Sunday, August 14, 2016

K Belle baby cardigan and surprisingly good mystery yarn

I just finished this little cap sleeve cardigan for a former coworker of mine. She moved down to Louisiana so it's not like the baby needs to be warmed up in a long-sleeved wool sweater. I was glad to take a little break from tiny baby sleeves, though I picked a lace pattern and I had to rework it a lot!
The yarn was from a destash so it’s a mystery, but after doing a burn test and looking through many many pages of yarn on Ravelry I think it’s either Drops Cotton Viscose or GGH Mystik (though it’s variegated and I’ve pretty much only found solids).
Originally, before I found out that friend was pregnant, I was trying to make myself some kind of slinky summer tank top, though I really had no plan there and was considering buying more yarn hoping it would match in texture to finish out the garment. I was thinking some kind of colorblocking with the pink variegated in back and the front (which would require more shaping) in a solid- navy blue or soft green or shiny black, and I was even considering buying all those color choices because it's hard to complement a colorway without doing it in person. This Pink/peach/yellow I thought could easily look awkward next to plenty of colors.
of course, buying more stash wasn't helping my over all goal of knitting down the stash. I'm almost relieved I found another project, even if it meant cranking out another baby sweater- I had just done three in a row!!
I knit and ripped and knit and ripped SO MANY TIMES, so worried I'd overshoot and run out of yarn. I have a scale but it's a little vintage thing I got at an estate sale and although I'm totally charmed by its looks, it's analog and only really measures to 5 gram increments. The yarn frogged pretty smoothly, thank goodness,  and the blocking at the end smoothed things out a lot.
As I got to the center of the ball (I had bought it wound up in a tight ball, like I said, mystery destash) I had a sneaking suspicion it was wound around a cardboard tube and that there was even less than I expected. I rewound it around a giant bread tie (from who knows where. hoard your junk, people), and the leftover was ready to be included with the finished cardigan as a little extra sewing/repair yarn. Or an insert in the baby scrapbook. whatever!

The buttons on the back are just fun cause I had so many bright yellows from one of those mixed bag things and I don't know how to say no to a set. Hey, I've got  a stash of buttons to work through as well, ok?

Friday, November 13, 2015

Humerus Halloween Scrubs

Jillybean (not her real name) is a sewing friend. We didn't sew together, though. We actually used to work at a fabric shop, so wet bought a lot of fabric and didn't show each other much of it. Our recent exchange:
Me: I actually bought a fabric for a project and then made that fabric into that project, ON TIME
JB: wow. I've been sewing since I was nine and still haven't managed to do that.

The project in question?
A Halloween scrub top!
The hospital I work at recently changed their uniform code, and we've gone from "wearing whatever color scrubs you feel like, unless you need to wear the hospital issued, laundered in house surgical scrubs" to "specific colors depending on your position. Unless you need to wear the house laundered scrubs. Then you're still wearing those. Womp womp".
We're (so graciously) allowed a few scrub holidays- and the first one since the new uniform went into effect was Halloween!
Now I've realized I fibbed, though. I didn't buy this fabric specifically for a scrub top. It was MAYBE gonna be a scrub top but MAYBE a seasonal throw pillow but who COULD BE SURE because I just loved the Halloween themed puns happening- "do you find me HUMERUS?"

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Bunny tryouts

Before going out of town, we asked someone to pet sit the buns. We'll be taking the big Hooch with us-he's got a buddy to catch up with!
Since she was coming by for a rundown of the rabbits, we figured we'd try them in there for a bit, just to see how they were getting accustomed to it!

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Hutch under way!

We've started on our outdoor rabbit hutch a few weeks ago! We were planning on something raised up to help keep it aerated and away from Hooch the dog. We may enclose the bottom legs in wire to give them a bunny run, but they'll probably only be put down there with supervision- and/or when Hooch isn't out in the yard. I'm also considering a free standing run that'll sit in the shed when not in use. As the weather warms I'm looking forward to tending to the buns outside.

We could have bought something, but I couldn't find anything I was totally pleased with AND could be raised off the ground, while the husband wanted the challenge-and satisfaction- of building it himself. Don't look too closely, as we're both total beginners and it's a tad rickety- but I don't think the rabbits we will complain too much!

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

The best ever neck tie, or THE BEST EVER NECK TIE?

hooch is such a ladies' man.

Yes- look closely- yes, that IS  tie with silhouettes of naked ladies. YES IT IS.
Thrift stores are the best :D

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Hatchbun.

For reference: a Prius C, the hatchback, will just fit three small animal Kong carriers.



Haha! I bought a car a few weeks ago, and while it won't likely fit Hooch, our big Mastiff, with any comfort, it's a bunny-sized car. Here they are on the way back from the vet after being spayed and neutered (we have two females and a male). They were pretty popular at the vet's office! So far the females seem to coexist peacefully but the male is still fairly aggressive. We're working on his manners around the gentle fluffy girl and the constantly-terrified brown girl. We're in the process of building them a sizeable outdoor hutch, and the male has a separating wall- it's removable, though, in case things change.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Photogenic phluff.

I meant to take pictures of all the three of the buns, but I forgot after Fluffybutt- she's just the most photogenic!

Thiiiiiis close.

My late MIL, who started this piece, must have miscounted in a few spots, because the "frame" is off. She stitched six too many red rows, and filled them in by just adding more rows of red, three on each side of the design.
She was an uneven three off on the columns, which might be WHY she put it down and never finished it. But I digress.
These extra six rows-coupled with the really thick, almost double sided way she made her stiches-made me a little nervous there was only about two strands of red left. One "badge" and one cross were completed with this red, so I figured it was important to keep those consistent with both sides of the pattern.
After filling in the added-on rows, I just had the cross left... I was so close...

And I ran out with, what, five stiches left? Not even five whole stiches. Five half stiches.
This isn't knitting. There's no gauge swatch to unravel, no tinking back and knitting tighter or decreasing sooner or pretending you totally meant to make it a 3/4 sleeve sweater, not a full length.

There is only madness and trying to match to a new skein.

Line by line.

I gridded the project roughly with black floss. In counted cross stitch, I minimize the counting!
However, I kept piercing through the floss. It didn't bother me to have to move the floss out of the way, but piercing through out would make it a bear to remove.
Off we went to the local sporting and outdoor goods store. I picked out some fishing line- it was the most fluorescent pink-orange and flexible like normal thread. Some kind of "bonded braid" used in ice fishing. Splurged a little because I liked the texture and color.
Oh, me.
Of course it was a terrible choice. It STAINED.
Seriously! A plastic fishing line! I had pulled out my first line a few times when I noticed bright neon pink-orange pin pricks on my white Aida. WHAAAAAT??
After a small and rather understandable freak out, I pulled out an unused Aida-banded hand towel, ran the offending thread through it a few times until it left marks, then left it to soak. I think it came out... But the hand towel is pale yellow, and ended up being soaked multiple times, then dunked in diluted bleach, then washed in the machine twice... because it had some dark mystery stains which, hmph, have NOT come out all the way.
I've decided to live with the faint remaining stains-after all, it's a towel, it's no good to me if it never gets used.
I couldn't live with the neon pinpricks in my white Aida heirloom, though, so off to another store for bright red stiff plastic monofilament. It works. No stain, easy to stitch around, very cheap ($4 for 1000 yards vs $8.50 for 50 yards of staining), but, as predicted, it's annoying to work with.
This isn't the project for "traditional Celtic with pops of neon", but I've still got the bonded line- I haven't written off that idea.