sewing fool

Knitter's block vanquished

2008-12-29T11:23:00.005-05:00

Yes, it's been a very long time since I posted a new project -- because it's been a very long time since there was a new project to post. A combination of different things (a difficult commissioned work that nearly has been abandoned but still oozes residual guilt, primarily) made me avoid starting anything new.

My co-worker NH gave me a lovely haircut a while back, and refused financial recompense. He's a knitter, too, with large feet (13EE!), and has never received socks before, himself. I came up with the following thank-you gift: a ball of lovely Austermann Step sock yarn, infused with aloe and jojoba to soften the finished-object-wearer's skin, a pair of socks made from the same yarn in a different colorway, and the pattern that I made up along the way as I knitted, so he could duplicate it with the gift skein. I like to knit both socks at the same time, toe-up, on one long circular needle; this saves me the aggravation of losing little DPs, mismatched socks and second-sock syndrome, and it lets me make the socks as tall as possible once the feet are done, an important consideration when knitting for big feet.

Now I just have to finish LB's Xmas socks, and I can move on to making a pair each for my newly-discovered birth mother AE (big feet - 12B) and her partner PJ (short but wide feet - 7EE). Socks, socks, socks! The rebirth of creativity is delightful. *contented sigh*

Chihuahua!

2007-11-17T18:37:00.000-05:00

My co-worker JMcG adopted a four-month old Chihuahua puppy last weekend as Broadway ground to a halt because of the stagehands' strike. He's been able to bond with his little darling, named Striker, and I made a wee giftie for the wee beastie using subway and lunch time (jury duty! what a week!) and scraps of yarn from my stash.

Dopp kits

2007-07-29T11:30:00.000-04:00

I made a set of dopp kits, or cosmetics bags, as going away on vacation gifts for a friend and his daughter. (The daddy got a second as a birthday present.) I used a commercial pattern, Butterick 6236 (items: large accessory bag and small accessory bag), and mostly followed the directions as written, but added pull tabs at the ends of the zippers, second side loops, piping at the zipper section seams, and chose to use grosgrain ribbon instead of nylon webbing for the loops and tabs. The fabrics, a striped denim (masculine!) and a plain denim (to set off the daughter's favorite color, pink), were purchased at, um, that great shop whose name I can't remember. Zippers, piping and ribbon from Daytona Trimmings. Black iron-on interfacing, to give the denim more support, from NY Elegant Fabrics.

So I made a throw pillow

2007-02-23T22:00:00.001-05:00

for my lovely, traditional sofa, which is off-white and rather quiet. It seemed to need a sartorial exclamation point, so I gave it ... this. The fringe is like nothing I had ever seen before. I plan to make some matching bolsters, with the fringe around the ends.

** UPDATE **

It seemed to me that the throw pillow was lonely, so I made it a sibling. So much time had passed since the creation of the first that I was unable to match the trim exactly; they are therefore fraternal, rather than identical.

So far the plans for the bolsters are still dormant.

Simple sewing

2007-02-21T23:33:00.000-05:00

One of the things I like best about being a seamstress is the Ordinary Project. People who don't sew don't know that easy little pieces can be as satisfying as complicated things. And for those of us who have high aesthetic standards, there is an infinitely soothing satisfaction in being commissioned to make a simple white dust-and-waterproof slipcover for a rack of sound equipment so that a taped-down plastic tarp can disappear.

For your perusal, a before shot: with tarp, and an after shot: with slipcover.

On the needles

2007-02-12T23:30:00.000-05:00

I'll have you know: I am knitting another pair of socks for myself. I started them on January 17th, and I am just noodling around, making things up and stealing like a magpie when shiny ideas catch my eye. Toe-ups, two at once on one long circular; Plymouth Encore Colorspun D.K. 75% acrylic / 25 % wool.

Blue and red socks

2006-11-03T23:55:00.000-05:00

I've knitted several pairs of socks.

The first pair was a birthday gift for BACH, and he was appropriately grateful (he is a very indulgent friend, and knows the value of handmade goods of any ilk). They were muticolored-flecked, mostly primary colors. I had no idea what I was doing but tried a logical approach, believing that the toe-up method would be a good choice because one can try the socks on as they grow, which is more exciting than slipping a tube over the ankle and thinking, Nope, not long enough yet; more boring ribbing to do! I found Stasia's Toe-Up guide on the web and was smitten. I adapted it slightly to use with one long circular needle, knitting both socks simultaneously, each from its own ball of yarn. It was a blast.

