WIP Wednesday: Sweater Surgery

Well after letting this cursed sweater sit and think about what it's done for a month, and after finishing the other timed gifts I was making, I decided to finally attack this until I win. It will not defeat me!

 

I put the sweater on after finishing everything except the finishing touch of backing the button bands only to discover the rather unfortunate length the sleeves turned out.

You may ask, "How can a sleeve be both too long AND too short?" Well, my friends, this is how. It's too short to look like a long sleeve, but also too long to be 3/4 sleeve, and also it's too loose fitting at the cuff to slide them up to a length I would like. Ugh. I started unpicking the sleeve cuff a month ago only to realize that they were knit from the bottom up, creating a whole different problem than I've ever dealt with before. I was lucky enough to find this video by Roxanne Richardson that shows how to fix this in detail. After watching it a few times, I had the courage to *gulp* cut my knitting...

First you insert a lifeline just above where you want to rip back to - I used a slightly smaller circular needle and picked up the stitches along an entire row. Next, you go at least one row beneath that so you can have a tail to weave in...

And you SNIP! AAaaahhhh....

I had to unpick each stitch along that row one by one, but once I unraveled that part, the pieces were separated and I could just pull the bottom of the sleeve and wind it into a ball. I did steam the ball with my iron to get a bit of the kinking out of the yarn and now I am in the process of re-knitting the cuff. I'm going to go down a needle size this time to help tighten up the ribbing. If this works well, I will then repeat for the other sleeve.

The real irony is everything I went through with not having enough yarn to finish the button bands - which I talked about here. Depending on how much yarn I have leftover after this surgery, I may go back and redo the button bands in the original yarn. Ah well. This sweater is just determined to cause problems, but I will triumph eventually! Everyone think good thoughts for me :)

Knitting Progress Update: So Little Time ...

I feel like I'm always saying this, but I've had the craziest few months ever. This time it really is different and more crazy than the usual crazy, which has left me with almost no time to make much of anything. I've managed to sew a few things that I had deadlines on, but my knitting has almost come to a complete stand still. It's so sad and I really wish I could be knitting more - I miss the relaxation it brings, not to mention the joy of a finished project - but trust me when I say that it's for the best reason. I'm hoping I can talk about that reason soon. For now, I wanted to at least post an update on various projects for my own sanity (to feel like I've not given up my blog!). So here we go.

My biggest project is my Dahlia Cardigan. I started this back at the end of May and made good progress for a while, making it almost halfway before I had to set it aside for regular life. This is seriously the strangest sweater construction I've ever done. The pattern itself is a little older, but it was very popular with 1599 projects up on Ravelry alone. It was published in the Fall 2011 issue of Interweave Knits but you can now buy it as a digital download. I've been really pleased with the drapey front look right now - after making so many sweaters, I like that I can switch it up in this way since I so rarely button my sweaters anyway. I wanted to make something lighter weight and still different, so I'm knitting this up in MillaMia Naturally Soft Cotton in the Flamingo colorway from LoveKnitting.com. This isn't a traditional choice for a cardigan like this, but I get to wear my heavier and wool based sweaters so little that I wanted to try out this tactic. So far it's going well aside from the crazy construction. I honestly feel like Holly Golightly when she says that she doesn't know if she's knitting a sweater or a ranch house. This picture should show you what I mean:

This is how the sweater looks now that I've finished the right side and am into the left side. You start by making the back lace panel (which is the most fun to knit, hands down). Next you put one side on hold and bind off the top and bottom while continuing on the right side. You set the main body aside, knit two separate pieces for the upper back/collar and the lower back, then knit them into the body as you work outward. You add in an afterthought line for the sleeve to be knit later, and make the entire right front drape. Then you unpick the provisional cast on of the upper back and make it the width of the entire back. Since I started this so long ago, I couldn't remember stitch counts, so I just had to try and read my knitting as best as possible to make the two sides of the upper and lower back even. These are the big open slit areas - that is the upper and lower back, not the sleeves. Crazy, right? My husband and I were in a weekly class that just ended last week, but this gave me some knitting time that helped me make a little progress ... until I lost my knitting bag! I was so heartbroken. I checked every place I had gone on the last day I knew I had it with me with no luck only to find out a week later that someone at work had wrapped it up in a sweater and shoved it on a bottom shelf to get it out of their way, I guess :/ I was miffed but that was completely overridden by my elation to have my sweater back. I had mentally tried to make myself ok with it being gone that whole week and it was so hard, guys. It felt silly to be so upset about something like that, but I think you other makers out there can understand - particularly when the bag contained a mostly finished sweater I'd been working on for 5 months. Anyway, it's back and will get worked on whenever I had spare time (who knows when that will be, but oh well, lol).

