I love crafting. Some might even say it's an unhealthy obsession. To that argument, I have the following response. Creation poses its own unique reward: something new that didn't exist before you made it. You, the creator, are responsible for its being, and that is a powerful accomplishment that no one can take away from you. It holds a special place in my life, because of my difficult family and their lack of acknowledgement. I'm about to finish a bachelor's degree in psychology and I still don't understand them.
Being able to make something soothes me in ways I can only begin to explain. I love creating something light, lacy, and beautiful as proof that I've accomplished something in a life too scarred by harsh criticism. It reassures me that I am skilled, that I am able to master unique abilities on my own. I still underestimate my abilities, but I'm learning to appreciate what I am able to accomplish.
It's soothing, in ways addicts can understand. The yarn harlot had a hilarious bit that I will poorly paraphrase about replacing knitting with smoking. In the first two weeks after you quit smoking, you'll find that keeping your hands busy helps control the cravings. You'll also find yourself the proud owner of 3 afghans, 2 sweaters, and dozens of socks. Funny, but true. It falls into a neat behavioral trick I learned. If you want to break a habit, replace it with another habit (preferably a better one). That way, you'll have a new habit that makes you a better person or enriches your life or simply stops an addiction. I've quit smoking, and I'm learning to replace bad habits with knitting/crocheting/crafting. When I used to smoke a cigarette after a fight with my mom, I'll knit instead. I say this in an ironically timed moment, since I just finished a row of the hourglass jacket which I picked up to soothe myself after a midterm. It's better than biting my nails, no? Plus, I'll have a wonderful summer jacket/indoors cardigan to wear when I'm done.
I can't wait to finish it, because the boyfriend's mother made a wonderful suggestion. I showed her the shawl pins that I made for the etsy shop, and she thought the designs were lovely. She suggested that I show a picture of someone or something wearing the pin so people got a better idea of how the shawl pin worked. Which is a great idea, I thought. The tutorials show you how to stick the pin in the fabric, but it doesn't really show you how it could be worn, does it? Of course, that makes me want to start a new shawl immediately, let's ignore the half-dozen projects I have on my needles currently. But if you've seen the panache shawl can you really blame me?
I leave you, dear reader, with two honest questions - what inspires you to knit or how did you get started crafting? And, would it help if I had pictures of the shawl pins being worn?
Showing posts with label hourglass jacket. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hourglass jacket. Show all posts
Monday, July 6, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
"Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage..."
Nah, not really rage-filled right now. Running around getting things done does make me feel like a rat in a cage, though. Running, running, running, and I hope to god getting a degree, but otherwise, just lots of running. There is alot of crap to get done if you need to graduate. Oh, and the application deadline is this friday! Teehee! I have an appointment this thursday, but I may sit around on wednesday just in case. We'll see. I got a psych minor and who knew that would equal more paperwork? I should have known.
Anyways, this is a knitting blog, no? On to knitting!
I'm so pleased! I took a chunk of time this weekend and worked on the graduation dress. The front and back halves are blocked, and I sewed them together. It fits! It fits like a glove! Whew! I can do this whole gauge thing. Perhaps a vogue pattern is not the best place to learn gauge, but it worked! My modifications worked! I changed their shaping and number of stitches to cast on so that it would fit my measurements and not their fictional woman sized 34-26-34. I'm sorry, I don't wear a corset, and my waist isn't 8 inches smaller than my rib cage. I finished the neckline inserts and sewed them in as well, so all that remains on the dress is the sleeves and the bottom panels.
The other major change I did to the dress was I changed the length of the main skirt panel, which was only supposed to be 8 inches long. Umm. If I had knit that to size, the panel would have barely covered my crotch. I realize that there's supposed to be a lace insert and another panel to make it longer, but still. My height is all in my legs. With those panels, the current dress size will come down to my knees. The new panel length after blocking is about 14 inches from the waist, which starts at the bellybutton and goes down to mid-thigh. Yeah. I don't think shorter would have been better in this case. Atleast not for the version of this dress that I would wear in public.
In other knitting news, I picked up a project that had been in hibernation, the hourglass jacket. I really enjoy it, because it's a totally different style of crochet. Yes, I'm bicraftual. I haven't knit with cotton enough to form an opinion about it and knitting, however I do quite like crochetting with cotton. I'm making it out of lyndon hill, a yarn by plymouth that's 85% cotton, 15% silk. It has this delicate halo, that I don't think will fluff out any more than what you see in the skein.
