The edge matches the carved Maples quilt.

Life’s been a bit chaotic lately.  I managed to sprain my right wrist and ignored it for the first week which of course made it worse.  It’s so hard to be good when I have to be doing something and it’s doubly hard when it’s the right hand that’s out of commission.  I haven’t rowed in two weeks and I’m going nuts.  Yoga.  Must do more yoga.

I ran across a picture of a Fraser Smith piece somewhere this morning.  Something on Facebook led to something that led to something . . . I ate the breadcrumbs as I went so can’t find my way back to the start.

Because Smith’s work fascinates me, I popped into his site again today to look. His work is food for my soul. I noticed his “If I am quiet . . . ?” is carved as if it’s done on the back of “Maples”.  I am going to have to make this quilt.  I don’t do arty stuff, I don’t spend time on stuff that isn’t usable for pretty much every day and I prefer working in batiks to anything else, but this quilt is one I’m going to have to do.  I just can’t help myself.  And I’m going to have to hand quilt it.  This one’s a double whammy.

The six zillion dollar question is . . . how closely do I replicate the work?  The quilting doesn’t go through the applique worked on the back.  Does that mean I have to applique the back after the quilting’s done?  It’s got to be done before the binding . . . Hm.

It took me over a year to work out how to sew the “30″ quilt.  I wonder if this one will set a record for active planning time.

I bought some on-sale yarn.  I am so tight I have a really hard time paying full price for anything.  It’s just not the way I’m made, I guess.  Reuse, recycle, re-purpose . . . and buy on sale or at a discount.  Maybe that’s why we have no consumer debt other than our almost-paid-off mortgage.  We still do all the stuff we want to do, we just squeak a lot while doing it.

So the beauty of the yarn is it’s recycled denim jeans AND on sale. How could I pass that up?  Yeah, I agree, there’s just no way.  It was a must buy.

Lattice pattern

So, on to my story . . . I bought this yarn.  And then I saw a picture of a sweater in a print ‘zine where the top was done in a lattice pattern.  And I have a jacket pattern I really like.  Can you see where this is going?  The plan is to knit a sweater using the jacket pattern as my inspiration.  I’m ‘hemming’ it in the lattice pattern.  Up the front, around the neck, around the bottom of sleeves and body.  The trick will be to get the stitch pattern to curve around the neck.

If you like this stitch and want to try it, it’s fairly easy.  There are few and fairly simple repeats and mine is just a tiny bit different than the mag pattern.

Cast on multiples of 8 stitches then add 6 more.  For four rows (this is your first repeat), purl 6 and knit 2 for the right side row, then knit 6, purl 2 for the wrong side row.  Click and the image above so you can see how those first four rows look.  On the right side you’ll see two knit then six purl repeated across the work.

Next create the holes where the lattice cross.  This is a two row repeat and it’s done between every set of lattice repeats.  The idea is to use knit two together and a yarn over to create the hole.  Every stitch except those two are knit.  So, for the first set of lattice, knit 4, *k2tog (knit 2 stitches together), yo (yarn over), k2 (knit 2), yo, k2tog, k2, repeat from * until last 4 which are knit.  Just so I’m really clear, each side of the column of knit stitches has a yarn over.  The next stitch outside that is knit two together.  All other stitches are knit.  The reverse of the row is purl all the way across.  I’m explaining this rather than just telling you what to do so you can look at the work and see that, other than the number of knit stitches at the beginning of the row, this “make a hole” row just has to match where the lattice knit rows are placed.

Now we do the shifted lattice.  Purl 2, *k2, p6 (purl 6), repeat from * until the last 2 which are purl.  Once you’ve done four rows of the shifted lattice, do your two rows that make the holes and start with the first set again.  Chart it like this.

oooooovvoooooovvoooooovvoooooovvoooooo (do this four times)
vvvvx/vv\xvvx/vv\xvvx/vv\xvvx/vv\xvvvv (do this once)
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv (do this once)
oovvoooooovvoooooovvoooooovvoooooovvoo (do this four times)

Then repeat from the top.  No, you may not throw rocks at me.  This is the way my brain works!

The lattice on my hem will be two sets of lattice for a total of 4 horizontal bands.  That’s the plan.  It may never gain a grip in reality, but it’s a plan.