When my knitting bag disappeared, I still had my weekly class with knitting time that I didn't want to go to waste, so I grabbed my Ducks in a Row. I started this back in January (how sad is that), and I had barely managed to finish the mama duck body before I set it aside for my Recoleta sweater. During just 2 of our classes and one random Sunday with a little knitting time, I was able to give the mama duck her wings AND make 2 complete baby ducks! Now I'm very motivated to finish this project soon. I plan to buy the pieces for the wheels this week, then I can put it all together. I'm not really looking forward to making all the i-cord it will take to connect these, but it will be worth it. I plan to give this to some special little ladies at Christmas and I feel like this is a reasonable goal. It feels so good to make a toy again :)

I also have a pair of Jaywalker socks in the works - I mentioned wanting to make these back in this post about my case of start-itis at the beginning of the year and I started these just 2 days after that post went up in February. I worked on them for a few weeks on and off, but I quickly set them aside to work on my Recoleta. So I have most of a sock now just without the toe area, lol. Who knows when these will be finished. They do look nice, though :) I say that, but just pulling this out to take the photo has me more motivated to work on them since it is closer to finished than I remembered. Always nice. Then we will see if I am struck by Second Sock Syndrome or not.

I also still have my Lady Russel Shawl in the works, but I have made zero progress since my post in February. I also have a partially made blanket I bought at a thrift store years ago that I vowed to finish up when I moved back in July - it is still sitting in the same bag, totally untouched, lol. Also I swatched for 2 other sweaters - Endearment and Rebel Lace Cardigan - but those are still just swatches. Maybe someday I'll have enough knitting time to make a sweater again, lol. Until then I am enjoying the little time I do get and slowly but surely working toward a few finished objects. Wish me luck!

Progress, Not Perfection

I have a simple sewing project that will be coming up this week on the blog, but I wanted to interrupt the finished stuff to report on a few in progress items :) I'm in the middle of a new sewing project that has been thrown in the naughty corner for the last week...

This picture was before I ruined it, lol, so don't let its looks deceive you. It's New Look 6150 made up in an ivory stretch lace and underlined with ivory rayon jersey. All was well until I tried to attach the sleeves. Even though I made this shirt once before, the sleeves on that one drive me crazy and I didn't know why. Now I know: the line backer shoulders they grade the larger sizes up to have. Ugh. I didn't realize this until I tried it on sleeveless and saw how far the shoulder drooped off my actual shoulder, so I've been trying random fixes and at the moment I have no idea what to do. It may just end up with crazy dropped shoulders and an added seam to fix how I tried to fix it at this point. I just couldn't look at it anymore last Sunday, and now it's sat on my ironing board for an entire week with no work at all. So what do you do when you've lost your sew-jo and just can't bare looking at your current disaster? Switch to knitting!

Right when the shirt debacle happened, I decided to join in a knit along. Susan B. Anderson just put out a new pattern called the Smooth Operator Socks that is designed specifically for striped yarns so you don't disrupt the striping at the heel. This is an issue I ran into with my Arne & Carlos socks earlier this year, so I was really interested to see what her answer was, and the pattern is currently on sale at a discount for the Knit Along she's hosting on her Ravelry group, Itty Bitty Knits. It's an amazingly simple pattern, but it's beautifully thought out and I ended up with a perfectly fitting sock that still has a striping heel! She gives a great breakdown on how to match up your socks as well as how to match the heels and get a great fit. I don't have all that much self striping yarn in my stash, and I didn't want to use my beloved Le Petit Prince Opal sock yarn until I knew the pattern fit and worked well for me, so I pulled out this Patons Kroy Sock yarn in the Meadow Stripes colorway (which I actually purchased after Susan herself made a pair with the same yarn earlier this year). Since this sock is entirely stockinette stitch, I was able to knit up this sock in just 4 days! Isn't that crazy? I finished it up last night and I'm excited for the second one. Anyway, if you're at all interested in the pattern now is the time to get it at a discount plus you can join the Ravelry group Knit Along to potentially win some prizes :) What's not to love about that?

