Between the Stitches

Blue Ribbon Recovery

Sorry I've been missing for awhile, but it's been that kind of couple of months. Shortly after my last entry I had a run in with a tree root while riding on a Segway and injured my arm. Nothing ended up broken, but I managed to injure my arm enough that I couldn't lift my arm and there was costant pain. I don't know if I ever really fully appreciated how many things I rely on my right arm for, although I was happy to see how well I was able to adapt and use my left arm. Shortly after my arm injury I was in a car accident totalling my recently paid off with only 35,000 miles on it car. There was also a bit of water in my basement from hurricane Irene thrown in for good measure. Basically life got pretty messy, and my state of mind was just as bad.

Everything hit me pretty hard, and I've been feeling pretty blue. I put a sign on my refridgerator to remind myself to keep thinking happy thoughts and have been concentrating on just doing my best to hang in there. Knitting and sewing took a back seat for awhile, but I've been able to at least pick up my knitting needles this month and get some things done. Now I just need to try to fire up the sewing maching and maybe tackle a small project to get going again.

I had two projects that I wanted to get done to enter into the Big E this year, my Vintage Socks and a mystery shawl pattern I had signed up for. After my arm injury I had to give up on the plan to knit up the shawl, and just focus on the socks. Happily I got them done in time, and ended up sending in the December Wind Shawl that I had finished earlier in the year as well. Both ended up coming home with blue ribbons, as did a cross stitch work that I had sent in as well. Very exciting!

I had posted awhile back about my problems with the cuffs on the Vintage socks. I chose to just leave the ruffly edges as is. I did not have enough yarn to make another full set of leaves for the cast off edge if I ripped the exisiting edge out. I finished the second sock in the same way, and sewed all the tiny leaves into place. It looked okay, but I still wasn’t really happy with how it looked.

I knew I’d have to give the socks a good blocking to make the ruffly edges look less so. My problem was that by giving them a good soak all my tiny little blocked out leaves now shriveled back up again. Attached to the sock I couldn’t very well pin them all out to dry. I put the socks on blockers, and went around the leaves and with straight pins, pinned them flat as well as I could.

It actually worked out for the best, because it looked much better after than it did before the soak. I was able to really manipulate the leaves while they were wet, overlapping them, and let them dry in the place in the shape that looked best. If I ever made these again (which is still doubtful) I’d probably skip pre-blocking the leaves. They looked better with post soak pinning.

The details:

Pattern: Vintage Socks by Lisa Grossman http://www.tsocktsarina.com/vintage.html

Ravelry Link - http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vintage

Yarn Used - Holiday Yarns that was part of the kit

I'm pretty happy with the way the pattern came out, after all the aggravation. This wasn't really a difficult pattern, the Tsocks Golden West pattern was much more difficult. This was just a time consuming fiddly pattern. My only change to the pattern was that I worked the area between the inlaid leaf toe and the beginning of the grape pattern for another inch or two to accommodate my wide/high instep foot.

My favorite part of the socks is the inlaid leaf toe! So cute. No real dislikes about the socks. I'm just afraid to wear these now since I'd have to reblock all those leaves again if I washed them to let them dry. I'm not looking forward to that! Eeep!

Here's the link to my Ravelry project page for vintage for more pictures - http://www.ravelry.com/projects/ibelle/vintage

My other project for the Big E this year was my December Wind shawl that I had finished earlier in the year during the Goddess Knits winter mystery shawl along. I enjoyed working the pattern, and I love the finished project, but this project did teach me the inherent dangers of knitting something where you don't know what the finished project is going to look like.

Don't get me wrong I love the pattern, and the yarn I used, but after seeing the end results I probably wouldn't have used the combination that I did. Before starting the project I was dead set on knitting this shawl with a purple yarn that had at least some silk in it, for no other reason than it was just what I had on my mind at that point. That's all well and good, but when I saw the finished results the pattern just wasn't saying purple silk to me.

The pattern makes me think of snow falling over a forest. Had I seen the pattern before hand I probably would have chosen a cozier merino yarn in an off-white or even green color, not purple. Also, while I used the weight of yarn called for in the pattern, lace, I think a slightly heavier fingering weight would have worked a bit better. I had to block quite a bit to open my shawl up, and the pattern opened up a bit more than I would have liked.

