Making a Muslin

This is a term I just heard last week, because I’ve been sewing for about 30 seconds now and am thoroughly shocked that I stumbled across such a useful concept in such short order.

This is especially true because it seems that the compulsion to design is not limited to crochet or even knitting, but apparently extends to sewing as well. I made my girls two identical skirts from a Sewing for Dummies pattern as my first real project. The second one I’m designing myself. It’s a very specific thing and I could not for the life of me find a pattern that was close enough to what I wanted. I made a quick mockup for feasibility and got ready to make the real thing.

But then I heard of the making a muslin thing, and I’m so glad I did. I decided to do it. I’ve been working on this on and off all day and I’m not more than half finished. Turned out to be more complicated than I thought to put this together. And I’m not doing it using fabric that I’ll be bothered by destroying. I’m very pleased. Means the project will take two weekends instead of one, but it will be worth it for a truly awesome finished project. Yay!

I seem to be going through a phase where all I want to do is knit.

I am so not complaining about this.

Right now I have Shapely Boyfriend, Turn a Square, and a pair of house socks for the boy on the needles. This is a *lot* of knitting for me all at once.

I love it so, so much. Pics to come eventually.

New pattern time! Introducing Pretty Little Shells.

This is a “spa cloth,” y’all, made from KnitPicks CotLin DK.

Seriously soft when washed, beautiful to look at, generously sized, and an easy gift project that will still stun the recipient…what’s not to love?

Available through Ravelry, Etsy, and right here on the site.

Gah! I drive myself crazy sometimes!

I left the sweater I was knitting at work.

Fail.

I guess I’ll just have to work on one of the afghans I’ve got going. There are only…4 of them? I think. 3. And a giant baby blanket. I think.

Time to go through the WIP baskets, methinks.

A bit of design news

I was waiting for word on a submission, and I got it: I’m going to be self-publishing, which is my thing anyhow. No disappointment, because the design still gets to reach the world! It’ll probably take me a couple of weeks to get 2 samples finished along with a few decent images, because things are Just That Busy (are you as tired of hearing that as I am of saying it?) But I’m really looking forward to getting this one out there for you! :-)

More soon.

RHSS

I know it’s practically heretical, but I’ve talked here before about my love affair with RHSS (that would be Red Heart Super Saver, for any of you who have never had the pleasure of encountering an OMG-teh-ebil-squeaky-babby-melting-acrylic thread). There are…new colors. New colors that I must have. New colors that need to find their way into the giant-granny-square-blanket-that-may-never-be-finished. And scarves that won’t get ruined when thrown into the wash. And the sweaters I really want to make for the kids. And that big-ass blanket I cut up.

And we’re not even going to talk about Red Heart’s new With Love

Chains.cc

Have you ever heard of this site? I found out about it through the most excellent UfYH (strong language warning for that site, folks), and I’m trying to use it a bit to get myself back into habits that I’m sorry I fell out of. Like crocheting or knitting at least a little every day, or posting on my blogs, or household chores here and there.

Just a little in love with both sites (and completely *ahem* obsessed with UfYH).

Another ode to the granny square:

I’d love to put this in poetic for, because it’s fun. And a proper ode needs a proper form, yes? But alas, tonight is not the night.

I suppose this is more of a thank-heavens-for-the-granny-square, which always comes to my rescue when I’m too scattered or stressed to work on something more complicated, which can soothe me just by moving my hands through those familiar motions, which can make me fall in love with crochet again and again and again, and which can be stitched together into some of the loveliest afghans ever conceived.

Thank you, my very best yarny friend. Thank you, indeed.

A couple of quick notes:

Shapely Boyfriend is coming along nicely. I haven’t done much work on it since my vacation ended, but it’s not fighting me back when I do work on it so at this point it’s a roaring success.

Work is nuts at the moment but staffing relief is in sight. I have a ton of design ideas right now so I’m hoping very much that I’ll have a chance to execute them soon. I miss turning my ideas into awesomeness!

Also, I am now terrified of plants.

Shapely Boyfriend

So I decided I wasn’t going to let the sweater thing beat me and I cast on for Shapely Boyfriend:

image

So far, so good. I seem to be getting gauge and I’m rather happy overall with how it’s looking. All of those nifty increases! My knitting looks fancy. :)