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Thursday, November 20, 2008

Cross stitch for Mom


Here is the framed project that I cross-stitched for my mom's birthday. It's not stitched perfectly, but certainly with love. It was my second project after a break of, oh, maybe a decade from cross-stitching. So I'm pretty happy with how well it turned out. The outer mat is forest green, with a white inner mat, and a gold frame.

I gave it to her on Saturday, which was about 3 months late. We exchanged birthday gifts late instead of mailing them. She came up to Clarkston, Washington, to visit family and I went down to see her. Clarkston is about 45 minutes south of me. My grandma Joy (Mom's mom) and aunt Stacie (Mom's sister) came along with her from the Portland area (Oregon). It was great to see them.
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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Semester project

Here's the top view of my sample book for flat pattern drafting. We've been drafting all semester with 1/2 scale slopers and this notebook collects all the patterns together. They have to be polished and professional and I am almost done! Just 2 more to go. I've been going through every page to double check that all the labels are correct and that there are no stray pencil marks. Learning pattern drafting has been the most fun I've had in at least ten years! I am finally learning how I can make my clothes fit better, in addition to fitting others.
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Day after a wind and rain storm in north central Idaho


This is the time of year for leaf soup. We had a great deal of rain last night, with some minor flooding of the streets around here. The leaves clog up the drains and many homeowners just don't clean up their yards.

The street on which I live has some pretty trees. I was walking Duffy today and noticed this knothole - it's even got a nickel in it.


Today's sky was alternately sunny and dark, with the high winds blowing storm clouds through before they could drop anything on us. Sunshine was such a nice change.

The last picture is of a little church on the next block. I really like the style of what was a house, and I like the sign.
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Windstorm

It's been a windy day - dark and gloomy. The wind sounds like it will last through the night. A good evening to hunker down with some knitting, but not for me. I'm working on the last few patterns for my sample book project. It's due Monday and I've got 5 patterns to go.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Finished Projects


This is a cropped halter top I designed in Crystal Palace's
Summer Net yarn. I love to work with Summer
Net, as well as Big Net.


Close up of front neck.


My first pair of socks! I knit them on 2 circulars
using Ann Norling's "Adult Sock Pattern." I found
the pattern to be easy to follow. I used cable cast
on for the top and decided it's just not stretchy enough
for me to make socks that go further up my calf.
The yarn I used is Cleckheaton Country Naturals
8-ply. It was lovely to work with and has yielded
a sock that is warm and comfortable. I would
use it again for other projects.

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Current Projects


Christmas stocking I'm making for Mom. It's from the
book "Knit Christmas Stockings!: 19 Patterns for
Stockings & Ornaments" edited by Gwen Steege.
The red is a cranberry color and is the same red as
I used on the stocking below. The yarn used is
Lion Brand Wool-Ease.


Stocking I made from the book "Socks Socks Socks."
The pattern is named "My Christmas Stocking"
by Claire Kellogg. It turned out smaller than I
would have liked, but I like the design and the top
treatment. Please ignore the ends I still have to
run in. Each point around the stocking will have
jingle bells sewn to it. This might be a gift for my
dad, or I might make a larger stocking instead.
I've not yet decided. The yarn used is
Lion Brand Wool-Ease.


Front view of a vest I am developing in Musique.
That's Duffy in the top left corner of the picture -
he just couldn't resist getting his pic snapped.
I'm not happy with how the front band has turned
out. Because of Musique's thick and thin nature,
it is distorting the stitches. I think I will rip it out
and do it again with fewer stitches to keep the
vest from forming points.


Detail of the top left shoulder.


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New blog

I've been using my other blog, travelswithduffy.blogspot.com, to show pictures of my dog and keep my family up to date. However, I wanted to separate out my knitting, sewing, design, etc., from the other news. I will get some project photos posted asap, as well as a few of my patterns.