Author Archives: textillian

Dive in the Pool

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Well, with my mother’s socks done, I can start a new pair with a clean conscience. And that new pair is using the Socks That Rock that I got at the MSWF. This is side one:

STR Carbon side 1

And this is side two:

STR Carbon side 2

Yes, the mediumweight is pooling something fierce for me. Whether I like it or not is still up for debate, but it is an easy knit. An easy knit is something that I need to take a break after a few rounds of this:

Diamond brocade sock with pinstriped foot

Yes, the diamond brocade sock is off of the back burner now that Mom’s socks are done. I am doing pinstriping for the foot. I am not sure how I like it just yet. I actually like it better looking at it in the photo that I do seeing it in person. And oy! Does it hurt my hands to do a few rounds of it. It gets me thinking, “How many rounds of this am I doing?”

Oh, BTW! Stop by and wish Mel and David congratulations.

Oh Sheila

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Well, I finished these on Father’s Day.

Ribbed lace socks done for my mother

Unfortunately, it was Father’s Day night (Father’s Night?) after we had already been to the shindig at my sister’s for the occasion. It is just as well, because I wanted to give them a wash before I give them to my mother. I usually don’t worry about washing before the first wearing for things that I make for myself, but for anything that I am giving to someone else, I like to do the first washing to make sure everything comes out ok.

Sheila’s sock yarn was great to work with. Smooshy soft. I have it in two other colors, but those are destined for socks for my feet. Being a semi-solid, the yarn takes pattern well.

Ribbed lace close-up

This is the first pair of socks that I have done completely on double points in a long time. Now I remember why I was so grateful for the introduction of the 12″ circular. I used double points because Addi doesn’t make 12″ circulars in 2.25 mm. (Their US 1 for circulars is 2.5 mm. Strangely enough, their US 1 for dpn is 2.25 mm. Makes a lot of sense, don’t it.) With this stitch pattern, it meant a good bit of transferring stitches between needles because of the placement of the yarn overs and decreases. I know that it is possible to do the yarn overs and decreases between needles, but it seems like I would just be asking for trouble to do it that way, rather than transferring a stitch from one needle to another to make sure that a single purl or knit is at either end of a needle. Besides, I think I am just too used to scooting the stitches along the circular.

The stitch pattern itself is over 24 rounds but is very easy to memorize. Every other round is just purl the purls and knit the knits, yarn overs, and decreases.

Hopefully, my mother will wear these. I figure that they will be something that she can where around the house in the evenings when the weather starts to get chilly. We shall see. I am happy with them, at least.

Like You’ll Never See Me Again

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Ok. I know I said that I wasn’t going to do this; but I figured that if I didn’t show you the stuff that I got at Sheep and Wool, you may never see it at the rate I move.

But first, let me tell you what my philosophy is when shopping the festival: “Shop like you may never see it again!” As you may have guessed from that statement, I am not one that goes into these things with a budget. My thought is that the festival is my only chance to actually see, and in some cases, buy, the yarn and fiber from some vendors. There are a lot of independent dyers and farms that are at the festival, and in some cases, MSWF is the only festival that they do. I rarely get things at the festival that I could get at my LYS or from a general Internet retailer. (This wasn’t always true, as when I first started going to the festival, there were no Internet retailers. But that was over 20 years ago.)

In any case, this is my haul: Continue reading →

It’s All True

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Alice tagged me for this meme, so I thought I would play along. 

Questions and Answers
What were you doing five years ago?
June of 2003:

  1. Work for Northrop-Grumman, which was great at the time, as it was only a 12 minute commute to work on back roads and I was actually developing software. Over time, both the commute and the work would change, and not for the better.
  2. Clearing up my credit report after learning my ex-boyfriend from a few years earlier had taken out loans and opened accounts in my name. It was a big pain to clean up, though the fact that he still couldn’t spell my last name correctly after us being together for two years and never forged my signature the same way twice (even on the same form) did help matters. If you are looking for reasons why I might have trust issues, I present to you Exhibit A. Unfortunately, it is not the only exhibit.
  3. Working towards getting my initial certification to be a group fitness instructor through AAAI/ISMA. I got it that year, and the next year got my certification through ACE and worked at the Bel Air Athletic Club as an instructor for step classes and cycling classes. I do miss teaching and my fellow instructors at the club.
  4. Doing various tasks as vice-president of MAFA. I was VP for a two year term.
  5. Sing in shows that my friend Joe would put on at the Hippo. Most of my “repertoire” was country songs, mainly due to the fact that I am a baritone, and country is one of the few genres of music that still has baritones singing lead.

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?

  1. Write a post
  2. Go to work
  3. Make a Midnight Mocha Pie in a Cafe au Lait Crust for a pot luck
  4. Work on my mother’s socks
  5. Kiss Mr. Penney

What are five snacks you enjoy?

  1. Cocktail peanuts
  2. Fresh baked cookies
  3. Cheesecake
  4. Potato chips
  5. Shortbread

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

  1. Stop working as a software engineer
  2. Travel the world with Mr. Penney
  3. Volunteer at UM Hospital for Children
  4. Work out more
  5. Spin, knit, weave, sew, and other fiber adventures

What are five of your bad habits?

