Still Stitching

Posted on April 17, 2023 by MissCarlotta

Its been awhile; a long while. I debated the continuing to blog vs not, and I guess I have decided to continue after all. (Either that or my arm is bugging me and so updating a blog isn’t stitching so perhaps it will be less stressful)

I am pleased to report that the Christmas Advent handing calendar seemed to be a success. So too with Santa’s laundry line. I did not finish my 365 quilt, but I did make it to August 4th, so that’s past half done. I did assemble the center and there is a pair of borders (dark double and light single) and larger foundation corners yet to go. Back on the goals list it goes for 2023 I guess!

On the knitting front, I did finish my sparkly lace shawl. I ended up frogging the sweater that was in progress. I decided the hem line was not particularly flattering and I’d be happier making up something new. And found a cardigan pattern with pockets! I’ve cast on but its early yet. And we are once again in Sock Madness season, which I’m partaking in because I always learn something new.

At the end of last year, I decided to do some work on my antique train set and its mostly been researching and finding storage solutions at this point, but seeing as I’ve already branched this to both knitting and quilting, and I’m actually not all that deep into the trains (they were inherited from my rail fan father) I’m not going to go much into detail here.

Mostly, this year I have been deep into a very late spring and planning to remodel the bathrooms in our home. I am eagerly looking forward to no more carpet in the master and the tile countertop. You may see a bit in the future as I’m likely to be making the curtains again.

Between sock rounds, I generally do a brief pick up of my crafting space. Earlier that led to a mini rug being made for under my jade plant that lives in that space, but this time around I decided to write out my various quilt projects to-do list and where they were at…. it was A LOT. Like 18 quilts long not even counting the latest request from my mom-person. Three of those are at the just need to be quilted stage; one being my wedding quilt and I am not sure I’m at the skill level I want to be to quilt that. One just needs backing pieced and then it moves into that pile too. I have five kits and one all the fabric bought for front and back so… just need to make the time. Of course the 365 is on there. So my goal now is to make significant progress on this list this year.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Repair

Posted on May 18, 2020 by MissCarlotta

So as someone with a not so tiny fabric and yarn stash, I’m doing alright at crafting in a time of Staying Home for Covid. It certainly doesn’t hurt that its also Sock Madness time so for brief bits of time I have specific projects to occupy my time. This year I made it into Round 5, and we came up against a rather technical sock and I didn’t make it into the Final Five round Six, but I’m still plenty pleased with how I did since to me its all for learning skills and making socks. This year there was a significant portion of colorwork socks in their various forms. Here’s a few including the vibrant yellow of a warm up pair but just one of the three teal & aqua I ended up making with a fourth planned for someday soon. But at least I have reduced some of my yarn stash right?

April was slated to be a pair of Hermoine’s Everyday Socks in my Mystery Stash Bust along… but the timing felt like I’d be running into other Madness rounds so I substituted in a pair of Morrison socks which were a DK weight. Theses were on a yarn dyed by Black Trillium whom sadly is getting out of yarn dying. So I may have partook in the going out of business sale and this is also partially why I have such a stash. In my defense… the socks and a couple of the skeins are for Ben so….

May is also Conan’s 17th birthday month. So to tackle his gift it was decided to make him a heated car bed. You can buy a basic heating mat to place under the cushion in a traditional store bought bed, but you can’t just expect a cat that regularly sleeps on Stargate beds to sleep on something from the store… so into the fabric stash I dove. I will admit I am a fan of some of the novelty cat prints and came up with a cat and mouse design that seemed big enough for the project. I quilted the cat fabric through two batting remnants into a fabric that back in my much younger days started out as a sink skirt in an apartment with almost no storage. (Reuse!) Then I added bolsters with more cat fabric on the interior and a durable Sunbrella fabric on the exterior. At the bottom I made a pillow of some fleece remnants and stuffed that with overlapping edges and scraps of fleece batting and pillow stuffing.

