Legacy Project: Carolyn Jacket Finished

 This took a while, but the finished object is really nice.

To recap: this was a kit produced in 2000 by Carolyn White, that included pattern instructions and the central woven piece in various fabrics - we approve the choice of elephants! My sister had completed knitting the pieces but had not begun to assemble the jacket. I attached the side pieces, sewed the the seams, and knit (and hemmed, and re-knit and re-knit) the hem, collar, and front edging. I found buttons and added them. Then, realizing that the sleeves were too long for the intended recipient, I shortened them.

As I was discussing how to eliminate the extra fabric from shortening the sleeves, one of my knitting friends kept telling me it wasn't going to work the way I thought. It wasn't until I actually tried it that I understood what she was saying. The knitting was going to unravel. Fortunately, before that could happen, I unpicked my sewing, ripped back the extra fabric

put the live stitches back on the needles

and Kitchener-stitched them closed, which is what I should have done in the first place. Then I did the other 3 seams.

This project was a constant lesson in trying something that did not work, and then trying something else.

Kit: Carolyn White's Carolyn Jacket, now available only on eBay
Yarn: Imperial Tracie in Pearl Gray and Spring Sage, Reynolds Soft Sea Wool in Dark Blue, and some unknown yellow.

Just a Little Too Much Yarn

What do you do when the amount of yarn is a little too much for a hexipuff, but not enough for two hexipuffs? You make baby socks!

Yarn: unidentified leftover sock yarn
Needles: (US 2) 2.75 mm
Pattern: Toe-Up Baby Socks in the 0-3 month size

Someday I'm going to meet a baby with cold feet, and I will be so prepared!

Tidying Up

 I took a few minutes this week to clean out leftover sock yarn.

Someday there will be enough hexi-puffs (and half-puffs) for a blanket.

Forgotten Project

Many years ago, I had the bright idea of leaving a stash of yarn at the cabin, so that no knitter would ever have to run out of something to knit while on vacation. I settled on acrylic yarn in local colors, and a simple garter-stitch square pattern.

Then life happened. Time passed. Family member knitters died. I gained some eye-opening experience sewing together blankets from squares other people had knit. I forgot all about the whole project.

Until the yarn turned up last month, and I dug around to figure out what on earth I had bought it for. Ah. Well. Tempus fugit, and all that. I took the yarn up to the cabin, and I started knitting it into squares, and sewing them together. I'm not sure the cabin even needs another blanket, but I will soon have a nice squishy blanket in Camp colors.

Road Trip = Knitting Time

Finished! It's quite difficult to show off the zigzag without putting them on. Alas, that will have to wait for the recipient.

Needles: US 1 1/2 (2.5 mm)

Yarn: Cascade Yarns' Heritage Paints in Spark, 64 grams

Pattern: Susie White's Zigzagular Socks, a free pattern on Ravelry

I really enjoyed this pattern, and making it with this yarn. I hope the recipient enjoys wearing them.

Legacy Project: Shortening the Sleeves

The first step was to remove the seam from cuff to underarm. I probably could have done it without this step, but it was certainly easier with the seam open.

Next, I chose where the shortening seam would go. I tried putting both rows on needles and employing Kitchener Stitch. I tried just eyeballing the correct stitches in each row and sewing it together. But what worked for me, and for making sure I hadn’t missed any stitches, since I intend to remove the excess fabric later, was to put the two rows of stitches, carefully, on needles.

Then I sewed up the seam, loosely. Then I removed the needles and tightened it up.

Voila! A shorter sleeve. Now I need to do the other sleeve.

And later, remove the excess fabric.

Poor Neglected Second Sock

 It goes fast when I remember about it.

There’s plenty of time before cold weather, but I have two or three other socks in the queue.

Winter Prep

NKD quite reasonably commented on my last post that I should add something to the photographs to indicate scale. So I tried this:

Don’t they look enormous? She said it was better to use something that only comes in a standard size, so I tried again.

Meanwhile, I have finished* the felting, and have three sets of felted clogs ready for this winter. I used the exact same yarn, pattern, and felting process on all three, yet somehow, NKD’s came out looking like Muppet feet:

The others are more normally felted:

*I may take this opportunity to felt mine down a little smaller, since sewing leather soles to them somehow made them too big/wide. I love the leather soles, but not the effort it takes to keep them on my feet.

August Traditions

Finished the matching bootees for the latest baby sweater:

I love that bootee pattern but the numbers really suffered in translation, so I keep a note handy to remind me of the real numbers. Which I didn’t remember about until halfway through the first bootee. They striped up in a perfectly delightful way, with black cuffs, striped tops, and light green bottoms. It was easy to get them to match, as well.

In other news, the Great Felting has begun: