Home

  • Lambtown Festival- 2022

    What: Lambtown Festival

    Where: Dixon May Fairgrounds, Dixon, CA

    When: Saturday, October 1, 2022

    Who: The Husband, Feebs, and me

    Why: To fondle yarn, of course

    We showed up to the festival around 11. The Husband and I were both surprised that the PETA protesters were absent this year. We hadn’t been to the festival in 2 years, but the last couple of times that we went, they were standing at the gates with signs. We bought tickets at the window, since I didn’t think to purchase them in advance. It was $10 per adult and free to children under 17. Once we got through the gates, there was the usual information booth in the gazebo. Behind the gazebo was a booth set up with crafting stations for kids. The Husband and Feebs headed toward that booth, and I turned right and headed into an exhibit room.

    The first thing that I noticed was that most people weren’t wearing masks. This surprised me since the buildings weren’t that large. The vendor stations were set up nicely. There was a good mix of fiber and yarn, with some metal art and fabric crafts mixed in. I specifically set out to find the Houndstooth Fiber Arts booth, but they weren’t there. Some booths that stood out to me were Sincere Sheep, Invictus Yarn, Sea Change, Royal Bee Yarn Co., and Mendocino Fiber Company. The only person that I recognized was Yellyknits, a person that I follow on Instagram. She creates content about inclusivity in the LGBTQ community.

    I circled through the first Exhibit hall, without buying anything. I then crossed over to the other building. I went through that hall relatively quickly. I didn’t spend much time perusing the booths, this year. I think that my want to buy yarn was at a low point. I wanted to go and support all of the makers, but I didn’t have anything in mind to purchase before we got there. I circled through the second building and went back to the first one. I purchased three skeins of fingering weight yarn from the Royal Bee Yarn Co. It is a lovely dark green color. It is non-Superwash and according to the shop owner’s mother, it is hand-dyed to the shop owners specifications. I probably could have gotten away with buying only two skeins, but I bought the third, just in case. I don’t have project in mind, so better safe than sorry. Incidentally, the shop didn’t offer me a bag to put my yarn into, and I didn’t have my normal purse with me. My purse was small and I didn’t have my little bag in a bag with me. So, I literally had to carry around the yarn around with me.

    After I made my purchase, I headed out to find my people. I found them at the crafting station. Feebs was hard at work making a sheep magnet. I relieved The Husband, and he went in search of food trucks and beverages (sadly, nothing caught his fancy). Magnet completed, Feebs moved onto the hand felting station. It was a really cute setup, where there were sandwich bags with round pieces of fiber layered in different colors. The instructions were to add some soapy water to the bag and agitate it with your hands or against the table to felt it into different shapes. Once you were done, you rinse the fiber out with clean water, shape it into a flower, and wrap a pipe cleaner around it to make a stem and let it dry to hold the shape. Feebs is very pleased with her felted flower.

    Once The Husband came back, I went in search of a bag to hold my yarn. If you know me, you know that I am the bag lady. I love bags, baskets, and any other carrier-type vessel. I knew that I didn’t need a new bag. I was 100% sure of this fact. But, I went in search of one anyway. I was back in the first building and came upon the Mendocino Fiber Company booth. They shared a booth with Ephemera Creations. I noticed a bowl of mini skein sets. They were in such beautiful colors. I am not a collector of mini skeins, because I really never know what to do with them. But these ones caught my eye and I decided that I would buy a set. So I purchased the set and they gave me a bag to carry it in! Talk about being efficient! On a side note, the cheapest project bag that I saw, that would fit my 3 skeins of yarn, was $45 or more. I was able to save about $15 by buying the mini set and getting the free bag. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!

    All in all, I enjoyed Lambtown. I did find it surprising that we were only there for about 2 hours. A good portion of that time was Feebs working on her crafts. I didn’t spend much money, which is always a good thing. I was very sad that Houndstooth wasn’t there. I always enjoy supporting them. I really liked talking to the two vendors that I purchased yarn from. I may see if I can find the Mendocino Fiber Company, or Ephemera Creations when we are in Mendocino, next week.

    The next fiber festival that is on my radar is Stitches West, and I am NOT missing it next year! Lambtown has definitely whetted my appetite for more festivals. I intend to start looking for fabric festivals too. Perhaps next year, I will take some Lambtown workshops too. We’ll find out next year.

    Loves,

    M

  • All the makes- September 2022

    September was a crazy month. I feel old every time I talk about how fast time is going, but it really does seem to fly. My making mojo has not decreased, but my available time has. School is taking up most of my spare time, so my making continues to take a hit.