The heating mat slides between this pillow bottom and the quilted topper. The bed was a pretty big hit and is large enough for at least two snuggling orange cats. Conan is pretty good about sharing with Kaylee

Quite some time ago in 2015, I picked up several Row by Row quilt kits and even went so far as to assemble an umbrellas and a rain boots set of rows.

umbrellas and boots

And that was as far as I got but with me trying to organize my stash and use up… I found fabrics a couple years back that also exemplified the rain and with a bit of pondering and math I decided I could make something of them if I turned those rows back into blocks. (Recycle!) So I pulled the seams and did a bit more math and am able to present at least the center of a Rainy Day quilt top!

Sadly while I do have enough of the Rain drops trim, I am mostly out of the Umbrella tops fabric (and the novelty toss) which I think would be an ideal border so its going to probably sit a bit longer until shops re-open or my online wandering find a new solution.

Which finally brings us to the repair portion. This happens with socks… sometimes far sooner and more often than I would hope for, but there it is. I know I have posted before about the use of duplicate stitching and making patches to fix them, but my husband presented me with a unique problem recently in his Bamboo socks I had just made up last October. He wore BOTH the toe soles out of them!

So I decided it would be best just to take out that portion of the toes and reknit them back from the yarn I still had in my partial balls stash. (I’d like to say this is the reason I keep them but honestly its that I rarely make up scraps projects)

Step one is pretty easy, you just snip out the toe and then start unraveling like you were unhappy with it, until you end up with a row of loop stitches. Then thread your needles through the loops, join your yarn and reknit back down the toe. Be sure to look carefully which way your yarn is on your needle as I find I tend to pick up twisted and then need to knit the first row through the back of the loops to get it to untwist.

Now, yes there is some color variation due to wear, but a few washes along and it will even out a bit more. You can also (I did this on one of them) use the yarn that you pulled out of the toe and duplicate stitch reinforce that area where the hole formed to give it a bit more sturdy of fabric.

Whew…. that was quite a lot going on in April and early May… and I didn’t even get into the next sweater of the year… guess I’ll save that for next time. 🙂

Looking Ahead to 2018

Posted on January 3, 2018 by MissCarlotta

If you’ve read my year end/years beginning in the past you probably know I don’t really make resolutions. I do set out ideas and monthly goals and try not to get too worked up when something goes off the rails. (Hello, last year’s quilting goal!) Life happens, and you just have to roll with it.

So here’s the plans thus far for 2018 and maybe I will surprise myself again. I certainly didn’t set out to kit 11+ miles and double my socks knit count last year!

On the knitting front, I have 3 more sweater quantities of yarn coming from my Neighborhood Fiber Co. Sweater Club subscription, and I’d like to knit them up before the next one arrives. Thus far I knit up a lovely cardigan and I’ve picked out my next yarn which should arrive sometime this month.

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Additionally my husband bought me yarn for a Havar Sweater Dress. (Maybe Valentines Day outfit??) I am still committed to my Op-Art Socks though I was a bit of a slacker in December and knit neither KAL pattern, so now I am a pair behind. (Though I totally did knit a different pair of socks that month… it counts right?) I have also committed through admiration to test knitting a lace weight brioche shawl by the same designer as my Weirwood Tree Shawl. So perhaps fewer projects but of greater yardage is the plan for this year.

On the quilting front, I am tempering my number of quilts goal, though the guest room green and yellow modern is still on the list to be finished.

Guest Quilt Top

All that being said, I am a bit of a sucker for beautiful quilts and the woman behind the 365 Day quilt (which, again, I have not finished…) is doing a Block of the Month that is downright gorgeous, so I’ve signed up for her Aves Quilt A Long.

One item that can not be overstated enough is how organization helps with actually getting things completed. I try to keep my stash updated on Ravelry so that when patterns catch my eye or when I’m contemplating what to knit next I have some idea of what I have without needing to go up and sort through the yarn bins. Alas, there isn’t (or at least I haven’t found it) a Ravelry equivalent for fabric and quilting. So with the aide of my husband, I started a database to input my fabric stash so I can sort through what I have and perhaps liberate the ones I’m not madly in love with and find solutions for the fabrics I really do love. So this year is going to be year of the fabric stash organization. Right after I put away the Christmas decor….

