Category Archives: FYI

Buttons! (Again!)

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Like any good crafter, I love buttons.

After I wrote (in too much detail) about how much I love buttons, I received a mystery box from my grandmother.  And, I bet you can’t guess what was inside.

Buttons!

Hundreds and hundreds of buttons in every color, size, shape and material.  From every decade of the last 60 years.  They’re kind of amazing.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThese tiny blue buttons were held together on a great big gold safety pin.  The picture doesn’t do them justice; they’re shiny and perfect, and the prettiest shade of periwinkle.  And I think they’re going to have to end up on a baby sweater.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThese tiny little rhinestone buttons were kept safe in their own little manilla envelope, away from the others.  I don’t know their back-story, but I can tell they’re very old, and deserve to be kept safe until I can find something really special to put them on.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThese pretty 1-inch buttons are a super cool.  They’re resin (or something like that) that has been cast into layers, then carved out into the shape of flowers.  I think Mom said they were from 1976 (although she could have been talking about the other red, white, and blue buttons) when everything turned all patriotic for the Bicentennial.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThese are actually buttons!  They are some sort of plastic, and about 2 inches across.  My mom thinks they were originally on one of my great-aunt’s dresses back in the fifties.  I think they are super weird and super fantastic.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThere are so many more gorgeous buttons!  I can’t wait to find things to do with them.  From now on, everything I knit is going to end up covered with dozens of buttons.  I can’t wait!

Do you have a favorite button?  Do you have a button jar?

Ouch!

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At my “day job” (which hardly even counts as a day job, because it’s too much fun), I spend several hours each afternoon hanging out with elementary schoolers and teaching them how to use a sewing machine.  It’s pretty rad.  I love talking with them (they’re seriously goofy), and helping them figure out new skills.  The best part is when they finish a project they are really proud of, and they go around, showing each other their awesome projects (I had a girl finish an owl-shaped backpack a month ago, and she’s so proud, she wears it to class each week).

But, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in sewing class.  When you have more than a dozen 6- to 11-year-olds, sometimes things go wrong, especially with real-life sewing machines, scissors, pins and needles.  Each week, we get a couple kids who poke themselves while pinning something and need a band-aid.  Sometimes an especially tiny 6-year-old tries to carry their sewing machine and drops it on her toe.  And I’ve even had a couple kids sew through their fingers with the sewing machine, while they weren’t paying attention.  (I know… horrifying!  They’re both OK now, though.  Pro tip… always watch where your fingers go when you’re using a sewing machine.)

But usually, I manage to keep myself relatively injury-free.  Sure, I poke myself with pins as much as the next person, but nothing bad, no scars or anything.

Until last week.

I reached into a bag of fabric which I thought was pin-free.  It was not.  The pin sliced a 1-inch gouge on the side of my right index finger.  There was blood.  It freaked out the kids.  I had to step up and be all “No big deal, kids.  It totally doesn’t hurt or anything.”  But, I really wanted to be swearing like a sailor.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThis cut is exactly where I wrap my yarn when I knit.  (No!!)  I had to forgo knitting for about a week, so I broke out a quilt that I started a while ago, and worked on that instead.  It went well.  I actually made quite a lot of progress on it.  And, my finger was healing up nicely.

Until… the needle slipped and I sliced my finger open again.  Same finger, same size injury, just shifted over about a half an inch.  (I was at home, with no little kids around, so I swore loudly this time.)

So, I’m still on knitting bedrest, until my finger heals.  And, I’ve got to say, it’s not super fun.  I’ve still got that quilt to work on, but I’m itching to get back to my husband’s sweater, and a couple other projects I’ve been neglecting.  If only it didn’t hurt so much to knit…

What do you do when you can’t knit?

(And, don’t forget to put your name in the hat for a copy of the Knit Picks Spring 2015 Collection!  You have until Wednesday morning!)

People are actually pretty great.

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It’s been almost two weeks since the break-in at Casa del On the Needles, and things are going back to normal.  We’ve upped security, filed a police report, and begun to replace the things that were taken.  I’ll probably never get my class ring back, but I bought a new computer to replace my old one (which was on its last legs anyway).  I didn’t even loose that much data-a couple half-finished patterns, and a few hours work on an intarsia chart, but nothing I can’t replace with a half-day of work.

And, I got a surprise package in the mail from my friends over at Knit Picks on Saturday.