    * Finished Objects:

    Deodara, by Maria Olson. This was knit in Brown Sheet Serendipity Tweed, in a variegated pink/ fuchsia. There will be a separate post for this top.

    * Works in Progress:

    Shatar Vest

    August 2022 socks (being knit for The Father, for Christmas)

    2470 Women’s Lace Border Tank Top

    White denim skirt

    10 pairs of pajama pants/ shorts

    * Goals for next month:

    Knit more

    Figure out 2022 Mendocino knitting

    Sew a short winter skirt

    Don’t flunk any classes

    My desire to knit hasn’t gone away. I actively long to work on my knitting projects. Unfortunately, I bit off more than I should chew and took two classes this semester. I won’t make that mistake again. The rule that I set for myself is that I can only knit once my weekly work is complete. This is why Deodara took me a month to complete. In actuality, this top should have taken me 1-2 weeks to finish. Another thing that has been interfering with my knitting on the go is that I don’t like having to take off my Fitbit every time I pick up my needles. I think it is hilarious that it counts my stitches as steps, but it is also quite inconvenient. I need to make more of an effort to knit, though. My mental health needs the calm that comes from knitting. Sewing hasn’t happened at all and that is only partly because of school. The Mother has been here quite a bit, lately, and that prohibits me from setting up my sewing station in the toy room. With the weather changing, I think I have missed my window to sew the gingham Lawley skirt. The same for the Salt Water Slip Dress and my summer knits. The Deodara is a good summer/ fall top so I will count that as my summer garment for the year. It’s a cheat, but oh well. I think I can now move on to my beloved colder weather makes. My plan for Mendocino knitting was to work on my long abandoned charity knitting. That would break with the convention of knitting a sweater, but it’s what I am leaning toward. But… I may also start working on a new black cardigan. I have 4 days to decide and start packing, so we’ll see which way I want to go.

    So, life has been incredibly busy. Work, family, school, and just basic day-to-day tasks take up 100% of my time. Demos and training for the big 2023 changes have been taking up much of my work days. I am still training my new person. I have had staff out sick and on vacation so coverage has been iffy. I am trying to get caught up before we leave for Mendocino, next week. The same is the case for schoolwork. My goal is to have all of my homework done by Tuesday so that I can unplug while we are away. And school… I remember at the beginning of the semester thinking “yeah, I can totally handle this.” I won’t say that I was wrong, because I can and am handling it, but I won’t do this again. Note to future Mrs. Collins: You are smart and capable, and you can do anything you set your mind to. However, you are really freaking tired. You aren’t on a deadline to finish school, so, don’t overload yourself!

    Things have stalled a bit with The Mother moving here. The market has been slowing down so she is still waiting to sell her house. Therefore, she can’t buy another house here. I am still hopeful that it will happen though. I really want her to live closer. I got together with Sister #2 at the beginning of September and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am so happy that we have started to spend time together. I enjoy being with her so much. We have scheduled our next sister’s outing for January since the holidays are fast approaching. In October I intend to reach out to the other two sisters and see if we can schedule some one-on-one to get time. I also want to touch base with The Brother’s wife to see how she is handling the weird school stuff for her girls. I want to talk to or see them all before the end of the year. That will hopefully make the big family gathering more comfortable for me. We also got to see the O’s for the Bestie’s 8th birthday. It was delightful!

    October is a really big month in our family, and we won’t have a weekend free the whole time. Some of the highlights will be Lambtown Wool Festival, Mendocino, our anniversary, The Husband’s birthday, The Mother’s birthday, and Halloween, to name a few. Hopefully, there will be more making happening in that month, and I will have more to share.

    So that is September, in a nutshell. It was a good month. It was busy and hectic and more memories were made. I look forward to the chaos of next month. On a positive note, I only have 10 weeks left in the semester!

    Loves,

    M

  • All the makes- August 2022

    August has come and gone. Again, not much making to report. Between home, work, and now school, leisure time is hard to come by. I am only allowing myself making time on the weekends. That being said, I will still be knitting my little heart out during my allotted time.

    * Finished Objects:

    June 2022 socks. These were knit in Nomadic Yarn- Trusty Sock in the Bellatrix LeStrange colorway. I knit a 58 stitch vanilla sock with an afterthought heel.

