I did a little knitting this winter. The first item is a sweater for the (then) 2 year-old-grandson. (He just turned 3.)
The second item is from a pattern on Ravelry- Garter Stripe Square BagThe construction is very clever. It is felted after being assembled. I made changes... of course. I did not do the stripes. I added pockets inside, giving 5 sections. I also sewed in the thingies for attaching my keys to the side, making them easy to find. The two outer sections hold my cell phone perfectly and protect it from the junk in the other sections.
The weight wet before shrinking, or fulling, gave my washer the fits. It was that heavy. I knitted it using a Paton's wool held with a strand of my handspun blue fox grey wool. It gave the color more depth. I also beaded a cabochon to cover the snap for the closure flap. I think this is one of my best, yet.
The weight, loaded, is no more than a leather purse. Better, I can wash it and any shrinkage will be minimal, if at all. Oh- I also shaved the purse once felted. I did not have a fancy sweater shaver, so used an old blade from Himself's Peanut shaver (that I use to shave his head every month). This has to be my favorite purse.I was given my great-grandma's quilt tops when she died years ago. I had carefully put them away, not knowing what to do with them. Though it forced me into learning how to quilt after the first slight mess, and not cringe when removing squares to resize them for my use,
I am pleased with the second one I made. Oh... I am using them for window quilts. The second is too wide, I could not remove any more of it with good conscience. It makes raising it a bit bulky, I am fine with it. I had a bit of trouble photographing them, the brightness and just did not work correctly, for some reason.
I received 4 of the tops. Great-grandma had a thing for yellow, my least favorite color. One makes my eyes bleed. It will go in the craft room. The other is not too bad and will go in our bedroom.
I have my "curtains" on closet poles, using the same wooden holders like in the closet. It makes taking them off easy. No curtain rods outside of the window frame means nothing being ripped out of the wall. The normal rods seems to cause a lot of damage, take up room, and so forth. There is a rod in the bottom for raising the curtains halfway or rolling up for all the way.
Window quilts are window-sized quilts, all 3 layers like a regular quilt, but for extra insulation for your window. My great room ones will be boring white to keep the area bright. I did have to buy a walking foot for the quilting part. Hand sewing the quilts is out. For a bedspread, that would be different, I think.
I rather like them. They are not boring. Best of all, I can admire my great-grandma's quilt tops. My house is small, and this was the only way to display them, and use them. I think Great-grandma would be pleased.
I forgot, last Christmas I made my oldest grandson a paracord jig for making bracelets and the like. I made myself one, though I have not tried it as of yet. I have too many things going on right now... Like 6 more window quilts to be made, the garden tended to, Miss Sally and himself needing attention. The jig is found on Instructables. It is made with a yardstick, paracord bracelet closure, screws, and cable holders. I did add a commenter's additions of a paint stick for part and the second size of closure. My grandson said it works well.
June first, Sally went from this a fuzzy tator tot to...
To the photo to the left. She does like it, though she does not look happy in the photo. It seems to keep her cooler and keep the forest from attaching itself to her every time she goes outside. The girl still does not like having her photo taken, for some reason.
The day after her cut, I came down with a nasty cold. I thought it was allergies. I do not get sick anymore, not living in a city/urban area. After 5 days of whining, I found The Pink Stuff. Google it. Wait... Homemade DecongestantGarlic, red onion, radishes, and... I forget at the moment. It was not bad tasting, rather like my tortellini salad without the tortellini. It really helped.
I also gave in and shopped Ebay. I found a lovely 1939 Singer 99K Hand Crank Sewing Machine. The seller was in England. With the oversea guarantees from Ebay, and the best hand cranks (condition and price) come from England, I went ahead. I am not a fan of this sort of shopping. In the States, they tend to be in rotten condition, missing attachments and/or parts, filthy, seized mechanisms, and given Antique prices (which they are not worthy). The first photo is from the seller.Sadly, like all union shipping companies using workers who are paid no matter how lousy they are at their job, (can you tell I like our right-to-work state?), they managed to ruin the almost 70 year old bottom oak box. Finding a good machine that still has the wooden bottom in perfect shape is almost impossible. The damage is from being slammed or dropped by some POS. One can hope he gets boils on the bottoms of his feet and his face, Big nasty ones. Ebay made good. I will be doing a temporary fix, using a glue that is water-soluble until I can make a new one. A clever woman designed replacements with great instructions for construction. The next photo shows the damage. The latch to secure the machine down cannot be used. I will have to lift it by the bottom for now if not in its suitcase-like carrier.
Once Ebay took care of the problem by refunding shipping and such. I got into the machine. Except for the bobbin area, it was pristine. Clean and well-oiled. I cleaned the bobbin area, gave the machine a mild cleaning and polished her up, including the case and the damaged box-bottom. I then oiled her up and tried her out. though this model does not have a reverse, the tension is changed by what one is currently sewing on, and the stitch length is by turning the knob until you like the size, I love the machine. The clackity-clack as it hums along, with total control of speed and guiding, (left hand only, which is fine), is it awesome. I love treadle machines, I do not have the room. This fits the bill for a non-electric machine. I had inherited my great-aunt's Singer 328K, electric, which is great for items like clothing. The 99K hand crank will even sew on leather. Way cool. If the power goes out, I can still sew if I wish. Cool...
More blather later? This has been photo-filled and long enough.
The beading on that cabochon is exactly the perfect amount! So pretty!
ReplyDeleteI miss Sheep Thrills, and as an extension, you. Happy to see that all is well with you these days.
I miss it too, but not part of, (nor never want to be), the Fartbook Socialist culture which so many seem to prefer to stare at all day. ugh. To each their own.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to pass on anything I can, and will continue to do so with this page when possible. The cab is way cool, yes? I have "Beading with Cabochons" by (someone) Eakin. I based the design on one of her instructions/designs.
We are doing well and happy. I still laugh. A lot. ;) I am not close to be exiting or regular with posts, but my little blather is great for a sleeping potion, learning from my (many) mistakes and what actually works (for me). (grin)