Cabled Hat

Here's a little fix up project I did before Christmas.

 I made this cabled hat a few years ago with the burgundy edging.  It is knit from the bottom up so to take the burgundy yarn off was a bit fiddly but I just carefully cut the burgundy yarn and picked up the stitches as I pulled out the yarn.

 I then knit a green seed stitch band and added a tassle. Voila!  New hat. I also lined it with fleece to make it warm enough for Canadian winters.

Pattern: Modified a baby knit merino-silk-cables-for-baby

I wore it all winter. It's my current favourite hat, again.

Twisted Scarlet

Pattern: Twisted Scarlett
Yarn: Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock

The pattern is from one of the ladies in the new knitting group I joined.  We meet every other Tuesday night in Pickering, Ontario, if anyone is local and looking for a knit group to join!

Anna also dyes her own yarn and sells it in her Etsy shop, Mythic Yarn.  She brought some yarn to the Knit night and it was too tempting.  I picked up these lovelies. Anna doesn't have anything in her shop right now but I know she is dying up some wonderful new yarns!

 Back to my wristlets.  The cable detail is a nice thick chain. The pattern is for fingerless gloves.  I knew I didn't have enough yarn for those and that I would mostly be wearing these inside when I am wearing a 3/4 length sleeve sweater and want a bit more warmth.

 The pattern took a while before it became intuitive but I like it!

I really like how the ribbing flows into the cables at the top and the bottom.  I wish mine were a bit longer, I started to run out of yarn so I had to stop.  I still like them.  They are the perfect extra bit of warmth on a cold day.

Back to Work

I've been back to work now for 2 weeks.  I had been off on an extending maternity leave since my son was born and I've loved every minute of it.  I've had my daughter and son with me everyday.  It is such a fun time to be with my kids as they grow and change so much.  My son is now 19 months old and my daughter is 4 years old!

I have very mixed feelings about working again. I like my job.  I teach full-day Kindergarten and I love the challenges and rewards it gives to see such little children come in not knowing how to read their name and leaving (after 2 years) being able to read simple sentences (at least, that's the goal).  I'm worried about keeping everything together.  Doing things in a timely fashion.  I've only ever been early or late to things since I had kids.  Mostly I'm worried about getting knocked out by Vertigo again.  When I went back to work after having my daughter I worked for 2 weeks and then I ended up in the hospital and diagnosed with Benign Positional Paroxismal Vertigo (BPPV).  I was off work for 2 weeks ( and I was told it could be up to 6 weeks).  When I did return to work my immune system wasn't quite recovered and I caught every tiny little cold and sniffle that came into my classroom.  I ended up missing 28 days of work that year!! So I'm really afraid of a repeat of that.  Since that big episode I have only had tiny moments of vertigo.  I can't spin my kids around and dance in circles without getting dizzy.  Two weeks back this time and no vertigo yet. 

My typical day right now has been wake up with my son around 6 am.  Go to the kitchen and get a snack for him then go to the basement where my sewing area is and a play area for the kids.  On a nice day he eats his snacks and then plays happily by himself and I work on taping together patterns and cutting out fabric.

When my daughter wakes up (after 7) we go upstairs and make breakfast.  After we eat the kids are typically happy to play, as they are doing right now.  My sewing and knitting time happens when my son has his afternoon nap and my daughter has "quiet time" (read, play quietly and watch a tv show).  Then after the kids are in bed I usually do more sewing or knitting.  I will miss the quiet rhythm of our days.

Now it's up at 6 pm.  Everyone out the door by 7:15.  Drop my husband at the train. Drop the kids at daycare.  Work till 4:15.  Pick up the kids.  Home to make supper and put the kids to bed by 7.  Everything feels so rushed and hectic.  But that's reality.  We're slowly making the adjustment!  So if my blogging is slow and my finished projects slow down that's why!  Not enough hours in the day!

Curling Sweetheart

 I love to watch to watch curling. I've only curled about twice in my life but I love to watch curling and knit.  I think I like it because it is a slow paced game but there is always something to listen to. Perfect for doing while knitting so I decided to call this my Curling Sweetheart.

 I started knitting this at the beginning of the Canadian Women's Curling Championship, called the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.  I knit through the Men's Championships, the Brier and continued to knit through the Women's World Championship and finished up before the end of the Men's World Championship.

Pattern: Sweetheart Pullover
Yarn: Swish Bare Bulky by Knitpicks

 I think my favourite part is the neckline.  I like how wide it is and the details.

