Nothing Says Summer Like Wool Socks

These Neapolitan socks look tasty, and I hope my sister things so too. I held off giving them to her since they are already overdue and I finished them on Wednesday when the temperature got up to 103 degrees and she wasn't needing a pair of wool socks in this weather!

They took over a month, mostly because I have been lacking in concentration lately. But eventually I pulled them off. Even with some funky Kitchener stitch in which I somehow stitched through the back loops. I'll just call that a customized detail, not a mistake.

Do you see how the striping worked out on the heels? I love that detail, and it wasn't intentional, the stripes just worked out right. I love that kind of happy accident.



Generic sock pattern
one skein of Vesper Neapolitan
US size 1 1/2 bamboo DPNs


Today I cast on for a new sock, and I'm ready to start the heel flap, so this is zipping along. In fact, most of this was knit while the kids played at the wading pool.

Thrift Score-tastic

Sometimes thrift shopping has no payoff. I have had weeks with no good scores. And then every once in a while you really strike gold.

Like this find. I saw the plastic suitcase-like case and thought, well, that can't be anything too interesting, and yet I stopped and spotted the name on the case. Bernina! At $9.99 I nearly ran out of the store with barely stopping to test it out. I mean, even if it's a total dud then the accessories are worth more than ten bucks.



I took this machine in to be serviced since it did have a powering-on issue but all it needed was a good cleaning and a bulb and now it runs like a charm! With the cost of the service it's still a deal, since these sell on eBay for something like $400-$700 or so, but wow, the Bernina maintenance is not cheap!

The 830 Record was made from something like 1972-1982 or thereabouts. It gets you that Bernina quality without the computerized bells and whistles, which is just fine with me! I haven't taken the time properly to sew with it yet. I need to download and print out the manual which is available online for free.



It comes with a nice box of extras, including a walking foot.



And there are more than twenty decorative stitches. It's really everything I need in a sewing machine, so total score!



Each time I bring home a new machine my husband asks, "Now can you hem my pants?" to which I always reply, "Nope, this isn't a freearm." So this time I did have to say, "Why yes I can!"

And by the way, I did get rid of three machines this week, so I am down to only four sewing machines in the house! And I even have plans to get rid of one more, so that will take me down to owning 3 machines: the Bernina 830, the black Singer Featherweight 221, and the black Singer 301A Longbed. If that isn't the perfect little collection of classic sewing machines I don't know what is!

And if that wasn't enough I hit the same store a few days later and scored this Enid Collins bag. I know, pretty flashy, but I love this, and I am actually surprised that this is the first one I've ever picked up at the thrift store. I may give it to my sister, with a nice pair of socks that I am working on tucked inside. I mean, I would be pretty thrilled with that gift combo!

How Many Machines Make a Collection?

I picked up another sewing machine at the thrift store. I saw it and didn't buy it. I pondered it for three days, and then I went back and bought it. It's a Singer 301. 301 A actually, though as far as I can tell the letter A just designates the factory that produced this machine, as there is no difference between this and regular 301 models.

This machine is circa 1951. It's a slant shank, meaning the presser foot is at an angle, which also means that the feet are not interchangeable with my other machines. It is referred to as the "big sister to the Featherweight" because it's lightweight (16 pounds) but full sized, it uses the same bobbins as the Featherweight, and it produces nice straight stitches and only straight stitches. Unlike the featherweight it has an enclosed motor and it's gear driven (no belt.) The folding extension comes in a short or a long length, and mine is a longbed model.

Considering I managed to take 3 machines out of action in the past month it was easy to justify a spare machine (or four!)







And actually, I got one machine working again the other night. I managed to disassemble the bobbin base on my Featherweight with a tiny screwdriver and dislodge a thread jam. For all the things that I have figured out on my own, I am surprisingly intimidated by taking things apart. In the end it was so easy that I kick myself for my reluctance.

And in other news, I was in California this past weekend so I took a little drive over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and went to the Heath Ceramics Factory Store to check out some of the discounted factory seconds. I picked up a few things that still set me back more than a few pennies. Aren't they pretty?

Two Buck Shrug

Rowan Cotton Tape from the thrift store + free Drops Design shrug pattern = a quick knit for only a couple of bucks.




This pattern starts with one sleeve cuff, works up the sleeve and into the body of the shrug with a little short row shaping, and continues up the other sleeve to the cuff. It's meant to be knit flat, with the ribbing around the body picked up and knit last. I knit the sleeves in the round but made no other mods.



My 5 year old daughter was excitedly checking on the progress with hopes of wearing her sweater right away. But when I finished it after about a week, she was disappointed that there wasn't more to the body of the sweater. I guess the whole shrug concept was lost on her. So I stuck it away and forgot about it for a few weeks. But then on Tuesday she was requesting her sweater, so I figured I'd better grab some modeled shots while I could.



I'm afraid these pictures show off her hand-me-down shirt more than the sweater, sigh. My only thought about this shrug is that that the sleeves could be shorter and the 5/6 child's size came out a little snug in my hands. I think I used a US size 8 needle.

89-13 Shrug in Paris from Drops Design

Sometimes I Hear Voices. In My Pants.

I have been trying to do the whole carry on thing, but I'm finding it hard to function in life. Some moments are fine and sometimes I am such a train wreck. I am trusting that this will get easier with time, and yet I am not ready for things to be fine, because it sucks to lose someone special.

Anyway, here's some stuff I made a while back. Late at night, because there's not a lot of free time otherwise.

A deer stuffed animal from a Japanese crafting book.



It's a little splay-legged, but I'm not sure how I would fix this and not sure if I really mind it.

And a pair of Portabellopixie Ruffle Pants (with single ruffle.) The pattern was pretty straightforward with attractive instructions. I found the pattern pretty detailed and sometimes not detailed enough for my liking, but not at all complicated.





Both of these were made as presents for my seven-year-old on her birthday.

And my five-year-old always comes up with the best lines for co-opting as blog post titles.

Loss

Grief is a challenging process, and I can't seem to find the right words to talk about it.

Crafty Woodland

My eldest daughter had her seventh birthday party today. Seven. It doesn't stop being amazing to me each year as she continues to get older.

She wanted a Woodland-themed party. With all 34 kids from school, their siblings, and a few cousins thrown in for good measure. And I said..."Sure, sounds great!"

Hahaha!

Actually, it was a crafty fun time. (She, much like her mother, does love a good crafty project. In fact, most of the ideas were hers, with a little tweaking on my part.) I was a bit stressed last night as I put the finishing touches on some mushroom huts and tried not to hyperventilate. Anyway, by today I was mostly relaxed and had a great time.



We had the mushroom huts (cardboard + duct tape + hot glue + newspaper + felt + 2 girls let loose with paint and glitter)...



Fake Christmas trees with birds and nests (thank you Freecycle!)...

Woodland crown decorating (42 crowns made with Joel Dewberry Aviary wood grained fabric + rayon/wool felt + grommets + glue your own embellishments + add ribbon ties)...



I made some felt flowers for decorating crowns but burned out after the first dozen.



I forgot to get any good crown pictures. Here's mine before it dried.





This project mixed together with another involving pompoms + glue + googly eyes...

And finally a dose of sugar. Chocolate butterfly cupcakes (chocolate + 2 kids with copious sprinkles + colored sugar)...



My daughter said they weren't like butterflies because they had no bodies, I told her they were butterfly-ish. I did a lot of Ish-ly crafts rather than getting too hung up on making everything just so. It was still a big project, but I am glad we did it this once. And next year we'll just go to a theme park or something.

I have more birthday related crafts to post soon...Stuffed Animal! Girly Clothes!