 

 

 

 

That's all being a bit knit picky though. I really do love this project. Here's the details on it -

Pattern - December Wind by Renee Leverington http://www.bopeepswoolshop.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=138

Ravelry Link - http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/december-wind

Link to my project Page on Ravelry - http://www.ravelry.com/projects/ibelle/december-wind

Yarn Used - Dye for Yarn's 8ply Silk in the colorway Queen of the Night- I can't tell you how much I adore the colorways at Dye for Yarn and their sister shop Dye for Wool. They are so different and stunning. They are in Germany, but I received mine in no time at all. I'd highly recomend buying from them. They can be found here on etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DyeForYarn

Dye for Wool carries their silk lace selections. Dye for Yarn carries their wool selections. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Dyeforwool

Vintage Mess

I've been working on Lisa Grossman's Vintage sock pattern for awhile now.  I started the leaves in many, and have been working on the sock body for a month or so.  I had a few mishaps due to nothing in the pattern, just my misreading of the instructions.  I had finally finshed the body of the first sock and had putting off adding on the leaves  to the cuff in favor of working on the second sock. 

This week I decided to man up and just get to work finishing the first sock. 

Ugh!  Let's just say I'm less than enthused about the results, and that's putting it mildly to say the least.

I hate, hate, hate the way the cuff is looking.  It just looks messy, and the edge of the cuff bloomed to epic porportions as I attached the leaves using the intergrated i-cord bind off.  As a result the bind off edge looks almost ruffled.  I went on Ravelry to look at other people's results, and I'm not the only one whose edges are looking ruffley.  I also don't really like how the leaves look with the purl side showing.  They are attached that way because supposedly they tend to curl to the purl side.  I think I must be a screwy knitter, because mine seem to be curling to the knit side and once on the sock they don't look particularly leaf like any longer.

Only half the leaves are attached during the bind off process.  The other half are  sewn on around the bottom by hand.  Those aren't really looking much better.  Once the stem is attached, your supposed to anchor the bind off thread on the left side of the leaf to the leaf point on the leaf next to it.  That's how I did mine, and none of the leaves are lying flat.  They are all bunching up a bit poofier.

Slightly appalled at how it was looking I didn't weave in the ends for the top row of  leaves.  I only attached them to each other at the points as directed to see how they would look.  I'm going to have to rip it out, because it's just not looking right.  Unfortunately I had already sewn in and trimmed the ends of the lower row of leaves, as well as the ends for the bind off.   It's going to have to be ripped out and fixed to some degree so I'm going to have to just stitch those down by hand using spare yarn.

The cuff itself is a bit more problematic.  I've already cut and sewn in all the ends for the bind off,  so if I pull out the bind off I'm going to have to re-knit new leaves for the top row.  You really need the long tail to work the bind off, and now they won't be long enough.  I'm pretty sure I have enough yarn to knit two more in each color, but honestly I don't want to.  Much as I know I'm not happy with the cuff, I'm afraid it will just come out the same way.  If I do remove it to re-knit, I'll probably not work the spacer rows in the bind off to try to tighten it up a bit.  The trick will be to tighten it up without going to far in the opposite direction.  There has be a certain amount of slack in the cuff, because the i-cord bind-off doesn't have a whole lot of give to it.

I'm torn as to how I'm going to fix it.  I'm going to try to fix the bottom row first.  That should be easier to fix.  I think that if I layer the leaves a bit where I connect them to the sock body, instead of connecting them at the tips it will lie better.  Top row is much more problematic, and I'm really warring against what I know deep inside needs to be done.  I tried trying them on to see if a good blocking might help them, but my feet have been so swollen due to the humidity that it was really hard to tell.

Anyone any suggestions for how to fix?  I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to rip the cuff out and re-knit the leaves.  I may try attaching them knit side out the next time to see how that works.  I'm welcome to any suggestions, even if it's what I don't want to hear.

Either way, I'm taking the rest of the weekend off from the cuff, and am going to throw myself into finishing the second sock.  So far so good.  I've turned the heel and am getting close to the end of the front grape panel.
 

 

Lisette Portfolio Dress

I've been meaning to post, but I've been busy trying to finish up my knitting project to enter into the Big E fair this year, as well as trying to pull myself away from the sewing machine.  Both have been keeping me busy, but the results on both projects aren't really making me happy.

I finally finished my first ever dress.  I was so excited about this one.  After seeing so many people wearing the cutest Cal Patch dresses while at Squam I was anxious to make something similar.  I had picked up Simplicity Lisette  2245 at my local Joann's, finding it similar to Cal Patch's tunic dresses and had some cute details.  I really loved the fabric on the pattern envelope and had to pick some of that up to make my dress.

