one stitch short

Summertime, and the knitting is easy

Things have been a little bit crazy since I started working at Ravelry (look here if you don't know what I'm talking about).  For a bit, this is on top of several other responsibilities that I had prior to accepting the job, making life a bit hectic, but it is SO worth it!  Add to that a family emergency that took me out of state, and things have been busy. 

In the midst of all of this, I started and frogged and started and frogged an Aphrodite (Ravelry link).  It's not the pattern's fault!  I just think I've had too many other things going on which have led to distracted knitting which equals mistakes!  I will revisit it, probably sooner rather than later.  I adore the knitting with beads method that Sivia Harding incorporated into this pattern, they look so great as a part of the shawl! 

For now, I've cast on something simple which has come in handy for knitting while the kiddo is awake or while hanging out with friends!  A pinwheel blanket. 

With a little guy's foot for scale.  He wanted to "help". 

I have some green for the border and I think I might make a ruffled edge since it is a baby blanket for a little girl, but we'll see how I feel about that when I get there.  After knitting on itty bitty needles for a little while, I've been amazed at how quickly this is knitting up!  It should be perfect for our upcoming road trip, if I don't finish it before then! 

Hi, I finished another sweater!

It seems like I'm basically popping in here these days to post about another finished object. Not much time to share the object in progress because I'm too busy working on it! Well, I finished my February Lady sweater at Maryland, not in time to wear it there, but at least I finished it!

I think this may be my favorite sweater, yet. It is the husband's favorite sweater that I've made. The fit is great, the color is awesome and I'll be able to wear it all through the summer in my air conditioned office. I do need to reinforce the buttonholes somehow because they become loose throughout the day and look all gappy around the buttons which is no good. Otherwise, I love it!

Now, I'm working on some socks for the husband and a Shalom sweater! Almost finished with sock number one and I'm loving Shalom for some near instant gratification. Bulky yarn move so quickly!

NaKniSweMoDo Update - Sweater 2

Well, by now, I should be finishing garment #3, but I'm one behind.  However, my February Lady sweater is moving pretty quickly!  I may not finish it by the end of March, but I'm hoping that I'll at least come close.  Here it was earlier this week.



And, here it is today


The lace pattern has been really easy to keep up with, since I got a couple of repeats done. I did have to rip out a few rows last night, but it was just because I hadn't been paying attention. I have some other projects that I need to do this week, too, including some freezer paper stenciling, but hopefully I'll continue to truck along on this sweater!

Sewwww...

I got my new sewing machine, and have been so busy using it, that I haven't even posted about it!  I ended up purchasing a Janome 4800QC, but they didn't have one in stock, so I got a 4900QC instead (yay for free upgrades).  And, it got here in two days with free shipping, an extra added bonus!




Since I received it, I've been catching up on projects that I already had the supplies to make!


A minky blanket and pillowcase for the kid


Some coasters as a hostess gift (and to practice my quilting)


And, I purchased some fabric to make a buttercup bag. I love the pattern, though I think I'm much better sewing things that aren't three dimensional (blankets, quilts, etc.). I rarely am able to make a bag that I'm happy with, so I may have to stick to quilts for the time being.

This was all in the first weekend I had the machine! I got my dose of immediate gratification and now I'm working on a quilt that will take me a bit longer. It is definitely easier to be productive and a much better experience now that I don't have to fight with my machine so much. I love the new machine, though I know I haven't even scratched the surface of it's capabilities. I am looking forward to learning the best ways to use everything. My favorite part, the fact that I can keep a lot of the feet in the top of the machine! It makes it much easier to find them when I need them!!!

New Macheen!*

I settled on a new sewing machine, thanks largely to all of the advice spurred on by a previous post, and it is in transit!  On it's way!  It will be here tomorrow!  To make it even better, we're off on Friday (kid has a school holiday so we both took off), which means that tomorrow is my Friday! 

I'm so not ready for it to arrive.  My craft room is in shambles.  It has become a dumping ground for all things homeless.  But, I know its arrival will make the cleaning go much faster as I'll be anxious to get that sucker going!

In anticipation of the new machine, I ordered a new sewing book (like I don't already have a billion projects I'd like to tackle, but I was looking for inspiration), Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross.  I thought there might be one or two patterns I'd want to make out of this book, and was really ordering it for the eye candy, but I was wrong!  There are a ton of great projects.  A couple of my favorites are below (pics from the Weekend Sewing Gallery).

Originally, I thought this dress was for a little girl.  But, no, it's in grown-up sizes!  I'm terrified of garment sewing, but this one might just sway me to try it.

I have the husband on record saying that if I made him and the kid matching pajama pants (or as we call them around here "jams") then he will wear them.  I may not make them matchy-matchy, but I do think coordinates would be super cute for the fam.

Now, I just need fabric!  Hmmm...a run to the fabric store on my lunch break may be in order!

*Spelling intentional, that's how we say it around here because it makes us laugh.  It is said that way in every respect...a bread "macheen", you are a "macheen", you get the picture.