    * New Cast-ons:

    Shatar Vest

    Deodara

    August 2022 socks

    * Works in Progress:

    2470 Women’s Lace Border Tank Top

    White denim skirt

    10 pairs of pajama pants/ shorts

    * Goals for next month

    Figure out 2022 Mendo sweater

    Finish Deodara

    Sew one project

    Mend 2 items from the pile

    Don’t flunk any classes

    So, as you can see, the making department has gone on strike. Well, not strike, more like sabbatical. I want to knit on Deodara. I feel that she is going to pull me out of the knitting funk that I tend to go into during the summer. For some reason I tend to lose my making mojo when it’s hot. I will note, that I have a growing mending pile, and I need to make that a priority this month. As you can see, the charity knitting has also taken a nose-dive. That too needs to be pulled from the wreckage and put back on track. I have a million plans, and only a handful of hours. We are heading into the unfortunate time of year where mornings are sweater weather and afternoons are three steps away from hell. I would really love to set up my sewing station work on the gingham Lawley skirt, while I can still wear it. Unfortunately, current life events are requiring me to keep the guest bed clear so there can’t be a sewing station. I have a feeling that I won’t have any dedicated sewing time and space until after the warm weather is pretty much done for the year. Another crazy thing that happened this summer is that I have not completed my annual summer knit. I have always been able to knit a summer garment, usually only one. I am not a fan of knitting with plant fiber as it dries out and hurts my hands, hence I only complete one per year. I cast on the Lace Border Tank Top, and I purchased some cotton yarn to knit a Kuutar top. I have half of a front of the lace tank top, and the yarn and pattern for Kuutar in the downstairs basket. I have lost steam on both projects. I am going to blame this loss of motivation on the fact that it has been a very unusual summer.

    August was a pretty good month. The annual family barbeque happened at Sister #2’s house. It was a delightful event. I got to catch up with the family, including cousins and the offspring. It is so fun to watch my nieces and nephews become adults. It is bittersweet, but sweet none the less. Right after that grand event, school started. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a 3rd grader! That doesn’t even seem possible. Where did 8 years go? We have (I think/hope/pray) a good teacher that seems to be strict enough to keep Feebs going forward, but gentle enough that she adores her. Since school is back in session, the germs are starting to fly. Feebs has been home for two days with a cold. She gets to go back today, and we are both excited about it. My fingers are crossed that she is always excited to go to school. Lord knows, she didn’t get that from me. And shortly after she started school, I started school as well. I began two classes at the local junior college. I am taking college English, which I have some how been able to avoid for the past 20 years, and a health and wellness class. The English class will fulfill my general education requirements and the health class goes toward my major. I am still undecided if I want to go for Health Sciences or Public Health. Health Sciences is more general, but I only need 5 classes to complete it. Public Health is a specialized major, and is transferable to a state college. I need 7-8 classes to complete it. I am in conundrum, because the part of me that is just checking boxes is voting for the easier path. The part of me that likes to have all of the options is voting on the longer, more specialized path. I would say “what’s three more classes?”, but two of them are classes that would have to be in person, and would be very difficult for me to pass (chemistry and biology with labs). My current classes are going well, so far. Both professors are pleasant and seem to care about their teaching and the students. I have had some major learning curves, when it comes to the technology aspect, but so far, the content is easy enough to follow. The week my classes started, Ms. H was here for a visit. It was so great to have her here just to relax. We took her to good food, Nicaraguan and Ethiopian, and just had a nice visit. We kept trying to come up with something fun and exciting to do, but we were all really tired and wanting to chill. It was still a great visit. Health-wise, I seem too be at a standstill. I finally meet with a neurologist tomorrow. I will get the results of my brain MRI. My guess is that she will say there are no changes from my last scan and that I am just fine. There will be no explanation about the dizziness that refuses to go away. It will probably be chalked up to having had Covid, with no further need for investigation. Tis the story of my medical life. My medical stuff has had the side effect of prompting the Mother to want to move to this area. Over the last few weeks, she has been coming here to see houses. Her house goes on the market tomorrow, so we will see what comes of that. The market is noticeably slowing down, and the town that she lives in isn’t a growing metropolis, as it is. She has found some very cute houses and hopefully she will be happy in them. Only time will tell. Her coming and going is the reason for no sewing station. It is a small sacrifice, though, if it means she can live closer.

    That sums up the month. It was a good month. Busy and sometimes frustrating, but still good. I look forward to September and all that she holds in stock. I will continue to check off weeks of this semester. It will be done before I know it, then onto the dreaded math. Wish me luck!

    Loves,

    M

  • Vanilla is my favorite

    Handknit socks are some of my very favorite things. They are warm, and comfortable, and durable. Wearing handknit socks makes my cold days bearable. I am not sure how many pairs of socks I have knit in my lifetime. I knit socks throughout the year, for my self. I also knit them for those that are truly knit-worthy, i.e. The Husband, Feebs, The Father, and the Female O. The Mother is excluded because she hates wool. It’s a struggle with that one…

    I learned how to knit socks using double pointed needles (dpns). The construction was cuff-down with a heel flap and gusset. The first sock (singular) that I knit was beautifully done. My stitches were even and the sock was nice and dense. The reason for the singularity is that it was the perfect size for an 8 year old, and I was 23. Also the cuff was so tight that there wasn’t a chance that I would get it over my heel. I never bothered making a mate for it. Mind you, I still have that sock. I am still proud of that sock.

