Black Linen Jacket progress

Black Linen Jacket
There has been progress. Day 2 saw sleeves added. The sleeve facing is added first. I understitched it to the main sleeve piece. Then you sew the shoulder seam and the underarm/side seam. The pattern called for hand sewing the facing to the sleeve, but I serged the edge and then used my hemmer. This view is inside out to better show the sleeve facing, which will be folded up to the outside.

The collar was hand stitched on the outside edge. I've been doing a lot of hand sewing recently.

Day 3 was the bottom band. This is doubled (like the collar) but, because of the pleats in the back, it is machine stitched, and in my case serged.

Customer's sundress
Yesterday, the second dress came together. The neck trim came from the back of the original, cut in half lengthwise and seamed. It was folded before application, stitched to the outside, and hand stitched to the inside. The fabric for the dress top is knit, which should work well for bust coverage.

The finished dress. The first dress was altered the same way, but no pictures.

Sock Knitting
I've been playing with heel decreases inspired by Cat Bordhi. I tried one pair with the decreases on top of the foot. I own the book, but had not read it recently.

The last pair had the decreases on the bottom of the foot.
This looks a little odd. I looked in the book, and Cat Bordhi put more plain rows between the decrease rows. Maybe next time.

Teeny socks
Our knitting guild has started having a mini class at each meeting. Next month, it will be on short row heels. I thought I would do some step-out samples.

I started with a new Pathway sample sock. this will be a great baby item, but all heels in the book have heel flaps. I may add ties to the back of these booties.

My favorite short row heel is the one by Priscilla Gibson Roberts. It uses yarn overs. The next samples use a teeny version of this heel. One sample is atthe beginning of the heel, the other is after turning and beginning all the pick ups. I put the instructions in the ziploc bag with the samples. They will become another baby gift after the meeting. I started these socks with Judy's magic cast on. I had not used this particular cast on before. It's a little fiddley, but I think it will become my favorite.

I will do another sample with wraps on the short rows, but not today.

Do I ever sew for myself?

The socks for Plymouth are done. The next pair is started. They'll be for JC, my newest SIL. His birthday is in about a week, but he won't be in town until later in the month. I got the main color of Trekking last year at our guild yarn swap. The program for August is the yarn swap. What ever you sell, you donate 10% to the guild. It's always great fun. I usually forget to take any money, which limits what I can buy.

Business is slow at work. I'm trying to put 1/2 hr to 1 hr a day into sewing for myself and family. I recently finished a blue cotton shirt/jacket. The fabric was bought to match a striped skirt, which it doesnt quite match. Luckily I have lots of other items to wear with it. I don't like how I look in photos, but I think the problem is with the size and shape of my body, rather than the camera. I have yet to see a camera that adds weight to a body. The reality is that we really don't want to see what any mirror can show us.

I have started a linen jacket from a Marci Tilton pattern Vogue 7907. The pattern is on sale on line right now. The black linen is from stash and the embroidered linen is new. I'm trying to declutter all parts of my life, and am more comfortable buying something that I can use right away. I spent many years buying things because they were pretty and I could use them some day.

I bought this pattern to do a knit jacket. I'm using dishcloth cotton, which is a little hard on my hands, so I'm going slowly. It's a 3-color seed stitch pattern that I learned from Lily Chin. I also have some light weight wool to use for another version. There also seem to be lots of socks with deadlines.

I have been remodeling sundresses at work. This is the second one for this customer. She is big busted and wants more coverage. I have deconstructed the top and will cut the new fabric Monday. Pictures will follow .

Same old, same old

Thursday I went to the Judson Manor retirement home again. I haven't seen any of the apartments, but her are a couple of views of the lobby.

It's been a boring week. Work goes on. I love what I do, but there are boring parts every day. I'm remodeling a couple of sun dresses for a lady with a big bust. I'll try to take pictures of the second one before deconstruction.

I am finishing another pair of socks for Plymouth Yarns. These are for men. I will do at least one more pair for them. I'm using Happy Feet yarn and two color patterns.

I did payroll taxes yesterday. The only good thing about it is that I'm paying a lot less money this quarter than I did a year ago. I'm down to one employee and she only works about one day a week. I've been making more money for me since my second lady left last fall. She did me a great favor. Her timing was really good. Business fell off about the time she left, and really hasn't picked up since.

Weather in Cleveland is still chilly for this time of year. I don't mind, but keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and the real summer to kick in.

Weekend with Family

We had a family birthday party today at our daughter's house. MB is getting better at baseball. It is a favorite family activity, making it easy for a little one to find someone to throw the ball.

EB was flying, with help. Doesn't this look like fun? At 4 yrs old, she needs help.

I took my knitting and finished another sock. Like a dummy, I failed to wind the yarn for the second sock and bring it with me. I had to start with the leftover yarn that I had. It kept me going. I didn't knit much after dinner.

The birthday socks are complete. They were a hit at the party, with "ooh"s being heard when they were held up for viewing. Of course, I'm trying to sell the pattern, so no good pictures.

The other big hit was the fleece hoodie for littlest grandson. I don't think he knows what he got, but he loves how soft it is. I bought the fabric last February. It's not easy to find a small print for a little boy. I have 2 more hoodies to make for next January/February. I'll start looking for appropriate fabric soon. So many of the prints seem to be sized for blankets.

He quickly got tired of presents, and fell in love with floating tissue paper. He wasn't the only one opening gifts, but I think he just got tired with all the people there.

