Some finished little clothes

It used to be that I could see threads in fabric, and doing things like cross stitch over squares made of two threads was easy. It's no longer easy...with my reading glasses (not bifocals), I can just do it. Sigh. But it came out ok.



So this makes the shift done. And cute. As long as I was at it, I ironed pleats into the sleeves, just to be silly. You can see them, a bit, if you look closely. A simple shift like this probably wouldn't have those pressed in pleats, I suppose, but they are hard to do, at least if you don't want to burn your fingers, so I keep trying, to see if I can.


Clearly I have some work to do.

See? The cap is done, with a cute bow and ribbon to tie behind. Nice shift, the skirts that will attache to the bodice, (which is all cut out, but still in pieces), and the apron.



We'll see how much I get done tomorrow. Eyelets...I don't have green silk for eyelets. Blast. I could've gotten it from Sue, had I thought of it on Wed...or even earlier today.

LIttle clothes coming along

This isn't really exciting...but things are becoming wearable! The little shift just needs marking and ties or button links for the wrists (ties for now, certainly!)

shift

The bodice lining is basted, boring boring...gotta stitch it properly in the morning, and cut out the outside fabric.

it's a lining!

The skirt waist is all pinned...that is the most nuisancy part of it. Whipping it in place will be quick, now.

pinned waistband

I'm sure Anna will LOVE her pockets (also half done, no photos yet)...so she needs slits to get at them. I think I made them a bit too long, though. She has tiny little hands!

pocket slit


It really is starting to look like a gown skirt!

More linen cuteness

Anna's cap is done! I still want to make a ribbon bow to put on the top, to tie behind her neck, but that will wait for a calm time, when I don't feel like getting something useful done.




They are pretty boring, when spread out flat, but it makes it easier to iron, if the back is on a drawstring.



When it's pulled up all the way, it's just such a sweet little cap! I tried to copy this one, the one the blue girl is wearing. I liked the ruffles...they are box pleats! Box pleats are easier to make than gathered ruffles, look better with less fullness (so less hemming), and are easier to iron, as you can just plow the iron right over them! So, box pleats like the painting or gathered ruffles? No contest!

Testing, 1, 2, 3! N

This is just a test to see if iPhone a d blogger place nicely together. The answer is, sort of. I have to grab any photos, first, because flickr and iPhone don't play nicely. At least, I haven't figured out how to do it, yet!

But, I've been meaning to post my crutches for a while. Today, I had PT at 9, and my knee worked until 8:00!!!! Clearly, there is hope, that I won't need them forever.

Forest Clogs for Alex

I got this pattern from Meg Swansen. It's going to be in the new book she's putting out, on her mother's garter stitch work: Knit One Knit All! I'm really looking forward to it! I have preordered my copy.

Here is my adaptation of Elizabeth Zimmermann's pattern for funky clogs



I cast on and went merrily along, until I realied I was knitting way too tight, and they were way too small. (the color above is too pale)

So, I redid the toes, and here I am, getting ready to do the really weird (easy, but weird) shaping on the foot/instep.


I decided that my pattern was not quite what I wanted, so I lengthened the ball of the foot part, for more coverage, and made the sides higher. I appear to be almost incapable of following a pattern without making changes. But, I LOVE doing so on EZ's patterns, because I have perfectly good brain, I know how to use it, and I use it to make my knitting do what I want it to do!

But, my changes aside, it's a fun little pattern, really fast and easy, and took less than one ball of Sheepsdown yarn! I've decided I really love this yarn. I'm working on an afghan out of it, too. It's funny, though...it's a bit delicate, for all that it's so thick. Ok, that is a "duh". If it were more tightly spun, for more strength, it'd be thinner, with the same weight of fiber, so to get this thickness, with more twist, it'd need more fiber, making it heavier and stiffer.

Here they are in all their finished glory!

Teddy says they are radish shaped. Teddy is a strange child.


They are not at all a teal color, they are really forest green.



They look much smaller than they are. Garter stitch stretches so much that if you don't make 'em small they'll fall off after a few weeks!

They are for Alex, who's about to spend a year at St. Andrews, in Scotland. It's cold over there, and raw, so he needs to have warm feet! Good luck in school, Alex! Enjoy the Scottish Weather!

Colonial Tinies

I'm making a set of colonial clothing for a little girl. She's tiny, so are her clothes. I have her first cap almost done, just going to add some more ruffles.


I'm attempting to copy, more or less (in a coarser fabric) the cap on the Ludwig's Blue Sash Girl.




We were at a party, so I tried it on. I need to pull the strings in back a bit tighter, she is clearly at the small end of this cap, but the baby size would certainly be too small. So, since I rather doubt Anna will shrink, it's perfect!

Here are her shift sleeves, languishing in my bag (caps are more fun):


But the apron is completely done.


These clothes are fun! I'm making them to free up our friend Steven, who would otherwise have to make her new clothes, so that he can help my son Teddy, who's turning 16, put this together:



It's a big project, the wood is only roughly shaped, and the is a bunch of metal work still to do...

Teddy is about the happiest boy in the world, right now!

I don't wanna sew

Since I don't want to sew or, really, I don't want to make a pattern, when I saw this knitting survey, that was just the ticket!

Here is a knitting survey that is going around…

Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing. And I add red for UFO

Afghan/Blanket (2, mostly done, but not quite, an other 1/4 done)
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn Camel? How about alpaca which is much nicer? YES!
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn --- it's just rayon...why bother?
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn -- again, it's just rayon
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn-- again, it's just rayon
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn only swatched so far
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street) -- um, no
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book -- would like to, don't expect to, but I will put out a few patterns, soon
Scarf
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)

Knitting to make money yeah, right. I don't think it'll happen
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors I've done this with fabric, not yarn
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living well, knitting IS living, for me ;-)
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking swatched, but there is a cute little dress in Cast On....
Dying yarn Kool aid
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows I can't believe it, but I don't think I've ever actually made a pillow....at least not knitted
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug for a dollhouse...made many!
Knitting on a loom but never finished...boring
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets I have my son making a dog bed, I may finish it up, since I want it done!
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories I used to finger knit (two finger) hair ribbons all the time!
Knitting in public

I guess I knit a lot ;-)