 Sadly I did set my Alecia Beth cardigan aside for these socks, but I have made significant progress on it in the last month before the socks came around. I'm almost to the waist and I love how the rows of cables start to disappear on the back - see that diagonal at the lower back? So neat.

And here's how it looks on the front. Sorry for the awful pictures - my current phone's camera is horrid and doesn't like color or detail. The yarn here is a nice rich navy color in real life. I'm actually really enjoying knitting this sweater and it seems to go faster than my first fingering weight sweater did. I guess I've just made more things with fingering weight in general and I don't mind it so much anymore. So, I'm slowly plugging away on this as well.

I also have a small smattering of projects that haven't seen light in months (my Fuzzy Mitten KAL project is about 50% done, my Antarktis is also about 50%, and another shawl I started months ago is still just a few inches in overall size, lol), but I'm trying not to be too hard on myself about them. I know I will eventually get back to them, but with the limited crafting time I have right now I try to just go with what I really want to work on to keep that feeling of it being fun. Sewing and knitting are my escapes from the drudgery that is clearing out my house and getting ready for an estate sale (ugh, heavens) which feels like it will never end. I'm glad I have something soothing to help me wind down after hours of unpleasant real life junk each night.

So that's what I'm working on now. What are you working on?

Outfit Along 2016, Etc - Progress Thus Far

Many projects have been going on behind the scenes here lately, but my biggest projects are still in the works so I don't have a fun finished item to share yet. I do, however, have a few in progress shots since I feel like posting today, lol.

First, the Outfit Along. This project has consumed all of my knitting time this month and I've deliberated long and hard about what fabric to use for the skirt. I entertained about 8 different choices from my ridiculous stash, but none of them thrilled me. Turns out bright coral with sparkles is not that easy to color match :/ As there's no point in sewing something for a challenge if you're not going to wear it in real like, and since I had a coupon for Fabric.com (affiliate link), I decided to just bite the bullet and get something that did thrill me for this project. I ordered 2.5 yards of Brussels Washer Linen in the Dark Purple colorway. I figured coral and purple will look nice together, plus the purple skirt will go with tons of things already in my closet. Also since I'm using this immediately, I'm not counting it as stashed fabric, lol. The fabric is a linen/rayon blend, so it has the texture that I love plus a wonderful drape. I can't wait to sew it up!

The Hetty sweater itself is coming along quite nicely :) I cast off the body a few nights ago and the fit is just like I wanted - yes! I did mess up when joining the fronts and back (I forgot a row of the lace and didn't notice until I had knit 3 inches more), so I had to rip back and fix it - not too big a deal since it's a fairly quick knit. I lengthened the pattern and spread out the waist decreases over that extra space, so now it hits my waist where I want it to (I am long waisted and Andi's patterns come out very short on me as written). Because of the longer body, I am afraid I may be playing yarn chicken with the sleeves. Because of this, I plan to knit the button bands and neckband first, then I can make sure both sleeves get an even split of the yarn. I just hope I make it to elbow length at least. We shall see. I've never worked with 50 gram balls before, so it feels like I'm always starting a new skein. Think good thoughts for me, peeps!

My other big project that was getting lots of attention until the Outfit Along started is my Alecia Beth cardigan. I managed to separate for the sleeves and join the body before I had to set it aside, which I feel pretty good about time-wise since this is knit in fingering weight. It's a really fun pattern to knit, so I'm excited to pick this back up once I finish my coral sweater.

I've also been sewing up a storm (for me, anyway), so there will be a few new projects here next week :) In the meantime, I share all my projects in real time on Instagram, so you can check me out there if you;d like to see the in progress makes (my name is showandtellmeg, bug surprise I know).

See you next week with some finished projects!

Mysterious Monday...

