Mama's Blanket

This is a Knee Blanket I made for my mother. She has bad knees and always carries a blanket with her to keep them from getting cold. This is a tuck rib pattern called "Hearts and Cables".

Chain Stitch

 This is one of the letters on Adam's PJs. They were too plain in straight white so I'm working a chain stitch around them. For this I am using a tapestry needle and actually "embroidering" the chain stitch. It's exactly the same stitch as if I'd used a crochet hook and drew up loops through the fabric. (which, by the way, I tried) This, in my opinion, looks waay better. Using the tapestr needle gives me better control of the tension on the yarn so my stitches come out more even. Plus, working a crochet chain through a fabric is really awkward. It's difficult to see what you're doing and where the yarn is.

You can see the difference in the two pictures. The "E" I made with the tapestry needle for the "G" I used the crochet hook. Notice how th stitches are much smaller and tighter. It's hard to tell from the picture, but those tight stitches are actually causing the fabric to pucker a little bit. I'll have to take it out and redo it later. For now though I'm going to bed. Good night, all!

Lace!!!

Singer 560 Lace- simple lace on bottom, fashion lace on top

Finally! I made a lace sample that didn't jump off the needles or transfer wrong. This was made on my Singer 560 electronic. Previous attempts were made on a Studio SK280, a punchcard machine. I don't know if the electronic "brain" vs the punchcard is what made the difference or if I just am more experienced now. Either way I'm excited to finally be able to knit lace.

Adam's PJ Pants

These aren't completely finished yet, but I couldn't wait any longer to share them. I still need to work in all the ends and work a chain stitch in yellow around all the letters (maybe). And, of course, they need to be washed. They are a lot baggier than I envisioned them; nut this was my first time using the knit contour, and I had to make my own pattern. Next pair I'll taper the legs instead of making them straight.

Soo Bored...

It's snowing in Missouri, again! I am so tired of snow. My boss makes me stay home when it snows, so I'm stuck at the house with nothing to do. I'd much rather be at work; dealing with people's flooring issues is so much better than being stuck at home with nothing to do. Luckily, Blogger supports mobile blogging, so at least I can rant about being bored.

PJ Pants & My Knitting Machine

Front, Left leg of PJ pants

This is one of the front pieces for my husband's PJs. The "G" is a little wonky, but believe me it's the best looking one I could make in this font.

On a side note I am absolutely loving my Singer 560. The patterning capabilities are amazing because it's electronic; and the built in knit contour makes garments incredibly easy to knit. Also, the electronic "brain" is built-in, so there's no need to buy a pattern controller or any software. What's even better is that if I ever want to invest in DAK this machine will work with it!

New Fonts

Have you noticed? Blogger has added new fonts. 77 to be exact. Soo much better than being stuck with Arial and Helvetica all the time.

Brett's Slippers

My son is 17 months old and absolutely refuses to keep socks on his feet. The last week here in Missouri we've gotten a lot of snow, so it's been kinda cold in the house. I determined that Brett needed a pair of slippers. The pattern is from Red Heart and is actually supposed to have a bunny on top. Of course that made them to "girly" for my little man. So the bunnies made a quick exit. I added some extra height and a button around his ankle so he can't pull them off.

Birdseye Backing

Studio machine birdseye backing by setting carriage to slip, then pulling EON out to D every row? Time consuming, but worth it? And will it work?

Weekend Projects



Hand Knit Elephant



Ok, so maybe they were weekday projects; but when you're snowed in what else are you going to do?

To the right is a hand-knit elephant I've been working on since before Deanna was born. She's only 4 months old, so I guess it's not been that long. 



Hem

 
This is the hem on a pair of PJ pants I'm working on for my Husband. I'm really excited about them; this is the first thing Adam has asked me to make for him. I'm hoping they turn out good.; I haven't had much practice with the knit contour. 



The picture below is the actual back piece of the pants. This picture was taken right off the machine; after they have been sewn and washed the curl should go away. (Yes, those are my toes holding the hem down for the pic!)

Back Right PJ Pant