Remember how I said the thieves took my set of interchangeable needles?  Well, the lovely folks at Knitpicks (Hi Stacey!) took it on themselves to send me not one, but two replacements:

A set of gorgeous blue-green Caspian needles:91078102[1]And, a set of luminous Sunstruck needles:90613101[1]My old set were Caspians, and I’d used them for more than a year when they were stolen.  I am a snob when it comes to needles, so I was a late adopter of the whole interchangeable needle thing.  It seemed like they would be more trouble than they were worth- wouldn’t the cable fall out?  Wouldn’t the yarn snag on the joins?  They couldn’t work as well as advertised.

But, I have to say, I absolutely love them.  I use them for almost every project I make.  Circulars are better on my wrists, and the dyed wood needles are fun (I’m a sucker for bright colors).  And, there’s nothing better than deciding you need a US10.5 or a US5, or whatever your spur-of-the-moment project requires, and just going to your needle case and pulling out exactly what you want.

So, thanks, KnitPicks!  I know these needles will get lots of use!  (And, everyone else, I totally recommend getting a set of interchangeable needles.)

So Sew Buttons

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I love buttons.  I always have.  When I was little, my mom had this big tin filled with all the buttons she had collected over the years.  One of my favorite things to do was to take the Button Box from the drawer of her sewing desk and spill them out on the kitchen table.  I’d sort them by color, or texture, or size.  I’d make pictures with them, and arrange them in patterns.  I liked everything about them, even the feeling of the little buttons running through my fingers and the sound of them plinging back into their tin.

Not much has changed, to be honest.  I have my own button collection now, but it’s in a little zippered felt bag, not a tin.  And I don’t have nearly as many buttons as my mom did.

But over Christmas, I added a few more to my collection.  They are really special buttons that I’m super excited about.  My family took a little expedition to North Chicago to visit a button shop that we had heard about over a year ago.  And, I have to say, it was totally worth the wait.

The shop is called Soutache, and it sells thousands (and thousands) of buttons, miles of ribbons, and piles of rhinestones and feather trim.  I could spend an entire paycheck there if I wasn’t careful.

soutache-headerThey had buttons made from bone, from stone, from wood, from brass.  They had bright pink buttons, and inky black buttons.  Square buttons, spheres, and buttons shaped like shoes.  They had new buttons and vintage ones.  And they were all gorgeous.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI came home with these little guys.  They’re vintage half-inch brass buttons.  They almost glow in the light, and have a surprising amount of heft.  I can’t wait to put them on the slightly cropped cardigan that has been bouncing around in my brain for a while (of course, I’ll have to knit it first).   They’re pretty much perfect.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnd these buttons are so cool!  They look like hand-formed aluminum, or maybe tarnished silver.  But, they’re actually made of plastic, which sounds lame, but is actually kind of perfect for a sweater.  These buttons are so light, they won’t make the front of a cardigan droop from their weight, even though they are large and impressive.  Cool, right?

In conclusion, if you’re ever in Chicago, make a point of going to Soutache.  And bring your check book.

Do you have any special buttons in your collection?

It turns out, cats really DO like yarn…

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I’ve never had a cat (or a dog), and I don’t know how you knitters with animals manage it.

For real.

I spent a week at my in-laws’ house, and every time I got out my knitting, this was what happened.

WP_20141229_015*pat pat pat*

It was all cats, all the time.  They were fascinated by my knitting, and kept trying to steal my ball of yarn.  One of them even tried to eat my circular needles.

I had to be very very careful to always put away my knitting securely whenever I got up.

WP_20150101_003At one point, I had to re-skein some lovely grey sock-weight, and the cats insisted on “helping”.  I don’t even know how they figured out what I was doing.  They were on a totally different floor of the house, then, suddenly, they were there.  They must  have some sort of cat RADAR.

They are pretty dang cute, though.  So they have that going for them.

Do you have an animal trying to help with your knitting?  How do you keep your projects safe from little claws and pointy teeth?

A Christmas Eve Gift to You

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If you’re anything like me, you’re probably trying to finish up some last-minute gift knitting.  Maybe it’s 11:00 on Christmas Eve, and everyone else is tucked up warm and snug in their beds, and you’re frantically knitting and purling.  Maybe the house is quiet and still, except for the furious click-click of your US2’s as you try to finish turning that last sock heel.  Maybe all you want to do is drink some eggnog and watch the Muppet Christmas Carol.