So, if you're a long time reader you will know that I am a big fan of the mystery make along. I have two in particular that I participate in every year and they happen to  both go on at the same time. Now is that time, lol. Not that I'm complaining - I love the social aspect that goes on in Ravelry groups during the mysteries and seeing everyone's toys coming together. No matter how busy I am, I always make a point to join in the fun :)

First off this time was the FreshStitches Mystery Crochet Along. It started on April 4th, and the neat thing this time around is that it will involve Kool-Aid dying. She has you make everything in undyed wool yarn and then we will learn how to dye the pieces and what pieces should be what color later on. Pretty cool idea, huh? As of now, I have Clue 1 and 2 completed, and thy look like this:

At this point in clue #1 I was thinking it would be a seal (which is why I have the pieces arranged like that).

Clue #2 gave a different and undeniable perspective - that's looking to be a shell, friends. It was pretty obvious at this point that the pattern is for a sea turtle. I also peeked at Clue #3 (which was released today) and saw that all the pieces get dyed green except that shell, which is dyed blue. Pretty sure that means I'm right, but I'm still excited for the final clue next week :)

My second mystery project just started this past Friday, April 15th. It's the Fuzzy Mitten Mystery Knit Along 2016. This has become one of my favorite knitting projects of the year :) I've loved every one of the animals Barbara has designed for us, and I'm sure this time will be no different. She says that this year the animal will be bigger than normal, but also she decided to release the body parts first and the clothing after over the 6 weeks of clues (usually it's the other way around to keep the mystery alive longer). She says it will be obvious what we are making after the 2nd or 3rd week, but this way we will be able to make sure our clothing fits (we've had issues before with not getting a good gauge on the clothes and not knowing they were too big until it was too late). I managed to finish knitting the first clue during church on Sunday and this is what I've got:

It's hard to see in the photo, but the two needles on the bottom have a bind off section between then, so these are going to be the legs. Barbara give you the option of adding panties to the animal for modesty in the pattern or going without and I just decided to go au naturale and leave mine in the nuddie pants. The decreases in the middle are looking like a belly button (which is super cute), and I'm slightly worried it's a doll - as in a human - in which case mine will look like a nudist, lol, but oh well. It's fun. We'll see what next week brings.

I've been having a lot of fun with these two project lately, and I've been working on a very old toy project in between clues. I even managed to do some sewing (gasp)! It's true! I've been in such a funk with sewing lately. My sewing room is moved and completely functional, but I still technically live at my house (meaning I sleep there and my clothes and kitchen stuff is all there). It's a strange kind of limbo to live in, and I never thought it would be a big deal, but this dissected life has turned sewing into a planned event. I can't just meander into my sewing room when the mood strikes like I'm accustomed to since my entire sewing room is now a 45 minute drive away. Because it requires planning and setting aside time, I then guilt myself into being more productive with all the things I need to do to get out of this horrid dichotomy, making sewing seem frivolous and wasteful. It's a sad state of affairs. Thank heavens knitting is so portable. I've finished several other projects that I still have to photograph (again, my stuff is split between 2 places, making photos a planned chore), so hopefully those things will show up here soon and you won't have to just see random book reviews, lol. I did devote my Saturday night to sewing this past weekend though, and I managed to finish a skirt I started in January as well as mend 2 other me made skirts (gotta get ready for Me Made May), and I even cut out a shirt that I will hopefully sew some of later tonight. Life is crazy, but I still need to flex my creative muscles to keep myself from going completely insane.

So that's how things are going with me :) I'm so grateful for these fun mystery projects that add a sense of urgency to making the pieces so I don't miss out on the surprise. I definitely recommend joining in if you feel so inclined!

WIP Wednesday: Start-itis Is Dangerous

It's been quite a while since I did a work in progress post, and given my recent spat of start-itis, I have quite a few things I'm working on but no finished products yet. Also, I seem to have completely lost my desire to sew lately. With my current situation, my sewing room became filled with random things and I just can't muster any motivation to work in that room right now. I even have a skirt that just needs buttons and buttonholes, lol. It'll happen soon. I'm not going to guilt myself about it. Bare with me on the photos - my good camera is not at my house right now, so I've had to make due with just my phone :) So, what have I been working on?

