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September 07, 2006
A bit of this and a bit of that...
I could show you progress on the KH Joy knock off, but there's not much progress to show.
I could show you the Madli's shawl I've started knitting, but snapping a picture of a few repeats is not that exciting.
Then I could show you the BFL I spun on the weekend (had a eureka moment about parking and drafting!), but I want to wash the skeins first.
There is also a certain mystery project I could show you, but that would ruin the surprise for someone.
So you'll have to settle with this:
"I've fallen and I can't get up".
I've started knitting some Mason Dixon washrags. It all started because I got the Mason Dixon knitting book out of my local library last weekend (that and Scarf Style). There are so many projects in that book that I want to knit, but am afraid my hands will hate me for (i.e.: kitchen cotton doubled for the bathmat). Cute! Anyways, this weekend we are attending a house warming party and why not knit some dishrags as a house warming present. But I cannot give the brilliant pink and blue dishrag to this couple as its too girly. So I headed out to my local craft store (Tall Mouse), which I had never been to, and found out that they carried Cascade 220 and Berroco Ultra Alpaca, as well as the Denise Schmidt fabrics. DANGER!
Along with the kitchen cotton in some more muted and earthy colors I left the store with some Ultra Alpaca for a Christmas scarf. That has led to the creation of this dishrag....
Which I was having troubles phtoographing as we have some house guests for the next two weeks and they have taken a particular interest in my knitting.
Onto the sewing....
Since I've gotten to the point with my knitting that I have a better understanding of garment construction I'm feeling more confident about making up my own pattern. In the world of sewing, I do not have this confidence. Enter my new obsession with the Sew U book by Wendy Mullin (a.k.a. Built by Wendy). Some of her patterns are being distributed by Simplicity. I love these. If we were saving our pennies for buying a new car, I would have bought these yesterday. So, yesterday while I was having a little love on for these patterns I googled about some of them, which lead me to this site: The Twisted one. The Twisted Angel, who authors this size has done an amazing job archiving her sewing projects by pattern supplier and number. If you're into sewing and curious about what a pattern looks like sewn up, its worth checking it out.
Maybe I'm just missing them, but are there any good sewing blogs out there?
Are knit blogs more prevelant than sewing blogs?
So there you have it, a bit of this and a bit of that...
Posted by loriz at September 7, 2006 05:10 AM
Comments
I love that little paw in motion. Gorgeous shot of the dishcloth.
Posted by: Lauren at September 7, 2006 07:30 PM
Great colors! You must have a much better library than I do. What a cute kitty!
Posted by: Chrissy at September 7, 2006 07:53 PM
Did the Sew U book look like it would work for rank beginners? I have been daydreaming about your yoga mat bag, and need to start somewhere.
Posted by: Rose at September 7, 2006 07:54 PM
I would love to find sewing blogs and I have stumbled across a few in my surfing history. Most of them sew toys and the like. I do like the Sew Retro blog, sometimes they have some cool stuff on there.
Love the Sew U book too! I am almost done and i I think its a must have!
Posted by: rachel at September 7, 2006 08:12 PM
Thanks for tempting me to get out my sewing machine. I don't know why but I am intimidated by sewing. I never had this problem when learning to knit. Probably because I could always just rip it out and start again. Do overs in sewing are a bit more expensive. Still only way to learn is just do it! Or take a class. I am thinking of doing that too.
Posted by: Allison at September 8, 2006 08:11 AM
Wow, that is one handsome cat. I too am a little obsessed with Sew U, even though I haven't actually seen a copy in real life yet. And I love your new banner!
Posted by: alison at September 8, 2006 09:13 AM
Cute paw and cute kitty!! Awwwww.
And be sure to tell the giftee's it's a "warshrag". I've never heard of Tall Mouse! I'm going to look up and see if there's one around here :)
Posted by: jillian at September 8, 2006 12:58 PM
I love your makeover - it's great! I'm so glad that I hopped over instead of reading you in bloglines, or I would have missed it. This was a great post - awesome links. I don't think there are as many good sewing blogs, but you might want to check out a dress a day if you don't know it already. I inherited Marnie's sewing machine as a by-product of her move, so I will be back to sewing as well.
Posted by: Julia at September 8, 2006 01:47 PM
The new banner looks great!
Amy at Angry Chicken (http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/) does quite a bit of sewing, and has posted a few Built by Wendy projects.
I've noticed a lot of knit bloggers are also pretty great at sewing - but as previously noted by Rachel, most of the primarily-sewing blogs I've seen have been toy-oriented.
Posted by: marielle at September 8, 2006 09:35 PM
I just got a copy of that book from my agent, who happens to be Wendy's agent, too.
Today I sewed a swatch pillow for my sister and all of a sudden had this strange need to put away my Kenmore, circa 1985, and get something new; something that will lift my sewing skills a bit hight. You know, to the point of Sew U Wendy's...(I'm dying for her swing coat thingy and the western shirt.)
Posted by: Wendy at September 8, 2006 09:42 PM
Check out Stacy Sews/Diary of a Fabric Junky... she posts all of her projects. www.staceysews.com
Posted by: Rose Deniz at September 23, 2006 06:50 AM