Slippers, warm and comfy

Bottom in perl, seed stitch cuff, hole-less decrease at heel.

 

I’ve been wearing my slippers for a while but it wasn’t until a week ago I got the laces added.  I couldn’t share them without the laces in place!

The bottom (part I stand on) has the perl out so they’re comfortable to stand on.  I used my standard toe up sock with afterthought heel and revised heel decrease that produces zero holes.  The yarn is worsted weight Red Heart Black Fleck.  I got a super saver skein to use for testing stuff.  I have no idea where the slipper idea came from.   It must have been an aberrant moment.

The next step is to add waterproof leather soles and a felt cushion.

Bamboo/cotton with copper lined beads

Duster Scarf

I finished my scarf for Jennifer and it’s inspired me to do a repeat with a twist.  Jennifer’s scarf is a pull-on no fuss no fasten designed to keep the neck warm tucked inside a jacket or heavy shirt.  It’s got a natural rolled edge out of which beads peak.  The beads are #6 copper lined crystal seed beads and the whole feel is casual elegance.

This next scarf is going to be a bit bigger half-square triangle (240+16+8 stitches instead of 160) with an i-cord edge at the top ending in tassels or dingle balls.

I’ve used my own version of provisional cast on (Artisan square 2.5s paired with a long interchangeable needles cable with the yarn wound around both until the stitch count is met) and am using small DPNs (double pointed needles) to work the i-cord.  I’ve got stitch markers set to mark the decrease and the first row of bead work.  When those two markers meet, I work my first row of beads.  The decrease occurs at the start of each row 4 stitches off the edge.  This gives a lovely bound effect to the scarf.

The yarn is bamboo/cotton I bought from a vendor on Ebay.  He sells yarn from Asian manufacturers where the labels have been misprinted (my guess based on how the labels look).  It’s very good quality yarn and lovely to work with.  Bamboo/cotton makes it wash and wear.

Since I started this scarf I’ve found a video for an i-cord cast on.  Duh.  That would have been SO much faster.

The picture my friend sent me.  It’s lovely!

 

Cleaning up.  Enough lint for three machines packed in so tight it took extraordinary measures to get it all out.

A friend, knowing I love Singer 301As and trapezoid cabinets, found one for me.  The cabinet’s a lovely thing, mahogany veneer with just a tiny chip on the right end of the under-table.  The 301 is a black short-bed that’s in really lovely shape, just needing a good cleaning and lube and new wiring.  The cleaned machine is very quiet and smooth and I had the necessary wiring in my stash of parts.

This machine came with three bobbins.  Two of the bobbins had four separate colors/lengths of thread each.  The remaining bobbin had seven different pieces/colors of thread wound on.  There was so much lint, packed in so tightly, I had to disassemble the bobbin carrier to get all the lint out.

If you’re wondering what makes a trapezoid table so special, it’s for two very nice reasons.  The left end of the table is hinged and the swings out to support the table extension when it’s open.  Secondly, because the shape of the table is shorter on the front than the back, the table extension wraps to the front just a bit making it easier to keep things on the table.

I’ve already sewing a bunch of quilt bindings and today I’ll use this lovely machine to put borders on a quilt top.  Color me happy.

Self-striping merino blend mobius

Caron Simply Soft – mobius with 3/9 silver lined seed beads

Caron Simply Soft – mobius with 1/0 silver lined seed beads.

Lion Amazing – nascent mobius with amethyst 1/0 seed beads

 

Life’s been fairly busy for me the last four months.  I’m caring for a bed-bound family member and haven’t had a lot of time for the crafty stuff that feeds my soul.  Because I’ve been sitting bound to one spot I’ve been doing a lot of knitting.  Most of the knitting I’ve done is fairly mindless stuff I can do while watching and thinking.

I finally finished the knitting on a pair of sock slippers out of Red Heart acrylic worsted.  I’m intending to put soles on them but that’s a future project.  Until then, I’ll wear them without.  They do keep my feet toasty.

I’ve knitted two cowls, a bunch of mobius scarves and a few hats.

