Category Archives: WIP

WIP: for babies and boys and a very little bit for me

Sigh.  Work in progress pictures are such a snooze.  Or maybe I just lack creativity in this area?

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Above is my progress on the latest of cardigans for Miss Màiri.  A ‘Baby Mine‘ that I’ve been wanting to make for ages now.  Now that I’m to the section of lace where it’s just a two row repeat, it’s perfectly suitable, carry it around with me, mindless knitting.  Excellent.  The yarn however, which is a lovely, soft, organic merino, isn’t showing the kind of initiative with stitch definition that I would like.  Which is a bummer since I’ve had this vision of the exactly perfect finished sweater in my mind for so long.  I’m hoping that some careful blocking will make up for it.

I just finished up another project (alright, alright, I still have one button left to sew), but it’s a gift, so I’m not going to share it just yet.  It was a pattern of my own design and having walked away from it for a couple of days now, I’m seeing all sorts of things that I would have done differently.  I’m also not sure that I did very well with the sizing.  And since I’ve already found a suitable recipient for the first version (who happens to fit into it perfectly), I think there is a good chance that I might just start over again.

And below is exactly how far I managed to get on my own birthday knit…

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Impressive, no?  I couldn’t get the chart to print out properly and sitting in front of the computer screen, knitting, just doesn’t do it for me.  Unless I’m watching a movie or something.  Which is a very happy thing to do (good knitting + good movie= contentment), but you can’t exactly read a knitting chart off of the computer at the same time.

On the sewing front, I’ve finally worked up the nerve to pull out the quilt that I’m making for Galen, in hopes of finishing it up for his birthday.  That is, if I can get my sewing machine working properly again.  I was working on a little project the other day and my machine has taken to adjusting stitch width all of it’s own accord.  So I’m sewing along and now my straight stitch is a very wide zigzag, back I turn it and back it goes again.  Very irritating, that.  Not to mention gross insubordination.  Doesn’t this dang thing know who’s in charge??  (please don’t let it know that I have no clue what I’m doing… and on that note, anyone have any ideas???  help!)

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sewing, WIP, Yarn Crafts
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WIP: a full basket yet again

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Somehow my work basket is full again.  I don’t even really know how this happens.  After The Birthdays I swore I was going to keep things simple.  I try to keep most things in life fairly simple, but when it comes to crafting, I just have some kind of manic compulsion or something.  I can’t seem to stop myself.  When I creative urge strikes, it’s hard to just let it go.  The problem is that there is just too darn many of them and they all over-lap into a great big jumble, which then becomes…stressful.

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Oh, but I have my excuses (like any junkie really).  Here’s how the current collection came to be (over the span of say a week of so).  First I cast on something that I’m designing for a certain child.  Being a custom knit, I can only work on it when said child is about and I can see if I’m getting the proportions right as I go along.  Sssoooo…of course I needed something to keep my hands busy at other times.  Enter my own little birthday knit (because it’s tradition, remember?).  And well, that was all fine and dandy, except I’m using a pattern on-line that I haven’t managed to get printed yet, so the other day when we wanted to watch a DVD on the laptop, well…I couldn’t continue on you see, but still needed something to be productive with, so out came the pattern and yarn for a new sweater for Little Rosebud (you see that I obviously had to do that, don’t you??).  So, one project is now three and for all of that, I still don’t have a “mindless knitting” type project on needles, you know, the kind that I like to have on hand for car rides or helping kids with their work or any of the other 80 thousand possibilities for times when I could be knitting  while also doing something else.  No, nothing like that.  One has lace, the other color work and the third, being designed as I go along, requires both thought and the ability to jot down notes.  So, who knows what new projects next week will bring!

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WIP, Yarn Crafts
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WIP: the birthday sweater report

It’s been a while since I gave an update on my progress with these!

Galen’s is all but done. I worked in the ends, Thanksgiving morning, over a game of Scrabble. I do need to finish sewing on the buttons, but, seeing as his birthday is fairly late in February, I have some time!

~Màiri’s dress in progress~

I took a chance and worked on this one out in the open. Sometimes Galen takes an interest in what I’m working on, sometimes not to much. I was careful to keep it in a heap in my lap, which was generally unrecognizable as much of anything. And he didn’t take any notice, until I was working the very last button band. And then the conversation went something like this,

“Who’s that for??”

“We’ll see.”

“I hope it turns out to be for me. I wanted something that was just that red….brown…..red-brown color! If it ends up being for me that would make me very happy.”

“hmm”

“If it doesn’t end up being for me and you have more of that yarn, can you make something for me??”

~Galen’s sweater in progress~

I love this notion that he seems to have that I just make things at random and then see who they will fit. I thought it was funny that he never even asked with “it” was. Just so long as it was made of that yarn, he didn’t care.

I’m ecstatic about how it turned out. And I’m with Galen, the yarn is beautiful. I’ll be sure to get some better photos of the color when I post the finished project. It was a quick and easy knit and everything about it was exactly what I was looking for. I can’t wait to see it on him!

I’ve got a bit of extra yarn and I’m considering making a hat to go with it.

I’m rather behind on Màiri’s and Iain’s. Figures, doesn’t it? I finished up the back, both front pieces and the better part of a sleeve on Iain’s. At this point I’m trying to decide what kind of buttons I want to use (thoughts?). I did find some that I liked in a cursory glace a few weeks ago. But 6 buttons at $5 a piece equals not a chance! They were neat though. They were made of tiger’s eye.

~Iain’s sweater in progress~

The sweater seems so long and thin. But then again, so is he. And it’s got a ton of sideways stretch, so I think it’s going to work out just fine.

I had finished the back on Màiri’s, but then I managed to unravel a shoulder, so I’ll have to go back and fix that now. I’m nearly to the bodice on the front, which then leaves the finishing the front, both sleeves and all of the trim.

I still have one more little knitting project that I’m trying to complete in the next 5 days (to go with a sewing project that still needs work), but all things considered, it’s something of a long-shot. We’ll just have to see how things go.

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WIP, Yarn Crafts
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WIP: the great Christmas pajama race

My life’s purpose at this moment is centered around the making of Christmas pajamas for my four little ones. That’s it. Seems simple enough, right?

Well, maybe.


Today I managed to: find the fabric.

And not much else. I unpacked the box that reads, “MELODY NEED THIS NOW”. And while all that was true, there were about 20 other things that Melody needed, that weren’t in the box. After the rearranging, unpacking, repacking, stacking, and unstacking, of several dozen boxes, now Melody has everything she needs. Everything that is, except for the entire day that was lost to the search.
(and for all that sorting, I still haven’t come across the nail clippers *or* my size 4 knitting needles. I tell you, I have half a mind to chuck all of those boxes out the window right now…. but I really should find those nail clippers first…)


I don’t know how far I’ll get, but I have to at least try. I’m taking my own advice and going easy with myself, in-so-far as not holding on to keeping my work a surprise. The downside of that is that a finished product is now expected. Oh, the pressure.

Break time’s over!

Now to find a space to work…

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celebrations and festivals, sewing, WIP
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