was very lightweight seersucker), I had to do more manual pulling of the threads to get it gathered just right. But overall, these are definitely getting easier to make. I'm thinking that E is going to spend the summer in little dresses. I mean, hey why not? They're easy to get on and off, she'll stay cool, and they're super freaking cute! I just got some new fabric to make a few more dresses - gingham and seersucker were on sale (at Hobby Lobby and Hancocks, respectively). I'd also like to try to make another halter dress with the seersucker, this time without using ribbon for ties. And I still want to try my hand at making matching shorts/spankies, although I just bought some cloth diapers the other day and they are so cute that I probably won't bother putting anything over them. Hmm, I sense a new obsession rearing its ugly head - but I'll save that for another post.
But how freakin' cute are these shoes? I saw these the other day at Nordstrom Rack and had to buy them. They're a little big for E's feet still, but she can manage to clomp around in them a bit. Now, my burning question is, why don't all kids' shoes have the little tab at the back to help pull them on? These were not easy to get on her feet.
Last night I went to what's called a "mom's night in," which is pretty much what it sounds like: a bunch of moms getting together (mostly without their kids) at someone's house. And since it was knitting-themed, we pretty much all just sat around and knitted and chatted. This is actually the second one of these that I've been to, although T insists that this is actually a cover for some sort of crazy girls night out involving tequila and male strippers. Don't I wish!
In any case, as boring as it may sound to many, it was actually quite fun. And I got to make some headway on the latest skull hat I've been working on for E. I ended up completely unraveling the first one I made for her and starting over using a variation of the same pattern I used to make this one for my sister-in-law. As I get really close to finishing though, I worry that I'm going to run into the same problem of it being too deep in the crown. So it looks like I may be starting over again. *sigh*
After seeing my first attempt, my sister-in-law became obsessed with having a skull hat of her very own (see the comments on this post). I didn't have the stamina to make another one, but I did find another pattern that was a somewhat simplified version and offered to make her that one instead. And believe it or not, not only did I actually follow through and make it, but I even finished it in time for Christmas! Hooray! It turned out a bit bigger than the pattern called for based on the gauge I'd gotten when making E's kitty hat, but she had told me in advance that she has a big head (as do I), so it actually worked out perfectly. Besides, I figure she can shrink it a little if she has to. As a bonus, it is really very warm and cozy since it has a double layer "headband" inside. I know she wants matching mittens, but not sure if and when I'll get to those.
Overall though, I'm pretty proud of how this hat turned out and I'm thinking about making one for myself, probably in pink and black, and maybe a matching one for E too, but with the colors reversed. Of course, I probably won't start either till after the holidays and knowing me, I'll finish them sometime this summer.
My mom saw me making this one and was creeped out by the skulls. She gave me a lecture about how it's bad for a baby to be wearing something with skulls on it. T has started referring to it as the 'death hat.'
I think that skull hat really burned me out on knitting. I've been trying very half-heartedly to start a few new projects (I really wanted to make a "cupcake" hat), but they don't seem to be going anywhere. And this is even after I just bought some gorgeous Jaeger yarn for 75% off (shh...don't tell T). Not to mention that my hands have been hurting too from working with such small needles and fine yarn. So I think I'm going to put the knitting aside for a while - so much for selling hats - and move back to sewing. Sorry Amber, looks like you won't be getting those skull mittens anytime soon.
Part of my renewed interest in sewing also comes from the fact that I've been thinking a lot lately about felting. I got a bunch of wool yarn on sale last week, and was thinking about making this skull bag, but then I got to thinking that you know, it's a lot of work to knit something and then felt it too. I could easily skip the most time-consuming aspect (the knitting) and skip right to the felting if I found some old wool sweaters. So off to the Salvation Army store I went. And not only did I find a good number of 100% wool sweaters, but they were all 50% off, so I ended up with a five sweaters for under $15. I had to resist the urge to buy every single one I could find, but if these first few projects go well, then I'll definitely be heading back on the next 50% off day and cleaning them out. Oh, and I also found a wool sweater in T's closet that had a few holes in it and convinced him that it was time to retire it. So make that six sweaters.
The problem is, once I got all these sweaters home, I realized that I didn't really know what I was going to do with them all. I mean, how many tote bags does a girl need? Even a super crafty bag-addicted girl like myself can only use one at a time. I did some googling, and found this really cool idea from Martha Stewart. And I even found a great handknit cabled/textured sweater (pictured, right) that I could use. But now I'm kind of toying with the idea of unravelling the sweater so I can repurpose the yarn. I know, it's crazy. But it does seem like really nice yarn. And I could even dye it. Ack, what am I saying?!