I love the delicate pink color that I'm working with, however, if I were to pick up another project with it, I'd go for that fruit punch red. It's gorgeous. I saw it in another yarn store, and it's delicious. I'd already bought the yarn to make the jacket at the time I saw the other yarn, otherwise I would have picked it up. I've finished the top parts of the back and fronts, and now I'm at the part in the pattern where you start crochetting like a top-down raglan. It's a really neat construction that mimicks top-down raglan construction, so you can try on the body, atleast, to see how well it fits you before you move on to the next part. The way you do the crochet is really different, too.
It's a bit unwieldy to work with a US size 19/35mm needle, but it does go fast. Well, it goes fast once you get the hang of how to make the stitches. If you're tired of traditional crochet and tc, dc, sc, ect, then try this jacket. The sizing has a great range, it's a fast project, and it makes a light fabric that's great for a summer cardigan to ward off chills. I chose to use a fingering weight yarn to make a lighter fabric, you can choose to make it in heavier yarn if you want a more substantial jacket. To give you an idea of how fast it goes, I completed the front parts that you attach to the back in 1 day. Now I have a few rows of broomstick lace before I start the waist shaping.
Otherwise, that's my knitting. I've cast on the acorn inserts for the sleeves - I'll only be making the vogue dress sleeves from the inserts on up to the sleeve cap, and the sleeve cap will be just that. Really short. I'm not worried about running out of yarn, I don't want to make a dress that will be too warm. I'm thinking of adding a final edging at the bottom of the dress just to tie it all together, but I'm not sure yet. We'll see how I feel about it once I get the sleeves on the dress. Happy knitting folks!
Anyways, this is a knitting blog, no? On to knitting!
I'm so pleased! I took a chunk of time this weekend and worked on the graduation dress. The front and back halves are blocked, and I sewed them together. It fits! It fits like a glove! Whew! I can do this whole gauge thing. Perhaps a vogue pattern is not the best place to learn gauge, but it worked! My modifications worked! I changed their shaping and number of stitches to cast on so that it would fit my measurements and not their fictional woman sized 34-26-34. I'm sorry, I don't wear a corset, and my waist isn't 8 inches smaller than my rib cage. I finished the neckline inserts and sewed them in as well, so all that remains on the dress is the sleeves and the bottom panels.
The other major change I did to the dress was I changed the length of the main skirt panel, which was only supposed to be 8 inches long. Umm. If I had knit that to size, the panel would have barely covered my crotch. I realize that there's supposed to be a lace insert and another panel to make it longer, but still. My height is all in my legs. With those panels, the current dress size will come down to my knees. The new panel length after blocking is about 14 inches from the waist, which starts at the bellybutton and goes down to mid-thigh. Yeah. I don't think shorter would have been better in this case. Atleast not for the version of this dress that I would wear in public.
In other knitting news, I picked up a project that had been in hibernation, the hourglass jacket. I really enjoy it, because it's a totally different style of crochet. Yes, I'm bicraftual. I haven't knit with cotton enough to form an opinion about it and knitting, however I do quite like crochetting with cotton. I'm making it out of lyndon hill, a yarn by plymouth that's 85% cotton, 15% silk. It has this delicate halo, that I don't think will fluff out any more than what you see in the skein.
I love the delicate pink color that I'm working with, however, if I were to pick up another project with it, I'd go for that fruit punch red. It's gorgeous. I saw it in another yarn store, and it's delicious. I'd already bought the yarn to make the jacket at the time I saw the other yarn, otherwise I would have picked it up. I've finished the top parts of the back and fronts, and now I'm at the part in the pattern where you start crochetting like a top-down raglan. It's a really neat construction that mimicks top-down raglan construction, so you can try on the body, atleast, to see how well it fits you before you move on to the next part. The way you do the crochet is really different, too.
It's a bit unwieldy to work with a US size 19/35mm needle, but it does go fast. Well, it goes fast once you get the hang of how to make the stitches. If you're tired of traditional crochet and tc, dc, sc, ect, then try this jacket. The sizing has a great range, it's a fast project, and it makes a light fabric that's great for a summer cardigan to ward off chills. I chose to use a fingering weight yarn to make a lighter fabric, you can choose to make it in heavier yarn if you want a more substantial jacket. To give you an idea of how fast it goes, I completed the front parts that you attach to the back in 1 day. Now I have a few rows of broomstick lace before I start the waist shaping.
Otherwise, that's my knitting. I've cast on the acorn inserts for the sleeves - I'll only be making the vogue dress sleeves from the inserts on up to the sleeve cap, and the sleeve cap will be just that. Really short. I'm not worried about running out of yarn, I don't want to make a dress that will be too warm. I'm thinking of adding a final edging at the bottom of the dress just to tie it all together, but I'm not sure yet. We'll see how I feel about it once I get the sleeves on the dress. Happy knitting folks!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)