The next pair I made was a graduation present - for a PhD, no less! - for dear CJC in South Africa. To my sadness they were lost somewhere in the great postal wilderness of the world (although I have a fond hope that they were found by someone who likes them - and wears them in all their green, yellow and blue-flecked glory). The next pair was for flaky NLR's birthday; he's creative and Scandinavian, so I had high hopes for their reception and was disappointed by his tepid response. (They were done with a self-striping wool blend in burgundy, brown, and gold, and looked magnificent, but took for-EV-er on smaller-than-toothpicks size 1 circs.) I didn't learn my lesson, and knitted a very cute pair of anklets (another advantage of toe-up style being that one can stop knitting and call it an anklet, whether that was the initial plan or not) for Aussie ED. She was sweet about appreciating their handmadeness and admired the Koigu PPPM colors (a blend of pinks, mostly) but I had a suspicion she would probably never wear them.

I waited a while, and then turned to baby booties, which were quick, and Koigu (springy!), and warmly received by fellow knitter and new mother CAM. More time passed on other projects, and I finally began to understand that the person who would most appreciate my handmade socks was - well, me.

Seduced by Evelyn A. Clark's beautiful Retro Rib Socks pattern in Interweave Knits (winter 2004), I chose Lanett Superwash Merino, because I had a lot of it in stash, and chose to work the top ribbing band of the leg, the heel, and the toe in a contrasting color (the only contrasting color I had in the same yarn, in stash). It's not a toe-up pattern, and I loved the way the heel and toe came out when I finally got to them. I wasn't sure how much yarn they would take, so I knitted them one at a time - which meant in March/April and then July. Now that it's November and cold enough to wear them, I present them to you in all their glory, on my own long and elegant feet. While they are soft and comfortable, they are already pilling a bit, which makes me suspect this yarn is not meant for sock-making; I'll stick to yarns with a small synthetic percentage in the future.

In late September I bought two balls of lovely self-striping wool blend at my LYS. In October I knit them into a pair of Stasia's toe-ups, for myself. As I was beginning them, my boyfriend and I broke up. It was very therapeutic to make something just for me, and as luck would have it I fininshed them the day before my birthday. My natal day was cold, and I was delighted to wear them and share them with the friends and co-workers who admired them all throughout their growth.

white box no longer

2006-05-11T00:37:00.000-04:00

LB, the actress I am dressing, likes to tell people that if she didn't have me she would be naked and alone in a white box, crying. While she is exaggerating a bit, I did take charge of decorating her dressing room. The fits-and-starts process has lasted weeks and had some unchangeable givens (carpet color and too many mirrors) as well as some options we chose not to explore (paint). I relied mainly on textiles and accessories, and have tried to be as thrifty as possible. I found some cute straw nesting stools, bright capiz shell strings, and striped curtain panels online at The Company Store's sale pages. Using my sewing skills, I repurposed a couple of the curtain panels for our odd storage spaces; the others went as-is into service in doorways. I also found some witty spirograph-patterned cotton at Denver Fabrics, and made it into table runners and a throw pillow.

LB's show hairdresser, TFA, gave her a very pretty throw as an opening night gift; it gussies up the plain loveseat nicely. It's finally feeling nearly-done.

All we need is a proper chair for the makeup table.
And some ideas for the bathroom....

Viva! Sea-Tac

2006-02-18T16:45:00.000-05:00

as the song goes. Here's BACH in Gasworks Park. Note both Space Needle and hipsters playing croquet. Fantastic weekend: beautiful weather, delicious food (thanks, JCF!), great company.

It was bound to come to this.

2006-02-08T14:30:00.000-05:00

I snapped last night. I did decide to slipcover the dog, and then thought better of it. And then I thought worse. Much worse.

No animals were harmed during the making of this photograph. Animals were bribed with treats, and seemed affably bemused.

More of the same?

2006-02-07T18:45:00.000-05:00

More speaker socks. Subwoofer slipcovers, to be precise: four white lycra, elastic-bottomed, approximately 31 inches by 22 inches by 22 inches.

New York's twice-yearly font of -- what? fashion? consumerism? excess? style? pageantry? Americanism? (...ahem) The fashion shows at Bryant Park and elsewhere around the city continue according to grueling schedule. One fashion show: a bit glamorous, no? A hundred in a week: a bit much. Yes.

My boyfriend, ERB, is intimately connected to this brouhaha. He makes it sound good. When it sounds bad, he fixes it. He commands a squadron of sound men (though not all of sound mind, clearly disqualified by the ridiculous hours they keep) to accomplish the goal of Good Sound. I wish they would get some more sleep and eat better, but they think they're young and indestructible. A few days before the week begins they arrive to load it all in and get it running. The offsite shows are loaded in on the fly during the week, and loaded out as soon as they finish. Each day when the shows begin, they arrive an hour or two early to turn everything on and check it all (and sometimes make repairs and creative curses).

After the shows' finales they have to stick around for a while, shutting things down properly. Then they sleep for about five hours and do it again, every day for a week. Next they take a few days to pack it all up and return it from whence it came. Finally, they will take a break. (One might think that stagehand sitting on the roadbox in the corner watching TV is goofing off, but he's actually recharging. Most of the time.)

What was I saying?

Should I slipcover the dog?

My main squeeze.

2006-01-31T21:15:00.000-05:00

I'm making more speaker socks for ERB. Another Fashion Week is loading in. This is what I've been spending my time with today. I am currently researching its care & feeding; I've owned it for three years (although it is considerably older) and it came with a minimum of background....

Elvis wig-hats

2005-12-27T23:50:00.000-05:00

as modelled by my patient and amused parents. Dad's is a bit small; I later remade the inner cap better to fit his little head.

Handknitted stockings

2005-12-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

for two adorable young Virginians of my acquaintance. Their father asked me to create them as companion pieces to his own handmade stocking received in boyhood. They took longer to complete than I expected, despite near-constant knitting, and I learned to cable. (That wavy color-transitioning is actually two-colored cabling, people.) Now they get express-UPSed to arrive in time for the Big Day.

Pattern used, colors modified, originally published by the good folks at Lion Brand. There are some frustrating typos in the pattern, such as "co" instead of "to" and "srs" instead of "sts." This rankles in a hobby that is heavily abbreviation-reliant. (Bad editors! Bad!) Yarn is Lion Brand Wool-Ease, which I found disappointing in that it fuzzed and knotted as it was knit straight from the skeins. It was cheap, but I should have taken the time to wind it into balls. Hopefully its 80% plastic durability will make the untangling aggravations worthwhile.

Shower curtain

2005-12-12T19:00:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling pretty virtuously crafty.

Early last year a romantic fling in which I was entangled collapsed. While recovering I became intensely domestic. Nesting, I painted walls (tinted primer, two coats of color, yards of low-tack masking tape; purchased a 6' ladder), bought a beautiful duvet cover and found some white striped silk organza curtain panels on sale. I got some silk dye and unscientifically tinted the panels in my kitchen sink, thoroughly cleaning up before and after the coloring. Those tab-topped turquoise babies were one of my favorite things in my old apartment, and when I moved I was afraid they wouldn't have a new home. I was wrong.

Recently I've been obsessed about completing decorative thoughts around the home. (My parents and sister will be making a Yuletide visit, so I want everything to be nice. Perfect is inattainable. It won't be a finished showplace, but it will have welcoming details.) One of my priorities has been a shower curtain for my master bath. Part of me knows that as a New Yorker with two bathrooms I should just be thankful and shut up. Anyway, the "guest bath" gets a pretty grosgrain ribbon curtain. I almost made one myself, but came to my senses upon finding this one on sale. (It was about ten dollars more than the materials would have cost. The saved aggravation is worth a lot more than ten bucks.)

For a couple of days the master bath wanted a ribbon curtain, too. After reconsidering, hours were passed online trying to match the insubstantial picture in my head. (One of the drawbacks of my glamorous -- ha, ha -- job is that the schedule is demanding enough to preclude shopping during daylight hours. Plus, I hate crowds, which is a real drawback during holiday sales. As a result, I am a fearless online shopper.) I came close a few times but never made a buy.

Last night I had an epiphany. I was putting laundry away in my laughably shallow linen closet and spied the organza mess on the top shelf just as I was despairing of ever finding anything that color ... THAT COLOR! Sha-zam! Like a lightning bolt it hit me: I am seamstress, hear me stitch. They'll work if I put them together and chop off the hem! Of course, it was 1:30 am (technically today), so I decided not to get started on the cutting and sewing. I couldn't resist pressing the wrinkles out, though.

It's Monday, the day off. I ran errands all morning (hopefully my goddaughter gets her birthday present on time, thanks to Express Mail). After finally settling at home in the afternoon, I began the Great Curtain Conversion.

Both panels got their tab tops lopped off at a length that included the new hem allowance. One panel got split up the middle to avoid an amateurish center seam in the finished shower curtain. The old hems got opened up for an inch or two at the sides, to facilitate the lengthwise seams I was creating. The uncut panel was stitched between the two half panels, using the finished edges as seam allowances. The new top hem was pressed and stitched, the new side hems were pressed and stitched and the bottom hem was re-completed. Then I got to bust out the buttonhole attachment for my trusty Singer Featherweight. I've never used it before, so I followed the instructions carefully after I marked out the twelve evenly-spaced buttonholes. The buttonholer, a thing of simple, utilitarian beauty, performed without failure. I have the perfect shower curtain. After I hung it, I cleaned up the whole mess.