Past 10 miles (as the Stash Grows)

Posted on October 26, 2017 by MissCarlotta

I swear there is some yarn harmony rule that says for all yarn that goes into a project, more yarn must come into the stash that keeps my stash in a kind of stasis. Now it is entirely my fault and in theory a good round of “Cold Sheeping” (A knitter’s term to describe a period of not buying more yarn) would tame my stash pretty well. I have cut back quite a bit on how much I was thrift yarn shopping which does help with eliminating a number of one-off skeins. However, having given up all my hand knit sweaters because they no longer fit, I decided to join a sweater club. In theory a person who is now up to 19 socks this year should be able to knit a sweater every few months… right?

At any rate… my first sweater yarn has arrived. (Excuse my messy photo)

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My plan for this yarn is to make a lovely cardigan to go with a couple new dresses. The yarn did include a nice cardigan pattern, but I think I might swap it up with a different choice.

In other news we are now up to design 4 of 19 from the Op Art Socks Book. This one took me three attempts before I was satisfied with the color combination. After which Ben promptly proclaimed that he liked them too. Thankfully the man doesn’t have too big of feet.

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Next up on the agenda is a project that is LONG overdue. The yarn has been in my stash since 2013 when my (now) Mother-in-Law took us to an Alpaca farm in Kansas when we were there that winter and asked me to make her a scarf. She knits herself, and is very special to me, so a simple thing just would not due. So the yarn has languished in my stash waiting and waiting for its time on the needles. Well its time has come… and I should be able to update the blog next time with a finished object using this very meaningful yarn.

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Sock-u-pied and Stash Flash

Posted on June 15, 2017 by MissCarlotta

A normal year of sock knitting for me, is Sock Madness of 5 or 6 pairs plus a few extra pairs spread throughout the year for until now 10 pair a year. So I am rather pleased with myself to say that I am now at 11 pairs of socks already this year.

Round Three

Round Two

Caoua Coffee’s Albert de Montcref Socks

You’ll notice I finished the second of the test knit socks. The pattern, called Runway Socks, is now available and there is a discount code on the pattern page for the next few days if you want to make a pair of your own. The tetris-y looking socks were the semi-final round for this years Sock Madness, Pentoeminoes. Alas, my East Coast team rival managed to best me with a finish while I was part way up the 2nd leg (they were toe up)

Now, I would understand if you concluded that I was done making socks for the year, but I mentioned to my teammates how I had committed to making several pairs of Ludwigs from the Op Art Socks book and would be looking to knit all the socks from the book since I received it for my birthday last July. So now I am committed to KAL the rest of the book. If you want to join us for a rather casual KAL, the details are over in this Ravelry thread in the Sock Madness group. There will be two pattern options open for knitting each month and you can knit both, one or neither as your heart desires. There are no prizes other than the satisfaction of knitting 19 pairs of socks with a group of other people all doing the same thing.

I did get out to a few shops during the LYS Tour in May. And Ben even joined me apparently to pick out more yarn for more socks. (This winter seemed to have created a sock wearing monster!)

The Orange in the first photo was used in the Runway Socks above. The brown and the CoBaSi left of it have patterns spoken for them already too. The three left side yarns in the right photo have been earmarked for Ben. They join an Opal and another Hazel Knits already in the stash with his name on them.

In non-sock news I have been putting in the rounds on my Glocinella and am about half way through the 2nd set of long leaves now. I still have over 80 rounds to go and I am hoping to finish that AND the KAL lace shawl AND the OpArt Sock by the end of July.