    Over the years, I have knit socks with patterns, knit socks with various heels, and knit several iterations of vanilla socks. I find that while I enjoy owning pretty patterned socks (I am looking at you, Blueberry Waffles pattern), I don’t tend to reach for them when getting dressed in the morning. I wear socks from October till May, and I am a boot wearer. I need socks with a smooth fabric that will cover my leg all the way up to the boot top. I try not be the Princess and the Pea, but have you ever tried to walk around with a hard knot in the sole of your sock? Or knee high boots worn with socks that only go up to lower shin? While I do love my version of fashion, I love comfort more. So socks with lace don’t work for me, since I wear them for warmth. Socks with beautiful colorwork are nice, but I tend to knit colorwork tight, so calf comfort could be compromised. Socks with any kind of a texture can add friction and also compromise comfort.

    Heels have been a journey. As stated, I began with the noble heel flap and gusset. It is so cool to watch that heel come alive. Once you finish a heel flap and gusset, you feel like an honest to goodness Knitter. I have also tried afterthought heels. Afterthought heels are seriously convenient when you just want to keep knitting a tube. I don’t always love the fit of an afterthought heel, though. I also always have holes on each side from where the stitches were picked up. I have also tried a few different short row heels and my favorite is the Fish-Lips-Kiss (FLK) heel. This heel fits my feet well and is very easy to knit. I really like the look of it, and have found that if I add a stitch to each side of the heel, then knit it together on the next row, I don’t end up with a hole on each side.

    This is an Afterthought heel
    This is a FLK- short row heel

    It took me a long time to figure out my formula for my perfect vanilla sock. I have tried my hardest to find the right formula for every foot that I knit for. Many parents have a wall where they measure their child’s growth, or a picture frame that shows the evolution of the child. I have cardboard cutouts of Feebs’s feet. The first one was when she was about 1 1/2 years old. Every time she has a growth spurt, a new foot is drafted. I have a foot for all of my sock-worthy people. It follows the FLK method of sock measurements, and is invaluable when the person that your are knitting for doesn’t live with you, or even near you.

    My perfect vanilla sock is toe-up, FLK heel, with a calf that is increased up to the ribbed cuff. If I am knitting daily wear socks, I always select a 75/ 25 blend yarn (my favorite, to date, is Paton Kroy sock yarn). I like that the little bit of nylon helps the socks maintain shape and allows machine washing. I also think they are more durable. I only use 100% wool, or other fiber types, when knitting house/bed socks. They won’t get as much wear and tear as daily wear socks, so they can be more precious. I use a very stretchy bind off (Jenny’s Incredibly Stretchy Bind-off) so that I can pull them on and off with ease. I knit my socks in stockinette for a smooth and comfortable fabric. I like my socks snug and dense, so I knit a 58 stitch sock on the foot and increase the calf to 64 stitches. I always use 1.25 mm needles, even if I am using a thicker weight yarn. I like the dense fabric that using the smaller needles creates. I tend to cast on the socks using the magic loop, 2 at a time method. I always like to knit pairs of anything at the same time. I do this with sleeves and fronts and backs of sweaters. My theory is that if I am having a rough day or a brain-fart, my pairs will have the same mistake, the same gauge, the same issue on both pieces. Then it is more of a feature and less of a mistake. This has always worked out well for me. I measure the feet to know when to start my heels. Once the foot and the heel are completed, I separate the socks and work the calf, one at a time, using a 9 inch circular needle. Once I am working independently, I no longer measure. On the first sock, I wing it. I have a general idea of when to start increasing and I put them in every inch or so. I knit a 1×1 rib cuff for 10-12 rows, then bind off. On the second sock, I use the first sock as a guide and instead of measuring, I count rows. My knitting stays pretty consistent, so I am able to get away with this. I am also not horribly concerned about my pairs being sisters versus twins. It doesn’t bother me if they don’t match 100%. Once you put them on your feet a lot of the “errors” disappear.

    The very baby beginnings of socks for me

    So, my bottom line is that handknit socks are amazing. They are fun to knit, very portable, and fabulous to wear. I have even begun teaching Ms. H how to find her vanilla sock formula and how to knit them. With some minor help, she has knit her first pair. I love fingering weight all the way to bulky weight socks. Daily wear socks, and bed socks. My PSA for the day: Handknit socks- get on that train!

