I'm juggling lots of projects, and actually managing to finish some now and then. I have three more days of work left before I get a summer break. I'm ecstatic. But that just means a lot more projects to work on. Ah well, at least I'm never bored.
First up in the finished category: Zadie's Blanket:
After I finished weaving I zigzagged the edges and washed it on gentle cycle. I let it air dry and the last bit of water vapor left it just in time for my new walking foot to arrive in the mail.
A walking foot is a sewing machine attachment that allows multiple layers of fabric to glide through easily as they are being sewn together, without trials and tribulations and great gnashing of teeth. I did a few test runs with it before using it on the actual blanket, and I was totally amazed. The blanket edging went on with just a few pins here and there to tack everything down, and really I could have sewn all the layers and kept them going straight even without pins if I'd not been just a teensy bit nervous.
Next up, two finished objects in the knitting category: a sweater and pair of bloomers, also for baby Zadie:
The sweater is the Garter Yoke Baby Cardi knitted with Debbi Bliss Baby Cashmerino. This is very nice yarn and I would totally use it again. The yarn was a gift from my sister, about six balls all in this lovely creamy white. I used two balls for the sweater. The pattern is easy and I was really liking it but I made a mistake in the garter stitch portion (really? REALLY?). (You know how you can be knitting along and suddenly realize that maybe you didn't slip a stitch off the needle? One row back? Pause for gnashing of teeth.) I did try to fix it, but it still looked funky.
So, I crocheted a wee little flower and sewed it on and it actually looks cute. Like I meant to do that!
Totally works for me.
Now the bloomers. They are from the book Cute and Easy Baby Knits by Susie Johns. Another enjoyable knit using the baby cashmerino:
Cute as a button. Then I washed these two knitted items in preparation for their photo ops. I was arranging the bloomers and happened to catch a glimpse of the ghost of a (the horror!) different color. WTF?
See that? Up at that top? That's where I ran out of one ball and changed to a new one. Uh huh.
See that sleeve? The other one is just like it. They were added after the body. With different balls of yarn from the body. It looks like I totally meant to do that, don't you think?
The moral of the story: Check your dye lots, even if the yarn is white. Especially if the yarn is white. I don't think Zadie will mind though.
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