17,160

If I did all of the increases correctly, that's at least how many stitches I have to knit to complete the ruffle of my latest knitting project, the 'Ubiquitous Kate' shawl. Rav Link

This is my first shawl - started Jul 23 - g how on earth did you do this in less than 3 weeks !!??

I'd been wanting to make a shawl but didn't want a lacy one. A dense fabric seemed to suit me better and would be warmer (hopefully) in the office. Next one might be lacy.

I had no idea what I was in for...you start with 2 stitches and increase every single row. Each pattern repeat increases 72 stitches and I had to do an extra repeat. There were 477 stitches before the increases for the ruffle. After those rows were done, there were (give or take) 1430 stitches. The pattern calls for 12 rows of ruffle - my yarn is finer than I expected and if 12 rows doesn't do it, I'll have to add a few more. I've got 3 full balls of yarn left, hope it's enough.

Here's a pic - a shawl before blocking is just a pile of yarn :-)


The flu bug caught me again - laundry got finished, but other than that this weekend was lots of movies and lots of knitting.

Did you all have a good weekend ?

Payment

2 posts in 2 days...don't get too used to it - LOL



Payment for what ? Aha, well you might ask. I'm not sure exactly how it came about but this week, in a space of 24 hours, I became the new owner of...


Hubby has coffee every morning with a couple of the other drivers, so the guys know about my sewing machine collection (and apparently, my wish list LOL). One day this week, it somehow came about that one of J's regular customers had a treadle just sitting around (how THAT came up in conversation between a courier and a customer - I have NO idea !). J must have asked if he wanted to get rid of it after which he mentioned it to Hubby who told me I would be 'getting a treadle tomorrow'. oh, for free !

So, the next day, J went back to pick it up, transferred it from his truck to our van after work and it came home with us. It is a 1910, model 127. Shoot, that makes it 100 years old !!!!!

All it needs to work is a new belt and a new spring in the tension assembly. Of course, it needs a good cleaning and the cabinet also needs some TLC. A project for DH. You know, I'm starting to wonder if these machines are for me or for HIM ?! He is certainly enjoying the fixing up process.

My cost - a banana cake for J (and the rest of the morning coffee group !)

It's a 15 !

I have GOT to stay away from flea markets/garage sales/kijiji/craigslist (and any other places I may have missed)

Last weekend, DH & I spent Saturday at a flea market. This market is open every weekend from Spring to Thanksgiving. Some of the vendors sell new stuff, but about a full third of the vendors are regular garage sale spaces - you can find ANYTHING if you don't mind digging through stuff. There are always a few things we have in mind 'if we see it' but generally it's just a good few hours walking around browsing. I've seen a lot of sewing machines the past few visits and haven't yet succumbed to the temptation of buying although I LOOK at them all :-)

What did I see this time ? A really, really ugly plastic case sitting on the ground behind the seller's table. Well, yes, I had to go see what it was. All closed up you'd never know it was a sewing machine unless you sewed and were looking closely.



I opened 'er up and swooned ! A 15 ! I'd been interested in one, but hadn't yet come across one. It was a bit dirty, but the handwheel moved well, there was a bobbin case and bobbin and only the straight foot. The lady said she wanted $20 but had no idea if it worked. Yeah, so we've learned that they pretty much ALL work after a good cleaning, oiling and new wiring and $20 seemed a good deal. I said yes, Hubby handed over the $$ and once we were at the car, he told me "if you hadn't taken it, I would have" LOL - anyone else see the signs of a monster in the making !

Here are a few pics of the new baby after Hubby did his thing - it cleaned up good.
We also checked out the serial number - Singer dates it to 1948.






The one thing left to do is get rid of the case - that thing's not hanging around for long!

FNSI - follow-up

Well, the Friday Night Sew-In was pretty much a bust this time.

I sewed a seam - one seam, one wonky, crooked twin-needle seam - no pics !

Does it count that I actually spent time in the sewing room ?

Friday Night Sew-In - my first

What WILL I get done ???...

It came, it came !

Bloggy friends are amazing !
I've been waiting for a Vogue sale forever (at least it seems like it). Not long ago Joann's had a .99 sale and I received an email asking if I wanted a V1250.

Today I got a present in the mail and it only took 6 days to cross the country and hop across the border :-)

...and just look at the cutie pie that traveled with the pattern.

THANKS G !

Go DAD !

Tuesday, I made bread - Dad watched.
Today, Dad made the bread & I just talked him through it.

Here are the fruits of his labours...


I got the first taste :-) It is exactly as it's supposed to be :-)

He did a good job.

It never works this well at home...

My sister has a great recipe for bread that she makes regularly (and perfectly !). I've tried it a few times and while it tastes good, it never rises particularly well and is heavy-ish.

My Dad has also tried it once, unsuccessfully. During my last few visits home, he has said he wants me to watch him make it and tell him what's wrong. Yeah, sis lives in the same city, it's her recipe, she makes it perfectly and he wants ME ? to show him ??? So since I'm visiting for a longer time this trip, we planned a day. Today.

In actuality, since I hadn't attempted it in a while, I made it and he watched. THIS is the finished product...




