Gone green and wanting

We have gone green here at sneezerville in celebration of Project Spectrum!

Go to Assemblage's blog and check out her pants. I want a pair just like them! Sorry copyright and all, I can't show the pics. Just go look at them!

future knits

Spring is getting nearer and nearer and what I am going to knit? Well I am going to finish my February Lady Sweater (I only have the sleeves left) and then try to squeeze in one more winter knit.

While searching for those perfect spring projects, I happened upon this in my queue. Upon further evaluation, I have yarn for this!!! So if all goes well it will be my last winter knit for this season. Or the first I finish next fall...??

Heartening by Amblinglia

My Alpaca with a Twist yarn that I have already used for Bella's Mittens and Hat should work perfectly!

For spring, some cotton goodies.

Runway Bolero by Robin Dodge

Plan on making this out of some Knit Picks Shine sport weight yarn in a yummy Butter color. No stripes. They just aren't me. I have been wanting to make this as a cover up for the one and only outfit that I wear to every wedding (and I have 2 so far this spring/summer).

Garter Stitch Swingy Sweater by Jenn Pellerin

Simple. Charming. Versatile.

Also bought some Knit Picks for this; Comfy in Pomegranate. It is a gorgeous color. I have no idea what I will wear with it but I just couldn't resist the color. Not to crazy about the fact that this yarn is 25% Acrylic, but it was cheap and again the COLOR.

The only problem with all of this planning, I didn't choose any colors that would go well with Project Spectrum, which I am participating in this year! The socks I have planned for my mom's birthday don't come close either. (That yummy goodness will appear tomorrow.)

HUH! I am supposed to be using GREEN for March and April. But none of the greens were jumping out at me, dammit! I will have to get creative with other green things I guess.

Also went back to the Zakka Pouch and moved the ribbon channel down like a wanted to do. You probably can't tell the difference but I can. To me, it looks so much better. Took a little of the length away.

Still think the base may need some blocking; probably this weekend.



One more glamour shot

Finally... the Zakka Pouch

ok, so after hours of hand stitching and debating on whether I was putting it together right and how tall I wanted it to be, it is finally finished. I think that I am going to undo the top portion though. I want more pulled together at the top. So I am going stitch a new path for the ribbon further down.

Also the bottom looks deformed unless I shove the knitting down in there just so. Will blocking help tieh that. I hope so.

I am a little disappointed in this. But hopefully after I make a few little adjustments, I will really like it. It is going to be my new knitting bag, so I better get it just right since I will be looking at it everyday.

Project : Zakka Pouch by Black Dog Designs

started / completed : 8 - 15 February 2009

Fabric : Fat quarters from Joann's Fabrics

Yarn : Pisgah Yarn & Dyeing Co., Inc Peaches & Creme Solids (in Ecru)

Needles : US 8

Ribbon : brown ribbon (from Wal-mart)

The best parts : pockets and lots of space.

anticipation

Float Stole by Melinda C. Hunt (Spring 2009, Interweave Knits)

I have been pretty disappointed with the designs in the Interweave Knits magazine for the past few copies. I love Eunny Jang and was really hoping that with her in charge, I was going to see all kinds of coool knits that I just can't live without. Not the case, again to my disappointment. But it might be worth getting ahold of the spring issue just to have the pattern to the Float Stole. I think that it is absolutely gorgeous.

This week end I was flipping (literally, flipping, I don't really read this mag) through the lasted edition of Entertainment Weekly and saw this article about the Bella Mittens. I thought that maybe it was going to be about the ravelry pattern floating around out there, but no. This is an article about how to get ahold of your own pair from the original British knitwear designer, Ruth Cross for ONLY $80. Wow! I made mine for about $15.oo! I feel like I have saved an enormous about of money. (Pat on my back.) The only difference, that I saw between the ones that I made and these, was the palm side of the mitten seems to have a different pattern, instead of plan stockinette.

Parts on pieces to what will soon be my new knitting bag, the zakka pouch.