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In non-knit news, my house is mostly reassembled. The main living areas downstairs and the Master and one Guest bedroom are back together (sans the grandfather clock). My sewing machine is back at the work table and the shelves are together in the library. The yarn stash has returned to its stash space, but I’m still sorting out the solution to my plethora of fabric boxes… which is probably why I haven’t been quilting lately. I am thinking I may give this month’s upcoming Quilt Shop Hop a pass.

Keep Busy and Keep Going

Posted on February 21, 2017 by MissCarlotta

Sometimes the best you can do is to just keep moving in the general direction of where you want to end up. Then the next thing you notice you are already well on your way to a pile of stuff that somehow managed to get done.

I attempted to start my latest finished shawl on our holiday road trip. And while its well written its spread across a few charts and as someone that sometimes has eyes wander in a chart, it was put on hold. But I’m happy to say my first project with Stellina (aka sparkles) is complete.

The pattern is called Weirwood Tree. I suppose a more dedicated knitter than I would have knit it up in white and then hand dye-painted each leaf that burgundy/magenta of its namesake.

Also on the knitting front, its approaching Sock Madness time, and yet I managed to plan out extra socks to make, and even finished a pair for Ben, who has since decided he actually likes hand knit socks. And I churned out a brioche cowl for a KAL this month too.

Yep, that’s me

Caoua Coffee’s Albert de Montcref Socks

Future Colorwork Combos

And last but not least I said I wanted to make 5 quilts this year… so I managed to put together another quilt top (I have the backing and binding fabric for this already)

Yes, it is a Christmas Throw Quilt. No, I don’t have plans for it other than to make it. The design is called a Four Patch Lattice and goes together rather quickly.

Next Up: Expect a bunch more socks, Maybe a sweater, and I should probably get around to quilting one of these quilts…..

2017 Craft Forecast

Posted on January 2, 2017 by MissCarlotta

I know; I know; I don’t update for a couple months then BAM! three posts in a day. As I’ve said before… this started out mostly for me, so I’m not even sorry. Just as I am not sorry about all those extra holiday feasts, cookies and chocolate. So just like last year I’m going to layout some ambitious goals for the year and let’s see how close or far we get!

In the quilting department my list of in progressed/planned/ideas is at 23. I’m going to aim for finishing 5. In particular I’m declaring my Wedding Flowers, The Guestroom Quilt, Scrappy Snowflake, and a Contours Quilt (bought kit – paper pieced) with one wild card quilt option.

On the knitting front, I want to go for third Sock Madness, and a Double OtterBingo (which is a KAL year long project with the Reddit knitters group. I’ve got a number of yarns stashed so I shall try to stash down a bit. (She said carelessly as she browsed more yarn for sale) I’d also like to spin up a bit more of my fiber I got last year.

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A variegated Rose color

House plans are kind of large this year as we want to redo our floors this year which may turn into one of those more major projects, but we shall see. I’d also like to focus a bit more on my flower beds this year, including our community cul-de-sac which I revamped a bit last year, and get the room I sew in straightened up a bit, because let’s just admit that an orderly workspace can often be a more productive workspace.

Last year I put a big focus on improving my health and saw some success, so I want to keep that trend line going in the right direction.

Quick Tip: Keeping Track of your yarn labels

Posted on November 8, 2016 by MissCarlotta

I thought I’d share one method I sometimes employ for keeping track of my yarn labels.

First I wind my ball of yarn as usual:

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Then I fold my label so that its smaller than the width of the center of my yarn ball, and then hold this over that center pillar as I pull the yarn ball off the winder. This leaves the label inside the yarn ball.

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If you also pick up that center pull end and put it inside the folded label, it makes it fairly easy to find that center pull for later, although this does end up removing your label from inside your yarn ball once you start working it.

Of Failures, Fibers and Finished Objects

Posted on September 28, 2016 by MissCarlotta

So let me start this off with an apology. When I started my blog it was just about knitting and probably 90% or more for my own edification. Then I made a couple things and a few things more and found myself with a blog that while not front page news is being visited more days than not out of the year. So this year I started off with a goal of bumping up that post number so there would be a bit to read a bit more often… and its looking an awful lot like I’ve failed at that, but I hope you will forgive me as I keep trying to keep up.