The pattern sewed up easily enough.  The directions were clear for the most part.  I really like how the dress came out.  It's really cute, and would look great on it's own or with a pair of leggings.

    

There is really just one little problem.  It doesn't fit.

In my eternally frustrating way, I didn't really pay close attention to the measurements and just went ahead and made the largest size, assuming it would fit.  Well we all know happens when you assume things, and now I have a really cute dress on my hands that I can't wear.  It's terribly depressing, especially as it looks huge on the hanger.  I look at the dress now and think - Wow, I'm huge.  A closer look at the measurements on the envelope tell me the truth.  I actually would have needed the next size up (if they made it).

So here are the details on my new dress -

Pattern 

 Simplicity's Lisette Portfolio Dress #2245

Did it look like the original photo/drawing once you were done?

Yes, especially as I used the same fabric. 

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Yes for the most part.  I had a few times when I had to stop and think things through a bit, because the terms them were using to refer to the dress and the facings were sounding an awful lot alike, but they were clear once I got that straight.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I pretty much liked everything about this pattern (other than the fact that it doesn't fit).  I love the pockets  and the button loops at the back of the neck.  I used a couple of vintage buttons off an old Lilly Pulitzer dress.  I know they'll never really be seen , but they add just the right vintage touch to this dress.  They suit it.

 
 

I did have some issues with the collar, even though they weren't major problems.  First I melted the interfacing a bit while pressing it, leaving a few permanent wrinkles in the fabric.  I also had an awfully fiddly time attaching it to the neck to the dress.  Nearly all of the notches and seams matched up perfectly, but on mirror sides on the front, near the side seams I had too much collar piece and not enough neckline.  It took quite a bit of work to fit it in, and I had to do a bit of adjusting to do it.

 

What fabric was used?

Cotton lawn from the Lisette line that I purchased at my local Joann's.  It's the same fabric on the project envelope.

Any pattern changes made?

The only thing I changed was how I stitched my button loops.  The instructions had you sew the seam and then turn them inside out.  I found them way to small to flip, so I folded the seam allowances in and then stitched them from the outside.  Yes I can now see the stitch line, but the loops were so small I didn't think it really mattered, especially as they are at the back of the neck.

I also sewed my dress using french seams whenever possible, and really like how polished they look.

Would you recomend the pattern or make it again?

I'd recomend it in a heartbeat to anyone else.  It was simple and looks great.  I probably wouldn't make it again unless I lost weight and fit into a pattern size.  Sure I could try to resize it, but I ordered Cal Patch's book from Amazon and have plans to draft my own pattern to make one of her dresses.  (Probably the way I should have done it right from the start). I had wanted to pick up her book at Squam, but she had sold out.

I was also going to write about my vintage socks debacle, but I'll save that for tomorrow.

My Socks are Getting the Best of Me

I promise a write up on classes at Squam, but for the moment I need to vent about my socks or I'll explode. 

I swear my Vintage socks are trying to drive me nuts, and do me in.  Everytime I think everything is looking good, and that I'm doing well something happens I end up ripping half of it out.  I don't even have an excuse at the moment.  The leaves and the toe inlay are done.  I should be cruising now, but for some reason these socks are fighting being knit with every little fiber in them. 

This weekend I knit and ripped out the heel three times.  Once I had nearly finished the entire heel before I realized that I had dropped a stitch back before one the first heel wraps.  I ripped the heel out and started again.  I don't know what I did the second time but I was just about to start picking up the wrapped stitches and realized that the entire heel was off-kimbo.  Ripped again.  Dug in yet again and knit the entire heel and had was about to start working in the round again when I realized that I had been following the wrong directions for the grape panel for a few rounds before I had worked the heel.  I was getting close to my breaking point right about then, but I put my big girl panties on and ripped yet again.  Knit the heel one more time.  I was just about ready to throw myself a little party.  The sock was looking awfully pretty.

 

Then I started thinking that maybe I should try the sock on.  I loved it, but the foot length was looking a bit small

 

Alas, the sock was too short.  I wanted to start crying.  I had followed the directions, but obviously for my high insteps I needed to start the grape pattern further up the foot than called for.  I had no choice but to rip out yet again.  This time as the worst.  I had to rip out all the way to before the grape pattern started.

 

That's were my sock is sitting right now.  I need to gather up some strength before dealing with it again.  At the moment I'm sick of looking at it. 

Stupid sock. 

Stupid feet.

