Action Hero : : Knitting Weblog

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:02:00 +0000

I started in on the sleeves after casting on several more stitches at each end. I haven't had much time for knitting the last couple of days, but will try to carve out more time after work tomorrow.

Much Better

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:05:00 +0000

This is the back of the Flutter Sleeve sweater. I just finished the ribbed waistband and the remaining top section of stockinette should knit up quickly. I'm liking the way this project is turning out much better than the fisherman's rib jacket. The weather here is a little gray still, so this could turn out to be the perfect layering piece.

Goodbye for Nau

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:29:00 +0000

Nau, a local clothing company focusing on sustainable and environmentally responsible business practices is closing. Everything on their website is 50% off. Go check it out!

R.I.P. = Rip In Peace

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:12:00 +0000

I spent a lot of Sunday afternoon working on this zipped jacket from the latest issue of Rebecca. I watched three movies while I was knitting: 27 Dresses, Feast of Love (filmed in PDX!), and There Will Be Blood. I finished the sleeves and was in the process of joining them to the body. I looked at what I had done so far, and decided that I didn't really like the way it was turning out. The fisherman's rib was looking really bulky and the selvedges were all stretched out due to the nature of the stitch. So, I ripped it all out and found another project. The Flutter Sleeve Cardigan from the Spring 2008 Interweave Knits.

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sun, 04 May 2008 16:34:00 +0000

I finished my Liberty print halter dress last night aside from the hook and eye I sewed on this morning. The pattern, McCall's 5315, is starting to grow on me. I wasn't completely sold on it before I started, but I liked the halter and thought it would showcase the fabric nicely. There are four pleats on the front and the back and they create this slight tulip shape on the skirt, which is fun. I was hesitant to start the project for fear of working with such expensive fabric, but I decided I needed to suck it up and just go for it. I thought the Liberty cotton would be very delicate and unforgiving, but I was wrong. Even after ripping out the zipper once, as well as a couple of other minor seam mistakes, the fabric was no worse for wear and held up nicely. It was really great to work with and sew.

Click to see close ups of the dress bodice and the pleats.

A Little of This, A Little of That

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:20:00 +0000

Carolyn was in town in this weekend and after having a nice Saturday breakfast with her and Amy, Mariko, and Melissa (and Augie!), I still had some free crafting time this weekend. I did a bit of knitting on the jacket sleeves. Progress seems so slow on this project, but I'll keep plugging along. I also managed to cut out my Liberty print for the halter sundress. I'm afraid to start sewing for fear of messing it up and wasting all that fabric.

The last thing I worked on this weekend was filling up my portfolio. I'm near the end of the fashion design program and this term, one of my classes is Portfolio Development. We're working on resum�s and cover letters and selecting a concept/theme that the portfolio is built around. I'm looking through sketches, technical flat drawings, and all of my previous classwork to select representative pieces. I was dreading it, but it was actually fun to see the progress I've made.

Weekend Update

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:04:00 +0000

I spent the weekend doing a little bit of sewing and knitting. I actually finished knitting the body of the chartreuse jacket the other night. I actually knit more than the directions called for, but I figured that woul dbe fine since I didn't want it to be too cropped. I bound off for the armholes and put the rest of the stitches on holders while I cast on for the sleeves.

Once that was done, I finally decided what to do with the Liberty cotton that I got at the Bolt sale the previous weekend. I wanted to make a spring/summer dress and after looking through my patterns, decided on this McCall's pattern, view C with the halter bodice. I think I'll probably shorten it a bit. I pre-washed the cotton and cut out the pattern. I hope to make time to cut out the fabric tonight!

I also got some new sewing machine feet. Instead of a flimsy plastic invisible zipper foot, I got this one made specifically for my machine. I'm excited to try it out! I picked up a couple of rolled hem feet.

Ribbing

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 01:03:00 +0000

I've been working on the ribbing a little each night for the past week or so and this is all I have to show for myself! With all the slipping of stitches, progress is SLOW. I like how it looks though.