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!

snow days continued

so what else do you do while off of school/work for 3 snow days? you reorganize the craft corner. the bag full of goodies goes out to a new friend on ravelry. the basket is full of buttons that i got for christmas from the in-laws. The box is full of my current knitting goodies and lots of green yarn. on the other box, joinging my snowman, cowboy, horse, and moose statues is a linen and muslin basket that i had stitched for christmas. i made 3 others to give to relatives as presents. the linen is from lotta jansdotter. i bought a bag of scraps for $24. well worth it. the scraps were gorgeous and the material worked great with the basket pattern. sorry though, i can't remember the website i got the tutorial from for the basket. the basket holds my small assortment of threads and a couple of needles that i use constantly. all of this is next to my favorite huge green reading chair. i love that chair! where do you all craft? got a special cubby just for crafting?

my 5 year old and i also spent the time making cookies. which of course barely lasted a couple of days in our cookie monster eating house! we love oatmeal chocolate chip and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. ok. we love chocolate chips, if you can't tell!

i know it is negative whatever outside and he isn't wearing a shirt. but in all honesty, be glad he is wearing pants! my two boys love to run around in their undies and luckily that is possible because we have the best wood burning stove know to man! it keeps us really toasty.

and the last thing you do on snow days is load everyone up with tons of clothes and send them out into the snow for a little 4 wheeler sledding because we have no hills to sled down.

snow days

what do you do when you are out of school/work for 3 days due to snow? you knit like a mad person on your Mrs. Darcy cardigan. all of this effort takes a toll on my finger because of the wonky way i hold my yarn while knitting. observe the weird line on my finger, that began to hurt, get dry and crack. so i had an idea. use some fabric left overs to make a wide ring for the yarn to pass over instead of rubbing the crap out of my finger.


so i cut two fabric strips a little wider than my tape measure and about 5.5 cm long. iron on some fleece iron stuff that i had laying around the house to one of the pieces of fabric.

get out the dark brown thread. sew up the long sides of the material with right sides facing each other. turn inside out and then stitch the ends closed using mattress stitch.

violá. a reversible ring the sits just perfectly for the yarn to pass over.

no more line on my finger!

P.S. sorry for the crappy photos. i swear i thought they looked better when i took them!

fixing the tudoras

towards the end of 2007 i made two tudoras from this lovely pattern by cheryl marling. they were supposed to be knit from heavy yarn on smaller needles. i used two strands of sock yarn held together with size 4 needles, which i thought made a firmer fabric. it didn't. the neckwarmer was all floppy after just a couple of wearings. so i planned to add some material to it. i finally did just that this past weekend. with the above materials in hand i set to work. i traced out the shape on some muslin and then i traced the shape on a piece of material that match. next, i traced two more of the shapes on some fusible fleece. then i cut the fleece about a 1/4 inch smaller than the tracing. i fused it to the material and muslin per intructions with the fleece.

then with some heavy duty thread i hand stitched the material to one tudora and the muslin to the other. found some buttons and put them in place. now i thought that i would keep the pretty material one for me and give the other away next christmas for a gift.

but really, i like this plain one so much better. plus the button is funny. it is from an old shower curtain but it is a cool wood button.

they fit wonderfully. the handstitching adds a nice touch. you can leave it open a bit to see the material or wear it so that the material is hidden away.

they are extremely warm (i tested run one today in 6 degree temperatures). ok so one christmas gift down, many more to come. i hope!

p r o j e c t s

Project: Japanese Knot bag (tutorial by Show your workings)

material: fat quarters from Joann Fabrics

thread: some heavy duty stuff lying around the house

This bag is the first one that i made. it is all hand stitched, due to the fact that i don't own a sewing machine. it didn't take very long and i made 6 all together for christmas presents and kept this one for myself. i just love it and adore the pattern. the pattern is also reversible.

here is the inside of the bag, at least, that's how i keep it most of the time. i just think that it is such a versatile design and uses fat quarters. i love any project that can be done with fat quarters!

one last shot, just because.


Project: Shalom by Meghan McFarlane
started/completed: jan. 12 -17, 2009
needles: US 10 1/2
yarn: Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Chunky
skeins: 4.6 (500yds)
mods: added some ribbing to make short sleeves
3 buttons instead of one
no waist shaping

absolutely love this sweater. the design is great, the fit flattering, the yarn soft and warm, and the buttons were part of my christmas present! my mother-in-law bought me about 100 buttons as a christmas present! she thought that i would love them, her friends thought that she was crazy and i absolutely adore them!

more knitting... i am currently working on making Bella's mittens. i lost my peekaboo mittens sometime this winter. and after having temperatures in the negative numbers for over a week, i decided i needed some gloves with fingers. i saw these on ravelry and knew that i had to have them. also plan on making a new hat to go with them.

this is just me expertimenting. this is a bandana made from natalie chanin's book Alabama Stitch book. i love this book. i have made several headbands, one bandana and am currently working on the skirt from this book. if you don't have it, you must get this book.