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Monthly Archives: February 2011
Project Brief: Bunnies, Buttons and Socks
I am nearly done with a pair of knit bunnies I'm making as a birthday present. They would have been done earlier this week, but I was waylaid by the flu.
Next up I'm going to make a pair of socks trying the two at a time method from this book. I still need to get a 40" circular needle in size 2.
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WINDY Weekend
Check out the result of last weekend's wind-
Just peeled the plastic right off the chicken run, blew over rain barrels - not much water in it, the full ones were fine - tossed all the trash cans! We were lucky and did not loose any major tree limbs, roof bits or electricity!
The next day was lovely! The chickens were very happy to be out and about- here are one of the Bettys and Ethel enjoying the sun-
Say What?
I have added a project to this spring's list, my backyard neighbor has a great bat-house, I'm thinking of adding one to our house
There are the first signs of Spring just beginning- Lilac buds and fig buds
Just peeled the plastic right off the chicken run, blew over rain barrels - not much water in it, the full ones were fine - tossed all the trash cans! We were lucky and did not loose any major tree limbs, roof bits or electricity!
The next day was lovely! The chickens were very happy to be out and about- here are one of the Bettys and Ethel enjoying the sun-
Say What?
I have added a project to this spring's list, my backyard neighbor has a great bat-house, I'm thinking of adding one to our house
There are the first signs of Spring just beginning- Lilac buds and fig buds
WINDY Weekend
Check out the result of last weekend's wind-
Just peeled the plastic right off the chicken run, blew over rain barrels - not much water in it, the full ones were fine - tossed all the trash cans! We were lucky and did not loose any major tree limbs, roof bits or electricity!
The next day was lovely! The chickens were very happy to be out and about- here are one of the Bettys and Ethel enjoying the sun-
Say What?
I have added a project to this spring's list, my backyard neighbor has a great bat-house, I'm thinking of adding one to our house
There are the first signs of Spring just beginning- Lilac buds and fig buds
Just peeled the plastic right off the chicken run, blew over rain barrels - not much water in it, the full ones were fine - tossed all the trash cans! We were lucky and did not loose any major tree limbs, roof bits or electricity!
The next day was lovely! The chickens were very happy to be out and about- here are one of the Bettys and Ethel enjoying the sun-
Say What?
I have added a project to this spring's list, my backyard neighbor has a great bat-house, I'm thinking of adding one to our house
There are the first signs of Spring just beginning- Lilac buds and fig buds
Project Detail – Early Morning Beret
I've finished the beret! It is bigger than anticipated, but lovely if I do say so myself. The underside is all blue with a gray ribbed band around the bottom. The two yarns shown here are mystery yarns sent to me by a friend; the gray is the yarn that I used for my brother's ear warmers and is a mix of wool and acrylic, making it a shofter choice for around my face. I'm happy to have finished this for spring and to see how well it goes with the jacket I'm wearing in the picture. More pictures on my Ravelry page.
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Project Details – Valentines
This year I got into Valentine's Day and made a couple different things to give:
I made six of these hearts to hang on Shaker pegs in my parents' kitchen and five single-sided ones for some neighbors with kids who get into giving valentines. I did not add the oh-so-anime faces. Details on my Ravelry profile.
I also made ten chocolate covered spoons (I bought mismatch spoons from Goodwill), which was an adventure. Most recipes suggest using a microwave, which I don't have. One called for a double boiler, which I do have, but I ignored that advice which was a bad idea. Keeping a mass of chocolate a consistent temperature is difficult and with every recipe adamantly warning against burning the chocolate and strongly suggesting you keep it slightly stiff I under-melted it. Instead of being able to dip the spoons, let cool and re-dip, I had to spatula it on. In the end they looked alright and as soon as they're used in cocoa or coffee they'll smooth out, but I've learned my chocolate lesson.
Lastly, here're some Valentine-y stuff to share:
The Etymology of Love - Taking love very seriously indeed.
Valentine - A nonsense poem. Shouldn't more valentines be like this?
Only Yours - Shared by my friend Ben I've watched this several times already.
I Belong to You - A love song that is sweet, but not disgustingly over the top. Well done.
Luff Song - Not a recent find, but I love it too much not to include it.
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Faux Fair Isle with my Handspun and Napkins!
I finished it and I love it! I am going to work out the "pattern" such as it is and actually measure quantities next time - I have some hand-spun and some bare wool all ready to be dyed up - I did have some help though:
All nice - I like this lower squarish neckline:
In other "backyard" news - I havehoarded collected a bunch of fabric for napkins -
It began with the totally cute "French" chicken fabric though - and I tried mitered corners. There are a lot of really good tutorials for mitered corners - I copied from one of my Martha Stewart books, but next time I'm trying this method from Design Sponge, or this one from The Purl Bee for beautiful hand-sewn napkins. Anyway - here is the Martha-ish way:
Fold your hems over twice and iron the heck out of them (Martha has you measure a 1/2 inch and iron it, then an inch and iron that):
Then you unfold it you will need to see your fold lines since they will be your guide for the next step:
With the right side up, keep the first fold, unfold the second one and fold the corners back so the lines match up and the fold is right at the intersection of the second fold lines - you are making a diagonal across the square made by the ironed folds which will be your sewing line:
Fold the fabric across on the diagonal, and line up the edges:
Sew along the diagonal line, trim and turn inside-out:
Sew nicely around the hem (remember to make the bobbin thread a pretty coordinating color because that will be the top of the napkin)
Voila!
For the next set I figured, heck, these are just napkins, is there a quick and dirty way to miter the corner? So for the under-patient who can over-look a bit of sloppiness - because it just is not as accurate:
Fold over the edge on all sides about a quarter of an inch:
Fold the napkin along the diagonal andeyeball measure about an inch (for a pretty small hem) along the diagonal from the tip of the folded bits and place a pin:
Sew a seam perpendicular to the folded middle edge of the napkin, starting at the place you marked with the pin - use the sewing machine as a guide because the whole point of doing the corners this way is because you are too impatient to mark anything!:
Clip and fold back right-side-out and fix by pressing the heck out of them!
Sew around the edges and they are done! It is REALLY HARD to get a good miter this way because when you are sewing the corner, you are sewing along the bias of the fabric and it wants to shift around. Sewing that perpendicular is harder than it looks! But hey! They are napkins!
All nice - I like this lower squarish neckline:
In other "backyard" news - I have
It began with the totally cute "French" chicken fabric though - and I tried mitered corners. There are a lot of really good tutorials for mitered corners - I copied from one of my Martha Stewart books, but next time I'm trying this method from Design Sponge, or this one from The Purl Bee for beautiful hand-sewn napkins. Anyway - here is the Martha-ish way:
Fold your hems over twice and iron the heck out of them (Martha has you measure a 1/2 inch and iron it, then an inch and iron that):
Then you unfold it you will need to see your fold lines since they will be your guide for the next step:
With the right side up, keep the first fold, unfold the second one and fold the corners back so the lines match up and the fold is right at the intersection of the second fold lines - you are making a diagonal across the square made by the ironed folds which will be your sewing line:
Fold the fabric across on the diagonal, and line up the edges:
Sew along the diagonal line, trim and turn inside-out:
Sew nicely around the hem (remember to make the bobbin thread a pretty coordinating color because that will be the top of the napkin)
Voila!
For the next set I figured, heck, these are just napkins, is there a quick and dirty way to miter the corner? So for the under-patient who can over-look a bit of sloppiness - because it just is not as accurate:
Fold over the edge on all sides about a quarter of an inch:
Fold the napkin along the diagonal and
Sew a seam perpendicular to the folded middle edge of the napkin, starting at the place you marked with the pin - use the sewing machine as a guide because the whole point of doing the corners this way is because you are too impatient to mark anything!:
Clip and fold back right-side-out and fix by pressing the heck out of them!
Sew around the edges and they are done! It is REALLY HARD to get a good miter this way because when you are sewing the corner, you are sewing along the bias of the fabric and it wants to shift around. Sewing that perpendicular is harder than it looks! But hey! They are napkins!
Current Projects Brief
I'm currently working on:
On Hold:
- Researching henna artists for the Mystic & Noank Library Friend's of the Library Fair.
- A response to a friend's paper on plagiarism.
- This beret.
- Organizing a CD exchange for the Ravelry group members for Juniper Moon Farm.
- Font advice for a friend's project.
- Several Valentine's projects.
- Take-a-book-leave-a-book for local coffee shop.
- Facebook Fan Page admin and creator for: Mystic & Noank Library and Juniper Moon Farm. Admin for: Mystic Contra Dance as a Mystic Dance Volunteer.
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Pete’s Greens Giveaway Sweater Update:
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Tagged Giveaway, sweater, Uncategorized