I knit, sometimes I spin, and I blog about it all here.

Well, the good news is:

The daffodils are blooming.

And:

I got past the killer “chart C”.

And then I promptly got stuck on Chart D.

My pitiful brain seems not to be able to focus on exactly how many k1 y/o ssk’s I’ve just done, or was it a y/o k1 k2tog?  Sigh…  So, this time when the Pretty as a Peacock shawl goes back into the WIP pile – it will be one chart larger than it was the last time it got thrown there.  I may try taking that row out again one more time and see if I can land the triple lutz.  Maybe.

So, yeah, my Olympic progress was kind of pitiful, but I learned some things and that’s never bad.

Meanwhile, back at the sewing machine – I’ve been accomplishing similar feats of disaster – and had a few successes as well.  I will leave the disaster stories untold for now and share a couple of successes here.

We have a special occasion coming up, and I wanted the grandkids to have a little something special to wear.  Since they live too far away for me to measure and fit them, I decided on accessories.

This first little handbag was made from a pattern I found online. And – even better – it’s free! I love “free” when it’s definition is not “cheezy.”  It was designed by the sister of one of my favorite knitters.

I made mine from a silk twill for the outside, and a silk dupioni for the inside.   (Both fabrics were in my stash – and had been there for maybe five years – the original project they’d been bought for long since forgotten.)  My only modification is that I added a pocket to the inside lining.

I decided to leave the buttercup bag tailored looking, rather than embellish it, because I think it looks a little more sophisticated that way, and this one was for the big sister part of my two beautiful granddaughters.

Next up – this little thing took quite a bit more time – but came out kind of adorable, I’m thinking.  This one’s for little sister, and is more a piece of “fluff” than anything useful.  Just thought it would be sweet for a little girl to have a cute little thing like this on her arm.

It is included in the pattern “Hannah” a Petite Poche pattern by Wendy Schoen Design.  (I’ve mentioned before how much I love Wendy’s stuff.  Here’s her web site: WendySchoen.com.)

Techniques used on this bag were  fused applique (pattern calls for regular applique and hand stitching – but i used the machine for the embroidery stitches as well as the applique).  The cording around the pocketbook that is also used for the handle, calls for perle cotton that you spin and ply back upon itself – but I used Caron Watercolours – also from my stash – which has a similar feel to Perle cotton.  I hand-tacked it around all edges and then stitched the handle down also by hand.  (Couldn’t get completely away from handwork I guess.)  The flower is made from seam tape that you run a running stitch (basting stitch) thru and then ruffle it up and tack it down to the purse.  So cute!  I didn’t have a lot of selection in my seam tape stash, but I think this coral color with off white center worked pretty well with the lilac.

Last but certainly not least – we have the two year old baby brother.  I’m sure he’d probably have been fine with his very own PURSE – but I decided to make him a matching wallet from some of the scrap material.  This pattern I just made up as I went along.  It’s basically just a bunch of rectangles stitched together.  I used a business card to come up with a size – so those little pockets in the front will hold a business card.  I didn’t try putting money in it – he’s two after all! – but I think a bill would fit in there if one of his other grandmas happen to spot him some folding money.

Almost back to where I was when I ripped it out.  The first day’s results looked something like this:

I started getting a little worried – but decided it wasn’t time to throw in the towel, and I cast on again.  After another couple of false starts, finally things started moving along.  That’s pretty typical for me though.  Usually I have to start a project a couple of times before I finally get it right.  Not sure why that is, but there you have it.

Once upon a time,

Two years ago, I began a beautiful shawl.  I paid way more for the pattern than I have EVER paid for a single pattern, and I found the “perfect” yarn for my soon to be beautiful shawl.  I was so enamored of this shawl, that I forgave the errors found on the pattern that I’d paid more for than I had EVER paid for a pattern – these things happen.  I was in love.  I read the pattern over, I set myself up with my little lace chart reader, had the perfect lace needles and I began.

” Hmmmm….that can’t be right…” became my mantra.

I actually ended up making headway for a while if memory serves, found out how useful lifelines are, and mushed on.  And then I hit “Chart C.”  Chart C kicked my keester – over, and over and over again. The laceweight yarn I’d been using began to look a little felted and worn.   Each time I knit Chart C and then ripped it back to the lifeline – the yarn became a bit more bedraggled looking.  Finally – in disgust, it was over.  I gave up and tossed the beautiful shawl and it’s pattern into the depths of my knitting basket.  I thought about ripping it out but all that work and effort and I just could not bring myself to do it.  There was SOMETHING wrong with my stitch count, and for the life of me I could not find the mistake, but still…

I still remember this struggle, and YET – for some reason now, two years later, and a few lace shawls experience – I seem to think it’s time I tried it again.  From the beginning.

The Occasion:

“Ravelympics.”  Ravelympics coincides with the Winter Olympic games.  It is put on by Ravelry.com as kind of a copy-cat program of the Yarn Harlot’s Knitting Olympics.  Now, as a general rule, I have more sense than to sign up for a challenging knitting project that has a start date and a deadline.   I love watching everyone’s blogs as THEY do them, but I like to knit for the joy of it – not the “challenge” necessarily.

What changed my mind?