    Loves,

    M

  • All the makes- July 2022

    Hello darling. Well, we hit another making dry spell. I made exactly one thing in July. Just one. I knit it very fast and it was a big one. But once she was done, so was I. It was an incredibly exciting month, with a lot going on. Some of it wonderful, and some of it painful. But we will get into all of that in a bit.

    • Finished Objects:

    Paris Toujours by Isabell Kraemer. This was knit in Stranded Dyeworks in Anti-Valentine. There is a separate post for this project.

    • New Cast-ons

    Ram’s Horn

    • Works in Progress:

    2470 Women’s Lace Border Tank Top

    June 2022 vanilla socks

    White denim skirt

    10 pairs of pajama pants/ shorts

    • Goals for next month

    Finish all the pajama pants

    Sew a new Lawley skirt

    Sew a toile for Saltwater slip

    Try a macrame project

    So, that is what I did. For the whole month. Even though I have yet to sew a single thing in the last month, I have my eye on a few new sewing projects. I would like to make a Kielo wrap dress, by Named Clothing. I would like to make another True Bias Ogden Cami dress hack, this time an unlined one. I would like to cast on my Shatar Vest. So, I have plans. I have wants and making dreams. Unfortunately, I have had no making drive. I have also been a temporary (I hope) resident of the frog pond. I have cast on a few things lately, and have not been feeling it. Most recently I ripped out a Lace & Fade Boxy. I haven’t even cast on a charity knit. I seem to have lost my urge to hand make. Feebs has officially requested a new Abb t-shirt, since the first one I made was a Hot Mess and is already falling apart. Hopefully I will get to that this weekend. I already have some really cute space print jersey knit. I will cut it out this week. I will!

    July was super busy and a lot of fun. We kept the first weekend very easy. We ended up watching fireworks from Feebs’s bedroom window. The following weekend was Feebs’s 8th birthday. And guess what… We did it. After years of planning and stress, we were finally able to surprise the girl with a trip to Disneyland. We were originally supposed to take her for her 6th birthday, but that happened in July 2020, and we all know where we were at that point. So we had to postpone the trip until things were open and safe. We completely surprised her and she had the best time. It was made even better because her bestie was there too. The O’s surprised Meems with a trip as well. The girls had a ton of fun. Feebs realized that she is a big fan of rollercoasters and other rides, oh joy. Mama isn’t a big fan of rollercoasters, but I sucked it up and went on everything that she wanted to go on (aside for Splash Mountain, that was a HARD NO). During our trip I was not injured. I didn’t trip and fall or cough weird and hurt myself. Why, then, did my back start hurting two days after we got back? My back still hurts, a month later. That hurt has stopped me from sewing, it has completely disrupted my workout routine, and made me start to question the needs of my aging body. I also developed some dizziness crazy, and have an MRI with contrast scheduled for mid-August. I am not excited. Contrast means Prednisone, and Prednisone means very manic me. I feel like hot garbage when I am taking it and I am so very unpleasant to be around. Oh well, needs- musts and all. After the Disney trip weekend, The Father came to take Feebs out for birthday dinner and shopping. It was so good to see him and get to spend some time. The following weekend The Husband and I went to a Star Wars themed burlesque show called The Empire Strips back, in SF. It was so funny and an incredibly fun night out. The mother came and stayed with Feebs. The rest of the month was taken up with work and regular day to day activities.

    My goal for next month is to work through why I seem to have a block on making. It is okay, and I am not self-shaming, but I can’t quite figure out why I am not feeling any kind of making. Once I can figure it out, I am hoping to find a project that makes my heart smile and get going with it. I start school at the end of August, so I need to get on with my making while I can. What will probably happen is I will start school, get completely swamped, and then find my making mojo. That always happens… We will see how it works out.

    Loves,

    M

  • Dream making in July

    Hello darling,

    I am feeling very Austin Powers “I’ve lost my mojo!” this month. I have finished nothing, and I have started a few things that have either stalled or that weren’t working out, so I frogged them. I have somewhere around 10 pairs of pajama pants/ shorts for my family that have been cut out and are in all different stages of completion, but not a single pair completed. I used the wrong weight of yarn on Joji Locatelli’s Lace and Fade Boxy (thinking I could fudge it), and it simply isn’t working out. I went to start my Shatar Vest and realized that I don’t have the correct size needles (I can’t even fathom how I would be missing a needle size, I could practically own a knitting needle shop). I keep making progress on a pair of socks, then get bored and put them to the side.

    So, it’s time to figure out my life and kick my creativity in the butt. I am going to do some dream making in hopes of igniting a creative spark. I don’t intend to go crazy with my plans and pairing, but I want a couple of things to ponder and plan for.

