Today, I completed a shell from Simplicity #4748.  I made it from a weird piece of fabric I had that was printed with cursive writing with the grain instead of across the grain.  I laid the fabric pieces cross-wise and made sure that there was plenty of ease in the garment.  It was pretty quick to whip up and I just might have enough to make a skirt.  I'm working on that.  Here's a couple of pictures so you can see how it turned out.

The sleeves have slits at the top of them that you can't really see in the pictures.  I haven't decided whether I like that feature or not.

Tomorrow is the 4th, obviously.  Around here, it gets crazy because of the Corbett Fun Festival.  It starts at about 7:30 AM and runs until about midnight.  We live behind the school and the school is ground zero for all of the festivities.  It's a long day for us because our quiet existence gets turned on its head for 18 hours or so.  We've got a system to provide access to our place without destroying it so we're in pretty good shape.

Happy Independence Day!!!

I've done my fair share of knitting over the past year and have enjoyed it emmensely.  I still have an afghan (Barbara Walker's Learn To Knit afghan), a shawl (a Brooklyn Tweed pattern), a baby blanket (Mrs. Hoover's double-knit version), a mohair cowl, and other miscellany on my needles.

For the month of July; however, I'm sewing.  I've been sewing for as long as I can remember but I'm really out of practice when it comes to anything other than quilting.  I have a pattern problem.  I love them and I buy them thinking I can just whip up a skirt, dress, blouse, or jacket--just like I used to.  Then I start, and things don't fit and there's all kinds of new fabrics that weren't around in the 60's and 70's.  And my sewing machine can do different things.  And my serger and I always get into a fight, and the serger always wins.  Needless to say, the patterns keep piling up, but the clothes don't.

I was on the pattern review web-site this morning and I signed up for two contests:  The Pattern Stash Contest and the Mini Wardrobe Contest.  For the Pattern Stash Contest you have to sew only new-to-you patterns and it can be pretty much anything.  For the Mini Wardrobe Contest you have to sew five pieces and they have to create six outfits.  I have my work cut out for me, but I think these are worthy contests for myself to get me sewing again, use some of my patterns, reacquaint myself with sewing more than a quilt, and get rid of some of my stash.

Today I made a baby quilt out of Minke and put ribbon tabs on the edge for baby's amusement.  It's not my best work.  In fact, it may be some of my worst work, but it is done and it is warm and cute and functional.

Tomorrow, I plan to sew a dress out of border print that I've had for years.  I have to decide if/how I'm going to underline the dress, but it does need it.  It's just a cotton dress otherwise.  We'll see how it goes!

My knitting essentials

Thought I'd start off with things that I find essential to my knitting habit and hope that they are helpful to you.  But first you should know that I am a book and pattern freak.  I can't get enough.  And I have a bit of a knitted lace pattern collection.  These things may show up as a bias in "my essentials."