New Start

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:23:00 +0000

I cast on for this sweater last night with more Lion Brand Wool-Ease, this time in a color called lemongrass. The pattern calls for fisherman's rib, but I haven't knit that in a while and the written directions were baffling me. Internet to the rescue! I found this great tutorial from someone in Germany who reads the Rebecca forums regularly. That was very helpful and now I'm on my way. After looking through the forum, there was a pattern correction for this jacket: alt K1 P1 instead of alt K2 P1.

Bohemian Mod Dress

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:09:00 +0000

I finished this dress yesterday afternoon. I was a bit daunted by the prospect of having to do the all-in-one facing, but that turned out to be the easy part. The hard part was the invisible zipper because my invisible zipper foot is worn out, especially when sewing on the left side. I had to use the seam ripper several times to get that right. It's a plastic zipper foot that has gotten a bit warped with time, so I'll need to get a new one. After I learned how to sew in invisible zippers, I never use the regular kind anymore. Since redraping the dress and making some slight alterations, it fits me perfectly. It will be great to wear once the warmer weather hits.

Long Ribbed Jacket

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 22:02:00 +0000

I finished seaming the jacket and sewing the pockets on late last night. This morning, I threw the sweater into the washer and dryer and it looks great. I've already worn the jacket out and in this rainy, cold Portland weather, it's surprisingly warm. I really like having the pockets too.

Pick Me Some Pockets

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:50:00 +0000

I finished knitting up the sleeves a couple of nights ago and got started on the two pockets. I have a couple more inches to go and then I switch to the smaller needles and plain ribbing. The pockets will actually fold over and then be sewn in place. I may have a new sweater for the weekend! Then, it's back to finishing that darn dress.

Bead Simple

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:13:00 +0000

I had lunch last week with Mariko and Susan and was fortunate enough to receive a copy of Susan's new book, Bead Simple. There are 150 projects, with something for all skill levels. I especially love all the drop pendant projects. If you're local, go check out the Bead Simple event and demo at Powell's (W. Burnside), upstairs in the Basil Hayward Gallery on Monday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m. Congratulations Susan!

Spring Thing

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:46:00 +0000

I finally got around to sewing this dress project today. I kept putting it off because I thought it would take too much time. In actuality, it only took about three hours to sew up the bodice lining, as well as the bodice and skirt. Right after I took this photo, I gathered and sewed on the skirt. I plan on doing an all-in-one facing using this Burda tutorial. I had tried doing something similar for my final draping project, but didn't exactly figure it out. In a lesson learned from that final project, I also added some lightweight interfacing to the contrasting waist sections, so they get less wrinkled. I'll try to sew the facing tomorrow and insert the invisible zipper.

Super Long

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:11:00 +0000

I finally finished the fronts of this jacket last night. I had actually finished it the other night, but I read the directions wrong and had to rip out 20 or so rows. The small strips will be sewn onto the back neckline and that's the part that had me confused. I kept knitting armhole decreases without taking into consideration the placket ribbing that would need to extend to the back neckline. Luckily, each row had only 17 stitches, so it didn't take too long to get back on track. Onto the sleeves!

Knitting Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:58:00 +0000

The weather this weekend shifted between sunny one day to rainy and cold the next. Whatever the weather , I spent a lot of time knitting with an armload of DVD rentals: Into the Wild, Rendition, Saw IV, Ira & Abby, and Atonement. These are the two fronts of the jacket and I'm just about to start decreasing for the neckline. I kept forgetting the knitting pattern on the wrong side, and instead of knitting in the stitch below for the knit stitches, I was following a regular knit rib pattern. I had to frog several rows here and there.

Jacket Back

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 06:43:00 +0000

I finished the back of the jacket over the weekend and cast on for the fronts last night. I'm knitting a skinny button band in garter stitch on the front edges. The pattern calls for six poppers. Do you suppose poppers are the same as buttons? Or snaps?

Dress Drape #2

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:16:00 +0000

I had time to sew up another muslin of the dress that I redraped several weeks ago. This version has a better fit with the changes that I made, including moving the shoulder seams back and adding darts to the back of the bodice. I think I like this full gathered skirt more too. It just seems more summery to me. Hopefully, I'll be able to sew it up in my fashion fabric later this week.