Now I need bath rugs to match. I read that JCPenney is having a sale. Online, of course.

(Photo added post-posting.)

The dog's raincoat was too big.

2005-12-01T00:30:00.000-05:00

I altered it to fit him (there is now a seam across his lower back, just above the personalized embroidery) and mended some puppyhood-era chewed holes. It was a gift given to him with the sweetest of intentions and the assumption that he would grow quite large. He's compact, though definitely a fine example of his breed.

More speaker socks.

2005-11-07T23:35:00.000-05:00

Ten white lycra drawstring covers, smallish, as professional speakers go. Stitched all day. The dog followed me from the cutting table (a mat on the bed, back of the apartment) to the industrial sewing machine (the front room) to the zig-zag machine (on the kitchen table, in the middle of the apartment; where all kitchens should be). He was tireless in his observation. I think he might know how to sew now. I'm not sure what the ethics department will say. Heck, the ethics department is a little ticked at me for working on my day off. Paycheck: worth it? Perhaps.

Photos du mariage

2005-10-25T23:50:00.000-04:00

*warning: link may be broken*

The flowergirls. Well, some of them.

The stitches are out.

2005-10-22T23:45:00.000-04:00

My kindhearted former roommate LEW played Florence Nightingale one night early on and swabbed the wound with peroxide & neosporin after removing the first bandage. I have dermatitis (a rash!) from a band-aid. The scar still itches.

I moved in with ERB earlier this week. My movers were amazing. A three man crew arrived at 9:15 a.m. on Monday and helped me finish packing, loading the truck all the while. They were professional, friendly and efficient. Nothing was damaged or mislaid. They even finished a half-hour earlier than estimated. I nearly swooned at the ease of it all. To self-move again: nevermore.

I know where the yarn & supplies box (okay, boxes) are. I can't get to them. I only have the computer set up because ERB applied his workaholic tendencies to the home. We have curtains up, door stops installed, glides on bed legs, working light fixtures (new ones over the kitchen counter!), and nicely arranged furniture. We do have one room with a waist-high double-deep wall of boxes, but the rest of the apartment is gloriously livable. Now we need to decide where the art hangs on the walls. And I have to learn the light switches. The dog is freaked out by the hardwood floors, having lived his indoor life thus far on carpet. I think I know how he feels.

Six stitches

2005-10-09T11:40:00.000-04:00

This is a long one, folks.

Somehow I have managed to live for over three decades without injury requiring surgical sutures.

I've had four wisdom teeth extracted, tonsils removed, cavities filled and displastic cervical cells ablated. I sprained a finger during soccer practice in middle school, twisted an ankle innocently walking on perfectly flat paved surfaces (more than once, without prejudice against either ankle), and pulled muscles at work, at play and in ballet classes.

Now I have six stitches in my back.

My dermatologist, Dr. Z., was born in Greece and looks like a cross between an Einstein muppet and a bespectacled yogi; if there was a film of his life, he would be played by Roberto Benigni (with whom I share a natal day). He is smart, efficient and melodic. I have known him for two weeks. My primary care physician referred me to him so that I could have a few moles examined and some pesky skin tags snipped. Two weeks ago I had a mole biopsied and a skin tag removed. He also gave me a sample of a frighteningly strong acne medication for the menstrually-induced breakout on my chin. (At home, I learned quickly that my best use of it is once every three days, not twice a day, every day.) It was recommended that I return a fortnight later for the biopsy results, another look at the offending chin and more skin tag erasure.

After working in the evening and arriving home at the usual 11:30 pm the night before, yesterday morning I arose at god o'clock, showered, checked the weather and threw my knitting (an adult-sized thank-you bolero for MFB, made from the leftover flowergirl yarn) into my bag for the lo-o-ong trip to Dr. Z's office in Flushing, Queens. Dr. Z does keep office hours a block away from my apartment in Astoria, but only when I'm working. I don't have the kind of job that permits an hour or two off for an errand. It was raining, the trains (some elevated out here in Queens; "subways" to non-NYers) ran agreeably well and I arrived a little early for my 9:15 am appointment. In the waiting room there played a needlessly dramatic local television news story about this weekend's alleged terrorist threat to the subways, the reporting style of which made me very edgy. I was put into an examining room about five rows later (knitting time) aware that I had skipped breakfast.