The big project I've really been trying to steam through is my Ginny Cardigan. I started this last September, but only managed to make the bottom ribbing before I set it aside to do the math on the body shaping. Then Christmas gifts happened, and this just sat in a bag. I really want to have it finished, so I've devoted most of my knitting time to this project. Sadly, knitting time has been scarce, but it's enough to see progress. I love the yarn I'm using (Wisdom Limerick) as it's so airy and soft and much lighter than it looks like it would be. I still don't enjoy bottom-up construction though. I keep looking at new designs to line up for when I get this finished, then I notice that they are bottom-up and I cringe and look some more, lol. I'm just so worried that it won't fit like I want it to, and there is no way to know until you've got it finished. I much prefer top-down. I'm sticking with it though, and I certainly won't let it keep me from designs I love if they are bottom-up. Maybe I'll get better at measuring after I make more this way.

My next most frequently worked on project is a pair of plain socks. I LOVE this yarn - it's from the first Arne & Carlos line (the Summer Night colorway) and it's a jacquard printed yarn so you just knit and it looks like you've done fancy colorwork. Isn't that great?! I love this color combo, and I knew I wanted to make a completely plain pair of socks to really show off the yarn. I searched all through my Ravelry library for a plain sock pattern that I already have, but never found one that quite met my preferred criteria. I ended up just using the pattern from my recently finished (but not blogged yet) Smocked Guernsey Socks. If you've seen those sock, this may seem strange since that sock has a fancy stitch pattern. Basically I just used the numbers off that pattern and instead of the smocking stitch, I just knitted. When I reached the point that I needed to start the heel, I decided to use an afterthought heel so I wouldn't break up the pattern in the yarn (it fell on one of my favorite color sections, of course). Once I finished the toe, I unpicked the scrap yarn and knitted the heel. At first, I just decreased the same as the pattern tells you for the toe and I thought it was good ... until I tried it on. The heel was way too short, so the sock slipped down off my heel within seconds of putting it on. I knew I needed to unpick the heel, but I just never felt like doing that so this project sat for several weeks. This past weekend I was finally in a fixing mood, so I re-knit the heel. This time I followed the decreases from the only other sock pattern I'd used - the Lace Knee Socks pattern from the Knit Sock Workshop class on Craftsy. This wasn't earth shattering, but it was just the info I needed since I knew that heel would fit. All you do is decrease, then knit a row, repeat until you have 12 stitches, then kitchener. Super easy! Now the finished sock fits great :) I was so inspired that I immediately cast on the second sock and spent my Sunday knitting time working on getting these done. These are my current "take along" project since they are easy to throw in my bag and go. I'm hoping to finish them soon.

Back at the end of January, I was really in the mood to have several projects to choose from. I blame suddenly having my sewing room in disarray. I really loved the Antarktis shawl by Janina Kallio, and I thought it would be a great pattern to show off a yarn I've been wanting to use. I cast on with Araucania Lonco yarn in this purple teal green variegated colorway. This was a sweet ebay score from last year and I've really wanted to work it up. I love the color combo. I'm hoping that since this is a cotton yarn that I will be able to wear it more than my other wool shawls. I actually did have much more of this knitted, but I decided I didn't like how loose the gauge was turning out so I pulled out the whole thing, lol. It's sat as this sad little triangle ever since. I think once I finish my Arne & Carlos socks this project will get more attention.

Another sad little project is my second pair of socks for Craftsy's Free Sock Knit Along Class. I really enjoyed the first pair of socks, so I quickly chose a yarn for the second pattern and cast on (the class is 3 months long and includes a new pattern each month). The yarn is a deep stash dive of Deborah Norville Serenity Sock in the most inappropriately named colorway ever, lol. I know it seems ridiculous, but I was so put off by the fact that this yarn is called "Aquamarine" that I just couldn't ever use it. Isn't that silly? That's what happens when you work in gemstones, I guess. For the record, aquamarines are light to medium blue - a color which is not present at all in this skein of yarn, lol. Anyway, the yarn is really soft and I think it will show off the Serpentine Sock detail. I've only made the toe so far, but I hope to buckle down (again) when I finish my Arne & Carlos socks. It was really fun talking with the other KAL participants with my first pair, so I definitely want to still be in that conversation.

