It's always about needles and fiber

My grandmother on my dad's side was a seamstress. She taught me to sew so long ago that I don't even remember actually learning, my early memories of sewing are of sitting at her machine and making diapers for our dolls with her scrap fabric. She would show me how to make decorative edges or sew on lace. The funny thing is I don't actually remember putting my dolls in the diapers, only making them. Maybe Steph did, I don't know. I was too busy absorbing what Grandma was telling me. She never taught me about stash, but she had a stash! I guess that was one of those things you used to keep to yourself. I don't think anybody new the extent of it, except me, until after she died last year and my mom and sister packed up her room and set aside all her sewing related things for me, including her stash :)

I haven't sewn much in the last 4 years. I've had her machine in my home for about a year and only used it one or two times. Tonight I finished the Duvet Cover for our new Bed. I was getting quite frustrated as my thread kept breaking. The Huskavarna is a temperamental bitch, if you accidentally brush the tension knob or look at her wrong she'll mess with you for the rest of the day. As I kept re-threading the needle I thought a lot about Grandma, thinking about the last few times she used the machine she had asked me to thread it for her. I kept wondering what the heck was wrong I KNOW I hadn't touched anything, I know better! I finally decided maybe I should change the needle, and wouldn't you know that did the trick! Amazing, so I'm sitting there thinking about all those hours sitting at this table and machine with Grandma and I never remember having to change a needle because it was dull, I've broke plenty, but never just wore one out. Grandma must have always changed them, I was just never around. Then I realized that needle I had just set aside, was put in there by my Grandma. I don't know why it affected me so much, but it brought me to tears. I feel so close to her when I'm sewing, like she's looking just over my shoulder like she always used to, I can almost smell the coffee on her breath. I just miss her so much, so many fun and silly memories. She had such an influence in my life. I never would have thought those hours spent sewing my prom dress or that orange bikini would have moved me so much right now.

Last week I finished the window and shower curtains for our bathroom ... Also in Aloha. I found a great online resource here for Hawaiian prints. They have a great selection, the fabric is great quality and the prices are awesome! In the bathroom I will also sew a border on white towels with this same fabric.

In our bedroom, the final touch will be a headboard that I'm making, I'll post a picture of our completed rooms and bathroom.

Jack's room is also getting an update. He chose a cool fabric with Woody's and Surf boards. There are also a few more accent pieces I'm going to pick up to go along with our aloha beach theme. I found the pattern for the duvet's here.

Oh and the sewing machine needle. I put it in my jewelry box, for some reason I just can't bear to throw it in the trash. I'm sure in 50 years when my kids are cleaning out my room they'll come across it and think I was sure a batty old lady with one heck of a fiber addiction! Hopefully I'll have a grand daughter that won't judge me like I didn't judge my grandma, and she feel honored to be inheriting all of my fiber related items.

Happy Mother's Day, Take Two

This is It's a Wrap Take 2 from The Garter Belt. I've been thinking about trying out lace for a while, and frankly it just scares me. I was looking for something to knit my Mom for Mother's Day, when I came across this pattern and thought I'd give it a try. I'm very happy with the results and found this basic lace pattern fun. I used some left over Endless Summer Sonata that I got from Elann last year. It's 100% Mercercized Cotton, so it was a perfect substitution for linen yarn that the pattern recommended. Since I didn't have quite enough yarn left over to work it to the length in the pattern I decided to steam block it and get a few inches. It worked beautifully. And that was just with my little travel steamer, I'll have to add one of these to my knitting tools wish list!

I really enjoyed knitting with this yarn for this project. I'm about 90% complete on the Little Bows sweater, and still can't bring myself to finish it because the yarn is just so stiff and hurts my hands to knit with it for very long. I suppose it's the larger needles that this pattern calls for that helps. I'll have to remember that if I ever decided to knit with Cotton again :)

Adventures in Aran Knitting Part 1.2

I'm proud of myself. There I said it, I really am. The only thing that frightens me more than Aran knitting is lace, and I'm not going there, yet...

The stitch pattern is fairly easy to memorize, I just have to keep track of the number of rows for the cables, everything else works itself out. I am amazed and in awe of the talent and attention to detail it must take to design; I don't think I'll ever design.