I knit a cowl in Caron Simply Soft Oceana to try out reversible cables on a seed stitch background.  That was lovely.  My sister-in-law got that one for Christmas and loves it.  I knitted a cowl for myself out of pink and green self-striping merino wool blend but it was a bit girly for me (cute ruffly edges and beads).  My SIL coveted it so I passed it on.

I got a gimmee skein of KnitPicks Biggo which I knit into a hat for my bed-bound friend.  That’s some wonderful yarn!

Close fitting cowls and hats are quick and fairly boring, but mobius scarves are interesting.  To knit a mobius scarf, you either have to join the ends (fairly obvious) or use a provisional cast on which is significantly less obvious.  Any time you can knit something without having to sew it together saves time.

Provisional cast on produces a shift in the columns of stitches at the point of cast on.  Because I like mobius in 2×2 rib, the provisional cast on is really obvious to me.  Seed stitch would hide the point of cast on but the stitch isn’t as stretchy and the point of this scarf is to stay close and keep the neck warm.  Because I’m fairly anal, I find the cast on shift unattractive.  By incorporating beads at the point of cast on, I minimize the obviousness of the shift.

The green and purple mobius is the first I made and is being worn by my niece.  It’s bright and smart and so is she.

The brown/gray/emerald/navy mobius is off to a friend in California.  She wanted me to make her a mobius when she was here visiting but I’m really bad at reading hints.  Once she got more pointed and said “I want a mobius”, I got it.  This color combo is perfect for her. Because she likes touches of sparkle, I added the beads.  This was my second knitted project with beads.

The blue mobius is for my friend and sister of my heart.  I originally made the striped one for her but she’s too sensitive to the merino wool.  She’ll have no problem with the Caron Simply Soft acrylic.  I used the beads to mask the cast on, adding beads at the edge to give it that ultimate “girly” touch.  Can we ever get enough sparkle?  I ran short of beads to finish the cast off so it’s on hold until I get more beads.

The blue/pink one might be for me.  The challenge will be to see if I can resist the temptation to give it away if someone admires it.  This mobius is smaller around than the others I’ve done.  I only have a partial skein of Lion Amazing left.  Of the three matching dye lot skeins I bought, I’ve already made two hats and a mobius.  This mobius gets what’s left.  Beads prevent it from being the ugly step child.

Harmony wood needle tips, size six.

I ordered a Try It pack of needle tips from KnitPicks.  I really like the concept, one set of cables and one set of needle tips.  Sadly, the Harmony wood needle tips didn’t hold up.  I had just started another mobius scarf and the wood separated where it entered the metal portion of the tip.  If I’d bent the needle, it would make sense, but I was pulling the stitches along the cable while holding the tip.

I think the wood needles would be fine in a bigger diameter, but in something as small as a six, they just aren’t going to hold up.  I’ve switched to size seven nickel plated tips.  I’m fairly confident they’ll hold up to the task at hand.

Third batch

I’m on my third batch of stitch markers.  I’m not losing them, I find myself giving them away to people who have the same complaints I do about the commercial stitch markers.  I have the same policy with earrings I make, so it’s a natural extension of something I’m already doing.  Fun!

Bead stitch markers.

Worsted weight yarn, size 9 needles, stitch count markers (12 stitches from end, 48 stitches from end and every 48 thereafter).

 

I’ve used a variety of stitch markers but was wholly unsatisfied with what’s currently available.  They’re either bulky or intrusive or too easily dropped/lost, all of which are frustrating.  I’ve worked out a couple solutions that work better for me.

If I leash together two of the commercial markers (I’ve used plastic split ring, round plastic and triangular) they work much better as the marker doesn’t get lost and is easily retrieved if it slips from my grasp when transferring from one needle to the next, but they’re still bulkier than is comfortable when using sock yarn and size 1 needles.  On the plus side, if the leash is tied to a clip or pin so it can be fastened to the work, they don’t fall away when they’re dropped.

An even better solution are markers made from filament and beads.  The flexible filament is very thin and keeps the marker from interfering with the work, the bead makes the marker easy to spot and acts as a handle or connector and are big enough that both needles can simultaneously be inserted into the marker reducing the chance you will drop it when transferring between needles.

Beyond that, they’re pretty and make me smile.

Vertical orientation looks better.

In test driving orientation for the fog, it looks like vertical is the best direction for laying the blocks.

