Interchangeable Drama

I decided to frog that Peach Melba Hat because I hate, hate, HATE my Denise Interchangebles. There, I said it! I hate them. I hate the plastic, I hate the blunt tips and I particulary hate the cables, which are stiff. UG. I frogged the project because my tension was so uneven, due to those awkward cables.

The Denise Interchangeables were a loving gift from my mother - she loves hers. I'm feeling very guilty about them, but at least I gave them a seriously good go. (Sorry Mom! *hangs head*).

So today I threw in the towel and bought a set of HiyaHiya interchangeable sharps. After years of Denise Needle guilt, I wanted a set of
interchangeables that I LOVED. So I resolved to buy exactly the set I wanted in the colour (the cases come in different colours) I wanted. I phoned around and didn't have a lot of luck, but Lettuce Knit had a good supply of them so I decided to drop by and check them out.

First of all, the store has changed hands! I was so surprised! A friendly French Canadian woman greeted me and after awhile, I realised that she was very much in charge. So I asked - Sylvie's owned the store since July 31st. She's an executive assistant by day and runs the store in her free time.

The bad news is, the only small sharps available were in the red case. And I hated the red case. I had my heart set on the teal case. I said as much to Sylvie and she laughed. "Switch the cases - it's the needles I'm selling!" So I did! I switched the small set of sharps into the beautiful teal case (and it really is lovely - instead of a floral it has a geometric pattern).



I also bought a new set of Hiya Hiya 2.5 DPN 'sharps' console myself for not getting the Signature 2.5 'stiletto' DPNs I really wanted (maybe for my birthday?). I also bought two skeins of Borroco Vintage in black. As soon as my orange sock is finished, I'm going to knit up some legwarmers!

I've already cast on the Peach Melba Hat on the HiyaHiya circulars and oh my, it's SO much better! I'm very happy with my purchase!
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Return of the Fuzzy Blue Sock

I had the nicest afternoon yesterday. Sundays are my day off - I sat in my comfy chair to knit and read.

I (re)started the cuff on the blue fuzzy socks last night. It took me a few hours to cast on and get through that ribbing, but it's now ready to go. I like having a back-up even knitting project for commute-knitting in case my current project gets too complicated. So far, I'm finding that there are two types of knitting that must really be done at home consistently (rather than on TTC, intermittently): Ribbing/cuffs and heel-turns. Shaping the toe of a sock is probably best done at home too.




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Pattern Madness!

Last night, I bought a pattern for an heirloom baby hat and then regretted buying it because I'm wondering if I can actually pull it off by myself. I'm show pretty good restraint in yarn acquisition, but I seem to have a bit of a problem developing with patterns.

I bought Kate Atherley's book of simple accessory projects. There are a some really fun patterns in there I want to try, including cowls and *leg warmers*! Her first book, 'Beyond Knit and Purl', offers sections on cabling and colourwork. I think I'll give these a go on my own before taking more classes.

Speaking of classes, Mitten Boot Camp is in two weeks! I'm excited for that. The weather has been warmish, but I'm sure we'll certainly be into mitten weather in Janaury.

Last night, I cast on for the red sock, *again*. But this time, top-down. I think it will look nice. I'm loving my sock knitting adventures!


On the sewing front, I had a fantastic idea yesterday afternoon. One of my sewing books features a dish-towel pattern that includes light embroidery into the finished product. I could add a panel of plain fabric to my eye pillows, then embroider messages on them!

I was pondering where to buy embroidery floss when I remembered my craft bin. In it, I found several old cross-stitch projects (unfinished, because they were massive) along with all the floss for the projects. The embroidery fabric is stained and brittle, but the floss colours are really nice. I have embroidery hoops and needles too!

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Orange Sock #1

I finished Orange Sock #1 yesterday after lunch, sitting in my comfortable chair and listening to an audiobook. Shaping the toe isn't hard - there's a logic to it.

Honestly, the close of the toe on this top-down sock *is* a bit pointy and weird. I wonder how hard it would be to learn the Kitchener. My knitting instructor, Kate, didn't seem inclined to bother with it, but I really do prefer a flatter toe.

The sock is also a little bit long in the foot. I'll need to knit shorter when I tackle the fingering weight socks.


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My Big Fabric Store Adventure

Yesterday morning, I headed down to King Textiles on the Spadina Streetcar for my Big Fabric Store adventure.

I really like this store - it's organised very logically and I was quickly able to find what I needed. The woman who helped me was wonderful - helpful without being intrusive and genuinely enthusiastic about my projects and fabric choices. It felt like shopping with a friend.

I picked out three crazy colourful cotton prints and three cotton solids in complimentary shades. I also bought some plain white cotton to experiment with. The fabrics ranged from $5-$7 per yard. I bought 3/4 yards of everything.

When I got home, I whipped out out my machine and had sewed up a complete eye pillow in less than 45 minutes! I even transferred the flax seed from my old eye pillow to the new one. It's looks great! Very colourful.



There was one line of stitching that was a bit crooked, but I'm still learning to 'steer' the fabric as I sew it. Also, I don't have any proper sewing equipment. I may need to use Christmas money to pick up a good pair of scissors, some pins, a pin cushion etc. I checked out six sewing books from the library. One of them has a list of recommended tools I can reference.

