Archive for August, 2014

Cat Phone Case

August 23, 2014

What do you do when your son asks for a new phone case that looks like a cat?  You make one, of course.  Since I had already made one for myself, I ‘kind of’ knew what to do.

case 004

Here’s all the pieces from left to right.

  1. Pattern cut from Do Sew.
  2. Shiny red for the lining.
  3. Black batik for the outside.
  4. Iron-on fleece to keep the red still.
  5. Iron-on interfacing for the black.
  6. That stiff stuff to protect the phone.
  7. Little pieces of fabric for a tail, eyes and nose.

case 008

Here I have machine appliqued the pieces and added whiskers using a double stitch.  I love my machine.  The tiny bit of hand sewing I do anymore is embarrassing.  Sorry Nanny.  You were the best.

case white heron 004     case white heron 005

My son was very happy with it.  He said something about feet.  I told him, since he now knew how to hand embroider, he could make four little sets of pads on the underside all by himself.  He said, “Yeah.  I guess you’re right.”  I could see the little wheels turning in his head.

These things are a real bitch to make so don’t even about asking me to make another one.

 

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What’s for Supper?

August 9, 2014

I can’t stand it when Sweetums says it, especially when I am grumpier than normal.

So.  Anyway.  I had this pound of ground beef. It’s what I get when nothing else appeals to me.  I looked through the kitchen cabinets and at some recipes.  I chopped some onion, threw it with the meat in a pan to brown.  I boiled some noodles.  So far so good.

supper 002

Then it time to pull stuff out of the cabinets and refrigerator.

supper 001

All Sweetums approved stuff.  You do know he’s from Oklahoma, right?

supper 006

OK.  So it was too much stuff.  I had to get out the pan that is so big, it has two handles.  But doesn’t it look good?  And it was.  I told Sweetums, “I won’t have to cook for a week!”  And gave him a big smile.

 

 

 

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Starting a Mitered Vest

August 6, 2014

I had this beautiful cotton tape from Blue Heron.  It weighed nine ounces.  I knew I had enough to make a vest, probably a short-sleeved top, but I really needed the vest to wear with long-sleeved blouses.  When I held it up to two of them, it looked great–a third, not so much, but some blue Crystal Palace I have does.  I guess I’ll be making two vests.

miters 014

I made a sample of four miters to see what I liked.  My favorite is the one on the right, but it takes twice as long to produce.  The garter stitch and stockinet were ‘ok’, so I went with the left one, knit three rows, purl one.  I used a 5 needle and a 31 stitch base.  They are 3 3/4 inches across.  I may finish it with an attached I-cord.

more miters 009  It looks great so far.

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Fast Socks

August 4, 2014

socks 003

I finished these last night.  It’s a cotton/rayon that I bought at Blue Heron about a month ago.  The yarn is a heavy sock weight or a light dk.  Whichever suits you.  It is supersoft with a nice sheen.  They feel great on my feet.  I may have to get more.

I used size 2 needles and cast on 60 stitches.  I knit one round, purled three, then knit one round again.   I did a 4K, 1P rib for 12 rows, then repeated the first five rounds.

socks 006 I love the way it striped.  It also made counting rows easy.  I changed to a 3-1 rib for no reason until the total length was about six inches.

socks 007  I continued the rib on the heel.  I used 29 stitches, beginning and ending with the purl stitch. I put the remaining 31 stitches on a short circular.  It saves me time.  I knit back and forth on the 29 stitches for 2 1/4 inches.  You may want to make it longer if you have a high instep.  I slip the first stitch on every row to give a nice edge to pick up.  For the half-moon on the bottom, I did the usual method, with the first row being 15, then 4, 5, 6, and so on.  I really hate writing all that out so if you are new to socks, don’t try this sock yet.

There should be 17 stitches left.  I picked up 11 stitches down each side.  I worked the decreases in the usual way.  I continued the pattern down the top of the sock.  When I was 1 3/4 inches short, I started decreasing six stitches every other row.  This makes a rounded toe which I prefer.  My second toe is a tad longer than my great toe.  There is nothing better than happy toes.

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V-shaped Shawl

August 2, 2014

V shawl 004

V shawl 009

I cannot make up my mind about this one.  I like the way it lies on my shoulders without my having to hold onto it.  That’s why I don’t care for triangle shawls.  Well, most of them anyway.  I do have one that I am very fond of.  I’ve got better things to do with my hands.

There was plenty of red for the center square.  I’m glad I had enough sense to switch to the grey and black when starting the sides.  I didn’t have quite enough to finish the sides.  I thought about taking out the last repeat, but that would mean losing many hours of work.  Finishing the sides with the red was definitely the way to go.  I really like the way it turned out.

I’m making another pair of socks.  Knitting socks always makes me feel better–especially after I’ve made something that I just wasn’t into.

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