Starting the Spring Garden Tee

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Missy

Now that I’ve finished three(!) knitting projects, I needed to make something a little more challenging than a rectangle (even if that rectangle turned into an infinite loop). I’ve spent a LOT of time on Ravelry (and any knitter or crocheter would probably attest to the fact that you can spend a lot of time on there) looking for my next project. I settled on the Spring Garden Tee–it looks like a fairly simple stockinette stitch t-shirt with a cute lace pattern on the cap sleeves.

I’m using CotLin (cotton/linen blend) from KnitPicks in Harbor for my shirt.

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Ten-and-a-half Feet of Nerdiness

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Missy

I’m finally done with my first knitting project ever, even though I started and finished two more in the same amount of time. Hah!

Takeaways from this project? Buy enough yarn up front and you won’t have to worry about colors not matching when you buy more, or running out in the middle of the project and then having to wait until payday so you can buy more yarn. (By the way, I used the KnitPicks worsted Wool of the Andes in colors suggested by DoctorWhoScarf [see below]).

I had anticipated a 11′ scarf, but after blocking, it was only 10.5′. Pretty close! I’m really happy with how it turned out, and this was definitely the best project for a [nerdy] newbie to have made. I hope to never knit a dishcloth

Completed Doctor Who scarf

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What I’ve Been Up To…

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Missy

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Kind of been slacking on my projects.

Personal-honesty-time! So about three years ago, I managed to work really hard (eating a healthy diet and regularly exercising) and lost 15 lbs. I was at my goal weight, and was happy with how I looked. Sometime between then and now, I forgot how to be vigilant with my eating habits and exercise, and ended up slacking off to where I am back at where I started. I’m a bit annoyed with myself, and am experiencing problems fitting into my clothes, so last month I placed a moratorium on myself to not sew anything until today for two reasons: 1) So I could try to lose 10 lbs in six weeks (if I worked really hard, it would have been doable), and 2) to get other projects done for other people.

Obviously, I thought I could still eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, go to the gym maybe twice a week, and somehow two pounds would fall off each week. Right. Okay, no more sob-story. I’m just going to get it done, and to encourage myself, I’m going to reward myself with a couple sewing projects:

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Cable Scarf

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Missy

I finished my second knitting project ever! It’s going to be a gift for a friend and it’s probably getting a little too warm to wear it now, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

Cable scarf

I wanted to give cables a try, so I hunted around for an easy pattern to give a try. Through the magic of Pinterest or something, I found a free pattern for a reversible cable scarf. I also wanted to get started on it right away, because I think I started on it while I was waiting for more yarn for the Doctor Who scarf, so I went to my local yarn shop and wandered around and around until I finally settled on some yarn (Blackstone Tweed from Berroco) that was at the inexpensive spectrum. Unfortunately, it probably wasn’t the best yarn to pick for this pattern. I probably should have gone with something lighter and not tweed. However, this worked out really well for me. Why? Because I made a TON of mistakes with this scarf. It’s okay, they’re hard to see with the yarn I choose, so I’m okay with it. The cabling actually shows up pretty well, but the 2×2 seed stitch in between the cables isn’t as noticeable (which is okay, because I think that’s where most of the mistakes are).

Still need to order more yarn for my Doctor Who scarf, so not sure what I’ll work on next… but here’s a latest picture of the Doctor Who scarf in the meantime.

243 rows of 436 on the Doctor Who scarf

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Scarf is More Than a Corgi Long!

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Missy

So yesterday, I lost my job. There was a round of layoffs, and I was apart of that group. Oh well! It’s life. Guess that means more time for sewing and knitting while I’m a housewife! (Until I find a new job, that is). While I was catching up on my nearly-full DVR last night, I realized that I hadn’t posted an update on my Doctor Who scarf in a while. Well, lo and behold, it’s finally longer than Cassie! I think I’m almost at a halfway point, so hopefully it will be 11-feet long when I’m done.

Cassie and Doctor Who scarf

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My First Finished Knitting Project

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Missy

Finished the Elis Cowl. Decided I’m going to gift it to a friend after I block it and run a lint brush over it. I’m really happy with how it turned out, and yay for it being my first finished knitting project!

Elis Cowl completed (Instagramed)

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Finally Using My Leftover Yarn

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Missy

While waiting for the extra yarn to arrive for my Doctor Who scarf, I needed something to knit. My hand were seriously getting antsy with nothing in my hands while watching TV. I’ve pretty much run out of my craft allowance for the month, and as much as I would have loved to join a KAL (knit-a-long), I’ve been trying to figure out a way to use up the rest of the Cascade Yarns Venezia Sport yarn I bought for the cowl I crocheted.