In other news, I've been bit by the fancy baking bug lately. Making my Valentine macarons made me really in the mood for more fancy baking (and more macarons I can eat myself, lol). I made another batch of pistachio macarons last Thursday (with milk chocolate ganache this time) as well as these lovely lemon glazed madeleines. I'm telling you,this Craftsy class is dangerous, lol. I now completely want to make a lemon tart as well as zillions of different flavors of macarons. Wouldn't hazlenut ones be amazing? It helps that they are actually fun to make too when you know what you're doing so you take away that ever present element of "what if this fails miserably". Anyway, much fancy baking has taken place of late.

I also won a sweet prize from Stitch Diva Studios. Jennifer Hansen hosted some great giveaways on their Facebook page last week and I WON! I won this deliciously soft skein of Feza Harvest yarn in the Citrus colorway. It's 100% merino wool that is organically dyed. The yellow color is awesome. I can't wait to make something yummy with it :)

And finally, I only just discovered Neko Atsume and I am in love :) A game where you just look at cutesy kitties occasionally on your phone? I'll take it. Sometimes a cute kitty is all you need to brighten your day. I recommend you look in to this app if you haven't yet.

So that's what's going on in my crafting world :) There have been lots of audio books as well as lots of home improvements and cleaning and getting rid of junk. I'm glad to have my little creative outlets when those life necessities get a little overwhelming.

What are you making?

*Craftsy links are affiliate links, but all opinions are completely my own and I highly recommend them - plus the knitting class is completely free!

WIP Wednesday: Socks For A New Year

Anyone who gets the Broadway reference in my post title - we should be friends, lol. I found myself wondering what I should make as my next project. I recently finished a cute animal (what I called me Post Christmas Gift Making Palette Cleanser, lol), and suddenly the weather actually turned slightly cool. When Craftsy announced their new Free Sock Knit Along Class, I decided it would be a great kick to finally tackle another pair of socks. I've only ever made one pair, and they didn't end up fitting great, so I never wear them. I did learn a lot though, and suddenly the thought of making socks as a social event upped the appeal. I decided to dig in my stash for some appropriate yarn.

I decided to finally use my Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Grape Gatsby that I received in a Soak gift box I bought for a steal on Craftsy a year or so ago. The yarn is 80% Superwash Merino Wool and 20% Nylon, so it is deliciously soft and springy. I held onto this for a long time because I couldn't decide if I should make socks or a shawl, but at the end of the day ... I would probably not wear an almost neon colored shawl, fun though it would be, lol. So socks it shall be!

I started knitting these last Friday night, then I had a kind of dramatic weekend where all I really wanted to do was knit ... so I did...

By Sunday evening, my sock looked like this! I can't believe how fast I knit so much up, especially since I'm not that accustomed to knitting with sock weight yarn. The pattern is the January pattern included with the class - Smocked Guernsey Socks by Lucy Neatby. I love how this yarn is working up with this pattern - the little wrapped "smocked" stitches are nice little pops of color. I've been running around all week since then, but I"m hoping I can keep up the momentum and finish these socks in time to wear them in the cool spell.

I also was thrilled to find out that my socks have been featured on Kollabora this week :) Woo hoo! If you're at all interested in knitting socks, this class would be a great way to try it out. Join me, won't you?

*Craftsy link is an affiliate link, but all opinions about the free class are my own

WIP Wednesday: Endings and Beginnings

So, I've been diligent this week in catching up on the Fuzzy Mitten Mystery KAL, and last night I officially finished all the current clues! My guy is in pieces, but I put him in his karate outfit to show what he will look like after this weekend. Headless amigurumi!

The final part I worked on was his suit, and that is the part I finished last night. Man, this outfit took just as long as the whole animal to make, but isn't it ridiculously cute? I'm still pretty interested to see how it all goes together (mainly how the tail sits in the pants).

The tail was the big piece included in clue #5, and I just had to share this photo to brag - the middle area of what you see in the photo is actually the seam on this piece! It's completely invisible! I impressed myself with that one, lol.

So, my little guy is all in pieces in his suit, hanging out in this basket until Friday rolls around with the final clue. I know what it is already, but the head is the final piece to really bring him to life. I can't wait!