Oh you know, it’s usually a friend, or a group of them .  My  friend Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting has a “team” on Ravelry – and I decided to jump in…and get this blasted Peacock off my back…or on it.  It’s a shawl so I guess “on” would be a good thing.  I sure hope this time meets with success, or I may have to burn the most expensive single pattern I’ve EVER bought.

**”frogging” – Kniteze for when you rip out a project.  It all started because of the words “rip it” – “I guess I’ll just have to rip it out.” – sounding like how we say a frog sounds when it croaks “ribbit!” – so then it morphed into a verb called “frog” and then the term “frogging”.  Just in case anyone wondered.

I have come to the conclusion, that Shedir is most definitely a labor of love.  I’m very pleased that I finally knit this hat, making it for a friend in need, but wow, it was a whole lot of cables to knit!

At one point, I looked up “cabling without a cable needle.  I really like the technique that Grumperina has documented on her blog.  But – this project just didn’t lend itself to doing that for me.  It would have been like trying to do that with a sock project…and the irony of it kind of made me smile.  I thought to myself – at some point someone thought – man, I wish I had a small double-pointed needle I could hold this stitch on and they “invented” the cable needle – and now we’ve had and used them for all these years and we’re trying to “unvent” them and do cabling WITHOUT a needle.   So I stuck with my new little Brittany cable needle and the project picked up it’s own rhythm.  I will likely try the cabling without a needle on a larger gauge project like a sweater, or even a hat with a heavier gauge yarn,  where I’m using wool and a larger needle.

This yarn is Knitpicks Comfy sport.  I imagine it’s their answer to Rowan Calmer, which is the yarn called for in the pattern.  It’s a cotton/acrylic blend and it has a nice soft feel to it, so should make for a nice comfortable chemo cap. But cotton is always a workout for my fingers and wrists.  Just not as comfortable to work with as wool is.

The pattern was first published at Knitty.com in 2004, and they have packaged this pattern with a few other breast cancer awareness type patterns here.

The only issue I had with the pattern is that the marker that designates the beginning of a row is moved a few times – that part was okay – but it isn’t necessarily NOTED on the chart in all places it gets moved, so you had better know how to read a chart.  Or…just make a note on the pattern that the marker gets moved at the end of rows 53, 55,56,58,62 64 (2 sts), and 70.   The last stitch in each of those rows (or in the case of row 64 the last two stitches) becomes the first stitch in the following row and the row marker gets moved accordingly.  I looked around the Internet for some kind of errata on Shedir and found almost nothing.  Finally, one blog had made a remark about it, and it helped me figure out why I couldn’t get row 63 to work for me.

Project specs:

• I used a size 2 needle (I didn’t think I was a loose knitter, but 3’s were too big for gauge for me).
• KP Comfy Sport, Color 0638.

Difficulty rating I guess I’d have to say a little more of a challenge than “easy” – mostly it’s just labor-intensive – but definitely “doable” for someone with a little experience.  And, it’s one of those patterns I had to really  to pay attention to at first, but eventually the patterning “clicks” – right about the time it’s time to start switching from the cables to the lattice is when it happened to me.  Shedir is a very satisfying project because it’s such an ingenious pattern.  I’m going to do it again some day – right after I forget how much work it is!

Recently, Smitty’s brother became a grandpa.  Which then gave me the perfect “excuse” (like I need one!) to sew.  I love making boy baby things.  Girl baby things are great too, but since I raised a son, sewing for boy babies always takes me back to when my son was growing up and I sewed for him.

The variety for boys is no where even near to what’s out there for girls, so when I find something unique but still “boyish” to sew, I’m way more excited about it than is necessary.  This pattern called Sweet William by Wendy Schoen, actually serves well for both sexes.  I have also made it in girly colors and made the embroidered part of it feminine.  It’s one of those “keepers” – a pattern that is my “go to” pattern for a newborn.  Now, that said – it’s best to get these things made up ahead of time, because as we know babies grow fast.

I always mean to do that – make up a bunch of baby things and keep them stored for gifting as the occasion arises.  And, of course, I haven’t done that yet – except for the hat and socks that I added to the gift.  But this tendency of mine also makes this pattern even more special – because while it’s meant for a newborn it’s big enough for a little bit older baby – and it “grows” – at least in length.  I remember seeing my grands running around as toddlers in their little sleepers now serving a night-shirts.  So, nice that this one has a tuck basted in to it – which lets out if you take out the embroidered chain and the inside basting. 

I chose the chain stitch for the embroidery (pattern calls for a feather stitch) this time,  since you can just snip the knot and pull and the whole thing will just unravel.  I also thought it seemed kind of a boyish stitch.

For the drawstring in the bottom of the hem, I used some twill tape that I stitched to each end of a piece of elastic and then threaded that thru the hem/casing at the bottom.  That makes it a stretchy gather – which makes getting to a diaper change quicker when necessary.

The other thing I like about this pattern is the back opening is big.  At first I thought – wow, that’s way huge – but it facilitates just dropping the baby in and snapping the back up.  Ohhhhh – I get it!

I hope the new parents are pleased.  Most of the pleasure for me is just making and giving a unique gift, but it’s always a plus when the recipient likes it.  You know what I mean?