Curtain Call

I took a trip out to Fabric Depot to look for some cute fabric to make some curtains. I wanted to replace some sheer curtains in the kitchen window and the back door window with some fun prints. I found these two fabrics: Kitschy Kitchen by Robert Kaufman and Pumpkin Dots by Alexander Henry. This project was quick and satisfying!


kitchen window before
kitchen window after
back door window before
back door window after

Split

I'm almost to the point where I divide for the front and the back and begin to work on each side separately. This project has been fun to knit and the chart pattern has been fairly easy to memorize. Carolyn has been in town for a short visit and I've had great fun visiting with her, Melanie, and Mariko. We went shopping all around town. I got these books and this dress.

Shapely

I've just started the waist shaping on the Bonita Shirt. Once you get into the groove of the lace pattern, the knitting goes fairly quickly. Knitting with the lighter gauge Cotton Glace is a dream too. I haven't experienced any achy fingers yet at all! There is some embroidery on the front of the shirt, but I'm not sure if I'll add that or not. If I do add it, it would be something more simple instead of the leaves called for in the pattern.

!@#$%&*!

I started the Bonita Shirt last night. I did a provisional crochet cast-on with some waste yarn and picked up 206 stitches. Then I proceeded to knit 12 rows in the round. I read the next set of directions and noticed that I had used the wrong needle. Of course, since I was doing the hem, I was supposed to use the smaller needle, but that went straight over my head. Alas, I had to frog almost 2500 stitches. Ack.

Tease Me

I got this book yesterday from fred flare. It's full of great ideas on transforming t-shirts: bags, pillows, skirts, new t-shirts, etc. Local craftster susanstars has a cute idea for adding pintucks to a t-shirt to make it more fitted. Yet another sewing project to add to my list!

For Real

I popped over to LYS Lint to check out yarns for one of my potential projects and came out with yarn for a totally different project! I browsed through these new knitting magazines and found lots of great patterns. My next project is the Bonita Shirt from the Summer 2006 issue of Interweave Knits. It will be knit in Rowan Cotton Glace in Dijon. It took me a while to decide between colors and the Dijon won out for its coppery brown richness. I also got new issues of knit.1 and Vogue Knitting.

On Tap

I browsed through several knitting books and magazines last night to try and find my next project. I came up with these patterns. On the left is Moni by Sarah Dallas from Rowan 31. The other patterns are from Rebecca 31 and I like the halter top and the lacey wrap top. I would make the short sleeved cardigan without the hearts and the halter top without the stones. Plain and simple is more my style.

PS I started a scarf on Friday for my mom, in hopes that I could give it to her on Mother's Day, but I didn't have much time to work on it, so I'm finishing it up now.

Hey, It's Another Vest!

I finished the vest late last night. I had to frog the ribbing on one armhole because I didn't pick up enough stitches. After I finished, I let the vest sit in a warm water bath for a few minutes and then threw it in the dryer to block the stitches. It's nice and stretchy for a comfortable fit.

Ribbing Means I'm Almost Done

I've been steadily working on the Fad Classic vest and finally got to the ribbing last night. I'm just about ready to bind off and pick up stitches for the ribbing on the armholes and neck. I can't imagine knitting this project in 100% cotton and would highly recommend a cotton/acrylic blend. It's just so much easier on the hands. I only had to rip out once (four rows of 160 stitches per row) when the anal part of me found a purl one stitch that should have been a purl two.

Round Up

Last night, I got to the point in the vest where I was able to join the front to the back. I love that this project is knit in the round without seams. So clever! I'm glad I won't have many ends to weave in. I'm really glad that I switched yarns too because this project is flying along using the Diana. The resulting fabric has a bit of stretch, which will make a nice fit. I look forward to wearing it!

Cute Summer Top

CIMG0006b
Originally uploaded by suzdeth.

Check out the tutorial for this cute tank. I think I may have some fabric in my stash to start this sewing project this weekend.

Do Over

I swatched and started the Fad Classic vest over the weekend. Unfortunately, I couldn't use the KnitPicks Shine Worsted. I ripped everything out and started over once, but I still wasn't liking the look of the fabric. Maybe it was the color or that I couldn't imagine wearing this vest without some stretch or that my fingers were killing me from knitting cotton. Probably all of the above. So, I made a trip to a LYS yesterday afternoon to find a new yarn. I checked out the Tahki Cotton Classic, which is the recommended yarn, to see if they had any good colors, but I've used that before and I'd still have the aching fingers problem. After much browsing, I settled on this Diana yarn from Katia. It's a nice blend of acrylic, polyamide, viscose, and angora. It's very similar to GGH Goa. It's spongy and easy on the hands. I also like this red better. I started the armbands again and so far, so good.