Category Archives: finished objects

Patience

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I had to tink* (That’s for you, Leah!)  back to beginning of the gull pattern on the February Baby Sweater.  I’ve made some headway but it’s still not ready to travel with me to work on during lunch.  I need to be confident in what I’m knitting so I don’t have to carry all my gear in case I need to tink.

I made another swiffer cover.

Mr. Aitch and I tried to MacGyver** our vacuum cleaner on Monday.  It’s a canister type and has a “power head” that is controlled by a switch on the handle.  This thing is nine years old and was designed to fail at the connection between the handle and the wand/power head.  The electrical connection has too much give so when you push the handle/wand/power head, it works.  Pulling it back disconnects the power.  So we cut a synthetic wine cork and tried to wedge it into the space so the connection would stay.   Didn’t quite work.  I thought I would try it again and cut a bigger piece of cork wanna-be.

Mr. Aitch doesn’t have the patience and just ordered a new vacuum.

Sometimes I have too much patience.

*tink is knit spelled backwards.  Used when you have to unknit, frog, or rip out a few rows or stitches.

**MacGyver was a 1980’s TV show starring Richard Dean Anderson.  He used everyday things to get out of harm’s way such as a paper clip to disarm a nuclear weapon.

Knitting Police

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Ms Ida’s Chain Link mittens are in a time out until I figure out how to finish the ends as I don’t like the pointiness (made-up word).  

MS Ida CLM right back

 

Courtesy of Knit Picks Ms Ida Chain Link Mittens

 

 I’ve got two Swiffer covers almost finished.  It’s just the sewing/seaming on the multi-colored one.  Have I mentioned how I hate seaming???  

Swiffer covers

 

The green one was from a pattern I can’t find right now (but it was 17 stitches in seed stitch using size 7 US needles, knitted for 15 inches) and the multi one from this pattern.  

At first glance the multi one looks like a keyboard.  Heh.  

I knew a woman many years ago who knit sweaters for herself  and her husband during lunch.  She could get a sweater done in a week.  I asked her how she finished her seams as it takes me almost as long to seam up something as it does to knit it.  She said she gave the pieces to her mother to seam.  And she sewed them on her sewing machine.  

I had never heard of such a thing.  Isn’t that against the law?  Isn’t that just wrong on every level?  

Yet the Knitting Police never arrested her or her mother.  

I live in fear of the Knitting Police therefore I rip out and redo when something just isn’t right.  But sewing seams on a sewing machine on hand-knitted items is just sacrilege, is it not?

Secret project #1 finished

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Here is my first secret project.  These are in the mail and I don’t think my friend reads this blog. 

Purple and variegated

 

I used acrylic yarn and attached soles made from leftover scraps of “replacement” carpet used in Mr. Aitch’s truck.  I got the carpet from a Big Box store and it is thin enough to cut with regular scissors, to sew with regular needle and thread without hurting the hands, and wears very well. 

Purple slippers with sole

 

I have tried using wools and acrylic yarn and I don’t notice a difference in wear so I used what I had.  I did knit a pair for Mr. Aitch with one strand of acrylic and one strand of wool and hemp blend.  He hasn’t worn them yet and I am curious how the hemp will hold up. 

I L.O.V.E. this pattern.  It is seamless.  I used two worsted weights yarns held together and size US 9 needles since that’s what I had available.  I usually use US 8 needles but they were in some other UFO.  The only other modification I do is repeat Rows 3-6 one more time so I have 13 stitches.  I pick up 11 stitches on each side.  I don’t like short sides as they seem to fall off my feet.  By doing this, I change the total stitch count.  I’ll write it up and post it in my pattern tab.  The pom poms are a bit thin as I ran out of yarn.  Plus it’s been ages since I made pom poms and forgot how much yarn they use! 

My grandmother made similar slippers but they were flat and you had to sew the back and top seams.  And since I’m all about no seaming, these were perfect.

FO: Lace Hem Topping

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I finally finished the Lace Hem Topping as shown on the July 2008 cover of Creative Magazine.  It took several tries to get the crochet edging so it looked good and laid flat.  I should block it again but it can now go into my FO folder!  

FO- Lace Hem Topping

 

FO - Lace Hem detail

 

Yarn: Cascade Ultra Pima in heathered pansy  

Needles: US 6  

Crochet hook: E  

Size: 38 (medium)  

Modifications: Many.  I used a lighter weight yarn (DK) instead of the worsted weight the pattern called for and also a smaller needle to get a gauge that would relate to one of the sizes.  I used the size 46 (X-Large) directions for everything but the size 38 (medium) for the length.  

It was a great knit even though I got frustrated and had to rip back to the armhole shaping and reknit both the front and back.  I made the armholes too long and couldn’t live with them that way.  I think it took longer to reknit the second time and learn how to do the crochet edging than knitting it in the first place. 

As much as I’d like to knit on the Ms Ida Chain Link mittens or start one of the five baby sweaters in my queue or start two secret projects, I really need to declutter and straighten up the house.  Mr. & Mrs. Aitch’s B&B will have guests (even though they are family) coming this Friday night: 

  • Beds need to be made.
  • Floors need to be scrubbed or vacuumed.
  • Islands and counters need to be cleared.
  • Bathrooms need to be refreshed.
  • Laundry needs done.
  • Knitting needs to be out of reach from toddlers and dogs. 

OK, maybe moving the knitting will be the last thing I do Friday evening but I want to do the rest of my list this morning so I can devote the rest of  the day and upcoming evenings to knitting.