    I want to knit another Rams Horn cowl, part of Mina Phillipp’s Cowl Collection book. I have knit one before and I loved the knitting process. I ended up giving the finished cowl to Vero, since it was more her style than mine. I loved the knitting process. It was a total potato chip knit. I want to use the last of my Knitpicks Swish DK in Heather Gray and the 4/5’s of a Yoth gradient set that Abb’s gave me. I have wanted to put those to use for a long time, but was just shy of the necessary yardage needed for anything I tried to make with it. I have no idea who this cowl will be for, but I want another enjoyable knit.

    I want to sew another Lawley skirt. I know I had some struggle with the last one but that was mostly due to my fabric choice. I am hoping that I learned enough from my mistakes on the last one to make this one more successful. It is a regular quilting cotton, and I have absolutely no intention of trying to pattern match the gingham. It may be a hot mess, but I think it can still be cute. For as hostile as I was about the last one I made, I wear it all the time. I think I will wear the heck out of this new one too.

    This is more of a wild card. I have 1 yard of this dragon print quilting cotton. I have been wanting to find a top pattern that I could use for an assortment of fabrics. I am thinking of trying to modify 100 Acts of Sewing Dress No 2 into a sleeveless top. I speak of this like I have the first clue about pattern modification, but I think I can work it out. In retrospect, I don’t really know what made me pick this fabric, and luckily it isn’t that precious to me. I will give this pattern and whirl and see what I can do with it.

    And that is all she wrote, for now. I did order the correct size needles for Shatar, and they should be here tomorrow. Tomorrow is already the last day of July, and this is my first post of the month. I still have to officially frog the Boxy sweater and put everything away. I think I may still peruse Ravelry and see if I can get inspired by something. I just bought a couple of summer top knitting patterns, but true to form, I can’t motivate myself to work on them. This is why I only ever get one summer garment per year. I just don’t enjoy knitting them as much as cold weather garments… Oh well, onward!

    Loves,
    M

  • Paris Toujours- Isabell Kraemer

    Hello darling. She is done, and she is spectacular. Who is she? The Paris Toujours shawl, by Isabell Kraemer. I knit her in 4 days using Stranded Dyeworks Superwash Merino DK in the Anti-Valentine colorway. This shawl knit up so fast. It was a beautiful project, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The yarn was squishy and stayed fairly even through all three skeins. I did not alternate skeins, and the color variegation still stayed consistent. I used all but 13 inches of the yarn. I played yarn chicken, and I won! The finished shawl was fairly large. I then wet-blocked it using wires. This caused the shawl to get even bigger and really open up the lace. She has a wing span of 8 feet, 4 inches! I am loving everything about her.

    Of course, I messed up, and of course, I am going to point it out. I got to the 10th lace row on the 2nd to last lace repeat, and I dropped a stitch. The dropped stitch was quick to unravel down 3 rows. Since it was a series of yarn-overs and knit 2 together, I wasn’t able to cleanly fix it. The error is very noticeable. Part of me wanted to rip back the rows and fix it, but the part of me that was really enjoying the project just wanted to carry on. Hopefully, it won’t be horribly noticeable to people looking. And really, if people can see it, they are too close.

    I really enjoyed working with this yarn. I had tried to get the Anti-Valentine yarn for years and was able to grab it this year, for my birthday. I will say, I am not as thrilled with the color as I had been in previous years. I always saw the colorway as sort of a black-pink combo. This yarn is much more purple-pink. Mind you, it is still gorgeous. I highly recommend both this yarn and this pattern. It is unfortunate that I am not generally a big shawl person, because I could see knitting this again in many other colors. Honestly, I give this pattern a 10 out of 10!

    Loves,
    M

  • All the makes- June 2022

    Hello darling. We made it to July. June was very busy and filled with good things. There was a whole lot of making, or really, finishing last month. I am very proud of my perseverance, and my Ravelry page is getting more and more current.

    • Finished Objects

    Feebs’s 8th birthday charm, made with a Disney Pandora charm and clear amethyst beads and clasp from stash.

    Shik’is Cowl, by Jennifer Berg. I knit this in Berroco Ultra Wool in Cream and Morning Glory and Berroco Lanas in Black. I made this for the gift box, but ended up giving it to the Female O on our camping trip.

    Another set of summer pajamas. I used a thrifted fitted crib sheet. I followed the PJ pants/shorts on http://www.lifesewsavory.com and a self drafted top. There is a separate post for this set.

    Lawley Skirt, by Elbe Textiles. I sewed this in cotton seersucker from stash. There is a separate post about this skirt.

    Jameson sweater, by Thea Coleman. This was knit in Lion Brand LB Collection Merino Yak Alpaca, in Navy. This sweater has a separate post. There were, of course, modifications.