I started to work on the bags, but my brain was beginning to fizzle. I think I need to sew up a prototype first because they're far more complicated than the eye pillows.

I knitted a bit in the afternoon and by the time I headed out to teach my evening classes, I was working on the heel flap! I finished it by the time I got home, so I settled in with a hot cup of tea to work on turning the heel and decreasing the gusset.

It was all very straightforward and took me a little over 90 minutes to complete. I'm already on the foot, back to knitting even! By my estimation, I have about three inches to knit before I start shaping the toe. I could very well be finished with this sock before the weekend!



Before I went to sleep, I got out that red sock out and *frogged* it. I'm officially a top-down convert! I don't plan to suffer through any more wrap-and-turn and picking up wrapped stitches experiences until I'm a more skilled knitter.

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A different kind of stitch

Well, I did it. I picked up my new sewing machine and you know what? It's awesome! Teresa, the store owner, greeted me and gave me a quick tutorial on how to load a bobbin and start sewing. She even offered me six spools of free thread and some fabric so I could hit the ground running.

With the addition of some rope and bungees, my laundry cart worked great as a sewing machine transport device. The cart made it possible to carry the machine home via public transit. The entire trip took me 2 hours, door-to-door.

By 1:15, I was unpacking the machine. First bit of good news: It's smaller than I thought and even with the hard cover on, it fits neatly underneath my desk (I live in a tiny city apartment, so this was a concern). Second bit of good news: The instruction manual is very clear and thorough. I followed the step-by-step instructions to thread the machine for use and within minutes, I was experimenting with my first stitches.

Teresa seemed convinced that I would learn the basics of the machine on my own and she was right. This is *not* a complicated machine. I grew bored of sewing scraps very quickly and sewed up a little yellow cube from some scrap linen and a tiny eye-pillow bag with another scrap.

This made me wonder if I could sew up the 'real thing'. So I sat down and examined the seams of my favourite large eye-pillow and created a pattern based on that design. I tore apart an old pillow case and used that fabric to sew up a prototype.

The biggest surprise is, it worked! And it didn't look half bad! I still have some work to do with sewing evenly, but that will come with practice.
I've already worked out that for each yard of fabric, I could make 7 eye-pillows. According to the internet, a yard of fabric costs anywhere from $2 to $7. Let's say I bought $7 fabric. The cotton inner pillow will likely be a lot less - let's say it's $1 per yard. The flax seeds and lavender are probably 50 cents per pillow. The cost of these pillows is less than $1.50 each.

That's just crazy! My friend R knew what she was talking about when she said that sewing stuff up yourself saves money! I'm just floored by how easy this machine is to use and how much fun I had creating my prototype. Why didn't I do this before?!

Next week: Visiting the fabric store.

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Socks from the top down

The top-down sock class was illuminating. Last month, there were three knitters in the toe-up class and none of us had knit socks before. We struggled to complete our mini toe-up sock in the three hours alloted and it was very tough going. Kate, the instructor, mentioned as an aside that she usually recommends the top-down sock class, rather than the toe-up, as a starting point. Now I understand why: top-down socks are easier, much easier.

Aside from me, one other person (I'll call her 'Violet') from last month's toe-up class returned for the top-down class. We compared notes on our toe-up worsted weight socks. Violet had completed one sock and cast on for a second. I had finished the pair. We had both struggled a bit with the technique.

I'll be honest: I was all prepared to hate top-down socks. Mainly because of the close of the toe. In a top-down sock, you decrease to a few stitches then cinch the yarn through similar to the close of a hat. I thought it would look goofy and I thought I preferred the flat edge of the toe-up sock. But looking at the socks that Kate brought along to show us, the toes didn't look bad and everything else about the top-down socks looked a bit tighter and tidier.

And then we started knitting. Throughout the top-down class, Violet and I exchanged amazed glances and exclaimations like "What?! That's all?! The heel is done?! Just like that?!" We were gobsmacked. The group (there were five of us for this top-down class) finished our mini socks a little over two hours, with very little fuss or trauma.

After the ease of the top-down training sock, Violet was ready to go home and frog her second toe-up sock in favour of the top-down method. I have to admit, I did the same with my blue fuzzy sock (I wasn't very far along). I'm putting my red Indigodragonfly sock aside for now (I'm up to the heel on that one). Kate thinks it's a tad too big for me so it might make sense to frog it, given that I'm only a quarter way through the pair.

I had a few questions for Kate. I was curious how long it takes her to knit up one sock (about six hours) and what her favourite method was (top-down).

I'm not prepared to declare my affiliation quite yet, but it's entirely possible that I may be a top-down sock knitter. I cast on for a top-down worsted weight sock today - this time in orange. Since these are destined to be bedsocks, I chose colours that would match my PJs!

I have to admit, the best part about the top-down socks (besides their ease) may be the fact that you get the horrible, interminable ribbing out of the way at the beginning. And the best part about taking a toe-up sock class first is you get a huge amount of perspective on just how easy knitting a sock can be. At least I hope so - I'll keep you posted.

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