  1. Procrastinate
  2. Procrastinate
  3. Procrastinate
  4. Procrastinate
  5. Procrastinate

What are five places where you have lived?

  1. Perry Hall, MD
  2. Fallston, MD
  3. Philadelphia, PA
  4. Forest Hill, MD
  5. Ellicott City, MD

What are five jobs you’ve had?

  1. Software engineer
  2. Group fitness instructor
  3. Produce clerk
  4. Tutor
  5. Teacher at a community college

Which five people do you want to tag?

If you want to play along, be my guest.

Be My Baby

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Well, I finished the second dress this past weekend; and yesterday, both dresses were taken to the post office to make their way to Ken and Uma.

Green sundress with short pants

Here is my review that will somehow manage to get on PatternReview.

Pattern Description:

Sundress with short pants from Sewing for Baby.

Pattern Sizing:

In the book, it goes from small (0-3 months) up to xl (9-12 months.) I made the medium (3-6 months.)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

The results match the drawings inside the book pretty well.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

The instructions were pretty easy to follow. There is really only one instance where I wish there was a bit more detail, and that was for the hemming of the skirt of the dress. All it says is to hem the dress, but not by how much. While this may differ from child to child, a ballpark figure would have been nice for when making these things as gifts for a child sight unseen.

What did you particularly like  or dislike about the pattern?

I like that this pattern has a lot of possibilities and is pretty easy to put together, despite my being a novice. The results are pretty cute.

I was surprised that the casings for the short pants weren’t turned under more, rather than just zig-zagged and sewn down. I guess since the child will only be in the things for a few months, the thought is that this will be enough for the task.

Short pants casing

Fabric Used:

The green is a Robert Kaufman cotton and the pink is a Debbie Mumms cotton, both from Joann’s.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:

I did a rolled hem on the skirt, for lack of instruction and needing to practice that anyway when I start making shirts.

Rolled hem for skirt 

To attach the skirt to the bodice, I sewed the skirt to the outside layer of the bodice, and then topstitched the bodice around the skirt to catch the bodice facing (not always successfully. I went back and handstitched the inside of the bodice to keep the thing from fraying as it gets washed.)

Topstitch skirt to bodice

Inside bodice

I also edgestitched all of the openings on the bodice in an effort to stabilize the edges and make it come out better in the wash.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?:

I would definitely sew it again. It went together pretty quickly with good results. Anyone should be able to sew this.

Conclusion:

A winner.

Back button closure

Two sundress with short pants

One Step Up

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Well, this is as far as I am with my mother’s sock.

Ribbed lace sock 1

Now, if you saw it last Wednesday night, you might be saying to yourself, “Funny, I thought he was a lot further along with it than that at Meetup.” Well, yes, I was. After finishing the heel flap, turning the heel, and picking up stitches along the heel flap, I noticed a problem. I didn’t have the right number of stitches along the pattern side of the sock. It turns out that I missed a yarn over in the pattern when I started knitting on Wednesday night. Most of my knitting time this weekend was actually spent un-knitting. Grrrr. From now on, I will be taking something that requires a little less thought as my travel projects, no matter what the (self imposed) deadline.

BTW, the pattern is Ribbed Lace from SKS, with the sock yarn from Sheila.

That said, I did get something accomplished this weekend:

Screaming pink sundress with short pants

I got the first of the dresses done. Actually, I still have to do the buttonholes on it, but I have to get the buttons first. I will review it further when I get the other dress done. Let’s just say that at the moment, it is still a learning process for me, but that was not unanticipated. It’s made to fit 3 to 6 months, and as long as you give it too close of an inspection, it looks pretty nice.

Overload

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What a great time! On Friday, I helped with displaying the entries for the skein and garment competition at the MSWF. Let me tell you, there is quite a bit that goes into that, and the fact that we were able to get everything done with so few people in a little over three hours is quite remarkable. The sad thing is that, even though I was up close and personal with many of the items, the job at hand kept me (and everyone else working on displaying the entries) from really taking in the work we were displaying. Consideration has to be given to how the entries placed in the competition, what area is available for display, etc., etc., so even though I got to handle the entries, unlike the general public, I really didn’t get to view them.

As some of you may have already heard, the sweater got a third place in its class and the handwoven, handspun scarf got a first place in its class. (Nevermind that the scarf was the only entry in its class. No, really. Even though there is only one entry in a class doesn’t mean that the entry has to receive first, or a prize at all, if the judges do not see fit for it.) Actually, the comments on the scarf were especially encouraging. I will go into it, along with pictures of the scarf, in another post.

But here is the best part: Continue reading →

I’m So Excited

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I am excited about two things. First, look at this:

Empty loom

Do you know what this mean? The scarf is off the loom. Actually, it is not just off the loom (which happened Tuesday,) but it is completely finished, fringe with a blanket twist (those of you at meetup didn’t get to see that part) and all because of excitement #2.

I entered the scarf and Mr. Penney’s sweater in the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this morning. I really can’t say that I was getting all excited about the festival this year, maybe because of fretting over whether I would get the scarf done in time. But now that the scarf is done and the rat race is over, I’m so excited! And I just can’t hide it! I’m about to lose control… well, you know the rest.

Hope to see you at the festival!