Getting Back on that Horse

Not the sweater horse. That's still waiting to see if it's going to fit DH (or the Monkey).

The quilting horse. After the debacle with the needle flying out at me with the new walking foot, I was letting it rest a moment. I had an epiphany that maybe, just maybe if I dialed the tension down to something remarkably low (like 0), I might have a fighting chance. And I did manage to make it through the quilting phase. We'll see how it holds up in the wash. Now, I need to pick out binding. I'm considering making my own binding. I picked up a binding folder gizmo when the local Hancock's was going out of business.



Sometime last week, I picked up the monkey socks and knit a repeat (woo-hoo?) It was as fun as I remembered it. I'm hoping to get another one done tonight during Project Runway.



I whipped up some shorts for La. February in Florida. Means it's almost time for shorts. They're McCalls 9206 - a boys pattern, because they are the ones that seem to ever have pockets. Apparently little girls don't need them. News to Amelia.



And I saw this bag pattern on WhipUp and made one out of leftovers from La's quilt. I'm thinking about using some beat up sheets to make a whole set of bags. DH has been hoping that I'd make some shopping bags for a few years now. This one is lined (vs. overlocking the edges, as described in the pattern). Figuring out how to sew it together so that you can still turn it right side out was a little tricky. I sewed two bags (one seam from the left "armpit" corner around the bottom to the right armpit corner). Then I sewed the two bags together, right sides together at the armpits, front of the neck and back of the neck. The tops of the handles were the openings. I turned it right side out through one of the handles. It got a little bunchy and challenging, and would have been more difficult with thicker, stiffer fabric. But with this thrifted sheet, it worked OK.

To Frog Or Not To Frog

That is the question.
Tis nobler to finish up already after such a long time on the needles
Or to redo five inches of the body to add increases for the chest
As it is, will it show off the chest with negative ease or will it be too tight to wear with a shirt underneath?
Now that the sleeves are joined and it's almost time for the saddle
is it Too Late to decide that it's too small?
Gauge you fickle mistress.
Measurements even fickler.



I joined up the sleeves to the body this weekend. I knit 1 1/2 inches after the join. (lots of good couch time on Saturday) I read the saddle decrease instructions several times. Finally got out a calculator and tape measure and figured out that it fits DH at the waist, but probably not at the chest. I'm sort of on the fence about how to fix it. The right answer is probably to rip it back south of the joining round by about 5" and add in some increases under the armpits and he'd have a spiffy, tailored sweater. But I'm not quite there yet mentally. I think I'll work on the monkey socks instead.

40 Days of Finishing?

I finished a pair of baby socks to send to Afghans for Afghans Newborn Campaign. They are from the Mim Knits Baby to Toddler Socks, knit on size 0 needles, using Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn, leftover from my Monkey socks. It was a fun pattern, a little fiddly, but with socks that small, it's hard to avoid a certain amount of fiddliness. I will probably make more sometime.



The insides, I thought, were pretty neat too.



Next, I'm really looking forward to finishing some stuff that's nearly done. The sweater for DH is about a sleeve-inch or two away from being done up to the armpits - all it will need is shoulders and a neck. Also looking forward to finishing the 2nd monkey sock for my friend. And El's knit blankie. That's three projects right there on the downhill slope. It might also be nice to finish my shetland triangle. The couch blanket might be nice to work on also. At the very least, I should get some update progress shots on all of them.

This can't be good.

When I picked up my sewing machine, I bought a walking foot (finally). I'm having some technical difficulties with it. The guy at the repair shop showed me how to put it on and warned me that if it wasn't on square, it could break the machine (the needle holder part).

When I was finally up for using the machine, I took off the walking foot and put the regular presser foot back on. I made 4 recieving blankets for a friend who is having a girl.

Today, I pin basted the "watercolor" quilt, reinstalled the walking foot and began to quilt. Much more often than I would like for it to happen, the needle flies out of the thingamajig that holds it. It doesn't break, and doesn't make the machine all out of sync again, but it's a little scary.

Unless the internets have any other advice, I think tomorrow I'm going to try using a new needle and not stitching in the ditch, but stitching near the ditch. For now, the machine is in time out.