I finished catching up with the mystery KAL pretty early last night, so I decided to officially begin my Christmas present knitting. I probably shouldn't show this here in case the recipient reads this blog, but I'm going to just hope they don't. I'm really excited to use this fancy yarn. It's Aarlan SwaLaine that I got at a thrift store for a steal - it's 100% wool that is a black mixed with burgundy. This is also the first chainette style yarn I've ever worked with and it's been pretty fun so far (aside from the fact that it's shedding like mad - anyone know if this is part of it being a bit older or if it's just the nature of some wools?). I think the chainette gives a neat texture and I really can't wait to see how it looks blocked.

I worked on these projects while listening to The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I just read The Secret History a few weeks ago and LOVED it, so I was very excited to give this one a read since it got so much acclaim. I'm halfway through and loving it so far. I love the way she writes.

So that's my world this week :) Head over to Gracey's Goodies to see what other people are up to!

WIP Wednesday: Halloween Prep and Progress

I've been busy with so many other things this past week - lots of sewing (and various issues with fitting and whatnot that have made me so stinkin' mad), lots of cleaning and home repairs, and lots of going to bed early and waking up really early to teach early morning seminary at my church (thankfully I'm just substituting for the week - I'm so tired!). It seems that I spoke too soon about how much knitting I got done, because I've now negated the speed with not doing anything on my Penelope for a full week. Ah well. At least I made the sleeve cap and got started on the straight knitting and decreases. At least that's visible progress. Come November, I hope to have more knitting time. Halloween is always busy for me. One of the things that took some of my knitting time is this next project:

Can you guess what it is yet? Probably not, lol. It's Bing Bong from Inside Out! I'm making him to go with my Halloween costume (I'm setting up a whole Inside Out themed trunk for Trunk or Treat this weekend at church - I will get pictures!), and I really need to kick some butt on making him up. Above you see his head and body along with his ears and half of his nose. At least the body is done since that's the biggest piece. I have all the yarns picked out from my stash for his parts, I've just got to have more crocheting time! So frustrating. I'm hoping that I can finish him tomorrow along with my dress so I don't have to stress about my costume at the last second.

I also did manage to finish my Put A Cat On It skirt, but I have to get pictures to post it. Hopefully I can accomplish that soon! Sigh. If only I had more time and didn't need so much sleep.

That's it for me this week :) Check out Gracey's Goodies to see what others are making up too!

WIP Wednesday: Penelope-ing and Cat Sewing

I've been sailing right along with my knitting this past week. I had kind of an off week overall and was feeling really down for no good reason. Meaning I could barely force myself to do anything at all once I got home from work. Thankfully, knitting came to my rescue :) I didn't feel like do anything but knitting, so even though nothing got done around my house for a week I do have some crazy sweater progress to show for my time!

I finished the entire body of the sweater this past Sunday! I just started this sweater on October 1st to go with the knit along, and this is the most progress I've ever made on a sweater in that period of time. I think part of that speed is due to the incredibly simple nature of this sweater - it's all stockinette! I decided to just follow the size large this time and I'm really happy with the fit in the body. I did make the sweater about 4 inches longer than the pattern calls for, but I have a long torso so this still makes it hit me at the hip. 

Sunday night I realized that I had no idea what buttons I would use for this sweater, and the time for buttons is fast approaching so I scoured my stash and came up with nothing whatsoever that would even remotely work. Thankfully Hancock Fabrics had a big Columbus day sale and Monday was the last day. They had all their buttons 50% off, so I went a bit crazy and picked up 4 possibilities.

The bad part of my button excursion - they didn't have enough of the ones I like best. The blue iridescent ones on the top are far and away my favorites (they look like they were made to go with the blue yarn, don't they?!), and they only had 8 buttons in the store when I need 11. I bought them anyway in hopes that I can find another card of them. Just in case I can't get more, I bought the other sets as back ups. I think my next favorite set is the pink and yellow speckled ones, then the clear-ish iridescent ones. I swear my button stash grows by leaps and bounds with each finished sweater. Anyone else have this problem?

