Welted Fingerless Gloves and Shear Madness

A couple of years ago in Savannah, Georgia, I found this beautiful merino/silk blend fiber at Wild Fibre Yarns. It was very easy to spin so I spun it up pretty quickly and added the yarn to my stash because, as usual, I couldn't decided what to knit with it. I have always had my eye on the Welted Fingerless Glove pattern by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. In my destashing frenzy of 2014, I matched up the yarn and pattern and, after a few evenings of knitting, ended up with these warm and cozy mitts.

Ravelry link

My first Ebay purchase many years ago was an assortment of 1200 small pearl buttons! I used 10 of them to sew onto the welts of the mitts.

If you are looking for some knitting or spinning inspiration, check out Shear Madness on National Geographic about a city girl turned sheep farmer with her husband and five kids. It just started last Saturday night. I missed it but caught up watching On Demand. I don't watch a lot of TV but this is pretty interesting stuff for knitters and spinners.I had to turn my head in one scene - a little more animal science than I needed to see!

A Cape for the Cold

Lucky for me Daughter wore Stashbuster #5 to church this morning and I was able to get a picture before she changed clothes. We have noticed lots of capes and ruanas in the stores in recent months and liked the idea of throwing on a quick wrap on a cold day. I picked up Simplicity 1521 (a Sew Simple 97 cent pattern) on a WalMart shopping trip and made a quick, lined cape with a button closure at the neckline.

The fabric is a very inexpensive gray wool blend from Hancock Fabrics lined with a black polyester lining. We decided not to make the buttonholes in the underarm area for a belt. At least, not right now. She likes to just throw it on without having to bother with a belt. Sometimes, simple is best.

2014 Stashbuster Totals
Yarn - 295 yards
Fabric - 7 yards

One Row Lace Scarf (Stashbusting Project #2)

I'm doing pretty well on my New Year's Stashbusting Resolution. I bought this alpaca/wool/bamboo fiber at a Fiber Festival in 2011. Wow, has it been in my stash that long? I spun a two-ply yarn and ended up with about 180 yards. I didn't especially enjoy spinning this blend of fiber so I put the yarn away for 3 years!

I pulled it out a few days ago and did what I always do when trying to match up yarn with a project. I went to the Ravelry advanced search tool, plugged in my yarn weight, yardage, etc. and came up with an assortment of projects which would work for this yarn. I started knitting a cowl, changed my mind, fingerless mitts, changed my mind, and ended up with a favorite scarf pattern. I have used this One Row Lace Scarf pattern twice before and loved it. (One of them is blogged here)  It seems I always have to eliminate a couple of new patterns before I settle on an old favorite. I have to go through the process.

Ravelry Link

I should not have left this yarn in my stash for so long. I really like the color, the drape, and everything about this scarf! 

Handspun Boot Toppers

It's January so, once again, I'm making one New Year's Resolution and that is to do a little stashbusting. If I knit or sew just one project a week, that's 52 projects a year and I should make a dent in my inventory. Right? And that is a conservative estimate. Surely, I can make more than one project a week. I do realize that this challenge also requires me to stop buying fabric and yarn so I vow to only buy what is absolutely necessary that I can't find in my stash.

This brings me to Stashbusting Project #1. I bought a spinning wheel in 2008 and taught myself to spin. My first yarns were a little, actually a lot, on the chunky side, so I stashed them away. I ran across this boot topper pattern on Ravelry from Homespun Living which requires chunky yarn. I was a little short on yardage but adjusted the pattern and made it work.

Ravelry Link

Both of my daughters love to wear boots so I have plans for lots more boot toppers for my handspun and other skeins with minimal yardage.

Coming soon....my first fabric stashbusting project which is actually finished but getting my daughter to pose for pictures requires some convincing, bargaining, and sometimes a downright threat that I won't ever sew for her again!

Lyme Regis Scarf

My Lyme Regis Scarf is finally finished, blocked, and ready to wear. Since Spring has officially arrived, I'll be saving it for fall. I used all of the 212 yards of my handspun yarn with only 20 inches left over. I love the pattern from the Spring 2013 issue of Spin-Off and can't wait to spin more yarn to make another scarf.

 

Ravelry link

Ravelry Link

This is turning out to be my catch-up week. Finishing up knitting projects, hems, taking pics of projects, etc. I guess I don't have to finish one project before I start a new one, do I? Do you have a project that you hope to complete this week? 

Handspun Scarf WIP

I'm blogging about knitting this week because I'm having a little problem with my sewing project model. She thinks it's too cold to step outside for a few pictures and I don't have good lighting inside. I think I might have to get a contract signed stating that if I spend my time sewing for her, she can pose for a few pictures. Oh well, it's supposed to be warmer this weekend.