I put down my knitting and Dr. Z first showed me a DERMATOPATHOLOGY REPORT (caps as per original). Now, I'm a word freak, and I cherish arcana vocabularia. I understood that he sent a bit of mole for a biopsy, and that this was the written result from the lab. But when I read the words "PROLIFERATION OF ENLARGED PIGMENTED SPINDLE-SHAPED MELANOCYTES ARRANGED PREDOMINATELY AS NESTS AT THE DERMO-EPIDERMAL JUNCTION ... SINGLE UNITS ... BASAL LAYER ... NUCLEI ARE VERY UNIFORM. MICROSCOPIC DIAGNOSIS: COMPOUND SPITZ NEVUS, PIGMENTED SPINDLE CELL TYPE" I had no idea what the lab had diagnosed. I imagined spindles, uniforms, nests, all in symmetrical patterns. The room got quieter. Predictably and professionally, Dr. Z explained that I was fortunate to have had my biopsy examined by an expert in Spitz Nevi. Lucky me, I thought; whatever that means, at least I'm in capable hands. Dr. Z went on to note that the common dermatopathologist might have mistakenly diagnosed melanoma, which the Spitz Nevus is not. Somewhat relieved to hear I word I did know, "melanoma," I asked what the next step should be. He pointed to the bottom of the report: "IF ANY RESIDUAL LESION IS APPARENT CLINCALLY, A CONSERVATIVE REMOVAL IS SUGGESTED." Then he suggested that he could surgically remove the Nevus immediately, or maybe next Saturday. Rereading the report's last line, I though it seemed like a reasonable and even desirable conclusion. He sent me back to the waiting room. Nevus? Nevus?

As I am squeamish on an empty stomach, I had visions of collapsing in a faint if I should see a bloody scalpel. I told the receptionist I was going out for a "cup of coffee" and trotted up the block to a bagel shop. I remember thinking that it was nice that even the cranky Korean lady behind the counter liked bagels, that bagels are one of the common denominators that hold this mad city together ... I ordered a tea (light, one sugar) and some food (not a bagel, ironically, after my silly musing), electing to stay and eat it there so I wouldn't have to see more televised patronizing hysteria. When I returned to the waiting room the friendly receptionist told me they would fit me in as soon as possible. I knitted about 20 rows and inquired when I might expect a fitting. Four rows later, they called me and stuck me in The Surgical Room.

Here I want to break the tension (my tension - writing this is making me as tense as I felt for most of the day) and mention that I do not have melanoma. I went through a fairly routine "conservative Nevus excision," which I was later able to translate thusly: I had a benign mole removed in a chunk big enough to necessitate receiving six stitches. It was removed because the Spitz Nevus (nevus = mole, plural Nevi; Spitz = posthumously named for a female pathologist who published research on the type in 1948 and died young, at 46, in 1956, of causes I am unable to discover) is still incompletely understood but known to be both unpredictable and, although noncancerous, a close imitator of the dreaded melanoma (skin cancer). Dermatologists generally choose the conservative route. With malpractice insurance premiums sky-high, HMO pirates running the country's medical systems and the possibility of lives at stake, I think I too would err on the side of caution.

Back to the minor surgery. Dr. Z complimented my knitting speed and then I lay face-down on an old-fashioned exam table (many ladies will know the type, which can tilt its upper or lower halves up or down, like a dentists' chair, really, but with an extendable table at the foot for the long-limbed and retractable stirrups for the GYN exam) and pulled my T-shirt up to my shoulders. After he prepped me with a disposable blue nonwoven windowed drape, some sterilization and lidocaine, I nervously chatted through the entire procedure. I commented on the snipping noises he made, recognizing them as a seamstress. We discussed the use of curved needles in both upholstery (my experience) and suturing (his arena), as well as the efficiency of scalpels as buttonhole cutters and seam rippers in addition to the usual surgical slashing. I subconsciously convinced him I was calm, curious and collected enough to be shown the excised lump of my own flesh (upon reflection, a ghoulish sight about as big as the entire last joint of my pinkie, but pale). The me-piece will be biopsied now, and the results revealed upon the next appointment. Another acne remedy was prescribed, this one allegedly milder, as well as an antibiotic (and a yeast-infection treatment, just in case). The skin tags' removal was delayed.

I called in to say I would be late for work, and as I waited for the bus back to the subway I began to panic. I phoned my friend KAS, who had a serious melanoma last year. Hers was removed along with an armpit lymph node. At the time I felt sympathetic but nervous; she would keep tearing up and talking about feeling betrayed by her own body. Suddenly I understood, and she made a dinner date with me. On the train I listened to Tom Waits' "Cold Cold Ground" and thought about how I would say goodbye to the people that I love, were it to become necessary. I felt startlingly fragile, young and mortal, and it was painful. Not yet, I thought. I'm not ready. Then: I live in here but all I can do is move it around and feed it. It was very uncomfortable to realize the insignificance of motor control and thought process on my flesh.

