Sockalong Finish

January 20.

February 22.

I love 'em! They are thick and there are only some shoes that fit when I'm wearing them, but they're really warm. The week I finished, the weather turned cold and I was glad to have them.

Nightgown Extension

It all started when my favorite 100% cotton nightgown was in the laundry, so I wore a long sleeved cotton tee top (and flannel PJ bottoms) that had ribbed cuffs that.stayed.down. while worn as sleepwear. I remembered my son telling me he likes the tee tops he has with ribbed cuffs better than those with straight cuffs, so I decided to add solid black ribbed cuffs to my favorite black patterned nightgown. Win!

 

Then I bought another 100% cotton nightgown at the Fire Survivor’s Thrift store. It’s soft and pretty, but too short by a l –o – n-g way, doesn’t even cover my hip when I lay on my side in bed. DH said, “You could sew on an extension, like Nathan’s tee shirts.” So I went to the local Senior Center Thrift store and found a 100% pima cotton tee shirt in a solid color close enough to the print that I could live with it. I went home with plans to lengthen the body by as much as the black one is long. When I sat down to begin, I found that the tee shirt was long sleeved with ribbed cuffs. Ah ha! I used the sleeve and ribbing to lengthen the sleeves and decided, as long as I was making the gown longer, why determine the length based on the black one? Why not make it as long as I really wanted?

 

A Total Win-Win! Now this is my favorite and sooo much warmer than the others that are three-quarter length. This one not only covers my hip when side-lying, but also my knees. Total spent: $4.00.

 

 I thank my son for the inspiration.

Atwood Cardigan Redone

I've finished the back and one front and sleeve of my husband's cardigan. Before I cast on for the second front, I had the bright idea to sew the pieces together to see if they fit so far. Better to find out now than after the entire sweater's knit and assembled.

Well as fate would have it, the whole thing is too small. It's too tight across the shoulders and too snug around the arm. Argh. I know I measured him last year when I started the project. Could he have grown?

With some out of the box thinking, he said, "Can't you insert a panel somehow to make it bigger?" What a great idea! I called the knitting group expert and she came over and reviewed the math with me. Instead of having to rip the whole thing out and start again, we decided I could add an inch to the front and back, which would increase the armhole and then knit a one and a half inch panel to be sewn into the side seam. Then I'll just add stitches to the second front to increase it as well.

I love this yarn, I'm enjoying my new square needles and it's all knitting, which I love to do. So why does it feel like such a set back? I remind myself I'm a process person, not a product person.

Woven Heart Baskets

An annual favorite of mine. These are made very much like woven paper heart baskets. But first fuse the fabric to Heat 'n' Bond front and back, then follow the instructions for cutting out and assembling.