Don't they look fabulous ????!!!! So far, I'm happy :-)

Then 'someone' (not naming names 'DAD' LOL) couldn't wait for them to cool before tasting. So we cut off a few pieces. Here is the middle of the loaf shot...

OMG! I have NEVER made bread so light and fluffy. They were a hit.

And Dad ?
Well, we have another date before I leave on Friday for him to make a batch himself.

Vacation - almost over

Only a few more days left, but it has been a great vacation so far. DH takes a lot of pics of me (that I don't like !) but he took this one last week at the Toronto Harbourfront and I do like it - It sums up my feelings exactly about this whole time off, can you tell ? :-)


Last week, it was all about family, friends, food, shopping...you know. For the first time we attended a RibFest - OMG it was good (and I decided then and there to not watch my food intake at all and just enjoy myself) !

Many of our outings were to flea markets. I came across 2 Singer buttonholers, both of which I'm sure will fit one or some of my machines - and hopefully they will work. They always seem to have good reviews, I've wanted to try one.



The couple we visit live about a 5 minute walk from the Ravine (a large park space with walking trails and bike paths, right near downtown Toronto). For the first time, I took the pups one morning for a walk there and was surprised to find there was a packed trail for walking parallel to the paved bike path. Just like walking in the woods - and so peaceful at 7am. Look :

My neurotic Pom, turned into quite the adventurer and just loved the walk - he led the way everywhere :-)

Deceiving - this was high enough to walk under without ducking.

The end of that log from the other side.


The shopping/fabric acquisitions...remember the bag ?...


6 knits from Fabricland - 3 are rayon/spandex blends, the other 3 are poly/spandex blends. The 3rd row includes fabric from the Fabric District shopping - top to bottom are, black twill lining for an upcoming project - if it works, you'll see it. If not, well...Next down is a leaf print in (I think) cotton. Both were from King Textiles. Next one is a rayon print from Downtown Fabrics - I loved it but am not sure exactly what I'll do with it. The 2 pieces on the far right are both wool from Sue who so generously parted with some of her stash to both Connie and I. The top one is in 2 pieces and there is enough to make a skirt. The other is not quite enough to make pants, I don't think.


Last year, we went into Archie Fine (& Sons ?) to find that they cut the ends of their rolls into pant lengths and the more you pick the less $ per piece. I wasn't prepare to spend for a bulk purchase then but intended to check it out again this year. The 7 pieces above were all $15/piece - I can't go wrong with that if they make wearable pants. The colorful print is strips of gauzey fabric sewn onto a lightweight cotton backing. Connie, Reethi & I all bought a bit. This is one repeat and I think I'll just gather it to a 2" elastic for a waistband.

Need a bit of help with today's purchase. Any ideas are welcome.

We stopped in our local thrift store and left with a bag of stuff for $15 ! Including the fabric below. The plaid is a fluffy wool that I figured for a skirt but it might be TOO fluffy - I'll see.

All of the other pieces are remnants, 6 are labelled Zegna, and I DO mean remnants ! They are all half-width and range from 32-40" long. Like, say, really big swatches ! There are 11 pieces and the rolled up bundle was only $2.99. I couldn't leave it there, but have NO IDEA what to do with pieces this small ! What do you think ???


Oh, I almost forgot...the boxes I brought home. Well, one was a Featherweight (given to me by the friends we were visiting - GIVEN !) and the other was a Singer 66 RedEye found on Kijiji - it belonged to the seller's grandmother. It had originally been treadled but she was keeping the cabinet - it was gorgeous ! The machine in the middle is one of the 99s we bought last year.

2nd Annual Sewing Buddies Day !

...and here we are this year !

Reethi, Connie, me & Sue

Thursday, Connie drove in for the day and both Sue and Reethi booked the afternoon off for Toronto Fabric District shopping and lunch. As expected, we had a wonderful day. Connie & I met early morning and after a kick-start of coffee and a catch-up chat, started right in. We hit a couple of shops before meeting Reethi, Sue and Connie's daughter Leah for lunch.

Afterwards, we shopped ourselves out before seeing Reethi off to an evening engagement and Connie and I took Sue up on a supper invitation. Her husband, Rusty, did the honours of chef and produced a wonderful fish/seafood supper. Sue gave us a tour of her sewing room and we chatted more about sewing. She had sorted thru her stash the previous night and had a pile of fabrics that we were able to choose from to take a few pieces home.

When it was time to go home, Rusty offered to take me on the bike. Oh, I haven't been on a motorcyle since we sold ours about 10 years ago - and couldn't resist - although I tried, LOL. I'm not nervous and once Rusty determined that, it was a great ride - I was very comfortable and really enjoyed myself. Now, this meant it was quite the production to get me home. Sue followed us in the car, because I bought too much fabric to fit in the storage of the bike and she offered to bring it. Thanks guys !

This was a quick post before we leave for home tomorrow but here is a quick look at the fabric bag - I'll detail it once I'm able to take it all out and get pics.


A couple other things are coming with me this year - a teaser pic...

Real pics once we get home.