Webigail

About two weeks ago I went on a yarn quest. I took a magazine into my LYS and Melissa helped me pick out the colors that inspired my “need for more yarn”. As if I do not already have enough yarn falling out of every crevice, right? BTW, thank you Melissa; you have the patience of Job.

Nonetheless, I had this magazine with me and charged right in and insisted…ok, begged Melissa to help me find comparable colors. The Cascade wall is not to be tackled alone, without supervision, as it’s like the black hole. It kinda just sucks one up into this vacuum of color euphoria. However, I digress. I cannot find exactly what I’m looking for, as the ideal pattern only exists in my own head.

When I left the store, I had way more yarn with me then intended, but that’s never a problem, as color and hues are what invigorate me. As I was driving home, I had an epiphany of sorts. I own 2 of the 4 Barbara Walker Treasury of Knitting Patterns; I have invested in just about every book that I think will aid me in my need to improve my skills. I spend valuable time, not knitting, but thumbing through my books, or seeking out the “just right” pattern, when that pattern doesn’t exist.

All of this leads me to my next journey. I want to take my knitting to the next step, which is to learn how to design. Yeah, yeah I know that designing is not you learn, as creativity is not taught, but I have ideas. Yep, that’s right folks, somewhere in that hamster cage, there is an idea or two that require a little nurturing.

I have concepts, just need to figure out how to take them from my head, to graph paper and patterns without losing steps in translation. I am accustomed to buying fabric on a whim, throwing it onto the floor and just whipping out an outfit. But, I don’t want to make the same mistake that I made with my sewing. I never learned to use patterns. I managed to make some really nice things, as my mother was quite a seamstress, but I do not know how to use my tools properly.

Knitting on the other hand, is not that simple to me. I cannot just throw stitches onto my needle, keep the pattern in sync and end up with a finished project that says, “WOW!”

With all of that gibberish said, I’m kicking it all up a notch:

1. I’m going to take a sewing class. I cannot fudge my skills with my new sewing machine. Other than forward/backward, I need to use attachments, all of which I own, but I can’t just press a button and have a certain stitch appear.
2. I’m going to invest in a private lesson. I need to understand how to construct my own pattern, or at the very least, how to implement a stitch-pattern into something as basic as a sweater, without it becoming discombobulated. I’ve already spoken to someone about getting this going and as soon as I figure out which direction I want to pursue, I’ll take action.

Wish me luck. I have this one idea stuck in my head and I cannot seem to shake it. It may not mean anything to anyone else when I can get it on paper, but it will mean the world to me!

As usual, my impulsive shopping has lead to me owning two copies of the same book. I accidentally ordered two copies of Knitting From the Top by Barbara G. Walker.

The book is $20 plus free shipping (if applicable).

UPDATE: Sorry this book just hit the post office and is heading to its new home.

Using #7 needles
Gauge = 4 stitches per inch/ 6 rows per inch.

We are still moving things around in my house and once spring arrives, it’s only going to get worse. So, I’m going to keep an online “diary” of my swatch info. This way, if I cannot physically locate my swatch, I’ll be able to refer to my virtual swatch of the yarns I use frequently.

Using size #7 needles, St st - gauge = 5 per inch/ 7 rows per inch.

I was trying to find the last attachment on my list for my Singer 15-91. Naturally, most of the search results turned up on ebay.

I placed a couple of bids and actually hit the jackpot with one bid. I have accessories and attachments and screws and parts for daaaaays. My parts-cup runeth over. However, there was no blind-stitch attachment. It was the very last thing that I needed. So, I searched again and found Jacqui and Jakes blog. They had not one, but TWO blind-stitch attachments and manuals for sale.

The price was reasonable, just needed to know how much shipping would cost. I’m so glad that I inquired. Not only was the price great, but there were no inflated shipping costs, no one to play bidding wars with, and the Singer Blind Stitch attachment #160616 was in perfect condition, just as described.

If you’re in the market for vintage and antique sewing machines and accessories, I definitely recommend Jacqui and Jake. They are great to do business with! My Blind Stitch attachment arrived safe, sound and ready to use.

