lolajl: March 2007 Archives

Okay . . . here are the photos for the almost-completed knitting bag:

I still need to find handles that match the one in the pattern envelope. Hopefully I can get these in the next couple weeks or so. Meanwhile, I'm on to Knitting Bag #3, using the cat faces fabric . . .

Well, the bag using the rose patterned fabric is nearly done; all that remains is the handle which I have get to buy off the net - I've located a few sources but I want to do a bit more shopping around to find the best prices. I really like the McCall pattern, so I'm going to buy another one whenever there's a pattern sale, so that I can mount the tissue paper on more sturdy paper (or trace it out).

I had to rip some of the seams out two or three times because I was having trouble with the sewing machine, or I sewed too deep. I finally figured out why sometimes I have problems with the sewing machine. It's really stupid, but it seems that once the bobbin gets down to this much thread, the stitches suddenly gets a lot looser or something like that. I guess that's to be expected for a really basic sewing machine, even if it's a Bernina. Sigh. Someday I'll get a top-of-the-line Bernina.

The light is almost gone now, so I'll have to wait till tomorrow morning to take a picture. Meanwhile, I've picked up my knitting needles again and ent back to work on the EZ sweater. Had to go back and reread the information in KWoT; I think I understand it better now. Hopefully I can get this all done by end of the weekend, so that I can get some wear out of it before it gets too warm for sweaters.

I'm really looking forward to getting back to my gardens - need to start some seeds growing and I think I'll do that next week.

So, I finally finished the fanny pack. I made quite a few mistakes, one strap is higher than the other, but it came out pretty good. I'm going to have to cut quite a bit out of the webbing because my waist really isn't that large and I don't like the strap flopping around, hitting my bare skin - ouch! I'll be wearing this at the S&W Festival - this will come in handy for holding all those business cards and notes about what I want to get, plus what little $$$ I have, of course.

Here's another view, with the inside open. You'll see that the top has little pockets for holding needles and such. Very handy, don't you think? I really like the colors - green goes well with purple and I like the paisley design. it was a bit tricky because there is a definite direction toward which the paisley lies, and fortunately, I had enough fabric to cut toms extra pieces when i realized the direction wasn't correct. I have a bit left over for a second pair. My sewing is still a bit crooked, but I think I'm getting the trick. Still have to master stitching multiple layers of fabric together, especially in tight spots.

JoAnn Fabrics is having a 30% off novelty print, so I took the advantage of the sale to pick up this lovely cat fabric print. And since I receive the store flyer (where is the current flyer? The store already has one on display), I redeemed the 40% coupon for the floral print.

I'm thinking about using the fabrics with this McCall Fashion Accessories pattern. I wanted a nice, floral tapestry fabric for Pattern A, but I couldn't find one with small florals at either JoAnn, G Street Fabrics, or Hancock. I actually do have some fabric that I got from G Street Fabrics that is a bold color, but I'm too chicken to cut into it.

Anyway, the cat print will be for Pattern B, while the floral print will be for pattern A. See the red broadcloth beneath? This will be the lining for both bags, as well as the contrast for Pattern B. I'm not sure if this color will go well with the cat print, although there is a bit of a red tone to the cat print. What do y'all think?

I haven't felt like blogging for the past couple weeks, so I decided to take a short break. No sense forcing myself to post when I really don't feel like it (and especially when I'm not one of the Big Bloggers).

I want to participate in a knitalong or two, so I'm keeping an eye on this list. Something that isn't so stress-inducing (as in, a drop-dead deadline), something that I'll feel inspired to do while using what I already have in my stash - that would be just right up my alley. Maybe another sock knitalong for me . . . I'd like to participate in swaps and exchanges, but there's no money, so that will have to wait till I get a Job.

Which I still haven't managed to get. I'm getting frustrated, and I'm trying not to be whiny, but . . . Okay . . . let's look at the positive - I rewrote my resume, and added some new text to the Experience section to cover the gap between my last paid job and now, which is becoming wider and wider as time goes by. I'm now an "independent consultant" with my own business, LBeno.DesignCodes. Yes, really, I don't want to be self-employed - I don't want to have to bother with all that taxes and hustling, but anything that makes me look better . . .

During my hiatus, I've been doing some rearranging of the rooms in the house. Moved the armoire over from the guest bedroom into our bedroom, so now I don't have to make the trek every time I fold the clean clothes. Straightened up the guest bedroom by moving most of the junk off the bed, sorting, discarding, putting into boxes and such. Eventually I'll be moving my sewing stuff into there. I'm keeping an eye on CraigsList for a nice sewing cabinet. I'd love to have one of those Koala Cabinets, but we just missed winning the MegaMillion Lottery.

Speaking of sewing, here's the front of the knitting backpack. I'm actually quite a bit further than here. I've got the back part attached, put on the straps, and now struggling with the bottom. I don't quite understand how a rectangular piece is supposed to go onto a curvy bottom - the corners are going to end up swished in and messy-looking if I'm not careful with sewing. I've already had to rip it out halfway because the corners are very crooked and I accidentally sewed parts of the bag that are not supposed to be part of the bottom with the bottom piece.

As for knitting, the seamless yoke sweater is coming along nicely. Mercifully, I didn't reside too long on Sleeve Island, even though I did have to rip out and redo the 1st sleeve when it turned out to be too long and have too many stitches. I think I've hit just about the right length for the body, so now I just need to do the math and figure out how many stitches to put on hold, then do a mind meld between the sleeves and body. Pictures coming up soon. It's cloudy (we're getting light snow), so perhaps tomorrow will be a better day for pictures . . .