I bought this hand-dyed fiber last spring at the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival from YarnGeekFibers. It's blue faced Leicester wool and was very easy to spin into a 2-ply heavy worsted yarn. It has been in my yarn stash just waiting for the perfect project. The pattern is called Lyme Regis Scarf and can be found in the Spring 2013 issue of Spin-Off magazine.

It has a twelve row easy lace pattern repeat running through the center of the scarf.

Ravelry link

I especially like the ruffle on the end. It is shown on the cover of the Spring 2013 Spin-Off worn as an ascot type scarf.

I plan to have a catch-up photo shoot this weekend for my sewing projects. Until then, I guess I'll just knit!

Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival

I took a little road trip with a friend to the Third Annual Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival last weekend in Lexington, Ky. This was my second trip to the festival and it just keeps getting better! I really didn't need any more fiber to spin but that has never stopped me before from buying more. There were lots of booths with all kinds of fiber related products and activities - spinning, weaving, knitting, felting, etc. I was especially interested in the natural dyeing. There were yarns dyed with marigolds, walnuts, cochineal, queen anne's lace, onion skins, and lots more. I moved natural dyeing up pretty high on my to-do list.

There were more fiber producing animals there this year such as alpaca, llama, sheep, bunnies, goats. 

My friend bought this French angora bunny at the festival. She is 7 weeks old and loves to be held. She rode the entire 2 1/2 hour trip home in my lap. She will produce lots of fiber for spinning in addition to being a sweet, gentle pet.

I almost got away without buying fiber until I walked through the last vendor tent. This bluefaced leicester wool from yarngeekfibers.com was calling my name. I couldn't resist. I've already started spinning it into a fairly fine yarn which I will 2-ply and make into I don't know what but I'll figure that out later.

I just happened to be in the livestock pavilion when the sheep shearing demonstration started. As much as I love to spin wool, I didn't watch this demo very long. I know the wool has to come off but that poor sheep didn't enjoy it very much!

Great festival. Great vendors. Can't wait until next year!

Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ)

This is one of those projects that every knitter should knit at least once. I just finished my fourth for no reason other than the joy of knitting it. It is Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket, or BSJ, for short. It was "invented" by Zimmermann in 1968 and has been knitted by thousands of knitters since. On Ravelry, a wonderful social networking site for knitters (and crocheters), there are 16,589 (16,593, the number increases daily) projects from members all over the world for the BSJ. If there are that many posted on Ravelry alone, I wonder how many thousands more have been knitted!

The jacket is knitted in one piece and then seamed at the shoulders. It does not look like a jacket during the knitting process. It doesn't really look like anything until it is seamed. The pattern can be found here and here.

Ravelry link

This is my first BSJ, knitted in 2008 with a hand-dyed fingering weight yarn. 

Ravelry link

This is my second BSJ, knitted in 2008 with a hand-dyed DK weight yarn. 

Ravelry link

And this is my third BSJ, knitted in 2008 with Jojoland Rhythm, a worsted weight yarn. The buttons are coconut. 

Ravelry link

The pattern is the same, regardless of the weight of the yarn that you choose. The larger the yarn, the larger the jacket will be. If you like garter stitch and a little challenge, try out this pattern. There are great message boards on Ravelry to discuss this project, ask questions, and share pictures.

Simplicity 2125 Wool Lined Skirt

I picked up this Simplicity pattern a few weeks ago because I really like the cardigan which is designed for knit fabrics.

I decided to make a skirt last week when it was cold and snowy but I didn't want to go to the store. I had a nice striped wool fabric which I've had for years, lining, zipper, etc. but couldn't decide which pattern to use. Since the fabric has stripes, I decided to keep it simple. I took a closer look at the the skirt which was included in 2125 and it had nice basic lines - 2 darts in front and back, back seam, back pleat. I wanted to try the construction technique described in Threads a few months ago in which the front lining is attached to the front FF at the waist, back lining is attached to the back FF at waist and then the side seams are sewn in one continuous seam from lining hem to FF hem. I sewed the darts separately in FF and lining but you can also sew those in one continuous seam after attaching lining to FF at waist. This type of construction allows for easy fitting and future alterations. I moved the zipper from the side seam to the CB seam.

The pattern did not include lining instructions but rather a twill tape band at the waist. I eliminated that and added a bias section of hair canvas to the waist for a little body and firmness at the waistline. I included this in the seam, knowing that there would be a foldover of the hair canvas which would add a little bulk but it turned out to be just exactly what I needed for a stable waistline.

This picture shows the front lining attached to the skirt front, the seam pressed

toward the lining and understitched.

Pinned and ready to stitch 1 inch side seams in one long continuous seam.

I love making these cute little thread chains to hold the skirt lining in place at the hem.

The lining hand stitched in place to the back pleat.

Front view

Back view

After a few fitting adjustments to the side seams, I trimmed them to 5/8. I hope to be able to take this skirt up in the future but I don't plan to let it out!