My boys left about two hours ago. It’s just the girls (Penny and Blue) and me.
So “we’re” going to knit…or sew…or knit AND sew…or crochet…

There’s just too much to do and now that I actually have the time, I do not know what to choose.
I’ve got purses to line, sweaters to line, yarn to use up, fabric itching to be used. What’s a girl to do?

Quiting my job a little over two years ago was, indeed, a blessing but there have also been some curve balls.

At some point, I began to miss work. Imagine THAT! I missed the stress comes along with having to meet deadlines, or attempting to explain complicated concepts in layman’s terms. The smell of stagnant coffee permeating from coffee burners, that had been on all night, was swapped out for that new crayola aroma and technical documents were replaced with Huevos Verdes con Jamón! (Green Eggs and Ham!)

I am fortunate to be able to see my son develop. While his physical development is obvious, I get to see all of the mental milestones but then there are days when I think that I am juggling too many bowling pins, in this circus I like to call life.

Can I give equal attention to my rascal, to that half sanded dresser that is taking forever to refinish, to all of the projects that I have started in my home? No. I cannot.

I lug my rascal from event-to-event, with pups in tow and wonder why I feel worn, torn, tattered.

But today…I will sip slowly from my latte-of-the-day and remember that I am human. I am durable and sound, but I am NOT indestructible.

I can hardly breath. I need a brown bag, because I’m hyperventilating.

Never thought I’d be able to say this, but I am the proud owner of a vintage, soon-to-be antique Singer 15-91 sewing machine, dates back to 1935.
She is in her original, burl inlay cabinet and comes with just about every attachment one can imagine.

I’m speechless. Ga-ga. Pass the smelling salts!

I’ll post pics of this beauty as soon as I get hubby to haul her out of my truck.

I plan on stripping the cabinet and refinishing it.

UPDATE
Ok - there are some attachments that I didn’t have:

• Buttonholer - Have one now and is definitely a MUST HAVE
• Blind Stitch attachment - but I think that I’ve located on, which is decently priced
• There are few others, but I have to look up the names of the attachments and figure out what they do LOL
  

A Step-by-Step Visual Guide

I’ve had this book for about 9 months and the lack of an online errata should have been the prime indicator that there would be other problems.

I’m in the midst of working on Christmas gifts, decided to use a pattern from this book to create a pretty scarf. I chose “Paired Leaves” from page 91. It’s simple, straight forward lace. Only a 10-row pattern; I figured it would knit up quickly and it does, especially with heavier yarn. It wasn’t until I got to the second repeat of the pattern that I noticed that the veins of the leaves on my scarf looked nothing like the veins in the image.

Now, although I am no knitting expert, definitely no diva with the sticks, I am no longer a fearful novice. I do not have time to rip and find a new pattern, so I’m going to complete this scarf, it is not what I intended.

This makes me ponder how many of the patterns have results that look different than what we’d expect. I wonder if anyone else has had similar issues.

It’s been quite some time since I knitted socks. I thought, after spending several months knitting,
or better yet, bitching, over the long-suffering afghan, I’d knit something quick-n-easy.

So, I started the first sock, got to the gusset and realized that I was rapidly running out of yarn.

r-i-p

No problem, this time, I’m going to knit both socks together. After fussing with the cast-on,
ensuring that I had the right needles to start and joined the second sock properly, I realized that the socks
did not match.

Why, oh WHY did I decide that I was going to tackle two firsts at the same time?!

Laboring over the cast-on, was not my only problem. After completing 10 rounds of ribbing on both socks,
I soon realized that my stripes were not matching. This was the first time that I was using self striping.
I thought that I started each sock in the same place, but it turned out that I started on blue, for both socks, but the patterns were in reverse. Oh joy.

r-i-p

I guess the third time really is a charm, because this time I got the cast-on taken care of relatively quickly AND I managed to get the stripe patterns to line up, all while not getting my balls tangled up. No pun intended.

It should be easy sailing until I get to the heel flap.

Tune in later, to see if I run into problems.