At work I arrived a half hour late. WG ironed all of "my" costume pieces for me; he was nearly finished when I came in. Our boss, TG, asked me if I was okay; when I told him I would tell him later and then went about the rush of the pre-show preset routine, he was delicately supportive. About halfway through act 1, I blurted out the story ("dermatologist ... biopsy results ... surprised ... mole removed ... six stitches ... scared and anxious") and nearly all of my co-workers had similar tales to swap, personally or tangentially. After dining with KAS before the evening show (comfort food: tuna melt, tomato juice, rice pudding) I felt better still; when she opined that Dr. Z's failure to order a full-body scan or an appointment with an oncologist was a good sign, I was able to see her point. The second show went smoothly and I was glad to get home and do a lot of medical-term-Googling before I went to bed, educated and relieved.

On one hand I wish that I'd had wits about me enough to ask Dr. Z about getting a second opinion, but I am also glad it's over. Now my stitches itch, but I feel okay. The thing that nags at me is my blinding incomprehension of the results of the pathology report. I freaked out all day over, well, nothing.

Finissima!

2005-10-05T10:58:00.000-04:00

The first sweater, the one with the skimpy sleeves, got blocked sternly to the approprite size. I had no idea that cotton was so compliant. What was I thinking, threatening new sleeves? Sheesh. There is taffeta everywhere, though. I donated the scraps of organza to work, where they will become press cloths and be incorporated into repairs for aging costume pieces. The flowergirls have been collected and I will deposit the check today.

In under two weeks I'll be living with ERB. The move is daunting, physically. I hate to move. Since beginning college I've done it so much (the first several times badly) that I should have learned by now how to streamline & embrace the zen of packing. Truthfully, though, that revelation is recent.

To breakfast, the newspaper (the food section!), the shower and to work.

Encore!

2005-09-25T01:30:00.000-04:00

Another bolero is complete, this one by WG for the four year old. He made the cuffs flare a bit by picking up every stitch and working with the same size needle as for the body. Tomorrow he begins the fifth and tiniest bolero, for the two year old.

RO gives me "his" finished bolero (for the two and a half year old) tomorrow. He will be out of town all next week.

The sleeves of the first bolero are too short. I have plans to cut them off, bind off the edges, make new sleeves and stitch them on. The garment is knit in one piece, so it will be a fiddly project, and one for which I hardly have time.

My second bolero, for the nine and a half year old, is done in the main. It needs to have its body/sleeve seams done, cuffs made and band created. And the i-cord ties. Ne fergittez pas l'i-cord!

I'm stressing about the project due date this coming Saturday (for my purposes, everything should be done Friday night.) I still have to cut two and a half dresses and all five sashes. Is there enough silk organza for the underlining? We'll find out by Monday evening. Stress is spotting the face and disturbing the sleep. It will only get worse. Sew! Sew like the wind.

Fresh figs have disappeared from the fruit stands. September stands triumphant.

Garmenta completa.

2005-09-15T00:57:00.000-04:00

The first bolero is done. Next she should get wet-blocked. The second is under way.

RO & WG both have four skeins of yarn and the pattern, with my corrections. These things are to finish shorter than the original. The gauge of this yarn is different than the pattern's suggestion. The two sweaters they're making are smaller, so the pattern must be scaled down. I hope they knit fast & one can be persuaded to make a second, so I won't have to make a third. Hope, hope, hope. (Feathers?)

Today was a long day. Tomorrow is, too, and Friday will be longer. Sleep now.

The bolero got frogged.

2005-09-12T23:40:00.001-04:00

(Rip it, rip it...) After considering it for a day I did the right thing: I ripped out the complete-but-for-bind-off finishing band around the body opening, opened up the side seams to the armpits (carefully pulling out each stitch so the yarn can be used for continuous restitching) and ripped two and a half inches off the bottoms of the fronts and back. The back's undoing was tedious; the piece is knit from the back edge up, so it was impossible to pull the end of the yarn to unravel it. I threaded a lifeline across the row that would become the new bottom, snipped the last stitch in the row below and used the tip of a darning needle to pick out each stitch, pulling the tail out by hand. Once that row was undone, the bottom chunk was free. It got unraveled and wound back into a ball which can be reused, perhaps as a cuff on a smaller sweater. I also ripped sixty-plus rows of bolero #2, which was about nine inches long and had all of its sleeve width increases complete. Now it's just eight rows tall.

The process was laborious and rewarding, strangely; several productive hours' work was voided, but the sweater better conforms to MFB's design. My 40-inch #5 Addi Turbo broke during the procedure and must be replaced before the bolero can be completed. I'll leave for work a little earlier tomorrow and stop by The Lion & the Lamb on the Upper East Side. (Having bought some yarn and needles there for a knit-for-pay project back in the spring, I know they carry the rarely found 40-inch circs!)