In sewing news, I did manage to get a project to almost completion before my funk fully kicked in. I made my first ever circle skirt (which has absolutely no hanger appeal whatsoever, lol) with this Gertie design cat fabric for the Put A Cat On It Sew Along. This was a big drafting experiment, and it mostly worked out except that my lining fabric stretched majorly and now the fit is distorted at the waist :/ I've concocted a few plans to fix the issue, but I haven't been home much to try them out yet. Hopefully I'll figure it out this week. After that I just need to hem this and it's finished :) I'm also hoping to muster up the courage to tackle my Halloween costume alterations. Ugh.

That's it for me this week! Head over to Gracey's Goodies to see what others have in the works :)

WIP Wednesday: New Sweaters - Yay!

In honor of finishing my Agatha Cardigan, I started two more, lol. The one that I've devoted the most attention to lately is my Penelope.

The knit along officially began on October 1st, and managed to finish the color work for the yoke pretty quickly. I just joined the pieces together for the body last night. I decided to use some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in Coral from my stash for the yoke because I liked the color combo with my main yarn. The main yarn is Cascade 220 Superwash Paints in Sapphire Seas that I've had since 2013. It's high time this pretty yarn gets used!

The Cascade yarn is hand painted and has a lovely color variation of blues and a little bit of purple. You can see this better in this picture. I know it's an unconventional color combo, but I still like it :) Plus all of this yarn was from my stash! Yay for a huge stash when you don't have money to buy yarn, lol. I''m really excited to have this sweater for the winter.

Before the Penelope KAL started, I needed a new project so I went ahead and began another sweater, lol. I've always loved the Ginny Cardigan from Unofficial Harry Potter Knits and I kept coming back to that when I decided that I wanted a more outerwear type sweater this year. It worked out perfectly to make since I have this amazing yarn in my stash that worked perfectly for it - it's Limerick by Wisdom Yarns (now discontinued) and it's a DK weight 100% merino wool superwash yarn. The yarn is very hairy and varied in thickness compared to my usual standardized Cascade and cheapy acrylic yarns I tend to use. I was worried at first that it would look odd, but it's knitting up beautifully. I guess this is really my first "rustic" yarn. I love the color variation - it goes from kelly green to a more blue/teal color and back. Anyway, I just started the owls on the back before I set it aside for the Penelope, lol. I'm really excited about this sweater too though!

I also finally started sewing my Halloween costume this week. I think I cursed myself by thinking it would be a quick project. I got the  dress all put together only to discover that it's too tight when I tried it on. Ugh! I've let it out everywhere I can, but it's still too snug so I may add gussets to the side seams. I didn't want to think about it any more last night so it's just hanging out in the naughty corner for the moment.

I'm also pretty ridiculously excited about Sewing Indie Month and my submissions :) The voting is going on right now, so if you wouldn't mind voting for one of my projects over here. Sorry for all the vote begging. I'll lay off next week, lol.

That's it for me this week! Head over to Gracey's Goodies to see other fantastic works in progress :)

WIP Wednesday: So Close Yet So Far!

Well the good news is that I've finished the knitting on my Agatha Cardigan! I've got it all blocked and ready for button band stabilization.The bad news is that when I tried to put buttonholes in the ribbon with my sewing machine last night, it freaked out in a big way. My buttonhole foot is plastic and it seems that the needle has been hitting it on occasion, making a rough ridge that the thread likes to catch on and pull upwards in the stitch generally making it look like crap. I'm planning on sanding the piece when I get to work tomorrow, but until then my cardi must sit unfinished :(

I did manage to sew the ribbon onto the button side of the band, so at least there's that. I'm really pleased with how that finished side looks now and you can't see the black through the purple yarn at all - definite plus :)

In light of my sweater not being able to be finished, I finally started a project I've put off for too long. I'm making Giddy-Up the horse for a baby shower on Saturday. I used this marled black wool that made for the perfect color to mimic the intended owner's own horse she grew up with, so I'm hoping this gift is a slam dunk of sentimentality, lol. I'm working to finish it up today.

And I also cut out another project for Sewing Indie Month a few days ago - a denim Melissa skirt by Muse Patterns. I'm really keen to get started on this, but I'm not sure if my buttonholer will cooperate. We'll see. I'm sure that a denim skirt will come in really handy in my wardrobe.

That's about it for me this week :) I have to go make my signature butterscotch cream cheese swirl brownies now, so if you'd like to see more projects just head over to Gracey's Goodies to see what others are up to!