1. Robust collection of knitting needles:  It's surprising what you can find when you let it be known that you are a knitter.  I've gotten needles from friends and their families and my own family.  I've also found that e-bay has needles at a reasonable price.  Second-hand stores and estate sales can also be a good source of needles to round out your collection.  These sources will likely not provide you with the best quality needle, but they will give you the quantity of needles so that you have needles in most sizes and type (single point, double-point, and circular).  These will do for small projects and do in a pinch if you have a project that needs to get done NOW!  You don't just need a stash of yarn, you also need a stash of needles.
2. Let's talk about that stash of yarn.  I consider it therapy, tactile and visual therapy.  Yarn is potential just waiting to be molded into something spectacular.  You may have plans for it and you may not.  Just don't buy a lot of crap just because it is cheap.  You'll then end up with a stash that isn't worthy of the effort that goes into handmade projects and your skill (don't ask me how I know this).
3. Patterns!  I LOVE patterns.  Patterns are my source of inspiration.  Yours may be the yarn.  I love to dream about all of the possibilities of what can be done with yarn and needles.  I also love to dream about what I'll make next and for whom (that next victim as it were).  I have a favorite site that feeds that addiction on a regular basis.  If you are not a member of ravelry.com sign up now!  It's a great site with patterns of all skill level and price ranges--many of the FREE!  Also, many patterns can be downloaded directly from the web-site.  This site is also a great "jumping-off point" as well because some patterns will refer you to other sites that have wonderful patterns, such as the Rowan site or Patons or so many others.  Magazines are also another source of inspiration.  The only problem I have with magazines is that they seem to be pretty heavy with sweater patterns and honestly, how many sweaters does one person knit.  I don't knit that many (or any since my first sweater in grade school.  I had visions of an incredible garment flying off my needles.  A gold chunky "home-made" looking sweater was the result and I scared the be-jesus out of me.  I may just now be recovering--some 50-ish years later.)
4. A space to knit that is yours alone.  You need some place where you can call your own where others won't mess with your stuff.  The last thing you need is someone fiddling with your knitting in the middle of a project.  My spot is the end of the couch, where I have an end table for stuff (hot beverage, TV remote, scissors, cable needles, darning needles, etc . . .), a coffee table for my footstool, and room for pet snuggling on one side.  I do have a bit of trouble with my dog thinking that skeins of yarn are toys and taking them outside for a good play.  I'm being more careful where I put things now.  This space also has to be kind to your body.  You are going to spend time there so make sure that it doesn't make you sore or sick by not being ergonomic.  My husband built a knitting lap desk for me because my neck gets tweaky and I get headaches, but any lap desk will work that is adjustable.  Amazon.com or any other place of your choosing will have lots of options for you to choose from.
   
5. Knitting buddies help.  You can get these on-line or in local groups.  Look around.  You might be amazed at what's out there.  I know I was at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival (OFFF) that my husband and I went to this week-end.  Wow!!!  Who knew there was such a spinning and weaving and you-name-it bunch of talented people out there?  It was fascinating.  I felt like a pre-schooler that had no business being there because these people were hard-core--but the nicest bunch of people you'd ever want to meet.  The show was a bit constrained to inside vendors because the weather was so horrible this week-end and many of the outside vendors left and went home--they were being blown away.  The ones that did stay didn't get much business, at least not from us, because it was too wet.  I'm sticking in some pictures to give you a taste of what goes on at one of these festivals.  The pictures below were taken upstairs were folks were practicing their craft--bobbin lace, spinning, weaving, knitting, . . .
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   

The picture below show just a couple of the items that were submitted for judging.  I wish I could show you every beautiful item, but here's just a tiny sampling.

 

 

6.  Finally, you need some finished items under your belt of which you are proud.  Doesn't matter how big or how small, just that you are please with them.

 

To that end, I will leave you with a picture of a lap robe that I just completed and gave to a friend as a wedding gift.  It is a Brooklyn Tweed pattern called Umaro and I used Debbie Bliss Paloma in Basil.  It is soft and oh so yummy.  The new couple liked it.

 

 

 

 

 

First entry

Never thought I'd be blogging but here I am!  I know that's clique, but I'm not much of a communicator.  I'm quite quiet and keep to myself.  That's one of the reasons I like knitting.

I've just gotten back into knitting with a passion I'd forgotten.  What a wonderful thing to discover this far into life.  How wonderful to discover the joy of creation when work is heartbreaking and utterly cruel.  How delightful to find delight in the creative process when my body is growing older and ceasing to do my bidding withought complaint.

To share this joy and impose some rigor on my "work" in knitting, I am starting this blog to track the process of explore my journey into--the stitch.  I'm fascinated with what simple knits, purls, and yarn overs can create.  And I plan to explore knitting patterns and their use in knitted fabric.

Let's see where that takes us.  OK?

Today, I'm going to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival.  I've never been to such an event before and I'm really looking forward to it despite some pretty nasty Oregon weather.  I'll post some pictures and let you know what I learn.

On my needles right now is a Brooklyn Tweed cowl called Pei with Brooklyn Tweed yarn.  Just started it last night.  This morning I have a killer headache.  Does anyone else have this kind of trouble when knitting?  My husband made me a lovely knitting table that seems to help but I didn't use it last night.  Guess I'll learn!