I took a break, drank a lot of club soda and ate a pint of fresh, juicy black figs with the last of some parmesan that was slowly hardening in the fridge. September is asserting itself and summer fruits will disappear soon.

I feel like I made the right choice, but the time seems a painful loss. Steady....

The other speaker covers

2005-09-10T23:55:00.000-04:00

allegedly went on beautifully, too, although I didn't see them myself. (Work.) ERB's right-hand-guy MKMK installed them and says he has photos on his new digital camera. (Shush, you; if he ever sends me the images, I WILL POST THEM. Promise.) Invoices have been sent and now I await payment. No, correct that: my VISA card awaits the checks.... How is it that I find a responsible almost-pleasure in paying off debt? I created it in the first place with the usurious "aid" of that devilish plastic!

Now I'm elbow-deep in flowergirl boleros. The first is nearing completion. Its one-piece body-sleeve unit is done; the sides/sleeves are sewn up (mattress stitch), and the cuffs have been garter-stitched onto the sleeves. I've picked up the 200+ stitches around the neck, front edges and hem (a big loop) and am on the first edging row, out of sixteen. I'm toying with the idea of staying up tonight until I finish the body edging. The second bolero, the largest, was started a few days ago in a fit of efficiency after I discovered I'd left at home an essential component for finishing the first. It's grown respectably but remains in infancy. I've learned quite a bit about the pattern, edges, finishing and myself. Knit-vana, almost. This is why I do it. That, and in this case, the paycheck.

But, oh, my great gay god, I still have the five little dresses to make. I haven't begun. They must be finished by 10/01. I have a little less than three weeks, and a full-time job.

In other news, I just got my first comment-spam in the form of a pair of seemingly unrelated, orthographically unsound, blatantly ungrammatical little notes with irritating links. Henceforth there will be word-veri. *sigh*

The speaker covers were a hit

2005-09-05T22:00:00.000-04:00

when they were "installed" (slipped on like socks) earlier tonight. The good-to-mixed news is that I've been asked to make a large white version for another venue's speaker array (M2Ds stacked together vertically, hanging, for total dimensions of about 20" by 3'4" by 6'5") by Thursday. Good: paycheck! more math! Mixed: time crunch! and I have been enjoying the knitting of a flowergirl bolero that I started at work the other day. ERB & his boss RH were cracking jokes about switching from sound design to a Speaker Sock Rental service. Glad they like the product. The set designer of the event asked for my card, too.

Maybe with the proceeds from the Speaker Sock fabrication sideline, I'll finally buy myself a digital camera. Then the Sewing Fool could truly go multimedia! --Or will it just become another obsessive quasi-hobby?

I finished the gloves

2005-08-30T09:30:00.000-04:00

and all I want to say is this: if you are on a time-sensitive mission to make a pair of men's size medium gloves with a lovely sock yarn that knits at eight stitches per inch on size 0 needles, talk yourself out of it. Go get some bulky weight and do mittens instead. ERB's gloves came out beautifully and have been admired by all who have seen them, but they were a week late for his birthday.

Now, for the technical stuff: the yarn, in SY-03 "Brilliant Bouquet," which he picked out himself; and the pattern. Ann Budd's book is great for fiddly knitters like me who want to use yarns with different gauges on basic patterns in several different versions; it's written well enough that adding details like textured patterns, color designs or finishing embroidery seem easy and special. I love a book that massages my creative urges.

And you know what? Gloves ARE like socks, but I'm not making any of either for a while. Flowergirl dresses are the next project. Another little girl has been added, this one bigger than the rest (she's nine, while the others are five, almost five, almost three and two). MFB & I decided that she would get a slightly different style of dress, in a nod to her, um, maturity. This means I have to get more yarn for her bolero and possibly more champagne-colored fabric for her dress. I should have plenty of the burnt orange. --I have until the end of September.

Oh, but there're an interim project: speaker covers. ERB is the sound designer for a big corporate event, sponsored in part by the shipping company UPS. I've been asked to make brown lycra slipcovers for eight three-foot-tall speakers. I did a similar project for him earlier this year (twelve in white, slightly smaller). It will take a long afternoon, I think, mainly for cutting time. The covers go together quickly on the merrow machine. They need to be finished before Monday. The time-consuming part will be making and fitting a test version; ERB will have one of the speakers delivered to the sound shop near the theatre where I work. To know how much smaller then the actual box dimensions to cut the lycra, I have to work out the percentage of stretch. Math. Math makes me feel accomplished and efficient.

