I've been sewing for years. I indirectly learned from my Mother, who was an impressive seamstress, making clothes and household items for herself and us kids. I remember being small, barely able to see over the edge of the table, watching her cut out Vogue or Butterick patterns or standing beside her sewing machine watching her sew. I was fascinated by the fabrics, by the patterns, by the sewing machine, and most importantly, by the mysterious ability to create something like curtains or dresses from tissue paper, scissors and a long strip of cloth.
I was a terror about it, too. I would raid her fabric stash in the closet and snip off pieces of cloth to make Barbie clothes and bedspreads, etc.. Several times Mother pulled out her fabric to make something only to discover I'd whacked out a big chunk of it in a not so good place to whack a chunk from. Oh, she fussed, but I never got into serious trouble because I think maybe she kind of liked that I had such an interest in something she did, ya' know, the ol' "imitation is the most sincere form of flattery thing." She never encouraged me, but she didn't stop me either.
My older sister never got into the sewing thing. She had other interests and other pursuits. Yet somewhere along the line she took notice of my interest in sewing and gifted me (I think I was about 8 yrs. old) with my very own little-girl sized sewing machine and a yard or two of fabric. I was overjoyed. I don't think she ever realized how much getting that sewing machine meant to me. Sadly though, no one would show me how to use it. I tried but it was a little scary because it was a real electric sewing machine, just kid-sized. I think I only ever managed to make one shirt ... and it didn't fit 'cause I didn't have a pattern, just imagination.
Well, being all grown up with a grown up sewing machine, last Tuesday I whipped up a new pocketbook (with no pattern, I might add) for the Fall season. I got an amazing number of compliments on the last one I made for the summer (with pattern) but I wanted a different shape this time around. Summer bag was half-moon shaped and this one is triangular. I love it.
New Autumn bag ...
Inside new bag ...(my pocketbooks must have lots of pockets - ya' know - after all, it's a pocketbook)
Come Winter, I'll make another in a different shape, different fabric. For now, this one is just lovely.
I was also overcome with knit fever after seeing Crazy Aunt Purl's Halloweenie Beanie. I'll confess, as much as I've come to love knitting, I haven't ventured past the scarf and dishcloth stage. Squares and rectangles are fairly easy and I can do them in a relatively short amount of time. Truth be told, I was a 'fraidy-cat, intimidated by the stuff like "increase" and "decrease" and "knitting with double-pointed (DPN's) needles" and "Circular needles". I'm well aware of the fact that to make the Dream Sweater I will have to master these knit tricks but I hadn't found a pattern that made them seem easy to do.
Then ol' Purl slaps up her pumpkin hat pattern on her blog and I knew I had to have one of my very own. I'm not exactly a hat girl, but for that hat, I'll make an exception. It was a "MUST HAVE HAT OR I WILL DIE" scenario. Only way to have the hat was to knit it.
Unfortunately, I live in the middle of nowhere when it comes to stores and readily available varieties of yarn. Short of driving an hour across the mountain to Asheville, or waiting days for yarn to be delivered from an internet order, my choices were limited to what I could get at Wal-Mart. I needed instant gratification, so Wal-Mart it was. I bought a couple of skeins of some horrible acrylic knitting yarn in orange and a couple of tiny skeins of green craft yarn. I already had the circular needles and DPN's in preparation for the Dream Sweater. I had stitch markers and a gauge. I printed off the pattern and read it over a half-dozen times. With all implements at the ready I started knitting on Saturday. By Sunday evening I had this .........
Pumkin Hat, or the Halloweenie Beanie
With super cute curlicue stem! - which doesn't show well in this photo ...I tried to take a photo of me wearing the hat - it was a dismal failure so you will just have to imagine me sporting this cute creation. I had planned on wearing it today but it was in the upper 80's and my thick hair is already like wearing a wool hat ... topping it off with a darling layer of orange acrylic would have me sprawled out in the middle of a parking lot somewhere, wheezing and gasping from a heat stroke. Will have to wait for cooler, hat friendly weather.
But y'all, I've got to say I'm just thrilled with this accomplishment. I used circular needles, made decreases, made increases, used the dreaded DPN's, got gauge, and I made a hat! My very first hat! Yes, I did mess up one stitch, which I didn't catch until I was almost finished with the thing. And it did take me four attempts to get the curlicue to be a curlicue ... but I have triumphed! I am knitter - hear me roar! Well, okay, more like cackling with glee, but ya' get the picture.
Dream Sweater, I'm a'heading your way ...
Namaste y'all ...
1 comment:
Oooooh!!!You did an amazing job, look how perfect your knitting is! I am just thrilled you liked the pattern!
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