Squam and a New Path

 Squam

 

 

I've been back for over a week now, and I'm still struggling to put into words my experience at Squam Art Workshops.  Why, I don't know, but the words have been alluding me - sliping away before becoming fully formed. 

In the simplest of words, and the most convenient definitions SAW was -

5 Days spent on a beautiful lake

 

In a cozy cabin tucked in along the shoreline.

 

 

Taking creative classes

 

 

 

But Squam was so much more than any of that.

 

Before I left for SAW  I was desperately needing a break.  I needed some time away from work, friends and family to try to get myself back together again.  While I haven't felt as lost as I was feeling at my lowest points, I haven't truly felt like myself in a long time either.  I knew after last year's trip to Disney that I needed something else this year.  I needed a trip that wasn't going to require months of planning, hours and hours of stressful training, and once I was there wasn't in a spot filled with thousands of happy families that end up reminding me of how alone I feel most of the time.  I needed a trip for me - a trip filled with things I love and that fill me with happiness.  A trip that would be somewhat selfishly perhaps, all about me.  I found out about SAW while researching different possiblities and something about it spoke to me.  The photos, the trip reports, the class descriptions I read all called out to me that this was where I needed to be this year.

 

 

 

I decided to start my trip a bit early so two days before SAW began I headed up to NH and spent two nights in a tiny green light filed cottage on the shore of Paugus Bay. 

 

 

It was quite possilbly two of the most relaxing days I've ever had.  I was intent on staying unplugged for my entire vacation, so I never turned on the television in my room.  I spent my nights reading on the porch watching the boats and getting caught up on a couple of books I'd been ignoring for too long.

 

 

 

During the day, I did whatever the mood urged me to do, and all the things that no one else seems to want to when I vacation with them.  One day I went antique shopping spending hours poking into dark corners and inside of things searching for treasures.  I ate my first meal alone in a sit-down restaurant, and once I sat down to eat I found it wasn't nearly as scary to eat alone as it was to walk through the door in the first place.

The next day I had planned on doing some shopping, but the morning came and any desire to shop was gone.  On a whim I instead drove an hour north to Franconia Notch to enjoy walking through one of my favorite spots - The Flume.

 

 

 

 

Before heading back to my cottage I decided to face another fear of mine and ride the tram up to the top of Cannon Mountain, where I was rewarded with an amazing  view.

 

 

 

Those two solo days may have been the best decision I ever made.  I arrived at Squam feeling free of so many thoughts and worries that had been bogging me down.  I felt at peace with myself and closer to the me that's been in hiding recently.  I was really ready for the next part of my trip. 

 

I had volunteered to be a Squam Angel and help out welcoming people to camp, so I had arrived early and was warmly welcomed by Elizabeth and the other volunteers.  Now some may think it's a bit odd to be welcoming people to a place your new at too, but inside of me is always lurking the young 18 year old girl who arrived at college and felt horribly out of place and friendless years ago.  I never want anyone to ever feel like I did back then and always try to help out with welcoming when I can.  It's such a small thing really, but a welcome smile can make such a difference to someone who's nervous themselves.  The nice thing about having helped out welcoming people was that everywhere I went around camp for the rest of the week, I now met up with  friendly, familiar faces.  I never really felt like a newbie after that.

When the majority of the other campers had arrived, I finally went to cart the rest of my stuff to my new aptly name home away from home, Nirvana, and to meet my cabin mates.

 

 

 

 

I was a bit nervous about walking into a cabin filled with strangers, but there was no need.  I'm pretty convinced that Elizabeth has a bit of a magic touch, because as soon as I carried my knitting  bag out onto the porch to join the others I felt instantly comfortable.  There were 13 of us in Nirvana and everyone was completely wonderful.

 

For all that I had read about how wonderful the classes at SAW were, I wasn't expecting that the real magic of Squam was found right in the cabin.

 

 

Magic was found in the afternoons and the nights spent hanging out with cabinmates on the porch and in front of the fire (some nights were pretty cold) knitting, spinning, laughing and sharing delicious home brewed beer and shared wine.

 

 

 

Magic was also was found watching more daring cabinmates take a plunge into the lake, and folding fat quarters around the fireplace while learning about fabric designing, sweater designing, and book publishing.  Our cabin was always littered with odd balls of yarn, knitting needles and our class projects draped over the furniture and on the tables.  A true creative nirvana.

 

 

 

 

 

The classes were all wonderful (and I promise a second post about them later), but for me what will remain with me most from my days at Squam will be the exquisite unspoiled setting and the amazing creative women I shared it my time there with.