I was kind of holding off on updating this time because of my failure feelings, so you can probably imagine my surprise when I have six finished objects to share.

First up, I finished my twisted two color socks made from yarn swap yarn!

The pattern for these is an obscure free one called Twisted. Its done without a cable needle and for me, I decided to continue the design on the legs, which meant going up a needle size.

Then I turned up the full steam of “really its only 180 more rows” and finished up my There and Back Again Hobbit Scarf even before Ben’s birthday. I figure this way he can wear it on the winter trip rather than finish for Christmas and have him freeze before then.

Now if I had this to knit over again, I’d probably not have chosen single ply yarns (the pills!) and I’d have picked a true solid instead of a tonal. That said, the charts are exceptionally well done and its an epic scarf with an epic tale.

Now at this point I shall remind you that I was yarn swapping last post and so point out that my gifter sent me some AMAZING gifts, including a glorious skein she spun herself (on the left here).

This is relevant because whenever I do a yarn swap I have a wonderful time picking out the yarn to give which is then immediately followed by shame and guilt over yarns that are still in my stash. There is yarn in my stash I was gifted three years ago. You see… I have this thing where gifts are significant to me, and thus yarn gifts need to become something significant and meaningful. And there are a few yarns that end up in that pile too… such as the Araucania Lauca yarn which was a wool, camel and silk blend.

So I fixed that by knitting up a honey cowl, and in true “leave no yards behind” mentality I also made up a matching slouchy hat.

Now September and October are currently lace knit along months and so I started out with a lace and bead cowl. The yarn for this one includes Sea Cells in the blend, which is made from the cellulose of sea weed fibers, and when I saw it on the yarn crawl this year I knew it was in need of something with beads.

I should mention that this is my first time using bicone style beads and they are taller than a typical 6/0 bead so instead of border beads on the side of the pattern I just did a simple purl stitch. I restarted this so many times before I did that change just trying to make it work. This was a classic example for no one is judging your final project based on the tribulations you went through except you…. unless you tell them.

Which brings us at last to the sixth finished object. Technically this was cast on way back in January, but at that time I had a bit going on and this is a pattern with both front and back side charting and is one of those projects you kind of have to pay attention to… but boy is it worth it.

This is in fact another swap yarn and you may remember it from the Maple shawl. This time its a white oak lace scarf, and there is actually a bit of this yarn left… I’m contemplating a matching hat to finish it off, but don’t hold your breath just yet on that one.

Whew! That’s quite a few finishes.

But wait!… There’s More!

I did put Fiber in the title for a reason… and not just because I was going to namedrop so many different fibers either. It was actually about something that came just today. I found a thrift auction for 6 lbs of wool fleece, and it was a good enough deal that I bought it.

For yarn reference there are over 450 grams in a pound and most average commercial skeins weigh either 50 or 100 grams. Its a very big bag.

The majority of the bag looks to already be washed and is ready to be carded then spun. There was a smaller amount of it still “in the grease” which shows it was a bit of a curly hair breed.

So we will see how this new endeavor spins out.

And lastly a WIP update… I need to get back to my tulip cross stitch.. I did make it past the half way spot, but I’m a bit behind for where I wanted to be at this point.

2015 Recap

Posted on December 31, 2015 by MissCarlotta

So its that time of year when I take a moment to see how things went in the past year. And looking back this year its looking pretty good.

In 2014, I didn’t finish any quilts, and I set a goal in 2015 to finish seven. Well, I finished five.

The third Star Trek Quilt!

TA-DA!

I did work a bit on some others and hatched a few more plans for quilts, but this brings my completed total to twelve.

I knit over 14,000 yards and I did indeed focus on my stash, some shawls with beads and on socks. I eliminated one of the three overflow stash boxes entirely!

I knit twice as many socks last year as I had in all my knitting time prior!