The middle sock was my first (modified sweet tomato heel). The left sock was second (different modification to the sweet tomato heel). The black cuff/heel/toe was the last (short row with the sweet tomato stitch pickup technique).

Perfect technique, far from perfect yarn matching

I love the Paton stretch sock yarn and I love wearing the socks.  I only have one pair of socks I like as much, a Smartwool sport sock that fits as well as the socks I make for myself.

In the socks I’ve done so far, I’ve got two modified versions of the sweet tomato heel and a short row heel using the sweet tomato stitch pickup technique.  This time I’m going to work a modified version of the afterthought heel.  The single row of black yarn near the needles is where the heel will be inserted.

After three pair of socks, I think I’ve found my rhythm . . . sort of.  The trick is to wear glasses strong enough for me to see the stitches.  I’m no longer dropping stitches or inadvertently adding stitches.  Who knew?  Go me!

I’ve refined the pattern I’m using (toe up sock).  My wedge toe has more of a pleasing curve (magic cast on 40 stitches, increase every row for 4 rows, every other row 2x and every 4th row 1x for a total of 68 stitches).  Now that I’ve got the technique down and have wised up and started wearing strong glasses things are coming together nicely.  I just need to test drive this heel technique to see which one works best for me (least number of holes and fits the best).

Because my feet are so short I can get a whole pair of socks out of a single skein of sock yarn if I don’t need tall socks.  If you discount the ~30 hours it takes to make a pair of socks, these are a bargain at about $6 a pair.  If I want the socks taller than a 3″ crew, I need just a touch more yarn, thus the black toes, heels and cuff.

This latest pair of socks show I can’t seem to get the quality of work paired with the pattern matching.  Admittedly, this yarn is the left over from the very first pair of socks, so I’m cutting myself all kinds of slack.  As I seldom leave the farm, the likelihood of anyone but me noticing the pattern doesn’t match is pretty darn small.  And if they do notice, I’m pretty certain I won’t care.

Tree and fog. I’m lovin’ it!

I’ve got not quite a quarter of the honeycomb blocks done for the background on Lorr’s quilt.  In this picture I have only about half the finished fog on the wall.

It’s gone a bit slowly because I’ve been testing ironing seams this way, that way, pressed open . . . I think I’ve got what I want now.  I’m happy, happy, happy.

The colors, the variety, the textures.  Yup, I’m happy.  If all goes as planned, this will be a stunning quilt.

Now that the picture is up, can you see what’s wrong?  This is why pictures are so important!  In the very center of the picture, see the blue sky showing through the leaves?  Oops.  Can’t see the sky through the trunk.  I’ll have to replace that with a non-sky piece.  It’s the little things . . .

Test auditioning the fog fabric.

Drafting the template

Now that the leaf portion of the tree for Lorr’s quilt is done, I’m working on the background fog.  I don’t want it to be all one foggy piece of fabric, I want it to be more in keeping with the rest of the quilt, more random color and texture.

I’d been searching for over a year to find enough foggy batik fabrics for this part of Lorr’s quilt, but they just aren’t out there. Progress was at a halt.

Our Guild had a fabric dying workshop with the fabulous David Christensen.  I dyed 10 yards of batik quality fabric trying for perfect soft shades for the fog.  Some of the pieces are too dark, but not too many.  Overall, the result was a nice collection of soft greens, blues and grays with enough texture to be interesting.

I had originally intended to use one of the Dance template sets for this portion of the quilt, but I’ve since changed my mind.  I’m going with a machine sewn honeycomb block.  Sewing this block by machine isn’t for the faint of heart.  I’ve developed a technique that gives me accurate placement of the pieces.  I’ll try and get a tutorial together showing the technique.

I drafted the 2″x4″ template for the honeycomb block on pallet slip sheet cardboard.  I get this at the local feed store.  It’s a 4′x4′ sheet of thin cardboard that’s waxed or plasticized which makes it a little difficult to write on, but it makes great templates . . . and it’s free!

I used my cutting fabrics using cardboard templates technique so as not to damage my template.  The only adjustment I made was to not move any of the fabric for the second cut as it preps the end of the strip for the next template placement.

I think I’m going to like this block and fabric for the fog.  The sewing’s a bit tedious and nearly every seam is a Y seam, but I think the end result will definitely be worth the effort.

