Weekend progress

Sorry, not photos today of my progress.

Only four more rows to knit on the first MICH mittens.  Then it’s onto the thumb and conversion to a flip top.

Saturday night I knit a Swiffer duster cover from Crazy Aunt Purl’s book Home is Where the Wine Is. using Lily Sugar ‘n Cream in lime green.  I think it is just flat and pushes down into the “grabbers” on the top of the Swiffer.  I haven’t used it yet but I’m wondering if the “grabbers” will tear my cover.  Testing and report due at a later date.  (Like once I get my computer back and in working order.)

Sunday I made half of a secret project for a friend whose birthday was at the end of July.  We met for brunch yesterday and told her I was making something for her and as soon as I finished it, I would send it to her.  I worked on it last night and it’s almost finished now.  I will take pictures before I send it to her.

You are worth it

When I was in 8th Grade Home Ec (I’m a year younger than dirt), we made basic A-line skirts.  I found this lovely suede cotton and begged my mother to buy it for the project.  I don’t remember how much it was per yard but it wasn’t that expensive.  She was looking at the $.79 a yard fabric and I was looking at the $1.29 fabric or something like that.   My Home Ec teacher just so happened to be in the store at the very same time and overheard our conversation.  She told my mother that she should reconsider her decision and allow me to get the suede cotton.  If I didn’t like the fabric, I wasn’t going to wear the skirt.  She also reassured my mother that she would make sure I didn’t ruin the skirt.

Well, my mother decided she would get the fabric for me.  And I didn’t disappoint.  In fact my sister and I shared this skirt throughout high school.  By the time I graduated, it had seen better days.  But it was worth the cost of the fabric.

Which brings me to my point.  If you are going to spend the time knitting or sewing something, get the good yarn or fabric.   Get enough so you can play with it, get the feel of it, practice with it, swatch it.  Then go for it.

Life is too short to knit something out of yarn you don’t like. It takes a lot of time and effort to knit.  If you don’t like the yarn, you won’t wear it.  Rip it out and knit something else out of it.  Or give it away.

You are worth the “good” yarn.

And speaking of yarn…I made some substantial progress on my mittens last night.  I’m altering the pattern by making a slit on the palm so the top part will fold back and expose the fingers.  Not sure if I will make fingers or just add an extension for fingerless mitts.  I may also do the same for the thumb so the recipient can text while still keeping their hands warm.

Maybe I’ll even get a picture of my progress.

Chinese Auction and Lace Hem Top

We went to covered dish get-together this weekend and were to take a White Elephant gift.  As it turned out the White Elephant gift was really a Chinese Auction.  There are various versions of a Chinese Auction.  For this version those who participated drew a number from a hat.  When that number was called, the person chose and unwrapped a gift.  If they didn’t like it, they could swap with someone else.  Obviously the first few people didn’t have much of a chance of swapping for a “better” gift.  

The gift we took was destined for our yard sale.  

Mr. Aitch was third to select a gift.  It was a crystal candy dish with a lid and resembled a Hershey Kiss.  I suggested he swap that for a canvas bag filled with gardening tools.  Pretty and useful.  Too pretty and too useful as it turned out.  That gift was THE gift and exchanged hands many, many more times.  After the last gift was unwrapped and swapped,  the first person got an opportunity to swap since she didn’t have a choice at the beginning.  BTW she was the one that opened the canvas bag with the gardening tools in the first place.  And that’s what she ended up with after all.   

What did Mr. Aitch get?   

The gift we took.  It’s going back to the yard sale box.  

On the knitting side of the weekend I got about half way done on the back of the Lace Hem Top.  I’m hoping I can make great progress on this today and perhaps even finish the back!  Mr. Aitch doesn’t understand the concept of a “sweater” for the summer.  I tried to explain that it isn’t a sweater, it’s a knitted garment.  Not all knits are sweaters.  Whatever.  

Lace Hem Topping 7/11/2010

Cascade Ultra Pima in Heathered Pansy.  

This has a lace border and I’ve not really done much with lace.  In fact the only “lace” I’ve done is/are the eyelet sweaters.  I wet the sweaters when I was finished with them and blocked.  I used acrylic yarn.   

How do I block this cotton?  Steam block?  Wet block?  

Sell or donate? Pattern decision

I really need to and want to declutter.  I kind of got of track the past week or so but am determined to start back up again by going through one drawer or cabinet a day.

I want to reap some monetary benefit from all this stuff and have a yard/garage sale with but that takes a lot of time (and help).  Do you find it better to donate or hold a sale?

My goal is to finish part of the basement for a proper craft room where I can organize all the many materials I use and to also have a place for my kids and grandkids to be crafty.

I decided to knit different sweater/shell/tank out of the Cascade Ultra Pima. 

Lace hem Topping from Creative Knitting July 2008 issue

It’s from Creative Knitting magazine July 2008 issue and it’s featured on the cover.  The yarn is supposed to be a worsted weight (same problem I have with the Eileen shell from No Sheep for You) but since this isn’t supposed to be knitted as tight as the Eileen, I decided I can use a knitting gauge/stitch converter and still make it fit.  What a FABULOUS tool this converter is!  As it turns out this converted to the exact stitch count for a larger size so I can knit this without having to blindly convert the shaping !