I won't bore you with endless updates of each inch. This is going to be a long project; I'm only 5 or so inches into the back and have a long, long way to go. Mike is 6'5", 225lbs ... that adds up to one heck of a lot of blackberries! I do hope I enjoy knitting every last inch as much as I have loved knitting the first 5! This isn't mindless knitting that is for sure. I have to pay attention, but I enjoy the rhythm. I enjoy see it grow and develop. The only thing I wish I could do differently with this sweater is to knit it in the round, but the blackberries don't allow you to do that since they are worked on the wrong side. Well maybe they can, but I'm certainly not advanced or experienced enough to do it! 

Detail

Here's a close up of the different stitch patterns. Blackberries, twisted stitches, cables, 1/2 diamonds, and moss stitch. 

Blackberries Close Up

Gratuitous shot of the boy

 

Adventures in Aran Knitting ... Part 1

When I heard about Clan Aran Sweaters where I could purchase yarn and a pattern that represented the Shean name I thought it was a pretty cool idea. I checked around a little, but I couldn't find any place to purchase the pattern only. So I decided to just bite the bullet, fork out $100, and buy the authentic báinín yarn and pattern straight from Ireland.

...Then I hear about The Great Aran Sweater Myth over at The Knitting Curmudgeon's blog. Oh boy, I had been had, or so I thought. Fortunately Marylin did all the research for me (thanks!) and I was quickly relieved to figure out that I hadn't been swindled. I knew that The O'Sheahan's hadn't been fishermen ... so why would they have a family sweater?? Of course they didn't, well not to identify their washed up dead bodies anyway. You can read more about the history of aran knitting at the link above, but basically each stich pattern represents the different motto's of each family. The Shean's (or O'Sheahan, O'Shea, and O'Sheehan) stand for. Cables symbolize luck, Diamonds: wealth, Tree of Life: Family, Ladder of Life: Health and Happiness, Honeycomb: Work, Trellis: Success, ZigZag: Love, Irish Moss: Holy Trinity, etc.

I was pleased when it all showed up, then suddenly very afraid. I have never worked on a pattern so complex. And the site of all that báinín yarn (did you notice how huge that 1 ball of yarn is??), well, it's just a bit overwhelming. I have several projects on the needles right now, but this has been calling my name. So I worked a swatch to check my guage and practice the different stitch techniques. I honestly thought I'd try it out and decide that I was indeed over my head and put it away for awhile ... until I was more experienced. I mean I have ONLY been knitting for just over a year! Instead I'm hooked, I LOVE it!!! The Irish Moss, the blackberries!!! It is so cool to see them come to life. So I bound off my swatch and just casted on for the back. I'm still on the ribbing and have to write out the entire pattern, but I'm not worried, I'm excited and can't wait to see it come to life.

...More to come! 

Aaaaaaaah Manos

I've heard about this stuff, I've read about it ... but I had never seen it in person. As far as yarns go, I seem to find that when I actually come across the yarn that people gush over, it's just ok. Not bad, but doesn't live up to all the hype. I was beginning to think that my expectations were just too high. Until I came across this. Oh my, it's like buttah I tell ya, like buttah!

I was rumaging throught this yarn store that I heard about near my work. And when I say rumage I mean RUMAGE! I'm sure there are many more treasures than this Mano's to be found ... good luck finding it! This LYS has yarn from floor to ceiling ... all shoved into plastic bags and cubbys. Now I do appreciate the bags, keeps the yarn clean and all. But it makes it real hard to browse the store and get the feel effect, which to me is one of the few perks of going to a LYS. I will go back there, but it will be with much more time to search and browse.

So back to the Manos, I will be making it into a throw for Mike. You can see I grabbed up the entire lot of this yarn, there are 12 hanks, which should be enough for a small throw. I was going to do a basket weave stitch, but I think I'm going to look for a different pattern as the variations in guage don't allow the pattern to really show up. I'll post my progress.

Socks, Socks, Socks!

Here's my stash of sock yarn. I've got about 2 1/2 inches done on the second sock for my Father in Law, the color is Cape Cod. Next will be socks for my Dad in Fly Fishing, then my Mom in Morning Glory, finally Mike will get a pair in Yukon. That is of course if I don't pick up more sock yarn along the way ... yeah right, I hope no one is holding their breath on these! The ones for my Father in Law were suposed to be a Christmas gift, when I missed that deadline, I thought I'd be done by his birthday ... well that was Thursday and well you know the end to this story! I may put those aside and crank out my Dad's pair in hopes of getting them done for his birthday in March. Well I wont tell him since there is a good chance that won't happen! I really love knitting socks, this is my fourth pair so I experimented with a 4x4 ribbing. According to Mike he likes his socks a bit longer, so they take a while (not to mention he wears a size 12) My dad on the other hand has smaller feet and likes sport/ankle socks, so his will be quicker and I'm not going to do any ribbing other than the top for his. For my mom's I think I'm going to try the Jaywalkers I've been hearing so much about. I have no plans for Mike's other than I love those colors.