Fantasy Petals

I get a weekly newsletter from Quilting Books, Patterns and Notions and I occasionally find inspiration therein.  This week the periodical has a lovely and splashy flower wall hanging that’s lovely, full of bright color and made from batiks.  Not only does the color sense suit my style, this would be a perfect pattern for machine pinning.  Perfect!  The pattern is available here.

Glorious fall color

I restarted the leaf portion of Lorr’s quilt.  My original iteration hung on the wall and I just wasn’t happy.  I couldn’t make myself continue with what I’d started.  It was months before I realized what it was I didn’t like.  I’ve redone it and now, I’m happy!

Light denim jacket

I bought a jacket pattern and have made a number of jackets from that pattern.  It’s three pattern pieces and it goes together really fast and is very comfortable.

I had some denim in my stash, some stretch, some red pinstriped, and I combined the two into a single garment that turned out really nice.  It’s going to my sister for her to wear at work.  I was really pleased with the jacket but this iteration really needed pockets.  Patching pockets to the outside would have ruined the appearance of the front so I made curved slits bound in red goat leather.  The pockets are stretch denim patched onto the inside and sewn down using navy thread to make then as invisible as I can make them.

Red goat hide bound pocket.

The back and sleeves are solid blue stretch denim which makes the jacket very comfortable while still looking classy/casual.  The red leather to match the pinstripes on the front makes a nice accent and the curved opening makes the pockets easy to use.  I’m altering the pattern one more time for a more fitted sleeve and a fold over shawl collar.  I’ve got some black stretch denim I’ll use for that iteration.

I had gotten one pocket put on and was taking a break to eat lunch when my 35 year old Viking 6750 suddenly started running and billowing smoke.  <wince>  I unplugged it and set it out on the deck to finish smoking where I didn’t have to breathe it.  I figure if it was smoking I wasn’t going to be repairing it anytime soon.

Second sock, done except for the ribbed cuff.

I’m about 2/3 of the way done with my second 6″ crew sock.  It’s going very nicely.  My heel-turn technique is improving (fewer holes) and my work is nicely even.  I love the cast-on technique for toe-up knitting.  The heel turn method is easy and easy to adapt to fit my specific heel.  Getting a good fitting sock with no pattern is easy, after the fifth heel tear-out on the first sock.  Go me. <grin>  The next pair I’ll do differently still and they will be even better . . . and faster!

I’ve got a couple yards left in the first skein of yarn which isn’t going to be enough to finish this sock.  The second skein will let me finish this sock and should leave me with enough to make another pair with short cuffs.    I couldn’t buy quality socks for the price I paid for the yarn so color me happy.  I guess that’s one of the blessing of having small feet . . . more sock per yard.

At this point, I need to solve my needle problem.  I’ve ordered another brand of needle AND some fix-it stuff.  If one won’t work, the other should.

The top needle is straight from the package as-built by the manufacturer. The bottom needle has been altered to remove the hip which causes the yarn to get stuck on the cable.

The fix-it stuff is for the problem I have with the join between the tip and cable for the square needles.  They really are a good concept, but the design/execution could really use some work.  Let me explain.

The socks I’m making are worked in super-fine yarn.  Other than crochet thread for doilies, that’s the finest yarn sold in skeins for hand knitters.  The yarn manufacturer recommends a size 3 needle but I like tightly knitted socks so I’m using a size 1 needle.

For the stitch transfer to go smoothly for finer yarns, the join between the cable and the needle really has to be flawless.  Add together the fine yarn, small needle size and tight knitting and getting the yarn back on the tip from the cable becomes tricky in the best of situations.  As you can see, the join on the top needle in the above picture is a far cry from ideal.

When I got the square needles, I was appalled at the price (easily twice the price of needles the same length and size at KnitPicks.com) but I really liked with the squared off shaft which reduces hand strain and the slightly shortener tip which fits my hand better.

The total limpness of the cable is a true wonder.  When you make socks using two 16″ cable needles, stiffness in the cable prevents even tension in the stitches where the needle change occurs.  This is magnified for tight knitters.  That forced unevenness drives me nuts.  The limpness of the cable on these needles solved that problem.  The difference in appearance between the first sock (done largely with stiff cable needles) and the second (completely knit on limp-cable needles) is graphic.

