kaari... finally.

this one has been a long time coming. i put it down for months because of wrist pain. that i think was caused by my overly-tense knitting of the sleeves. i rested them, chilled out a little with the tension and went down a needle size for the neck and pockets, and my wrists are doing ok...

this is my favorite of the sweaters i've knit so far!

modifications:

• knitted in the round because i like to do as little seaming as possible
• because the swatch did not come out to the gauge it suggested on the tag, i knitted this a size up from what i would otherwise knit, with the plan for it to come out in between a 32 and 36
• i added two inches to the body after the decreases (starting the armhole decreases after 18” of length) since i am tall and everything’s always too short
• i forget the number of stitches i cast on for the pockets, but it was more because my gauge was smaller

notes:

• knit the sleeves on dpn’s. no modifications
• one of the side pockets sags slightly more than the others, driving me crazy.
• the yarn is just ok - soft, but quickly seems to have a peach fuzz quality

alright. the next project should hopefully not be a replica of EXACTLY the same color/yarn that everyone else is knitting (as a lot of my projects seem to be). i would like to be a little more creative with what yarns i combine with what patterns. and i love this next yarn.

another stash of goods

the latest installment of yard sale goods from memorial day sales:



painted white wooden corner shelf, one of those serving dishes for chutnies at indian restaurants, a mesh wire hanging basket, a few yards of vintage fabric.

the shelf is up in the living room, and the basket in the bathroom with soaps and towels. the birds resting on it were attached to a desk lamp i also bought (other less exciting yard sale buys included a pillow insert, a nationals hat, and some stuff for work). i would love to make a dress with the black-and-white print.

some gifts

a couple of gifts recently given... a pair of pajama pants from the same pattern i used for these although i'm a little more proud of this pair. i worked more carefully to sew them nicely. i made a small this time, added longer cuffs than the pattern called for (they ended up being about 3 1/2" long?), and added a loop inside the back waistband to hang them/differentiate the back from the front.quick pictures before i promptly sent them off, forgetting the birthday card.

i also made these as a housewarming gift in a record amount of time (for me) - 30 minutes. cutting the patterns all at once and chain-stitching helped.

more yard sale loot up next.

yard sale loot 4.24

yard sales are my favorite three season sport. today was opening day! i did pretty well; everything in this picture cost $14. i also got a 2-person tent for $20, and later in the day i was walking to the community garden where i now have a plot (!!!) and i passed another yard sale. i picked up a cashmere sweater and a red metal bucket for $3.

pictured above: long cashmere cardigan, printed halter dress, bedside table, burlap coffee bag, pompom strands, vintage green suitcase, spice rack, individual ceramic spice canisters.

i'm almost finished taking in the sides of the cashmere sweater and will be taking in the dress and taking up the hem.

not too proud of this one

i made these quickly and poorly. i was really excited to use a vintage sheet of my mom's to make pajama pants from sewing green. i was so excited that i sped through them and the sewing is really pretty terrible. fortunately, no one will really ever see this besides me (ben would never notice) and i am going put a little more care into it from now on.

apparently the quality of the pictures is on par with the quality of the sewing.

however - i like these a lot. i used the edge of the sheet for the cuff/hem, rather than sewing on cuffs, and i added a little length. next time, i'm going to use the smaller pattern size and add another inch or two to the length. the lightweight, broken-in fabric is so comfortable.

crazy coincidence - when i first went to make these pants, i found that the vintage sheet i wanted to use was the exact same one used in the book! then i realized i liked them too much to cut into them and would rather put them on my bed.

overtaking manhattan

here is my second version of taking manhattan from twinkle sews. i love this one even more - the fabric is a funky version of polka dots on linen. modifications i made include adding length, narrowing the a-line, and removing the drawstring from the cowl. hard to see, but i kept the kangaroo pocket. another $6 shirt and i like this one more than the last one. sorry for the crappy pictures, photography is not my strong point, although i want it to be.

old news

i made this bag about six months ago or so. woops. i forgot to post it. actually, i made it with the intention of building an inventory of bags to sell, and then realized i like it too much and wanted to keep it. i really love both fabrics and the combo of the two, and even how the green zippers fits into the mix. otherwise, it's just another bucket bag.

up next... catching up on things i've been meaning to post.