I also ended up getting a couple good project ideas from a moms board that I'm on. One is to take the sleeves and make them into little wool pants for E (commonly known as "longies" in the world of cloth diapering). I love this idea! Although, it's really going to put my sewing skills to the test. I've never sewn any kind of garment before, baby or otherwise. And then someone else mentioned making a baby sweater out of the adult sweater, and then adding needle felted embellishments (also a Martha project). I actually really love this idea too. The sweaters are too cute. But it requires me to delve into a whole other hobby - needle felting. This means buying new supplies like needles, roving and foam pads. I can already see it getting out of hand. But I'm so tempted.
To be continued...
I guess there is something to be said for gauge after all. And my punishment for willfully ignoring it? I finally finished the skull hat, and it fits no one. It's too big for E, and too small for me.I also have to say, this was a lot harder to make than I thought. This was my first effort at fair isle knitting , and I'm not sure how much more I'll be doing in the future. By the time I got a little more than half finished, I was really sick of working on it (not to mention my hands were hurting from working with such fine yarn) and it required a lot of will power for me to not just abandon the whole thing and start unraveling. I also don't really like how "busy" the pattern looks. I do really like the skulls though, so I may make a hat with just a ring of skulls running around it.I think I'm going to stick with fruit hats for now. I'm actually toying with the idea of selling hats too. Although, if I'm really going to do that, I should probably start cranking them out since the holidays and cold weather will be upon us soon.Here's a funny picture I couldn't resist posting of E wearing the hat:
ETA: I realized after posting this that technically, the hat isn't 100% finished. I still have to do a little work on the bottom edge. But you get the point.
I have to confess, despite being an avid knitter, I almost never pay attention to gauge, nor do I ever do gauge swatches. In fact, I rarely ever knit an entire pattern word for word. Maybe it's the rebel in me, or maybe it's some kind of ADD, but I just can't seem to ever stick to them. For one thing, most patterns call for a very specific kind/brand of yarn, usually of the expensive variety. And of course, I'm a total cheapskate, not to mention the fact that I already have soooo much yarn that I cannot possibly justify going out and buying any more (not that this stops me from randomly buying yarn because it's pretty). So I usually will just sub in whatever I happen to have on hand. In the early days, this was usually cheap acrylic yarn that was way thicker than what was in the original pattern, so no amount of sizing down needles was going to get me the right gauge. And as time went on, I was more willing to buy nicer yarn, but I'm still not willing to drop $10/skein, especially when a pattern calls for 4-5 skeins.
The one time that I knitted a gauge swatch, got the gauge right (or at least, what I deemed to be as close to right as I could get), and knitted the pattern exactly as written? I made baby booties that seemed to be about 3 sizes too big. And yes, this was even using the fancy expensive yarn that the book recommended. Grrr.
As time went on, I also found that most patterns were never exactly what I was looking for. And those that were, cost money (again, the cheapskate thing comes into play). Gradually, I started just looking at pictures of stuff that I liked and winging it. So far, it's worked out pretty well for me. The only real downside is that I sometimes have a hard time replicating things I've made in the past. I'm trying to be better about it now and force myself to write down what I'm doing, but I inevitably lose whatever little scrap of paper I've written it on.I should also mention that my disdain for patterns and knitting to gauge hasn't stopped me from collecting a crapload of patterns (mostly of the free variety, of course). I've realized that when it comes to knitting, I kind of do the same thing as I do when cooking. Search the web for recipes, come up with a million variations, narrow it down to about a half dozen or so that sound good, and then make my own amalgamation of the three or four that I think will work best. So far, it seems to be working out in my favor, both in knitting and in food.Anyways, all this rambling stems from my latest little project. I've recently become fixated on making a hat for E with skulls on it. And in all my research, I only turned up a couple patterns that seemed suitable. But the this one from Hello Yarn was too awesome to pass up. It calls for wool (again, not something that I normally have due to the expense), and has two layers so the stranding doesn't show. I ignored both of these though and decided to see if I could just make a roll brim hat out of thin mercerized cotton yarn.
Well, so far, I'm about 1/4 of the way done. This is actually my first real attempt at Fair Isle knitting, and man, is it slow going. At the rate I'm going, it'll be done sometime next month. Oh, and there is no way that it is going to fit E's head. I think it might fit my head, although I have a gigantic melon, so it's hard for me to say just yet. It makes me sad that I may have to give this one away.
I'll try to get a picture up of the what I have so far.
