Crafty Thursday

I might have to permanently change the name of this series if I'm going to keep using the sewing machine.  I finished another skirt from another pair of jeans I didn't wear any more.  I chose to use the zigzag stitch over the seams instead of folding the seams and sewing on the wrong side.  OK, actually I forgot to do that and then did the zigzag stitch to make it look like it was supposed to be that way.  Hey, it works.  I've not actually sewn anything in a while, so I'm remembering.  I've found myself wishing my mother were here a lot, though, while I've been doing this.  She also has an Elna machine, and while mine is a different model, it's quite similar (mine's the Elna Lotus SP).

I also finished the skirt that I showed last week.

   

I also finished the sleeve on Charlotte's dress.  I just need to do the other sleeve, and then I'm going to lengthen the dress itself.  Unfortunately Charlotte wouldn't stay still for the photo.  I think she was disturbed that I hadn't cut the thread yet.

Of course I've also been working on my sweater.  I'm about through with the first repeat of the pattern.  I made sure I chose patterns that had the same number of rows so I could keep track a bit easier.  I did break down and put markers in so I could easily see where each pattern begins and ends.  I really get annoyed with split-ring markers, though.  Ignore the purple thread - that's my lifeline.

Lastly, just this morning I fixed a shirt of mine.  It's actually a maternity shirt that I got when pregnant with Kieran, but I still wear it on occasion since it's comfortable.  However, I found that I often got annoyed with it because I found the front to be too low-cut, so I was always adjusting it and pulling up.  I had a white shirt that was stained and thus didn't get worn, so I took part of it and sewed an insert into the front.  I'm certain it would look better if I'd done it by hand, but I don't know where I put my needle.  It works for now, though.

Knitting Thursday

There's nothing much to report today.  I've started on the sleeves for Charlotte's dress, but I need to roll up more yarn now.  I'm not quite finished with the raglan portion of my sweater.  Kieran decided that he needs a green sweater, so I started looking through patterns and found a couple of options.  His will be a lighter, sage-y green, and I think I'll use this pattern, or maybe this one.  Which one would you choose?  I'm in no rush, as I imagine it'll be his Christmas present.

Knitting Thursday

Again, my apologies for not posting last Thursday.  However, I was enjoying the weather and the fact that it was Maundy Thursday. :-)  I've finished the dress part of Charlotte's dress and just have the sleeves left.  I had to stop there because I didn't have the correct size 16" or double-point needles for the sleeves, but my mother just sent me a bunch of needles, so I should be good to go now.  I'm pleased with how it's turning out.  I may end up making it longer, but we'll see.  It won't be hard to do that since it was knit from the top down.

Since I've been unable to work on that, I started working on my sweater.  I really love the colour (thanks, Mom!).  I did rip it out and start over, though.  I hadn't planned out the ribbing well enough at first, and I was making the increases by doing "make 1", going off of the Abotanicity pattern.  For a raglan, though, I didn't like the way the make 1 increases looked, since they leave a slight hole (you can see the holes from the make 1 increases on Charlotte's dress; they don't bother me there).  I'd done the raglan increases on Charlotte's dress by knitting in the front and back loops, so I decided to go that route with my sweater, and I like it a lot better.  Of course, it also helps that I planned out the 2x1 rib better.

Knitting Thursday

I'm still working on Charlotte's dress.  Here's how it looks thus far.  I just need to do one more set of increases on the skirt, and then I can start on the sleeves.

I also finished the case for my Kindle.  I'm probably going to make a strap for it at some point.

I think I've figured out what I'm going to do for my sweater.  I'm going to start out doing a top-down V-neck raglan using these instructions.  For the skirt part I'm still debating, but I think I might go with some marriage lines and/or diamonds.  I don't really want it to be a lace, because I don't want to get cold.

Knitting Thursday

I've made quite a bit of headway on this kimono-style dress for Charlotte.  I'm pleased with how it's looking thus far.

I've not been working on it as much over the past few days, though, because I've had another project.  See, Sunday was Mother's Day here in England, and my wonderful husband completely surprised me by getting me a Kindle!  I'm an avid reader and am always heading to the library for books, so this was the perfect gift.  I'd actually planned on asking for one for my birthday.  The Kindle doesn't come with a case, so I decided I'd make one.  I have one skein of the green Bertagna Filati denim print in green, and I'd wondered what I would do with it.  So I started making the striped mitred cover you see, but I didn't like the way it looked, so I took it out.  Now I'm just using the green yarn and doing a plain cover.  This yarn doesn't need anything fancy anyway.

Knitting Thursday

I once again missed posting last week.  I was nearly finished with Charlotte's dress, but didn't feel like I had much to post at the time.  I finished her dress on Saturday morning, the day before her birthday.  I also made her a headband to go with it.  It's crochet, which requires a bit more concentration from me, but it went quickly nonetheless.  It just meant I couldn't read whilst making it. ;-)

And now I'm working on another dress for her.  I'd planned to start working on something for me, but I'll need to do a bit of math with that first, since I'm using DK instead of sock yarn.  I was doing a swatch with the lace pattern with the yarn I'm using, and I don't like the way it looks with that yarn, so that will change, too.  And I want it to be a V-neck.  In the end, it won't really be the same sweater, but that's OK.  I rarely end up following a pattern completely anyway.

Knitting Thursday

Sorry for the lapse in posting.  Life has understandably been busy of late.  I was afraid I wouldn't finish that tunic dress for C before Epiphany (today), but, thanks to my Mom, I did.  Mom knit the sleeves for me, which helped a lot.

So, having finished that, I'm finally getting back to a sweater I'd started for B a long time ago.  Actually, I'd made the sweater, but it didn't fit quite right, so I ripped it out and am now re-doing it.  I'm only on the back of the sweater, unfortunately, but at least I'm getting back to it.

Maybe after I finish that, I can make something for myself.  I have a long queue of things for myself and the kids.  Since my Mom brought me a lot of yarn, I should be set for a while now.