Getting Back in the Groove

Yesterday, my little buddy Alex came over with his mom to play with Bruce and me. He was a little scared to be in a strange place, but after being reassured that his mom would be nearby at all times, he started pulling off all those little tricks that babies are capable of pulling off around this stage.

So, what about that swatch that I knitted for Latvian Mitten cardigan? Well - even with size 3.75mm needles, I'm still getting a gauge of 6 sts/inch. I'm not particularly happy about that. Also, the fabric seems a bit on the thick side. Given that there will be long sleeves, and it'll come down a bit below my hops, I'm wondering how stiff it would be if I went ahead with my handspun yarn. I think the yarn called for in the pattern is Rauma, but I'd have to doublecheck. It has a soft hand, I think.

With Genia's help, I finally got started on my sewing. I decided to make it easy for myself and took the pattern pieces to the printer at work, where they do print jobs for architects and constructors. Not too expensive, and quick service. I then cut out the pieces, and I took some muslin and cut out the fabrics.

I don't want to mess up good fabrics until I know exactly what I'm doing. Right now, I've got the fronts all sewn together, and sewn to the back piece. I cut out the bias (boy, it's a real drag) and pinned it to the right front and around the neck. Later tonite I'll give it another run through the sewing machine.

Learning to master the sewing machine is going to take me a while. I seem to have a tendency to learn heavily on the peddle, which of course makes stuff go through a bit too fast for comfort. And, its really tricky manipulating the fabric when you're trying to sew a baseline 1/4 inches from the edge.