Yesterday, I sent out an S.O.S for advice on setting a flawless shoulder seam. And, I got EXACTLY the help I was searching for! You gals are amazing! In case anyone else is looking for some great tips and tricks for setting a sleeve there are some brilliant instructions and links from the ladies in this Ravelry Forum Thread. I can't wait to try them all to see what works for me. In other exciting news, I got my list for the Christmas Card Swap hosted by Zaneta. I'm looking forward to participating in this swap; You know how much I love mail! This is a super fun idea and great way to learn about and interact with other bloggers. I'm eager to get my cards posted and on their way! I'm plugging away on my project list but still haven't crossed anything off... Is it time to start worrying?
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Somehow, it's Monday. It's amazing how quickly it gets here. I did manage to squeeze in some amount of activity before the weekend disappeared. Saturday morning, Mike and I met Megan at Merchandise Mart and walked the One of a Kind Show. It was massive. There was a lot to look at, but most of the booths, were priced beyond my budget. Disappointingly, I didn't see very many booths with WOW factor. A lot of people are doing a lot of similar things. But, overall, it was worth a trip to browse and spend the morning hanging out. Later, we ventured out for a marvelous evening with friends. There was bourbon cider, euchre, Zoolander and Tetris; talk about a splendid way to spend a Saturday night. Sunday, we did something we never do. Slept in. Until noon. Even the dogs were content to stay in bed. It was fantastic. I woke-up ready to work on the list of projects I'd like to have finished before the end of the year. I've got the list prioritized by deadline. There are only 10 or so projects on the list, but they all require a bit of a time commitment. The majority of my afternoon was dedicated to this pair of PJs. I'm calling them my practice PJs, because I have a couple/few more pairs of them on that list I mentioned. This project has allowed me to practice SO many skills; some, I'm trying for the first time: breast pocket, pants, set-in sleeves, cuffs...And skills I've only tried once or twice before, like piping, attaching a collar and French seams. These Jam jams are also my first 'separates'. I've never attempted making a shirt before this. A lot of new things happening here, in a very non-threatening introduction. Since,I'll probably never wear these out of the house, I'm not terrified to screw-up. This was my stopping point for the day. One sleeve down, one to go. To set my sleeve, I used my Grandma's recommendation for getting the sleeve cap evenly distributed. I still ended up with a couple little folds/pleats. To those of you with sleeve setting experience, what are your suggestions for a flawlessly smooth cap? At seven-thirty, I traded my pajamas for sweater parts and started seaming while I watched my Pack take a one game division lead over the Bears with a 'W' over Detroit. (HUZZAH!)
Despite my effort, yesterday was the type of day where I worked a lot but didn't get anything done. I mean, there's progress, and that's something, but I didn't get the satisfaction of crossing anything off my list. Looking forward, the phrase of the week is, "time management" here at ma maison. If I don't get some of my list completed by the weekend, it's gonna get crazy up in here. Later gators! I can hardly believe it, but I've managed to post each weekday this week. Not too shabby. I'm not sure it's a pace I can maintain, but it's a refreshing change from my previous periods of prolonged absence and/or lack of blog-worthy content. What's best, is that today I have a finished project to share! (It seems like ages since I've had one of those!) A few weeks back, Faye at Buttons and Beeswax offered a free knitting pattern from her store to anyone willing to knit the pattern and post a projects page on Ravelry, complete with photographs and an unbiased account of ther experience using the pattern. I jumped at the opportunity. Faye's designs all look so beautiful and I was eager to try one for myself. I chose the Autumn Gold Lace Beanie and started to work. The pattern itself is very nicely written and beautifully laid out. It's very user friendly and complete. My only gripe, if you can even call it that, is how labor intensive/time consuming this hat is. I should have anticipated it; the hat is knit with sock yarn on size 3 needles. This isn't a quick- worsted weight- can have it done tonight sort of accessory. But, as with most things that require extra time and work, it turned out beautifully. The fabric is incredibly light-weight, and the hat is roomy, making this a fantastic curl capper. I'll have to report more indepthly about the condition of my hat-head after a few morning commutes; so far, I feel like I can wear this hat with minimal curl-quash; always a plus in my book. Initially, I knit all 27 repeats as directed in the pattern. When I tried it on and looked in the mirror, l knew I was not 'hip' enough to pull-off the amount of slouch I ended up with. So, I ripped back to Faye's reccomended repeat length for a less slouchy hat (19). And, I think it's just right. It should be noted, I have a huge head. If you have an average sized head, you might want to factor that into your plan while knitting and make appropriate adjustment to the length. The yarn is a skein of Neighborhood Fiber Company sock yarn in the RockCreekPark color. It's INCREDIBLE. Last night while I was finishing at knit night someone pointed out how radiant the color of the strand is and said it seemed to almost glow. I completely agree. In fact, when I walked by Karida's booth at Vogue Knitting Live I felt like a moth drawn to a flame. The colors are intensely super saturated. The photos do no justice to the beauty of this dye. While I'm sure the yarn would make lovely socks, I'm totally glad to have used it on a more visible project. As a continued reminder (I promise, I'll stop noting this after we ring in the New Year) the URL to this blog has changed. I would love for you to follow along with me. If you're interested in adding me to your blog roll, Reader, or other RSS platform the new domain is: www.tresbienensemble.com Alright. I think that's it for me friends. I hope you all have a lovely weekend filled with fun, fabric, fiber, fantastic food, friends and family! Thank you, and good night.