 

 

 

 

9 of the fantastic group of Nirvana women.  Photo courtesy of one of my fantastic cabin mates Laura-Lynn.

 

It was hard to break the spell and leave such an amazing setting on Sunday morning.  I felt drained in the best of ways and more satisfied than I have in ages.

 

 

 

 

Re-entry to the "real world" has been a bit tougher than I would have expected, and I've been feeling the magic drain away from me.  I came back to work to face my yearly review which on the one hand was great  since they couldn't be happier with my performance, but discouraging because they flat out refuse to let me grow beyond the position that quite frankly, trained monkeys could do.  

I need more, and after a week at Squam spent with people who make their livings and surround their lives with creativity I know my current path will never be enough.  I may not have control over all the things that bring sadness to my life - children and love are a bit out of my control, but I can change my job.  I can make changes to fill my life with more creativity.  I can find a path more enriching than the one I'm on now.

 

 

 

Words that Fail Me

I am just back from 4 amazing days at Squam Art Workshops held in Holderness, NH.  I feel so full of everything I leaned and experienced there that the words to express it are failing me right now.  I want to keep them to myself for a bit to savor and relish before sharing them.  As I sit here tonight thinking back on the past week, and ahead to the days coming I'm realizing the vast need for me to make changes in my life.  I think I've realized that continuing on as I have, will never bring me what I truly need.

More on all this later.  Right now I need to sit and just savor the past few days.

Tsock Addiction

After 24 hours still no reply of any kind from the people at Singer, which irritates me to no end.  I did  a bit of sewing last night to test out my sandpaper solution, and so far so good.  I didn't hear any grinding, and my stitches were looking clean and neat.  I'm feeling that it's going to be safe to take to camp with me, but I did find a back up unit if need be to take along.

(Just as a bit of a heads up - all the project links below are Ravelry links)

I've been getting some knitting done as well lately.  One of my knitting obsessions has become socks.  Not just any old socks, but the crazy, fiddly, drive yourself nuts Tsarina of T-Socks  patterns.  Probably the most entertaining part of my obsession is that I hate wearing socks.  I have very wide, deep feet, and have the hardest time finding socks that fit me when I'm wearing thin trouser socks, let alone anything heavier than that.  Over the years, I finally gave up and now the only time I wear heavier socks  is under my winter boots, or while sitting around the house in the winter time. 

So, yes, I knit crazy somewhat difficult socks that I won't really wear.

Why?  I just can't resist.  So they are so creatively beautiful and make for a challenging, fun knit project.  They are definitely as they are billed "art for your feet."  I truly believe that art doesn't have to have a purpose, even if it is in a sock shape.

The first ones I finished last year where Kitri.

 

 

Kitri was actually a pretty simple knit, even though it sat on my needles for ages.  The hardest part was the lace cuff, which was added on at the end.  It was knit perpendicular to the cuff, attaching it every other row.  The beads needed to be prestrung, and sometimes it was just a hassle sliding them into position.  Luckily I have a wonderful knitting friend who loves to kitchner stitch, and she did the final grafting of the two edges of the lace cuff for me.    I was eternally greatful.  I despise kitchnering.

Kitri is actually pretty stretchy, and fits even my crazy shaped feet pretty well.  I got a bit of use out of them this winter cozying up on the sofa and knitting.

Done with those, I was ready to move on to my next T-sock challenge.  Golden West!

 

I think these may be my favorite knitting project ever.  They were also probably my most challenging project yet.  Construction on them was pretty different from any of the socks I've knit previously.  You start knitting an icord band and then knit down from there for the pointy toe boot foot.  When the foot is completed you pick up stitches on other side of the icord band and work up for the boot top.  The embroidery and the boot handles were added on at the end. 

I had a ball knitting these up.  I learnt alot of new construction methods and had fun doing it.  I love a good knitting challenge.  I had them done in time to enter them in the Big E state fair competition where they won a blue ribbon.

Right now I'm working on Vintage.

 

I'm in the middle of knitting up the 36 tiny leaves that will be decorating the cuffs.  I 'm done with 25 of the now - 7 more to go, plus two modified ones that will be inset on the toes.  I should have some pictures soon.  I just keep forgetting to snap a few.

I can't recomend the Tsarina's patterns enough for anyone looking for a small, fun, challenging knitting project.  Like I said, I don't normally wear or even particularly like knitting socks, but I love these sock patterns.  Sadly at the moment all of her kits are sold out as she has ended her partnership with Holiday yarns and is in the middle of making her own sock yarn as well. 