    June Charity knitting, my vanilla hat pattern. I used stash leftover yarns and my 80 stitch hat pattern.

    • New Cast- ons

    Paris Toujours shawl

    June 2022 socks for me

    • Works in Progress

    8 pairs of pajama pants for the three of us

    2 pairs of pajama shorts with pockets for me

    2470 Women’s Lace Border Tank Top

    Knitting my memories blanket

    White denim skirt

    Bench rehab project

    • Goals for next month

    Get bench sanded and topper stripped

    Sew toile for the Saltwater Slip Dress

    Use either the pink gingham or gray linen fabric

    A whole lot of making happened in June. In all honesty, a whole lot of making was done in the last two weeks of June. I finished the Lawley skirt and the Jameson sweater, two projects that I wanted to finish for a long time. I finally got my life together and sorted out the cubbies and my fabric stash. I forgot to take a before picture, of course. But I finally got my notions and thread sorted out. I got my patterns sorted and organized. My cubbies are now sewing supplies only, which is what I have been trying to accomplish for a while.

    I sorted all of my fabrics and pulled out all of the flannel fabrics that I bought a year or two ago to make family pajama pants. Getting those pulled out made a lot more room for clearing the fabric out of the bottom cubby. I spent a couple of hours getting all of the pajama pants cut out and stacked on the arm chair to work on as I get time. Each set has a matching set for the Husband and Feebs, or me and Feebs. I want to have those done and put away for colder weather.

    The month of June was a pretty good one. It started with the news that the Husband passed his dreaded test. The relief of that was so immense, we still haven’t fully adjusted to it. We went on our camping trip that weekend and had a pretty good time. Feebs and her bestie had a great time. We had some hitches, but all in all, it was pretty great. The next weekend was spent with the Ladies. We went over to swim and hang out. It was a lovely afternoon spent with fun people and puppies. That following week was party hell. My coworker and I planned and executed the 40th bash for our office party planner. What do you do when the office party planner has a party? You wing it and do your best. A and I were stressed to the roots of our hair, but the birthday girl seemed to really enjoy herself. The next weekend was my oldest niece’s graduation party. We are so proud of her and had a lovely time celebrating her. Unfortunately, the party was the gift that kept giving. We ended up getting Covid. Well, Feebs got Covid, then she gave it to me, then I gave it to the Husband. This ended up taking us out of circulation for 2 weeks. We are so lucky that our symptoms were relatively mild. The Husband and I both were prescribed the Paxlovid medication to get over it faster. The Father got Covid too, separately. Luckily, he is recovering nicely. Can Covid be gone now? Please? I am really over it. We also had Father’s Day, which was nice. It was pretty low-key and mellow. We have had to postpone it for both of our Father’s due to Covid, so those will be rescheduled soon. Feebs and I made meatloaf cake with pink potato frosting for the Husband. It was so cute, and he really loved it.

    Last but certainly not least, I have signed up for Fall classes at the local junior college. I started school in 1999, and have yet to finish. I have decided to get back to chipping away at it. I have signed up for English and a Health class. I am still sorting out what A. S. major path I will be following. I have the dreaded Math class set up for Spring. I met with a counselor and got myself figured out, for now. I am trying to keep things in perspective and not freak out over what will happen. I know the last date that I can drop classes and there is no pressure to complete this quickly. So, I am going to start this and just check off the boxes as I go. One step at a time, right?

    So that should sum me up for June. July has some surprises coming. We have a trip planned and the biggest surprise for Feebs. I am crossing my fingers and toes that everything will go smooth and all will be well. I guess I better get my knitting planned for the trip… I hope you are well and staying healthy!

    Loves,
    M

  • Jameson Sweater- Thea Coleman

    My lovely Jameson is finally done. I have nerve to have taken so long to complete this sweater. It really should have been done much faster. It is a lovely knit flat, seamed together sweater. It is knit from the bottom up- not my favorite, but a good “out of my comfort zone” project. I enjoyed the knitting and found the pattern fairly straight forward. It was easy to get into a flow with it and to read the knitting to know where you were, and what was coming. I knit it using Lion Brand LB Collection Merino, Yak, Alpaca yarn in Navy.

    Of course I modified it. The sweater calls for 3/4 length sleeves and a cowl. I didn’t want that length of sleeve, so knit mine full length. I also omitted the cowl. I think cowls are gorgeous, especially on this, but I know myself and I know that I won’t wear it. Why put in all that work for something I won’t reach for very often? The neckband seems a little loose and wonky, but it was 1,000 degrees the day I finished it and I was NOT putting an alpaca sweater on my body for more than 10 seconds. When we have a less hellish day, I will put it back on and see how the fit actually is. I think the body length is a touch longer than I expected, too. I can’t tell yet if that is a good thing or not.

