Friday, August 30, 2013

Georgetown

I first learned about Fibre Space two years ago from a friend. She had discovered it when her boss had to make a pit stop there to pick up some yarn for a new project. [Oh how I wish my boss would take me on such trips!]. I finally got the chance to visit last week and it did not disappoint!

Now, I absolutely love my LYS. It's uber close, so if I need to wind some yarn or pick up some new needles, I can do so on a whim. They have a good variety of yarn, their classes are great, and the two ladies who own it, as well as most of the employees, are the nicest and most helpful knitters you'll ever meet!

But it's nice to know that, still not too far away, I have another great yarn store! The variety and selection at Fibre Space is wonderful. I love that most of their yarns are local or of some niche variety for which they are one of very few stockists. Right after I visited, I saw this post by Rebecca of nook, and now I'm already planning my next trip - though Mr. T has recommended [ordered...] that I finish a few projects and use up some of my stash before I go back.

Anyway, enough chat.  This is what I got:


I hadn't really intended to buy anything, but this beauty called out to me! It's a little washed out in this photo, but these are the most vibrant blues I have ever seen.  Even as I was checking out another customer was trying to coax me into give it up since I had snagged the last skein in this colorway - Georgetown. And I may or may not have been carrying it around for the past week (even to work) just so I can take it out and pet it every now and then.

I've been wanting to make a shawl, and this will be perfect. Now I just have to pick a pattern. I really like this. Or maybe this. This one is just my style. And I love this one.  Good thing I have a long line of projects ahead of this one and have some time to decide...


Go check out Neighborhood Fiber Co.'s website. I really like her story, and how she names all her colorways after, well, neighborhoods.  She started the business in DC, but now lives in Baltimore.  I'm excited to visit her space next time I'm there (which is more regularly than I'd like because of work...).

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Net Bag

My friend Lily owns a farm on Chappaquiddick.. I haven't had a chance to visit yet, but knowing Lily, I'm sure it's a pretty awesome farm. She has several farm stands each week, and recently started a small lending library! Well, Lily just had a birthday, so I made her this net bag to tote veggies during harvesting and at the stand.


I used this tutorial from Purlbee. I have to admit, this wasn't as fun of a knit as I thought it was going to be. I thought it would take me 2-3 days of lunchtime and evening knitting, but it ended up taking me TWO WEEKS! You can't really tell in this photo, but it's a bit lopsided. I followed the pattern exactly (even guage) and it still ended up a bit small. Also, I ran out of yarn at the end so one of the handles a bit shorter (ahem...4 inches) than the other. I'm hoping it will stretch out so it won't matter. By the end I just couldn't deal with this project any longer. I was itching to get back to the sweater for Mr. T. Thankfully, I don't think Lily will mind.



I will say the size is deceptive. The bag stretches out quite a bit when loaded. Hopefully it will be useful for Lily to harvest tender veggies and keep them from bruising.

Monday, August 19, 2013

More blocks!

It seems like most of what I've been making these days are small gifts and quilt blocks. And trust me, I'm fine with that! As satisfying as it is to make an entire quilt or a sweater, I love the instant gratification of smaller projects. I have a few finishes for this week, but we'll start today with my do. Good Stitches blocks for August. Linda picked a fun tutorial (or maybe tutoriolito, as she often calls them) by Marla of Sew Hungry. [Sidenote: I've never met Marla, but I'd really like to. I can tell we'd get along. I love her bio and chem-based humor!] Linda asked for two blocks in a choice of two colorways: pink and yellow or pink and green for a girly quilt. I decided to do one of each.

At first I was a bit nervous about this block because it has a number of pieces and a lot of points, but once I got going they came together easily. And I did quite well with matching my points, if I do say so myself!

Fabric: Windham, Dear Stella, Robert Kaufman, Kona, Riley Blak

Fabric: Sketch, Kona, Robert Kaufman, Riley Blake, a few unknowns


Monday, August 12, 2013

Lucky Stars catch up

Well, I totally fell off the Lucky Stars BOM train this summer. I'm beyond behind! So I did a little work last week to catch up...sort of. I finished February and March. Only five more months to go!

February

March
I found March a bit challenging. Some of my points are off quite a bit. I'm not really sure how that happened because I'm pretty anal about sticking to the lines when sewing...  Oh well, I decided to leave it rather than redo it because it will add a nice homemade character to my finished quilt!

Monday, August 5, 2013

Open Wide!

Open wide zipper pouch, that is! I finally made my first one using Anna's tutorial! One of my closest friends, Molly, just had a very important birthday (the big 3-0! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOL!!!!!!!!!) [Side note: It's a little strange to have a friend who's 30; that means I'm closer to being 30. I'm not at all the type who dreads getting older - I'm really looking forward to my thirties - but it's still odd...] Anywho, pretty much everyone and their mom has a running joke with Molly about her pencil pouch, so I decided to make her a flashier one. 


The main fabric is something from Windham that I won, the bottom is Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in Flax (first time using this - LOVED IT!), the zipper pull is Roundabout Dots from Moda, and the lining is Woodlands from AGF. 


I made the smallest size and it came out a bit smaller than I imagined, but it still fit all the office supply goodies I added!



The only thing about this that stinks is my fault! Rather than basting or pinning zippers, I use Steam-A-Seam. It works great and I've never installed a zipper without it. But here I put the Steam-A-Seam all the way to the end before reading the pattern, so you can still see some of the residue near the zipper tab where it's exposed.  Next time I'll just have to remember to not cover the entire zipper.


Thursday, August 1, 2013

Needles on Fire

The last few weeks I've barely touched my sewing machine, but my knitting needles have been busy! I think it's something about the heat of summer. My sewing corner is tucked away out of the line of the air condtioner, so with the iron on it gets a bit toasty. But with knitting, I can position myself directly in front of our window unit and feel the cool blasts while my needles click clack away. Plus we've been watching some good shows on TV (House of Cards, Newsroom) and I don't really like sewing and watching TV at the same time.

Anywho, I have a few finished projects that I'm hoping to have up here in the next few weeks - I just have to complete the dreaded blocking - but for now we'll stick to WIPs. First up is the sweater I've started as part of the Summer Sweater Knit-A-Long hosted by Shannon at luvinthemommyhood. I'm pretty excited about this one! I've been promising to make Mr. T a sweater for over a year, and have had the yarn just as long, so this KAL was a great reason to cast on. After going back and forth on patterns for a few weeks, I settled on Slade from the new BT Men collection. (Sidenote: I'm now obsessed with almost all of Brooklyn Tweed's designs. My ravelry favorites folder was just inundated by BT).

Yarn: Berroco Peruvia in Oat - I'm really liking it so far
The other project is a quick one I decided to do last minute for a birthday gift for a friend (her bday is Sunday, so it's definitely going to be late). She owns and operates a small farm, so I thought this net bag from Purlbee would be perfect for when she's harvesting vegetables. Added bonus - the yarn was only $2 and is a perfect cotton and acrylic mix that should hold up to repeated use.