When I heard the news I snagged a few kits while they were still available.

 
 
 

I should be happily be knitting T-socks for awhile!

Customer Service? I don't think so.

Today I am beyond frustrated after sitting around on hold with Singer customer service for over half an hour.  Those stupid "your call is important to us" recordings every so often where just causing my ire to raise.  If I didn't need some specific information so desperately I wouldn't have minded so much, but I was ready to scream at just about any given moment.

Yesterday I was home sick, and was spending some time working on a case for my Knit Picks interchangeable needles.  I was almost done when my machine came to a grinding halt.  My needle jammed in the fabric and wouldn't move.  Ugh!  I finally worked the needle loose, tried to fix the problem and started again.  More grinding and this time a broken needle.  I did some checking around and seems I damaged the shuttle hook. 

Normally there wouldn't be  rush, but I am supposed to be bringing my machine with me on a sewing/knitting vacation I'm heading out for next week.  Now, with one week to go, my machine is down for the count.  So not what I needed right now.  Singer's web page was no help, as their parts page didn't have my model listed, and I can't seem to get anyone to answer my phone,web or email messages to simply find out what the stupid part number is.  So frustrating!

I did try to sand down the knicked piece last night with some sandpaper, and it seems to have helped slightly.  I'd still feel better with a brand new piece though.  If anyone at Singer cares enough to ever pick up their phone that is.  I really miss the days of real customer service, when someone would actually answer your phone call, and not have electronic messages direct you to contact them via e-mai.

Andrew the Yorkie

I was all set to do a bit of an intro post to my sewing when I hit a bit of a snag. When I went to add the pictures to my post on my lunch break, my brand new work computer wouldn't read my memory card. I've no clue if it's the computer or my card reader so I'll have to try it out on my ibook when I get home. So instead of sewing it's going to be a knitting project today.

 

Let me introduce Andrew!

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew was named after the yorkshire terrier in Mary Poppins. He is my second attempt at knitting a toy. I made him to enter into the Big E fair last year, and happily he came home with a red second place ribbon. (He's a winning pooch!) He was a very easy knit, but as is usual with other Alan Dart patterns I've done the assembly takes a bit of work. Most of the problems I think just came trying to understand exactly which parts of the finished pieces he's referring to. Once you have that straight it's not that bad.

 

Here's a few pictures of Andrew while being assembled. Before he had legs I was a bit worried that he was looking a bit like a duck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some particulars on Andrew:

 

Pattern - Yorkshire Terrier by Alan Dart

 

Did it look like the original photo/drawing once you were done knitting it?

I think so. My seaming isn't quite as clean as the one in the picture, but the fringe fur hides a multitude of sins.

 

 

Were the instructions easy to follow?

For the most part.  The knitting instructions were very easy to follow.  The assembly instructions were a bit harder to follow.   I found it wasn't always clear which part of the finished piece Alan was referring to particularly putting the head and muzzle together.  I just had to sit and rationalize it out.  The head was really the worst part.

 

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Overall I really liked the pattern.  If I was to do this pattern again, I would make some changes with the leg construction.  The straws I used were a bit big and didn't fit well through the knit body of the dog.  Smaller diameter straws would have been better.  Also the pattern calls to work only cm of the straw up into the body.  More is definitely necessarily.  I'd work as straw as possible into the body.

What yarn was used?

Sirdar Bonus DK in Walnut for the body

Sirdar Silky Look in Peppercorn for the fringe fur

Unknown remnant black yarn for the nose

Any pattern changes made?

I didn't like the knit ribbon on the dog's head.  I used a small piece of red ribbon instead.

Would you knit it again or recommend it to others?

I would definitely recommend it to others.  I doubt I would knit it again though.  I'd prefer to try a new Alan Dart pattern.

 

New Project Buttons

Just wanted to give a heads up on my new kniting project icons on my side bar.  They link directly to my Ravelry page, so you need to be a member to access the pages if you click on them.  As soon as I find a bit of free time I'll be updating my photo albums here for both my sewing and knitting projects so everyone can access them.  After so much neglect, my poor blog is taking a bit longer than I thought to snap back into shape.

I am loving the project bars though.  If your a blogger and a Ravelry member and would like your own you can find the instructions at Sarah Spins to set them up.  It took only a few minutes to set up. Very easy!  Unlike the Ravelry link icons I was trying to set up to no avail.