    I knit the two body pieces at the same time on long cabled needle. I like doing this with pairs, i.e. sleeves, sock feet, etc. I like for my tension and mistakes to be uniform. I messed up on cable cross over, but I did it on both front and back so it is a feature instead of a mistake. I knit the two together until after the underarm shaping was completed and it was time to start working on neck decreases.

    As for the sleeves, the pattern called for them to be sewn in, but I didn’t go that route. I seamed the sweater up at the shoulders and sides then picked up the necessary stitches and knit down to the cuffs. I seriously do not enjoy sewing in sleeves. These sleeves seemed to take a long time to complete, where usually sleeves are quick when knit in the round. The sleeve pattern is reverse stockinette, too, so I turned the sweater inside-out before I picked up the stitches so that I could knit them (just make sure your seam is on the actual wrong side of the garment). Once completed, I turned them back out, and wah-la! Reverse stockinette sleeves without a single purl stitch!
    This was a fantastic pattern, and I am very happy with my finished sweater. I have only knit a couple of Thea Coleman’s patterns, due to the fact that she is a cabling queen. I knit the Irish Coffee short sleeve sweater and One Beer hat. I took this on as a way to challenge myself. Challenge accepted and completed! Cheers to my Jameson!

    Loves,

    M

  • Lawley Skirt- Elbe Textiles

    Lawley is finally done. I have to give myself some time to digest this pattern. My initial feeling is very conflicted, but I think I am just coming down from being frustrated. I made this using a cotton seersucker. Why did I use this, you ask. I used it because I was shopping for a good fabric for pajama pants, about three years ago. I didn’t have a clue what seersucker was, but went ahead and bought 3 yards of it anyway. Since I am trying to use of up some of my fabric stash, I figured this skirt would be the best fit. This is an incredibly sheer and fraying fabric. It is lovely, but I honestly have no idea what you would make with it that wouldn’t need to be fully lined. I sewed size Large. I think I could go down a size, but, keep reading and you will find out why I am so glad that didn’t.

    What went right:

    I tried a new method of pockets. We know how much I love a good pocket. They felt a bit fiddly at first, but once I could wrap my head around the construction, it all made wonderful sense. The next good thing was that I used a fabric other than quilting cotton. This stuff frays like my nerves during quarantine, but it is a cool fabric to work with. I was INCREDIBLY grateful for my serger! I have really wanted to try something outside of quilting cotton or cotton flannel. Now I have. Lastly, I have a finished skirt. So that is pretty cool. It is lightweight and a good length for Summer.

    What went wrong:

    Just about everything else. Just kidding, it’s not that bad. As mentioned above, the fabric frayed like what. Sneeze in the general direction of the skirt and it frayed. I feel very insecure about my seams, even with the overlocking. I feel like it could fall apart at any moment.

    Tension continues to be an issue for me. I was smart enough to change my needle to accommodate the lightweight fabric, which was good. But tension continues to plague me. It was actually fine when I was sewing the fabric alone, but once I had to sew layers or the elastic, the party was over and everything is very loose and wobbly.

    I hated everything about sewing the waistband. The waistband is the complete opposite of any kind of waistband that I have ever worked on. This is probably a really good thing, but I am still too mad at it to pull out my inner-Pollyanna. I am still relatively new to sewing in elastic, meaning stretching it as I sew. I had to stretch and sew not two, but three seams into the casing. I do not have the muscle memory for this yet. I know I will gain it over time, but dang… The seams are very wobbly, and since I decided to be fancy and do a contrast thread, this is incredibly noticeable. Oh, and the reason that I am so glad that I sewed a Large is because the back seam of the waistband kept fraying when overlocked. By the time I got a good seam, I had hacked off at least an inch in the circumference. If I had done the Medium, I would have been screwed. (I know this because I had no leftover fabric to make another waistband. Trust me, I checked.)

    It probably seems that I am knocking the pattern. I am not. The issues were purely mine. The pattern was easy to follow with very clear instructions. I know that everything the pattern told me to do made sense, I just didn’t like being pushed out of my comfort zone. I think I will try making this skirt again with a less temperamental fabric. I will try to not go full quilting cotton, but don’t want sheer fraying fabric. Once I use up the bulk of my quilting cotton, I want to start investing in some nice linen fabric. I will for sure have to wear a slip with this skirt. While it is gathered, it wasn’t gathered enough to have any real coverage. Now I seem to be coming down from being mad at her, we will see how I do when I make her again.

    Loves,

    M