Monthly Archives: November 2018

Finished Fair Isle

6 Replies

I finished my baby Fair Isle sweater!  And just in time, too, because my baby’s giant head is already threatening to outgrow the neck hole.  But, I suppose that’s most of the challenge with knitting for babies- getting the project done before they outgrow it.

Anyway, pictures!IMG_0760.JPG Here he is, beginning what I’m sure will be an illustrious career in knitwear modeling.  (He looks a little grumpy because he just got up from his nap and I immediately shoved his head through this slightly-too-tight neck hole.)  Otherwise, this sweater fits pretty well.  It’s even got some growing room lengthwise in the arms and the body.  Perfect!IMG_0817I love the way my speckled, variegated and hand-dyed yarns all play off each other, making the yoke look more complicated than it was.  And, of course, I love the colors. I think they look especially pretty with the boy’s bright blue eyes and adorable pink cheeks.  (But I think most things look especially adorable on him.)IMG_0806.JPGHave you done any knitting for kids lately?  How did it go? Did you manage to finish while the kid still fit in it?

The Scintillating Sweaters of Sabrina

Leave a reply

I know, I know, I’m a little late to the party.  Everyone was talking about the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina when it dropped around Halloween.  I rarely stay up past 9:30 these days, and my TV-watching time has been drastically reduced, so I only just finished watching the 10-episode season.

I remember watching the original Sabrina the Teenage Witch when I was a kid (if the weather cooperated enough that we got got a decent signal… aaah the days of antenna TV), but I honestly don’t remember a ton of specifics.  I know I liked it, and thought that Sabrina was a super cool teenager.  And, of course I loved Salem the talking cat.  What middle-schooler wouldn’t like a show about a very cool teenage witch with a talking cat?

Unfortunately this new version of Sabrina doesn’t have any talking cat in it.  (Salem does show up, but he’s not in the show much, and he never talks- bummer.)  But, the show is fun, dark, and campy, perfect for watching late at night (or at 7:30, if you’re me) on a blustery November evening.

But the best part?  (Or my favorite part, anyway.) The sweaters.

The show is set in an unspecific east-coast state where it’s always about 40 degrees and there’s a little bit of drizzle- enough for a nice pea coat or a few layers of flannel, but not enough to break out the real winter coats and rain gear.

In other words, perfect sweater weather.  And Sabrina takes full advantage.

She wears fluffy angora turtlenecks that she somehow manages to make look chic.

Break out Sabrina2

You could break out some fluffy wool and make your own version with this pattern (plus long sleeves, of course).

Willow Creek by Justyna Lorkowska

lete_pazdziernik__35__medium2

She rocks the dumbest of sweaters (in my book, anyway)- the cabled turtleneck t-shirt, and makes me want to make one. (Honestly, what’s the point?)Sabrina

It might be dumb, but this sweater is kinda cute…

01 Cabled Tank by Debbie Bliss

353_2__medium

And she even makes this bizarre-o button-bedecked cable number look like something that a very hip teen would actually wear.  (Or maybe teens are actually wearing this stuff and I’m just an old lady who has no idea what the teens are doing these days.)Sabrina3

Knit up this bad boy, and sew on a gross of color-coordinating buttons in-between the cables, and you’ll have something resembling Sabrina’s fun pullover.

Carrick by Martin Storey

Carrick_medium2

Whatever your thoughts on her sweaters, it’s worth your time to go check out Ms. Spellman and her Chilling Adventures.  (Just be aware that if you’re expecting the OG Sabrina, you’re going to be disappointed… that’s really not what this is.)

Have you watched the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina yet?  What was your favorite sweater?

Busy Busy Busy

1 Reply

I’ve been busy, designing and swatching away.  It’s been great!  But, I can never help thinking that after I finished a swatch, I should be able to do something fun with it.  I’ve got a bunch pinned up on the bulletin boards in my studio, which is nice.  But, honestly, most of them just hang out in a stack in my closet.  My mind is always chugging away in the background, trying to think of something to do with my leftover swatches.

And, over the last few weeks, I’ve been getting a jump on a new sewing project for the kid- a busy book.  Basically it’ll be a little book with quilted/apliqued pages for the baby to play with, and I plan on adding more age-appropriate pages as he grows up.  Right now, the pages are all basically just things for him to touch, feel, and put in his mouth (he’s only 6 months old, after all), but down the line I’ll add pages with fun things like zippers, flaps, velcro, etc.

For example, I made a sheep page with some leftover terrycloth.IMG_0567Cute, if I say so myself!  (Gotta start teaching them to appreciate wool from an early age, right?)

That got me thinking- how could I use knitting in the busy book?

I dug up an old sock swatch (I figured the smaller gauge would work better with the scale of the book) and got to work.  I machine-sewed two lines with very short stitches down the back of the swatch, and cut in-between them- kind of like this. (I’ve never steeked before, and I think this is about as close as I’ll be getting in the near future.  Scary!)  Then I took some iron-on adhesive and ironed it to the back of the swatch, cut out a sweater shape and ironed it to the background fabric. It was more or less intact, but the edges were fraying a smidge, so I ran a quick zig-zag stitch around the edge, and presto! an actually-knit sweater page!IMG_0577I really should have taken pictures of each step, but I really didn’t think it was going to work!

Now that I’ve done this once, my mind is spinning with all the knitting-as-applique possibilities!

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve done with your knitting?

VOTE!!!

2 Replies

Hi everybody!

Or, at least: Hi everybody in the US over the age of 18 who is eligible to vote!

Guess what tomorrow is!  That’s right, it’s election day! (You can tell I’m excited by all the exclamation points!)

I try to keep this blog pretty low-key, politics-free, and full of knitting.  But, sometimes I have to bend the rules.

Like today.  (Get ready, I’m getting up on my “You should vote” soapbox.)

So, unless you live in a vote-by-mail state (Hello, Washington), you’re probably aware that voting is tomorrow.  You should know where to find your polling place.  You know that you should vote, too.  You know that voting is important.  You already know that every member of the House of Representatives is up for reelection, not to mention a third of the Senate, three dozen Governors and more local officials than you can shake a stick at.  Plus, if you live somewhere like Seattle, you’ve probably got a handful of ballot initiatives up for a vote that could directly influence your lives in the coming months and years.

You already know that less than half of eligible Americans usually turn out for midterm elections, and you already know that those voters that do turn out are overwhelmingly older, richer, and whiter than the average American.

And, of course you know that if you’re unhappy with how this country is being run (and  there’s plenty to be unhappy about), you’ve got to go out and vote to tell those in charge to change the way things are going.

You already know all that.  So I won’t tell you about it.

I will, however, bribe you with a silly little craft project.

IMG_0637.JPGI voted last week (yay for Washington’s vote-by-mail system!), but Washington doesn’t give out “I voted” stickers.  So I made one myself.  (Well, I cross-stitched a little pin.)

And you can make one, too.

Once you’ve voted, download the instructions to make yourself an “I Voted” pin:

I Voted Cross Stitch Pin Instructions

(But only if you’ve already voted… trust me.  I’ll know.)

Are you going to vote this year?