Remember the turquoise string bag?

2005-08-13T23:45:00.001-04:00

Well, it's history. I decided to frog it and start over with a crochet pattern, which is what I really wanted in the first place. (Still learning to listen to my intuition....) I found Erika Knight's "Simple Crochet" today at Coliseum Books, and there are good instructions for the bag I've been imagining (photo is third in the lineup; red, with pears inside). There are also some lovely ideas for baskets and other containers, and nicely illustrated directions for the craft's basics.

I was at Coliseum Books (42nd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, closer to 5th, across from Bryant Park) looking for a knit bolero pattern sized for little girls. My friend MFB has taken on the responsibility of organizing the outfits of the four flower girls in her friend's French wedding. She asked me to make the little champagne-colored dresses with burnt orange sashes and matching sweaters. I'll have to enlist the help of friendly co-workers WG & RO, the two male knitters I know. (WG is also a fantastic seamster with the couturier's gifts.) I found something very close to MFB's request in Debbie Bliss' book "Junior Knits." It's a sweet little thing called Molly, worked in aran weight and knitted all in one.

Two years ago, RO coached me through my first sweaters (one for a toddler, one for a dog) and instilled in me the tendency to avoid seaming at almost any cost. I prefer circular needles and circular knitting where possible, picking up stitches along edges instead of making separate pieces, etc.... Some think this is "lazy." I just worship Elizabeth Zimmerman.

Yesterday I finished the first of the Elvis wigs. Fashioned from Plymouth Yarn's Encore Worsted (basic black, 2 strands held together to approximate "bulky" weight) and Glitterlash (color "01"), from Knitting Addiction, it still needs to be stuffed, but already appears promisingly absurd. It'll be an xmas gift for one of my delightful parents; the anniversary passed. I wasn't in the right frame of mind to knit hard while I was on vacation last month! (P.S. to Yelahneb: the vacation is one reason for the pause in postings; the new job is the other.) The other wig's materials have been purchased; again, Plymouth's Encore in black, and this.

Of course, the flower girls, the second wig and the string bag will have to wait until I finish boyfriend ERB's birthday gift. He turns 30 on the 22nd. That means I have eight days to knit a pair of gloves, which I've never attempted. I've made socks (2 at once on the same long circular!). Gloves are just tubes with fingers, right? --I promised him these gloves back during the winter. Remember winter?

Tell me ...

2005-07-17T23:50:00.000-04:00

Is a matching set of these what my parents need as a gift to celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary?

Adding balance with a kntting project

2005-07-14T23:35:00.000-04:00

I thought that I needed something to do whilst at the laundromat earlier today, so I liberated the previously-mentioned turquoise crochet thread from the stash with the intention of turning it into this.

Since it's just a bag, and a casually-constructed one at that, I fudged on the needle size (I didn't have a 13, okay?), choosing to use my Big Gun, the Plymouth bamboo 16" circ in size 15. It's like trying to knit with linked Sharpies; the points aren't very pointy (great for bulky chenille, dreadfully challenging for skinny cotton thread). But I've persevered, nearly finishing the foundation rectangle ("bottom of bag"). I've knitted on it for about two hours, including a ten-row frog and time spent adding detergent and, later, liquid fabric softener to the row of washers I used. I've adjusted to the needles (I usually go for Addi Turbos; I love the way yarn slides across metal) and learned to control the thread. Now I just need to decide if it's worth finishing....

Crochet project du jour

2005-07-13T23:15:00.000-04:00

I forgot my friend MSM's birthday (sixteen days ago! I am a cad!) and she's just moved into a new place. I'll see her on Saturday. I needed a wee giftie, STAT! As I prefer handmade to mass-produced, I turned to my trusty eMac and surfed the net for some quick knitting or crocheting projects.

My original idea was to whip up a mesh shopping bag in a fun color (lurking in my stash are crochet threads in Pumpkin, Parakeet & Burgundy). During my browsing, however, I got distracted by the blog Knitting For Boozehags and then found the best alt-knitting pattern collection I've ever seen. There, among the many delightfully distracting ideas, I found today's Holy Grail: the Toilet Paper Roll Cozy Crocheted to Look Like a Piece of Sushi. I wish that I had a digital camera to show-off my finished item, but the authoress' versions are priceless. It was instant gratification and Virtuous Refraining from Spending, too: the whole thing took me about three hours from stash yarn, plus time off for a nice big home-made dinner salad.

Then I found this year's birthday gift to myself: I'll have to make it, but it's a doozy. It resonates in a strange overlapping way with many of my interests.

Testing;

2005-07-06T04:44:00.000-04:00

one, two, one, two. Not three, because that's the cue to lift.