I understand.  Believe me.  (The Muppet Christmas Carol is great.)

I have a solution:

Stop knitting.

Just stop knitting, and wrap up your WIP, needles and all, and put it under the Christmas tree with one of these specially-made gift tags:

tag2or:

tag1or maybe:

tag3Then go pour yourself a big glass of eggnog (with a generous helping of rum… it’s the holidays after all).

Get the printable .pdf here:

Christmas Tags

Finished!

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And just in time, too!

Phew!  I made it just in the nick of time!  Grandma’s sweater is done!  And it’s awesome!  (And that’s a lot of exclamation points!)

I finished the sweater with exactly 52 inches of blue yarn left.  It was a nail-biter, let me tell you.  (I’m all about reducing waste, but this was ridiculous.)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABut all’s well that ends well, right?  The sweater has turned out beautifully!  The Biggo yarn I used blocked up wonderfully.  And, I’m so glad I made the change from dark gray to light.  It turned out so much better than it would have otherwise.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI even found the perfect buttons!  They’re bright pink, to match the snowflakes, and just a tiny bit sparkly (the photos don’t do them justice).  I drove all over Seattle looking for them, and, when I found them, I thoroughly freaked out the clerk who helped me find them by doing a little happy dance.  It was exciting, what can I say?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERANow I just have to wait and see if it fits!  Cross your fingers for me!

Prince George

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Oh my goodness, have you guys seen Prince George’s adorable little Christmas sweater?  It’s freaking too cute to handle.   Look at those chubby cheeks (and Christmas shorts?  The British are odd). (Thanks to my friend Jenny for sending me his picture!)

_79710177_princegeorge2[1]Apparently you can’t buy the the royal sweater vest, but we’re knitters.  We don’t need to buy sweaters like common folks (or like the Duchess of Cambridge).  Let’s take a look at the sweater originally from Cath Kidston.

sweater16n-3-web[1]It’s pretty simple,  right?  Just a standard stockinette sweater vest with teeny tiny palace guards on the bottom. If you wanted to make one, just start with a simple vest pattern in navy blue:

Baby’s Banded Sweater Vest by Lisa K. Ross

DSC_0055__2__medium2[1]And work the little palace guards along the bottom.  You could work them with intarsia, or if you wanted to make it even easier on yourself, why not use the duplicate stitch?

I’ve even worked up some palace guard charts, as a Christmas present for you!  (Click the picture for a larger version

Prince George Sweater ChartNow you can make a sweater for your little prince, too!

Bo-Peep Has Lost Her Sheep

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And should try looking for it in Omaha.

i[1]This little cutie (complete with Christmas sweater) was found last week in Omaha, Nebraska, and rescued by the Omaha Humane Society.

I have questions:

1. Who trains a sheep to take walks on a leash?  And, more to the point, I didn’t even know that was something you could do.

2. How do you loose a sheep?  It’s not like they run terribly fast, like a dog or cat.

3. Sweater?  Really?  I suppose it’s kind of cute, but as my dad said (when he sent me this article), it’s “sort of creepy– like a cow wearing a belt…”

 

(Upon further research, it looks like Gage the sheep was picked up by his owner soon after being found.  He’s basically a house pet… which makes me wonder, do sheep make good pets? And, can I convince my husband to get one?)

 

Adventure Time Again!

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I told you that Adventure Time had a lot of knitting in it.  Although, I think that this episode (Everything’s Jake, which aired on November 24th), is the first one to actually show a character knitting.

It’s not an important plot point, and unless you were a weird-o knitter, like me, you probably wouldn’t even have noticed it.

But, the episode begins with Jake sitting on the couch, listening to his Victrola and knitting away at… something.

UntitledHe then puts down his knitting, and you get to see the rest of his WIP, where it sits on the coffee table:

Untitled1Then, if you’re a big nerd like me, you squeal in delight, because you realize that Jake is making an entire outfit for his buddy BMO, the sentient robot/gaming system.

thCASP0UENSure, he’s a robot, and probably doesn’t get cold, but, he would be so cute in his new little outfit!  (I’m pretty they show this in the episode, but, for the life of me I can’t find it, so maybe it was all a beautiful, adorable dream.  Who knows.)  And he’s such a sweetie, you know that he’ll wear the sweater just to make Jake happy.