To fix the hip-join problem between the tip and the needles I used my brass hammer and cobbler’s jack and reshaped the butt of the tip.  This worked really well right up until the altered shape of the butt impacted the integrity of the cable sheath.  Click the needle image and you’ll see what I mean.  The extra sharpness at the butt over time caused the sheath of the cable to separate and peel back giving an additional place for the cable to snag the yarn, though it’s still an improvement in moving yarn back onto the tip over the original shape.  Unfortunately, in one needle it caused complete separation between the tip and the cable.

I’ve got some neat stuff coming that I hope will allow me to solve the tip/cable join problem and let me continue to use these too expensive but wonderfully shaped needles.

Check out Sugru.  It’s an air curable silicone rubber which bonds to aluminum.  When my multi-color 8-pack arrives, I should be able to reshape the join to a smooth ramp AND take the stress off the cable sheath at the join.   If it doesn’t work as well as I think it might, I might be able to use it instead of cork for the heel seat in my shoes!  The uses for this stuff have got to be endless!

I have decided I need a purple pair . . . I just need to find the right purple.  Every girl should have at least one pair of purple socks.  The Patron Stretch Sock yarn is so awesome I am hesitant to try another type yarn.  I’ll have to see what kind of purple they make.

My mother was an awesome knitter. She could also crochet like nobody’s business. There wasn’t a baby born that she knew of that wasn’t blessed with something from her hands. Growing up we all wore sweaters she knitted.  I still wear a pair of wool socks she knitted.  I’m pretty sure they weren’t knitted for me but they shrunk to where I’m the one they fit!  <grin>  I can live with that!

Patrons Stretch Sock yarn on size 1 needles.

I was searching for something . . . I can’t even remember what, and I ran across an online knitting magazine. Therein I found discussion regarding magic cast on for socks. The technique was so cool I just HAD to try it. So here is Judy’s magic cast on!

I’m halfway through the heel turn and I’m using a modified Cat’s Sweet Tomato Heel Turn.  Instead of dividing the stitches into thirds (two for the heel, one for the front) for three sets of increases I’m greatly increasing the number of heel stitches for the first and third set of short rows while decreasing (not proportionally) the center set.  This should allow the heel turn to better fit my ankle and heel.

Pattern?  Yeah, not using a pattern.  I never have.  I do the math to figure out how many stitches/rows for the needle/yarn combo and run with it.  The last knit project I made was a denim/navy heather double yarn short jacket worked on big needles.  It had pockets, a collar and a big brass zipper up the front.  I wore that jacket for a long time, passing it on when I was done wearing it.  That was a lot of years ago.

I watched another video about a technique called “magic loop” which allows socks to be knitted on a single long circular needle.  I’m not so enamored with that.  I really like using two short circular needles to knit small round stuff.

My mom’s entire stash of needles has only one size 1 16″ circular needle and it’s got a rough join where the cable fastens to the tips which makes sliding the work from one tip to the other a bit of a chore.  I could live with it but a set of newer needles would be better.  I’ve got plenty of double-ended needles but I prefer cable needles.

I tried to find new needles locally but no joy.  I bought bamboo needles at Michael’s but I knit pretty tight and the yarn doesn’t slide on the bamboo needles easily enough to suit me AND the join between the needle and the cable is not seamless.  The join uses a metal collar to connect the parts and it doesn’t look very sturdy AND looks like it would snag fine yarn.  Maybe they might work great for someone who doesn’t knit tightly, but they aren’t going to work well for me.

Terry stopped in at the local knit shop but they don’t carry aluminum circular needles.  I ordered two 16″ size 1 circular needles from a vendor on Amazon but the join where the cable meets the aluminum tip is two full sizes bigger than the needle.  Tell me where the logic is in that?  There is no way I could get my work off the tip and onto the cable.  I can’t even use them until I make a draw die and fine down that lump!  Plus the cable’s so stiff I would have to fight it constantly while I’m working.  I’m going to have to heat the cable up and cool it straight, and even then that’s not a perfect solution.

