Jet-Set

     Good morning from Portland International Airport! Soon I'll be on my way to Philadelphia where I will enjoy a late birthday lunch with my BFF Kara (her birthday was yesterday) before boarding my plane to sunny home Arizona! 


     My project for the plane:  Italian Ice Tank Top

lacy headbands

Knitting doesn't have to be useful only in cold weather.  In fact I hope it isn't, if I am to make any sales in the next few months!


This week I've become very interested in lighter weight styles of knitting than those used in cozy winter knits.  Here are some lacy headbands which will soon brighten up my Etsy shop.  Who would have thought wool could be so summery?

I learned this squarish style from
another of Judy's YouTube videos.
It's so easy!

Cast on an odd number of stitches.
row 1:  *k2tog, yarn over*,
repeat between * to last stitch, k.
row 2: knit across.

The classic Shetland lace pattern
Crown of Glory,
featuring a series of grand eyelets,
takes 12 rows to complete.

summer fabrics for summer fashions

     I am so happy that Spring is in the air!  True, the lake in my backyard is still frozen, but there is a new freshness outside that is so promising, I know I will be soaking up the sun in a bikini before I know it.  Looks like I have survived my first winter!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

     I have some summer fashions in mind that I want to create just as soon as I get my sewing machine working.  The following fabrics (currently scarves) have sufficiently motivated me to really get cracking on that machine today!

Meezer Mats

     One of the things Siamese Rescue needs is blankets to give newly adopted kitties both a soft surface and a familiar item for comfort during their long car ride to a foreber hoem.  The blankets are called Meezer Mats.


     I started my first one, using this exciting stitch I'd never learned before.  It's not only great because it creates a light and puffy, comfortable surface.  The most exciting part about this stitch is that it involves no purling!

row 1 & 3 (wrong side): k across.
row 2: *k1, k by inserting needle in
center of stitch in row below,
knitting through both loops.*
repeat between * to last 2, k, k.
row 4: k1,
repeat between * to last 1, k.

UPDATE: Here is the finished product!

I think something like this
would make a cute little clutch

Simply Sublime

"...the underside as perfect as the outside..."

-Coco Chanel

Sublime fantasy

     I have been going full speed ahead on my Sublime organic cotton sweater these past few days.  I'm very excited for it to make its public debut in the coming weeks, expecting April highs in the 60's.  I can just see myself strolling the Old Port taking in the sights, Ned on my arm, Loeffler Randall rain boots on my feet...


     The sweater is so close to being done I can taste it!  I thought I'd share a few helpful tips I figured out for myself to solve some small problems that may frequently arise during the process of sewing up a knitted garment.


     I had to attach two flaps on the sides of the hood partway down the neckline...but the hood flaps were longer than the portion of seam it was supposed to match on the neckline.  To solve this problem and similar ones, first figure out which piece is short and which is long.  Rather than counting stitches, I prefer to just match where you know it needs to match, and start sewing it up.  Then you'll have an idea of how much needs to be taken in.

     Then take out all or part of what you have done and just gradually "pucker" the longer side.  In the case above, for the grafting technique, rather than wrapping one stitch, I wrapped a stitch and a half each time.  For a vertical mattress stitch seam, go through only one "bar" instead of two on the side that is too short.  Depending how much needs to be taken in, you could do these things on every stitch, or alternating stitches.  Just keep redoing the seam until it looks great!

Admiring my gentle pucker.

re-check your gauge!

     When you are working on something that really needs to be a certain size, just doing a 4x4" tension square before you start is not enough!


     Here is what I did last night to start my Italian Ice tank top:

When checking gauge transfer work
to a tiny needle so it will lie flat.

remember: stitches are v's

     I measured by gauge earlier at about 4.2 stitches per inch.  When I sped up and got going, I tightened up to exactly 5 stitches per inch.  It may not sound like a lot, but that's enough to make my garment several inches too small when you consider the front and back, which would really ruin an already close-fitting design.


     Now call me fearful of wasting six inches of colorwork, but I decided that instead of ripping back I am going to add one inch side panels.  Already you can kind of see that I kept two stiches on each side in garter stitch, but it isn't standing out as much as I'd hoped anyway, so a side panel would be just the ticket.