Category: stitch

November 24-29 11/24 Well, I have finally decided which pattern to make with this glorious yarn I bought at the fiber festival a couple weeks ago. I’ve started working the math for this 1940s pattern and cast on my first stitches. The original pattern is 80% too small for me, so I’ve worked out a…

November 19-20 Aranami Shawl I finally finished knitting the Aranami Shawl which I started years ago, only to set down for some reason, then left it. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been plugging away at it and finally bound it off, washed, and blocked it. I’m developing the story for Outfit Of The…

Oh my gosh, what a whirlwind this was to knit! I wish I would have blogged more about it along the way because I truly learned SO MUCH from this project. Firstly, and probably most importantly, I went 100% outside of my comfort zone and learned to steek. I will not lie: this was very…

Second Skill Set: Casting on. So this cast-on was entirely new to me. It’s called a tubular cast on, and it took me a few tries to get it right, as well as realizing halfway through that I had used the wrong needle and had to rrrrrrrippit back. The tubular cast on is pretty cool,…

As has been noted, I am re-raveling the Dude Sweater for Justin using all one fiber and a new pattern which knits in the round, and is therefore straight knitting, not ribbed. This should be a lot more fun to knit, but it does stretch my skill set a little (as all good projects should).…

I can’t believe I didn’t write (not even) one post about The Dude Sweater that I made for Justin a while back. I mean, this was an epic project that I had planned as a freaking Halloween costume gag, but ended up taking me two years, and now I just ripped it all back to…

One of the best things to come out of social media algorithms is how I fit Taproot Magazine‘s customer profile. This magazine really is everything I could want: it’s ad-free, crafty, visually appealing, well-written, and has lots of applications for household waste. It practically is me. In issue 40: Cure, was a small quilt project…

Well, I might have fallen in love with a new mending philosophy: Sashiko. I foresee a long, home-bound winter ahead. In preparation, I bought a subscription to Craftsy: partly because I’ve been meaning to and partly because they had a $5 sale for the year, so I could see if I would even use it.…

Baghaggin like a real hag these days. When I moved my stuff out of the classroom this spring, I found a big box of balled up plastic bag yarn that I guess I must have balled up over the last couple of years. It’s all separated by color and texture. I remember doing it, but…

moJAVe masks are cloth masks made in honor of our brother-in-law, whose initials were JAV. He and my brother (his husband) had recently bought a house in Palm Springs (near the Mojave). I chose the symbolism of the desert because is a place of invisible, but undeniable, community. Joe died from Covid-19 on March 30,…

I was planning to help a friend make a Gertie swirl dress yesterday, but I think her day must have gotten away from her, so I started without her. Friday night, I cut and prepped all the pieces. I meant to photograph it, but it was hot, and my place is small; I just didn’t…

I found this potentially awesome sweater at Savers a little while back. The thing was that it had these really weird knit long sleeves which didn’t really match anything. It is black (good), with cool embroidery along the upper chest (very good), but wow: who authorized these strange sleeves? I wish I had a photo…

So this morning I finished slashing & spreading the pattern to approximately fit my body. Now for the “muslin” which I’m hoping will fit well enough to wear.  I chose a nice green & cream gingham from my pattern stash, but decided to cut the bodice (at least) on the bias. Of course, I don’t have…

It’s March First and it’s still snowing. I’d like to be as every other New Englander and complain about it, but I’m just done. Maybe we’re all done. It’s time to adjust to the “new normal” of cold, bitter snow and probably-forever winter weather. So I can’t go outside, and half of our things are…

So last night I started a 2 new batches of kombucha: one from the baby SCOBY, and one from a forming SCOBY from a GT Kombucha purchase.  This left me with the momma SCOBY, and I left her in the jar with her liquid, hoping she’ll make more babies with herself. I got to thinking: these…