 It's really comfortable.  I love the yarn.  If I was to make it again I might add an inch or two in length but overall I really like it.

I made some modifications for the edgings and raised the neckline.  Here's my Ravelry page.   I thought it would be too warm to wear at this time of the year but actually with the 3/4 length sleeves it's just the perfect layer.

This is sweater number 4 that I've finished this year. I think my favourite thing to knit is sweaters? Anyone else love to knit sweater?

First Successful bra . . and few failures

One of my sewing goals for this year was sewing a bra for myself.  I signed up for the Bra-Making class on Craftsy with Beverley Johnson.  The class is wonderful.  Very detailed but fast paced enough to be interesting to watch each segment.  The recommended pattern to use is one of Beverley's own patterns called the Classic Bra. 

I'm not posting pictures of me wearing this on the internet but trust me it's really bad!  I'm sure with anyone with a larger cup size than me the pattern is wonderful and great and you can tweak it to make it fit nicely.  For me, every change I made just made it worse.

Version 1 disappeared into the garbage. The beige one is version 2 with an A cup and longer band.  It makes me look like a 10 year old.

The spotted fabric is version 3.  I started to realize that cutting into my actual bra fabrics wasn't going to very economical and started pulling out scraps of jersey from my stash.  For this one I made a AA cup and the same size band as the second one.  There is so much excess fabric at the top of the cup it's ridiculous.

I gave up for a few weeks. Then I saw a few versions of the Watson bra, on someone with a smaller bust.  I decided to spend the $15 for the pattern.  I made a 34 AA for the front and 36 band for the back.  And it fits perfectly! I cut out 2 cups and layered them together for a bit more thickness.

I was so excited I immediately cut out another one.  For this one I used an old longsleeve shirt for the bra fabric. For the lining I used a lingerie fabric found at my local Fabricland.  It was the closest thing I could find to the suggested materials.

Then I took apart an old bra and used the foam cups in between the 2 cup layers, as well I used the straps, back clasp and channeling. I tried putting the wires back in but they were too long.  But with the foam and channeling I get wonderful support.

And then because everything turned out so well I cut out a matching pair of underwear!  Instead of using elastic like suggested in the pattern I just used a double layer of fabric trim for the waist and leg openings.

I don't think I've ever owned a matching bra and panty set before.
 So my first succesful bra make.

Pattern:  Watson Bra by Amy of Cloth Habit

 To any other new bra makers out there:  Things of I've learned

- sewing bras is not like sewing clothes, you can't try them on as you go and adjust the fit.  You have to make the bra entirely to get an accurate fit.

- don't buy any bra kits to start because until you have pattern that works for you you're wasting your money on fabric.

- hack apart old bras and steal the findings rather than buying them. 

- Find a cheap source of elastic because you use a lot of it

- this article on boob shapes was so helpful, I found it while reading Sew Pretty in Pink's post about   cloning a Bra

If you are interested in bra making at all many very talented people are participating in Emerald Erin's Bra- A - Week Sew along.  There are pictures of many beautiful bras.

Beverley Johnson offers 2 day bra sewing at her store in Hamilton.  Since I'm only about 1 1/2 from Hamilton I'm hoping maybe this summer to go and actually take a class with her.  As I said the online class is great for learning how to make a bra . . . . but I need a lot more help adapting the pattern to me.

Snow and Rainbows Toque

Snow and Rainbow toque for my daughter!!  She loves it.  It's perfect for this cold Canadian Winter we are having.

Pattern: Frosted Alpine Hat by Tanis Lavalee

I love this pattern.  My son already has one.  I will be knitting this in different colour combinations for my kids each year.

The yarn is the rainbow yarn I dyed for my daughter's sweater.  I love how the striping showed up so well in the toque.

What's your favourite hat pattern?

Magic with Sticks

Today my cousin and her husband and their dog came over for lunch.  I haven't seen them since their wedding in August so it was so nice to catch up with them.  My kids were enthralled with Chewie, their dog.

The conversation turned to knitting as my cousin is just learning how to knit.  She has knit a headband for herself and is now working on a baby blanket for a friend.  What a great way to start!

Her husband said he is fascinated by knitting that is just seems like "magic with sticks!" I loved it.  It is magic.

You take a ball of string . . . or yarn and use 2 needles and with the right manipulation you end up with something wearable, something to keep you warm and cozy and beautiful too!

  It is magic.  Enjoy your magic knitting time tonight.  I know I will!

P.S. Yarn pictured above is Mythic Yarn - available on Etsy