mending

remember this mess? well it is now this...

basically i made a patch for it.

i looked at a video on how to darn a sock, but i just didn't think that it would work well considering the damage. so i took some yarn and went around the edge of the hole picking up loose stitching and securing those that weren't loose. then i knit an 8 st by 1.5 inch patch, placed it over the patch and mattress stitched it down. it is a little bumpy on the inside from the mattress stitching but my mom says it feels fine and she is joyously happy to have her warm socks back.

ok, mom. love you! and you are definitely getting more socks for your birthday!

crappy cheap yarn from walmart for zakka pouch. it's peaches 'n' cream 4ply cotton in cream. it will go great with the fabric that i plan on using. and i really don't mind that it's cheap. or that it came from walmart. also picked up the winter Vogue knitting because i just had to read the article about Jared Flood. he is such an awesome knitwear designer. and if you have never seen his blog, you definitely need to head there now!

fabric stashing

Sew, mama, sew! is having a "Tell us about your stash," so here is my contribution, though my stash of fabric is pretty small. i am just starting to get into the sewing thing.

What do you usually sew?
So far bags. they are small. they use fat quarters! i am working up the nerve to make a couple of skirts.

When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy?
i buy fat quarters or a couple of yards of the fabric if it isn't in fat quarters.

Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need?
i go looking for something that i need because the closest fabric store isn't really all that close and i need a reason to be going there. once there, however, i tend to buy more than i planned!

Are you a prewasher? If you are, do you wsh your fabric before you need it, or only when you're ready to use it?
i am a prewasher because that it was all the books tell me to do and i want to be a good little new sewer. i wash it as soon as i get it because i just can't wait to get started and i can't skip that first step.

Do you iron it?
yes. always.


Do you have any special folding techniques?
not really. i just fold it into smaller sized rectangles.

Do you have a current favorite print in your stash?
yes.

i love this. i just can't decide what to make with it.

How do you sort it?

i don't have a particular way to sort it. i don't have a large enough stash to worry about it. so the above picture is how they look.

What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects?

travel tissue holders. japanese knot bags.



How do you store your fabric?
i know it is sad, isn't it? my small fabric stash is stored on an old book shelf with some yarn, scissors, and old magazines that i can't bare to get rid of.

What's your definition of a perfect stash?
a stash that houses tons of fabric that never goes out of fashion for you, full of a wide variety of prints and matching shades of solids, in a nice classy shelving unit.

design envy

do you ever get design envy? you see a photo of some fabulous dress or shirt or sweater and then you want it but can't find it or you do find it but you can't afford it. i do all of the time. i saw this picture in a magazine several years back and i just absolutely love everything about it and i want one!

i love the rutcheting!
I love the cabling around the neck and sleeves.

i love all the cables around the midsection and the hem

and i love all the puckers!

what is a girl to do? this is knit material too. but it has to be the smallest needles known to man kind! really! but i love it.

what is your favorite magazine outfit that you wish you could have?

PS : i totally adore the designers on ravelry who can take a picture of a sweater and make it a reality. help me out here ladies and gentlemen. i want one. don't you too?

aggravating!

now generally speaking i like knit picks. (i know yarn snobs are now moving on to another blog, but please, cheap yarn really isn't all that bad, especially in this economy.) i like their needles and i like their yarn. i have bought many things from them but man i am sooo aggravated! this is my 4th circular needle that has come apart in the last year (another died a tragic death when my 3 year old got ahold of the scissors). i bought most of these as a set about 3 years ago. to me, they cost a lot of money but demonstated my committment to knitting.

this one popped apart while working on my february lady sweater and about 25 of the needles came off before i realized what was going on!! which aggravated me even more! so what am i going to do? well for now put a new cable on. and then i guess i will be ordering some more cables. my selection is getting low on lengths now.

arghhhhhhhh! i wonder if super glue would hold it in there? what do ya think?

well actually, too late! i as too pissed. i threw it away!
kamakazi squirrel in my backyard. just to relieve some aggression.
he was jumping from tree to tree and
chasing other squirrels up and down the trees.
highly amusing.

books galore

i love books. any kind of books, picture books or reading books. for this reason i joined paperbackswap.com. you register your books and then you earn points for each book that you trade off to someone else. you then use those points to pick books from other people and the shipping is fairly cheap. way cheaper than buying a book brand spanking new. so if you don't mind a book that someone else has already flipped through go over there and check it out. (by the way, i think you have to have at least 10 books to trade in order to join.)