I was at Fabric Depot yesterday and they had the same needles I got on Amazon with the same two-sizes-larger lumps where the two materials join.  Been there, got those.  They also had the bamboo needles I got at the local craft store with the you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me yarn snagging pin-punched metal collar join.  <wince>  Next trip to town those are going back.  There’s nothing I can do to fix them and make them usable.

Fabric Depot also had a needle I’ve never seen before . . . squared off tips on cables, a square circular needle!  I know that sounds kind of strange, but the needles really are square and the cable is real soft and flexible.  I bought two short (16″) and 1 long (42″?) and I’ve got my sock transferred to the new 16″ needles.  The tip length fits in my hand perfectly, they don’t have that stupid bend in the aluminum right before the tip meets the cable, the cable is soft and doesn’t interfere with my knitting and I am mostly in love.  They do have one draw-back.

The butt of the tip, where the tip joins the cable, has a rounded end into which the cable merges.  This causes a small but abrupt “hip” which stops the loops of yarn from sliding smoothly back onto the tip.  With that in the way I can’t just shove the loops back onto the needle, I have to stop and coax them from the cable onto the tip.  Despite this work-slowing design flaw, the needles are an improvement over the other needles I purchased.

When I’m done with this pair of socks I’ll rework the butt join to see if I can solve this problem, either reshaping the hip to a more gradual 45° slant or developing a collar to sit against the hip to ease the transition.  It would be perfect if the manufacturer would change the design to fix this as it’s a drawback to an otherwise perfect knitting needle.  I’m having so much fun knitting socks I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to knit more than one pair and I refuse to fight every transfer of stitches from cable to needle.

One more nice thing about this needle . . . the size and length are stamped right into the tip.  I don’t have to dig out my needle gauge to make sure I’ve grabbed the right size.  Sweet!  Now, if they were just as perfect everywhere else . . .

I’ve added a new page on the applique technique I’ve developed to get me away from pins and toward more accurate applique. It’s on the “long bits of stuff” menu on the right.

Tomorrow, easy very skinny stems. You won’t believe how really easy they are.

Nostrils and tail yet to do, but looking good!

I started a new project last night.  I haven’t been able to appliqué for a couple years so I’m really excited about this.

I’ve wanted to try some new stuff.  A friend supplied the material and will get the resulting coat.  I’ve made tests of the coat pattern (A Little Something), made the necessary adjustments and I’m ready to go!

This is a three color coat.  The left side of the jacket is purple batik.  The right is green batik and the accent is ink navy.  The sleeve bottom and coat bottom will be bordered in Oriental Dance blocks.

This bit of the project is all hand appliqué.  The horse head pattern is on a piece of paper on the back.  I sew the three layers together (paper, background and foreground) using a sewing machine and staying on the pattern lines.  From the front I carefully cut the foreground material away and, as I unpick the stitching, I turn the edge under on the stitching line and appliqué the foreground down to the background being careful not to catching the paper in the stitching.  This technique gives me accurate and flat appliqué.  It always looks like the appliqué was just ironed flat.  So far, so good!  I think it’s looking awesome!

I’m not sure how it’s going to be quilted.  I may give Karen the background and batting and have her pin the coat pieces to it and quilt them.  So far I’ve got the pattern pieces cut extra big so there’s room around the outside to stitch it down to the backing before it’s mounted on the quilting machine.  That might work.  You can tell I’m still pondering this part.

LouAnn called last night.  My sunset quilt got People’s Choice at the fair.  I don’t know which day it got it but it’s really nice to have it recognized.

Both quilts come home today.  <smile>

LouAnn has been entering her quilting and canning in our local fair for years.   I’m fortunate that she drags my quilts along for the ride.

This year I have three quilts entered in the fair.  LouAnn called yesterday to tell me they had all received blue ribbons.  While that’s nice, it was even more exciting to hear her grape quilt had been considered for the grand poo-bah prize.  That’s pretty awesome!

Note:  LouAnn called to tell me Sunset on the Farm got People’s Choice at the fair.  How nice!

Vendor's Choice and a first place in the "Other" category Wreath of Life hanging in Karen's booth

The quilt show is over and two of my quilts did really well.

The Sunset quilt got People’s Choice the second day and second in the pieced category.

The Ichthy Bog Coat got a Vendor’s Choice ribbon and a first in the “Other” category.