I talked in an earlier post about one of the retirement homes I do alterations for. This week, I went to the other retirement home with my camera. I got a skyline view from the room I work in. The building is built on a hill. This is floor #7. Downtown Cleveland is to the left and you can see Lake Erie on most days straight ahead.

Outside the door on the same level is a garden which is handicapped accessable. Many of the plants were donated by residents.

Busy day off

I started the day by donating 4 boxes of fabric to my college. It will be used by the fashion students. I had, and still have too much fabric that I don't see myself ever using. There are some great pieces, but my lifestyle has changed. I don't wear wool skirts any more, for example. It's usually slacks in the winter. Here are a couple of campus pictures. To the right is the student center. The other picture is the lake in the center of campus.


I rarely talk about my day job. Thursdays I'm not in my shop. One of the things I do is go to a retirement home to meet with residents who need alterations and repairs. I charge the same same as if they came to the shop, but I give them the service of coming to where they are, and delivering the items back the next week. I do the work at the shop.I work for two different buildings, of the same retirement community.
Today I took my camera.

Across the street from today's stop is a Cleveland landmark, known as the Church of the Holy Oil Can. That's not it official name, but you can see why it got the name. I used to see the steeple from my Grandmother's apartment. She lived in an apartment house on the edge of a hill, looking over a cemetary. The church was visible from her bedroom window. The cemetary was always beautiful looking.

Today's stop was Judson Manor, housed in a 1920's hotel which is a National Landmark. I just took a picture of the main entrance. I should do this again and take pictures of the inside lobby. I have not seen any of the apartments.

I went from there to my LYS to drop off some patterns I had printed. I was supposed to meet with the yarn company owner, but he was off schedule. I like this job! I get paid for designing and knitting a garment, then I get paid for the follow-on pattern sales.

Lunch was next. I picked up corned beef sandwiches from Mr. Brisket. The best we've had in a long time.

Then off to our son's house to pick up the grill from Sunday's party. Spent time for coffee and talk.

Sock knitting progresses. The next birthday sock is almost finished. I tried a different decrease method. Cat Bordhi says that you can place the decreases anwhere, so I tried the top of the foot. I've even written the pattern already. I'll start its mate tonight.

Happy Holidays

Sunday we held a family gathering/holiday/birthday party at our son's house. There were about 25 people, but the yard is very, very deep so it wasn't crowded. Family gatherings aren't crowded anyway.

I've been meaning to get a picture of this tree. The face is plastic. DIL Peg says he's a fun guy. He reminds me of the tree people in the Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, he's also a fungi tree and is slated for removal. The face will find a new home. There are lots of other trees on the lot.

There was lots of food, as happens when families get together. Everyone brings something and usually adds a little something else as long as they're coming. These are not the only groaning tables. We were in charge of the meat. Chicken, hamburgers and steaks went on the grills.

Games were played. Attendees aged from 2 to grandparents. A game of 4 square was chalked on the driveway. It involves a ball, 4 people and not bouncing the ball on the lines. I'm not sure exactly what the rules are. There was also a cornhole game played with beanbags and sloped ramps with holes in them (one hole in each ramp). The trampoline was a big hit as usual. Two of our grandkids are having fun here.

It is becoming a tradition to make ice cream! Hand cranking is supposed to be a team effort. DD the ice cream expert has learned that the colder the mix is, the better and quicker the ice cream is. DSIL Chris is the main crank man. The end result is awesome. Fruit in a number of varieties and syrup, chocolate and caramel of course were added to the base of vanilla as desired. One of the perks of being the main crank man is the privilege of licking the paddle.

Since it was a beautiful day, and not too hot, my sister took advantage of the chance to refresh her motorcycle riding skills. She rode quilter daughter's bike and Jeff (in the blue shirt) was her guide. She lives about 1 1/2 hours from here and never lived in this neighborhood. She came prepared with jeans and boots. With 4 bikes on site, there was a helmet that fit her head. Now she's dreaming of owning a bike.

Quilter daughter has made a girly bag for her bike. She uses it on quilt shop hops. We got to see it up close. It's still a work in progress, but when she's on the road, you know the rider is female. Details are on her blog.

The day ended with a campfire. That actually is a firepit which can double as a grill. It has sides and a lid. Wood is easy to find when you have many trees.

I had a relaxing weekend with 4 days off work in a row. I had a long to do list and some of it actually got done.

More sock knitting

Socks get knit much faster with an easy pattern and thicker yarn. I used Patons Kroy Sock 4 ply, which is thicker than most of the yarns I use. It wanted to be knit on US# 2/2.75mm needles. The pattern is a variation of one in the first Vogue Stitchionary. I still need to write up it up.

The contrast yarn was used to make sure that I wouldn't run out of yarn. Of course, I probably had enough this time. I'm tired of running out of yarn on guy's socks.

These will go to my son tomorrow for his birthday. On to the next pair. The next birthday is July 18.

I'm off work for four days in a row and had great plans for what I would finish. I don't think I've finished anything but the socks, although I have worked on a number of items. I've almost finished the pattern for the black shawl and need to contact the yarn comapny owner so we can take pictures. The shawl was delivered 2 weeks ago at TNNA.

Tomorrow is a big family gathering holiday/birthday thing. Tonight is quiet. We'll try to watch fireworks on TV. I can knit on a vest for a grandson Christmas present. The next socks are cast on, but I'm taking a break.