I started browsing Ravelry.com (oooh, big mistake!) I had to bookmark every nerdy and cute pattern I could find, while actually looking for patterns that would use my surplus yarn. First, I found a hat to make for Richard. He said he liked the leftover green and white yarn I had, so I started a sample swatch to make sure I could actually do the 2 x 2 ribbing. Yay, success! Okay, let’s cast on. What I didn’t realize was that I needed to use circular needles that I could reach all the way around with. My 24″ circulars are a wee bit long for the hat. (Later, Mom said I should be using double-pointed needles [DPNs], so maybe I’ll go that route when I actually do start the hat). Like I said, I’m out of my craft allowance for the month, so even if I did go to the craft store to get some smaller circulars, I’d want to pick up yarn to join in the KAL, so I had to devise another plan for my yarn.

Setting aside the green and white for Richard’s hat, that left me with over 150 yards of the peacock blue yarn. I happily settled on the Elis Cowl, which would help me learn to knit-in-the-round and learn a new stitch too! The Indian Cross Stitch technique is very pretty when executed well, but it was a little intimating at first. Thankfully, there’s YouTube, with a collection of instructions on all the knitting stitches I’ve ever needed to look up! In three nights, I’m about a third of the way through, with a goal to complete it by Monday, when my yarn shipment arrives. I’m pretty happy with the way it’s turned out so far. It will look a lot better when it’s blocked, I’m sure!

Elis Cowl (Instagramed)

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Acceptable Roaring Twenties Muslin

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Missy

After some discussion online, it became apparent to me that I have not been altering my patterns correctly. In fact, I’ve been ignoring other kinds of alterations, probably mostly due to being in denial that my body might actually not conform to commercial patterns aside from my pear shape. So this time around of making the muslin for my Downton Abbey Party Dress, I cut all the pattern pieces apart so I could make alterations properly.

I started by taking more measurements than just the three horizontal ones. I compared my back waist length (15 3/4″) to that of the pattern size I was using (16 1/6″). Not quite a half-inch difference, but still significant enough that I threw on the first muslin, marked where my natural waist is and then compared it to the waistline on the pattern. Fortunately for me, it matched! I didn’t need to shorten the bodice above the waist. Phew!

On to my “normal” alterations. Since the “skirt” portion of the dress is so much lower than the waist, I can’t just increase the hip on the skirt pattern piece (believe me, I tried, and it was… bad). Also, I needed to increase the length of the dress by 3 inches (otherwise, the hem [not including the lowest flounce] would come up to my mid-thigh when I sit down, and that’s also bad). Traditionally, these dresses went as high as the knee, so that’s where I wanted it to be!

Normally, I would just tack on 3 inches to the bottom of the skirt, but with the flounces in this skirt, that’s not going to work. Oh, what’s that? There’s a shorten-or-lengthen-here line below the waistline on the bodice pieces? Well then, that makes sense about where I should lengthen it then! I chopped up the pattern there and slipped in pieces of paper for the additional 3 inches.

To transition the size between the waist and the hip, I combined the bodice and skirt pieces (front and skirt, and then back and skirt). Then I used a curved ruler to true up the transition between the size I am in the bodice through to the size I am in the hip. Fortunately, due to my lengthening of the dress, the only changes happened in the bodice pieces, as by the time the curved ruler met the appropriate size to accommodate my hips, it was at the bottom of the bodice. I made the same changes to the back bodice piece, too.

After all the appropriate lines were drawn, I copied it over to pattern paper, cut out the pieces of muslin, and sewed it together.

Altered Louisa Drop-Waist Pattern (and Supervising Corgi lounging on the futon)

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The Pinkie Pie Experiment

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Missy

Last week, my husband and I were watching the “Suited for Success” episode of My Little Pony and then I had a moment of inspiration and fell asleep thinking of how to execute my plan. Thus, The Pinkie Pie Experiment.

Pinkie Pie is thus far, my favorite pony from the show. She is my muse for the outfit that I plan to make. It’s two parts: a bubblegum pink cardigan (I ordered a swatch from Mood) with Pinkie Pie’s cutie mark embroidered on it near the shoulder; and a skirt, also inspired of Pinkie Pie’s colors, with an applique of her near the hem. I toyed with the idea of creating her entirely in embroidery, but that’s a lot of stitching, so I decided against it.