This week has been a wonderful week for mail! These photos landed in my inbox during my commute home the other night. My exact reaction was to squeal with excitement. On a crowded train. During rush hour. While wedged among a pile of strangers. Ah, yes....
My little pal Deklan had his stylist/mommy send me these photos of him wearing his Gramps Cardigan and has allowed me to share them with you! Doesnt he look completely dashing?
Pretty darn handsome, if I do say. If only I could get through the screen to plant kisses on those cheeks!
It not he first time, and it likely won't be the last. I'm short on yardage. Not a little bit. A lot. A third of a sweater worth, to be more specific. My common senses failed me at the time I purchased this yarn. I clearly recall seeing the yarn, thinking it would make a great sweater, and grabbing four hanks- because it's sock yarn, and sock yarn has roughly 400yds per hank; 1200yds, give or take, should be plenty to get me through a sweater. And, it totally would have. Except, the hanks only have 220yds. DOH! Never fear, Windy Knitty came to my rescue, and forward progress is in my immediate future. I used the first four hanks for the sweater fronts and sleeves. And, I'm using the new hanks to make up the back. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I don't end up with an oddly color blocked cardigan. Some day, I will learn, obviously, that day has not yet come. One final note before I go. If you're reading this post in a browser, you may have noticed some housekeeping and remodeling. As we creep towards the new year, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the direction I want to take this blog. Retrospectively, I feel "Will Knit for Food" too drastically limits the scope of things I want to continue posting here. So, I'm beginning to transition the site from its former domain (www.willknitforfood.com) to its new domain (www.tresbienensemble.com). I'm not entirely sure how smoothly this process is going to go. I was hoping the transfer of subscribers between domains would be relatively seamless; however, Support has informed me that I am unable to transfer my subscriptions between sites. I apologize in advance for any interruptions or glitches during the move. The new domain is live, so please feel free to update your RSS feed in order to side-step any discontinuity. I really appreciate each of you who makes a visit to my little space and hope you'll make the move with me.
There are few things I enjoy or look more forward to than receiving packages and letters in the mail. There's something about the anticipation and act of tearing open an envelop or parcel that really gets me giddy, even when I know what to expect inside. Yesterday, I came home to a brown cardboard box with my name stamped on the front. The Christmas present I'd gotten myself on Cyber Monday had arrived! Before I could contemplate wrapping and sticking it under the tree, it was out of the box and assembled. Meet Midge. Isn't she swell? I just know we're going to have fun together!
I've been kicking around the idea of buying a dress form for a long time. There are a lot of wishy-washy reviews on all the makes/models I researched, so I was a bit skeptical when it came time to make a decision. No particular brand seemed to shine brightly above the others. I don't sew enough to reasonably consider investing in a professional grade form. Ultimately, I landed on the Singer G150, because I got a deal, free shipping and I preferred a gray form to a red/blue/pink one. It was a little bit tricky tracking down a small sized form for the same price as the alternate sizes (must be the most common size purchased), but Joann has them online. Do you have any experience with this or other adjustable forms? What are your thoughts? So far, I haven't gotten farther than adjusting her to the right proportions (small on top, big on the bottom). But, I'll keep you posted on our working relationship as it develops. As if it wasn't exciting enough to get Midge in the mail, I got a second special delivery yesterday afternoon. This package was of the digital variety, sent directly from Ms. Jane Richmond! Turns out, I was drawn as a winner for one of Steven's prizes! I am the lucky recipient of Jane's new e-book collection ISLAND and a $25 gift certificate to her pattern shop! Thank you Steven for hosting such a wonderful and generous fundraiser/giveaway, and thank you Jane for being so generous as to give away this incredible prize! One final note before I go. If you're reading this post in a browser, you may have noticed some housekeeping and remodeling. As we creep towards the new year, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the direction I want to take this blog. Retrospectively, I feel "Will Knit for Food" too drastically limits the scope of things I want to continue posting here. So, I'm beginning to transition the site from its former domain (www.willknitforfood.com) to its new domain (www.tresbienensemble.com). I'm not entirely sure how smoothly this process is going to go, but I'm hoping the transfer of subscribers between domains is relatively seamless. I apologize in advance for any interruptions or glitches during the move. The new domain is live, so please feel free to update your RSS feed in order to side-step any discontinuity. OK. I'm out! See you soon. Another weekend, come and gone. And, now it's time to get back into the work week. But first, a recap. Over the weekend, I was treated with visits from my mom and sister- at the same time! (I can't begin to tell you how rare an occasion that latter part is). My mom and I met my sister downtown Saturday morning following the Santa Hustle, her first 5k *YAY!*, for lunch and the Christmas tree room at Macy's. Then we battled the masses at the Christkindle market where we were tempted to buy beautiful blown glass ornaments such as: And, this: The deal of the day... And maybe tomorrow... Duce and Danger had their own visitor and were very disappointed to see the weekend end. Sunday, we did double brunch(I know. Intense.)as we traded the company of my sister for Mike's brother. In other fun and exciting news, we ordered grown-up frames to display our ever-growing collection of prints (Michael is to screen prints as Michelle is to yarn). I started working on some holiday knitting. And, the Packers beat the Vikings . Saturday, Steven's World Aids Day Fundraiser took flight and raised nearly $5,000 for the Lansing Area HIV testing facility. Pretty darn impressive. As for the Pay it Forward Giveaway, commenter, Shadow Byrd, who plugged Steven on Facebook, wins the Colette Sewing Handbook and $25 to Pink Chalk Fabrics!
Thanks again to those who helped spread the word! A successful weekend, if I do say so. I hope you all had great weekends and an easy transition back into the grind! See you soon! |
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