Even better, LouAnn’s grape quilt got People’s Choice the very first day!  That rocks!  And Karen‘s been asked to teach the Square Dance (block used as the border on the bog coat) at two different location!  That really rocks!

LouAnn’s Wreath of Life quilt hung in Karen’s booth and many asked for the pattern.  We all agree the quilt would have been pretty without the pieced background, but the large Dance block in pastels behind the appliqué really added to the depth and richness of the quilt.

Sunset at the farm Nested stars Confetti Stars aka “The Wood Quilt”

My three quilts are almost home.  They hung at the Pe Ell Quilt Show over the July 4th weekend but they still have two more stops to make before I get to sleep under them.

In two weeks they hang again at the RDQG Quilt Show, then a month later they hang at the SWW Fair.

Confetti Stars got best comfort sized quilt at the Pe Ell show.  That’s nice!

Starting to look like a quilt . . .

I’ve got the majority of the body put together.  I need to cut blocks to fill in the edges.  I need to get baby quilt (non-flammable) rayon batting and some pretty pink and green or purple and green flannel for the back.  I won’t add borders.  This is supposed to be a drag around quilt as she gets older so there’s no point in getting fancy or “heirloomy”.

Confetti stars

Here’s Confetti Stars, all pretty and quilted.  I’m really happy with this pattern.

I think I need to make one of these big enough for our bed.  I like it!

Eva's Confetti Stars

I have had to find a new vendor for template cutting and in the process of getting templates cut I’ve had to retest some of the templates.  Because the Confetti Stars is cut from strip sets, and because I hate to waste material, I’ve elected to take the testing down a productive path.  Baby quilt!

I saw my friend Rachel at Safeway Thursday.  She’s got a new baby girl she and Travis have named Eva.  If I can get this finished and quilted little Eva will be able to sleep under the stars!

LouAnn and I went to the Guild’s Sew Daze yesterday and I got the binding on my sunset quilt.  LouAnn’s taken it home with her to stitch down the binding.  The quilt is beyond beautiful.  The quilting is gorgeous, the colors are gorgeous.  I’m going to enjoy sleeping under it.

I’ll get a new picture of it at the next meeting.

My foot is 8¼” long by 4″ wide.  For a 5’3″ tall woman weighing ~200 lbs, that’s not much foot and the relation of length to width makes it an EEEEEE.  Yup, that was six Es.  My sister’s foot is the same, though she’s quite a bit finer boned than I am and probably weighs just a bit less.  She has mom’s bone structure, I have dad’s.  Her face is oval, mine is square.  She has long oval fingernails and I have short square fingernails.  Why our feet are the same size . . . <shrug> . . . it’s genetics.

Because there is no company on this earth that I am aware of that makes shoes that are designed to fit my feet, I’ve taken to making my own footwear, for better or worse.  And because, as I’m sure you’re aware if you’ve spent any time on this site at all, I do things my own way, the methods and steps I used to create my first pair of shoes differ from those who seriously embrace classic cordwaining.   I’m sure by now I’ve got the folks on the cordwaining forum mentally throwing stones at me.  I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t at least gently stir the pot a little.

So here we go, my first pair of lasted shoes.

My last

Because I cannot purchase a last that will produce a shoe that will fit my feet, I have to start with a last.  I made boxes to use as containers for molding my feet.  I mixed alginate, poured it in the boxes and stepped in.  For small feet like mine I used a total of three 1lb bags of alginate which I got from my wonderful dentist.

Once the alginate set I wiggled my feet free, mixed plaster of paris and filled the molds to the brim.

Once the plaster of paris had set I tore the alginate apart to release the plaster feet therein.

I built up the plaster foot form with more plaster to give myself a toe box shape.  As you can see I didn’t add enough to the length and ended up having to add more length after I got the resin last.  I also shaped and filled in rough spots.

After the plaster was dry I cleaned up the plaster feet and sent them to my son for casting in a two part resin.  The result is what you see.  The screws allow the last to be taken apart for easy removal from the shoe.

Leather molded to the bottom of the last

To make sure the last would give me the right shape for my foot I molded a piece of leather to the bottom.  When I stepped into this form with my sock-clad foot, I could tell I was on the right track.