Support our Troops

Here is a picture of my cousin Matt, he serves in the Army and is currently deployed to Iraq. This picture was posted on the Army's site. He's the one on the left. I'm proud of him for serving our country, but I hate that he is there and why our idiot president has these young men and women there. Please pray with me for his safe return home. Matt's mom and my cousin, Betsy, forwarded this link to us last week, I had been wanting to send it out to everyone, and today being 9/11 it just seemed appropriate to put it in my blog.

August 29, 2005 Spcs. Matthew Phelps and Martin Gonzalez, from Company B, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, search a house for insurgents and weapons in Rawah, Iraq. This photo appeared on www.army.mil


Soldiers from B Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division conducts patrol of the houses and banks of the Euphrates river looking for hidden weapons. B 3-21 is attached to 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry, 2-14 is in Rawah Iraq to suppress terrorist activities. Photo by SSG Kyle Davis, 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) (Released)

I also have another cousin there, serving in the Marines. David Paul Mendoza. Please pray for him too.

YAY! My Knit Picks Order Finally Arrived!!

Thank god it's finally here, I thought it would NEVER come!! This is the first time I've ordered from Knit Picks and I have to say that I am more than pleased. Other than it taking what seemed like forever to get here ... I have no complaints. And really I can't even complain about that because shipping is FREE, yes free, for orders over $30, I'm just impatient! The yarn is so soft and the colors are so vibrant. I can't wait to see the finished garments. Oh, I should mention that all this yarn is going to be knit into things for ME!! Yes, I'm treating my self to a few items. I figure after this I'm going to get started on Christmas presents, so I better do it now, otherwise I'll have to wait until next year. Besides it's not like I was out of control all the yarn and the 3 patterns came in less that $70 ... I can't beat that price!


Chickami in Merino Style - Dusk

Ribby Shell To-Be

I will be knitting the Ribby Shell from ChicKnits with this ... LOVE this color!!

Merino Style - Iris

The Eyelet Cardi To-Be

I will be knitting The Eyelet Cardi from ChicKnits with this ... can't wait to get started!


Merino Style - Coal

Here's Bronty

Just love knitting up these Dinosaurs! Such an easy weekend project. Now I'm going to mass produce the set for Jack's September Birthday Buddies! Hope they like them as much as Jack does.

Bronty

One Skein Wonder

What a fun one this was! Instant gratification!! My sister in-law Julie LOVES orange, so when I came across this yarn at Elann several months ago I just knew I couldn't pass it up. The only thing was I had no idea what I would make with it. Then I saw the One Skein Wonder. Obviously this yarn would require more than one skein, but it was worth it! I ended up using 5 balls of Valeria di Roma 100% Angora yarn doubled. I hope she loves it!

Jack modeling Julie's One Skein Wonder Shrug

rear view

I'm pleased to introduce Klaralund

This is the first garment I've made for myself and I'm quite happy with it. It was a fun and pretty easy knit. Like the sweater for Jack, if I use the pattern again I will knit in the round for the body and the arms up until the point where I need to attach them to the body. I haven't had a chance to wash it yet, but I'm still trusting that it will be softer and not so scratchy.


Klaralund

Jack's Sweater in Regata

It's finally complete. I have to say that I thought it would never happen. I had to re-work the back shoulders and neck once (the pattern was wrong), then redo the collar 3 times. Thanks to Sheree, she gave me a tip to bind off loosely since it was too tight to fit over his head the 2nd time. But finally it's done and I am pleased with it. And Jack loves it too, that's the best part. I can't get him to take it off after asking him to model for pictures.

This is the first sweater I've completed, it's a lot of work. I think the next one (after the Klaralund sweater that I'm currently working on) I will modify the pattern and knit it in the round. There is just no reason to have to do all that seaming. Anyway, here are the pictures.

Best Model Pose

I Love My New Sweater!!

Another View