OTN Friday - May 17, 2013

Two pair of socks have been added to the finished basket since the last On The Needles post. This yarn is Wisdom Yarns Marathon Sock yarn. I have more of it, sigh. In fact, there is a lot of sock yarn in the yarn storage bin. Does that surprise you? It shouldn't. I realized that not only does the sock yarn multiply, but the downloading of free sock patterns is bordering on the obsessive. To that end, I am trying to pair a pattern that I haven't knit before with a yarn from the stash. And so, I knit the blue socks using Fluted Banister free sock pattern and the black/grey ones are Scales Skin Socks. The SSS link goes to Ravelry and it is now a for-sale pattern, but when I downloaded several years ago, it was free. I changed the top a bit on the SSS socks by doing a K1P1 rib instead of the picot edge, because the yarn is a bit too masculine for a frilly edge.

I promised photos of the steeked sweater. Which is still a WIP, believe it or not, although it looks finished. I CAN wear it this way, but it needs a bit of tweaking still.

It fits beautifully across the shoulders and the neck. And I really ♥ the elbow length sleeves. The steeking* was easy after the first cut. Once the cut edges rolled into the inside, I covered them with a braided ribbon from my stash. There-in lies the problem. The edge stretched a bit as I was sewing the braid on and the bottom front edges formed dog-ears. I need to frog the ribbon and stitch it on by hand, all the while easing in the fabric so the ears disappear. That is a job for high summer, when I can hide in my basement sewing studio.

On the inside, I left little 1" strands of the yarn hanging. Once they felt up a bit from wearing the sweater, I can trim them closer to the fabric. These little 'tabs' are from adding on a new ball of yarn.

The sweater needed pockets and there was enough yarn left over to add a pocket to each side. I picked up stitches just above the garter stitch edging at the bottom of the sweater and knitted on a pocket lickty split . Using matching yarn, I stitched the top and sides onto the sweater fabric.

For more knitted goodness, you can visit JudyL at Patchwork Times to follow the link ups.

*I will post my process of steeking since I shot photos during the process. 'K?

Breakfast

Memories of Grandpa

IIt's funny how the mind makes connections, isn't it? Reading a blog post the other day about how to fake calligraphy, made me think that I didn't need to fake calligraphy since I know how to do it. In fact, I have all the accoutrements: ink, dip pens, crow quill pens, cartridge calligraphy pens and the standard school cartridge pen.

Where did that old cartridge pen go to? The one grandpa gave to me when I was still in high school. I found it in a baggie with the other pens. Did it still work? After soaking for hours in a warm water bath to which several drops of dish detergent was added, it was put into the sonic pen cleaner. I let the pen cleaner run for eight hours in the hope that if there was dried up ink inside the pen head it would  soften enough and float out to make the pen usable. All this cleaning worked and the pen works too!

I ♥ this pen because it is a physical link to a grandfather long gone. He was a gentle man with wonderful values. In the early 1900's he played the tuba in the local marching band.  Always surrounded by women, he raised not only his two biological daughters but a step daughter, all to be wonderful women. As a teenager, I spent a lot of time at my grandfather's house and I am richer for it. Remember that oak rocking chair in my last post? That was my grandpa's chair.

I love how a simple pen has brought back memories.

Design Wall Monday - May 6, 2013

Apparently, I am not happy unless there are multiple projects going. This is how the studio looked when I closed the door yesterday. In fact, I stood in the doorway to take these photos.
 

In the lower left of this photo, the counter that doubles as a cutting surface is visible with the next border of the Baltimore Christmas BOM ready to stitch on it. Beyond that, is the old Singer treadle machine currently being used for string piecing. The foundation papers are sitting to the right of the machine and just on the back corner of the treadle cabinet is the growing stack of 'blocks'. As a string gets pulled from the basket, it will be sewn to the foundation paper, unless it is a longer red or blue one as evidenced from the growing pile on the floor of a future QOV string quilt.

Behind the treadle is the Bernina that is set up for the machine applique of the Baltimore Christmas BOM. I don't want to mess with the settings, that's why I'm using the treadle at the moment. And there is the pile of the purple knitted jacket waiting for the hand-stitching of the frog closures to complete it. On the back corner, is the box of fabrics used in the Baltimore Christmas BOM.

 

Progressing a bit further around the room, the hand quilting frame becomes visible. It is currently in use as a hanger for six (6!) basted quilts awaiting quilting. The oak rocking chair is blocking the view of a small side table that currently holds a hand piecing project and just go to this post for the design wall that is behind the rocking chair and hasn't changed in a while.

And there you have the state of my studio. Did you keep track of the projects? If you didn't, the number is 12.

Colorado Sky

After yesterday's storm the sky is several shades of blue. And the mountains, which you can't see in this photo, have several new feet of snow. Yay for moisture!

Happy May Day

This is the view from my front door this morning. Sunday it was 80 degrees and then this 'gift' this morning. There is a lot of water content so I am not complaining. So far we have about 7" of a very wet snow with another 5" predicted. I need to go and shake the branches again, don't I?

And then there is sewing

The sewing studio got rearranged the other day to make it a bit more efficient. Now the old Singer treadle machine can be used as it is supposed to be used rather than a surface for storage of unquilted (but basted) quilts.

Can you see what I'm stitching? String blocks. The papers are there in the right forefront and the completed, but untrimmed, blocks are to the rear. On the floor you can barely make out the Bag 'O Thread that I decided to use up in this [ongoing] project.

What I've learned in this process is that this machine really likes to have the top thread and the bobbin thread the same. It gets terrible, terrible tension headaches with two different threads. I figured out which way the stitch regulator needs to turn to make a smaller stitch *LOL*. Oh, and most important, that old adage about "practice makes perfect " is true. I know where to put my feet to get a smooth treadling rhythm going. Plus, for faster production, which way to wind the thread tails around my index finger so they don't pull away and then out of the needle.

All in all, I've been have fun, doing this mindless sewing. And plus, I've have amassed quite a large number of these string units.