Cool Ribbing

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:03:00 +0000

Here's the beginning of the back of the long jacket. If I remember correctly, I have to knit for about 60 cm before binding off for the armholes. I'm really digging this rib stitch. I haven't used it before in any other garment. You knit on the right side and then on the wrong side P2, then K1 in the next stitch in the row below. It gives the knitting a textured fabric that has depth, much more so than regular ribbed knitting.

On Deck

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:53:00 +0000

I found a couple of sweater projects in Rebecca 36 that I wanted to make, however, both required quite a bit of yarn. This long jacket with rib pattern needed about 14 skeins of yarns while this blue zip up jacket called for 12. If I were to use the recommended GGH Tara yarn, the long jacket would have cost about $130! Yikes! So, I headed to the trusty Fabric Depot where a 30% off everything sale was happening. I picked up some Lion Brand Wool-Ease for both projects, as well as some Lion Brand Micro Spun for the biker vest in the Twinkle's Big City Knits book. Nineteen skeins of yarn cost only about $50. What a bargain! I have only used the Wool-Ease once before and I don't recall any negatives about it other than the fact that it's mostly an acrylic yarn. A plus is that I can throw it in the washer and dryer. I've cast on for the long jacket with the black yarn and, so far, it's knitting up nicely.

Rippled

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:06:00 +0000

Since finishing up the Twinkle Big City Knits projects, I haven't yet decided on my next knitting project. I've been browsing through the latest Interweave Knits, trying to narrow down my choices. There's also another vest project in the Twinkle book that I'd like to try, but I have a feeling the directions could be off, so I don't feel much like attempting that project. I have been working steadily on the ripple afghan and I think I'm a little more than halfway finished. I've also got to sew up my muslin for the dress I draped. Maybe I'll try to get started on that tonight!

Portland's Own CRAFT Issue 06 Release Party

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:54:00 +0000

Check out this cool event, via CraftyPod...

What are you doing on Sunday, March 9? If you�re in any of the cities listed above � including Portland, then I hope you�re coming to the CRAFT 06 Release Party!

Susan Beal and I are thrilled to be co-hosting the Portland bash. It�s at Twisted, from 1-4 p.m. Moxie will be on hand, too, demonstrating how she makes these adorable monsters. (You may recognize them as the cover models for CRAFT 06.)

We�ll also have a hands-on craft table, where you can learn to make Pantyhose Flowers from the magazine. Yes, I am all twittery with excitement over that one.

We�ll have snacks on hand, and Twisted carries a delicious assortment of teas and juices. And if you haven�t visited Twisted, you�ll love it. One of my very favorite yarn stores in PDX - and they carry embroidery supplies, vintage buttons, tons of new and vintage craft books, felting materials � and Shannon and Emily, who co-own the store, are the nicest women ever.

So please come by, have some afternoon tea, and CRAFT with us!

Dressed Form

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:13:00 +0000

Here's a dress that I draped this weekend. Originally, I had sketched out more of a shift style dress that had a small amount of gathering under the empire waist. However, when I draped that and sewed up my muslin, it didn't look quite right. So, during my second round of draping, I ended up adding a gathered skirt all around. I wanted this to be a retro-styled day dress and I think the gathered skirt is reminiscent of that. I plan to use these fabrics that I bought a while back for the final dress, but I need to sew another muslin first to check for fit.

Me in Balthazar Vest

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:39:00 +0000

Balthazar Vest

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:01:00 +0000

I finished the vest this morning before work. All I had to do was weave in a bunch of ends. I'll try to post a photo of me wearing the vest tomorrow. In reading reviews of Twinkle's Big City Knits, I was forewarned that the patterns had lots of mistakes that were not even addressed in the published errata. I didn't run across that many errors in the Best Friend Cardigan, but there were plenty of errors in this vest pattern. There is no real instruction regarding the eyelet detail aside from how to create the eyelets. There is also lack of instruction for the short row shaping on the cap sleeves. I was able to figure the knittng out, but not before I had to frog several times on the body and armholes. I would not recommend this pattern for a beginner.