these books above are heading out in the mail today. there are about 9 books in total and they are going all over the place; from Florida to California! i just think that is so cool.



speaking of books, i recently purchased this book. it definitely falls under simple. i don't know a whole lot about sewing yet, but this almost seems too simple for my meager mind. but it has some cool patterns in it and i love lotta jansdotter's linens and designs! a big bonus to getting the book.

i really want this door stop. why since i have no doors that could use a doorstop? because it is cool! there is just something about it. i want one. so look for it some day on this blog.

maybe i could use it for weight lifting??!!

and i desperately want something to organize our mail here in la casa de sneeze. this wall organizer looks awesome, is simple, and would completely meet my needs. so one day maybe i will get it accomplished as well. fingers crossed.

well i am off to wait for more snow. supposedly just an inch. but those poor weathermen have had problems with their predictions lately. like last week's, 2-3 inches that was more like 6-8 inches! oh well. ¡viva la nieve!

super bowl and yarn giveaways

oh super bowl! a glorious time to watch some football and enjoy lots of knitting. NOT! dang that game! i was to busy yelling at the TV to get anywhere on my february lady sweater (which, ha ha, i am working on in february, i promise that was not planned!). this is ALL that i got done!!!

i was really hoping the poor cardinals would pull it off, but alas it was not meant to be. :(
in other news...
i love ravelry. you can post your yarn goodies for trade/sell or just gift them to whoever wants or needs them. i always put my partials and left overs up for grabs and i love being able to send them off to someone who can get some use out of them. i hate seeing the yarn wasting away in my stash with no real purpose. so these are off in the post today.

these two partials of Patons Classic Wool Merino are going out to Jaime in Tennessee. she messaged that she has never tried this brand before and would like to, so away they go in the post. i hope that she enjoys them. too bad they didn't look very good together.

and this bag of yummy leftovers is being sent to joy in utah. this bag is full of different wools and some cottons and everything from fingering weight to bulky. i hope she enjoys them.

she is looking for people's leftovers to make an afghan. she says that the weight and fiber aren't important. so if you have some goodies just languishing away in your stash, no matter how big or small, send her a message. you will be doing a good deed and making space for more yarn at the same time!

the lovely mrs. darcy...

this sweater was knit during time off from school/work. it went very quickly. plus i had a lot of time on my hands.

i absolutely love the extra long sleeves on this sweater. so cozy. i dislike my wrists hanging out. this seems to happen a lot to me. i wear a small but must have gangly arms. i always need to add an inch or two to what i am making to be happy with it. but not this cardi!

project: mrs. darcy cardigan by mary weaver

started/completed: jan. 25 - feb. 1, 2009

needles: US 10

yarn: cascade yarns 220 the heathers

color: shire 2245

mods: shoulder shaping added + a few stitches around cause gauge was off

also changed all of the decreases to slant with the fabric instead of against

this is a lovely cardigan. unfortunately it contains some errors. these errors have not been fixed on the pattern, so this is probably not a project for a new knitter. it requires someone who knows the make up of a sweater pretty well. it is still a great cardigan. so by all means jump on the bandwagon and make one. 381 people can't be wrong!

PS: (a post note before the end of the post) i really can't stand people writing bad things about patterns on ravelry. if you look through all of these projects completed on ravelry, you will find some pretty nasty comments about this pattern. errors happen. we don't need to trash someone or their work because there are some errors. it takes a lot of work for someone to design a sweater, make the sweater, and write the pattern. so let's not put them down when they have made such a great effort to give us something so lovely for FREE! don't make the sweater if you don't want the challenge of fixing some boo boo's! and don't trash people's work in a public manner like that! it is just piss poor edicate. any hoo. enough ranting about mean people! on with more photo goodness.

buttons are from the crazy button stash, christmas 2008!


one more look at the cardigan with my new fabric ring
(which worked really well for the chafing)!

well, i am jumping on another bandwagon before the end of the sweater knitting season. the famous february lady sweater by pamela wynne will be mine next. there are 3,833 of these on ravelry.

i will be making it out of dream in color classy. this yarn is pure squishy goodness! i will be starting it tonight during the super bowl as well. go cardinals! unfortunately cards, this yarn is not in your colors. it is nightwatch, a blend of blues and purples.

happy knitting tonight, football fans! and don't forget to root for the underdogs!