Cupcake Reborn

I decided to finish some UFOs that have been in the back of my closet. I like working on this shirt, which is Cupcake from The Happy Hooker, but I really changed the pattern around. My gauge was different, so all the numbers are changed. The best part was that I didnt' write down all those numbers, I just calculated them when I was crocheting. I wasn't looking forward to doing all that again for the front, since I had no idea what I did. I ended up just measuring the back then estimating. Hopefully it will work out. I plan to also finish Branching Out in the next week or so. I just want to move on to new projects, so I want to get these over with.
I also saw the new Knitty, and am not too excited about it. I haven't got into making socks, and almost all the patterns are socks. I did like the hemp maze hat, the Perdita bracelet, and the Manresa legwarmers. I really like the pattern on the legwarmers, and might just use it for something else, since I don't wear legwarmers much. I wanted to see more tops, but in a way, it might be better that there aren't any. I already have too many patterns that I want to try, and I wanted to try to make my own patterns, so that's probably enough.

Future Projects

I haven't been knitting much lately, but I've been thinking about making the Bonita shirt from the summer Interweave Knits in Knitpicks Shine. I don't know if I would do all the embroidery, but I like how it looks. I tested out a swatch of Shine, and I liked knitting with it. It's so smooth, so I wanted to try it out as a sweater. I've haven't made anything with pure cotton yet, so it will be interesting to try it. I've mostly been sewing, and that's a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Even when I measure right, and think that I'm sewing a straight line, I comes out crooked. I try ripping out the seams with a seam ripper, but it cuts the fabric instead. It's frustrating, but I mainly want to do fabric collages, or art quilts, for wall hangings, so sewing in a straight line won't matter as much.

The Machine

I got my first sewing machine a couple of days ago, and am learning how to use it. I think it's from the 1960's, but it works well so far. I've only used one other sewing machine, which probably from the 1950's, since it weighed about 60 pounds or something. I eventually want to use it to make art quilts, but I'm trying to make really simple stuff right now. I wanted to get a really fancy one with lots of stitches, but I don't think I need that. It's hard enough just trying understand how to use it, and getting the stitches to be straight. I never seem to cut the fabric exactly, then the seams are uneven. Hopefully it won't take too long to get better at it. I really like the art quilts that I've seen. They almost look like paintings or collages. I don't understand how they put them together, though, and how everything looks so even. I think I might just make a simple quilts with squares or triangles to start with. That might be difficult enough at this point.

Cupcake Unfinished and Stitches

I finished the back of Cupcake, from the Happy Hooker. My gauge is completely different from the pattern, so I changed the measurements and the increases a lot. I started another one, but it would have been way too small, because I didn't pay attention to the gauge at first. I used the recommended Amazon DK yarn, which was cheap, and seems good so far.
I haven't been working on this project for a while, since I got a stitch dictionary, Vogue Stitchionary. The book has a lot of good stitches in it, that seem up to date. I looked at some other books, and a lot of the patterns reminded me of bad clothing from the seventies and eighties. I've been trying out different lace patterns with different yarns, to see how the yarn affects the lace pattern. It's interesting, because I get a lot of ideas of things to add to plain patterns that I've seen.

Designing Sweaters

I've been trying to design a sweater myself, and it's not easy. I found this page, which helps in charting patterns, except the font for the spreadsheet seems to have problems. If I wanted to make cables with both purl and knit stitches, the font doesn't work. I don't know if it's the font or my computer, or what. It works well for other stuff, though. Another thing is that it's difficult to figure out where lace patterns or cables should go on a sweater, so they don't interfere with shaping. It would be easier to make a sweater that has no shaping, but I don't like how those fit. I also realized that I need to learn how sweaters fit, and how the amount of ease affects it, and basic information about shirt construction. In a lot of patterns, I like only certain aspects of it, but I don't know how to change them, and have the altered sweater fit right. I can't find information on how exactly to knit different collar and neckline styles, and have it work with the sweater. Designing sweaters and knitted stuff myself seems to be the next step for me. I can learn more about the overall construction, instead of just blindly following the pattern, not really knowing why I'm doing the increasing at a certain point, or whatever.

Spring Rhododendron

Yoga Bag

I finally finished this bag. It was really simple, but for some reason, I never wanted to work on it. I used Lion Cotton, which is difficult to knit with. I got the pattern from S&B Nation. I wanted to make it longer, so it completely covers the bag, but I didn't calculate right. If I ever make a yoga bag again, I'll just make it stockinette stitch, so it doesn't take forever. At the top you can see the diamond lace pattern more clearly.

Granny Square Afghan

Here are the granny squares I've made so far. I like these because they are instant gratification. I'll have to make twenty or thirty for an afghan, so it will take a while. All my other projects are just sitting there and I feel uninspired to work on them. None are close to being done, and it feels like I've been working on them for a long time now, with not much progress, so it's frustrating. I've been taking time off from knitting, and working on paintings more often.
These squares are the basic granny squares. I thought of making different types, but they didn't really work well together. They turned out to be a different shape than rectangular, so it didn't look cohesive. I thought about keeping it more simple, then adding a few really different looking squares diagonally. These are done with Bernat Softee Chunky, which is extremely cheap, but is good to work with. I've seem patterns for afghans that uses really expensive yarn, so the thing ends up costing over a hundred dollars, and you'd have to dry clean it. I don't really get that, since it is a blanket that's meant to be used.

Granny Squares

I've been working on granny squares lately, since they're quick and portable. I found a bunch of different patterns, and I think I'll just connect them together for an afghan. The color choices aren't my preferred colors, but the store didn't really have a good selection. They had three different shades of hot pink, but no blue or green at all. These are actually purple, but they don't look like it. Other than these squares, I haven't done any knitting at all. It's way too hot for it. There are a lot of good summer patterns, but I feel like I'd ruin the fabric if I actually wore them during the summer. On another note, I got some t-shirt iron on transfers, so I'll see how well those work out. I'm planning on putting artwork or designs that I've done onto them. I don't know how well they'll hold up, but even regular t-shirt patterns wear out after a while. I think it's a lot better to wear handmade or personalized clothing, so you don't have to look like everyone else, or buy what the fashion industry wants you to wear.

Changes and Updates

I've been doing a lot more drawing than knitting lately. I went through a period where it seemed more frustrating than actually fun. I find that if I approach it as if the final product is only part of a process, and it's not final, then it makes it more fun. I've been drawing more in the graphic novel style lately, and there is less pressure that way, because it feels more like practicing. If I try and crank out finished pieces that have to be perfect, it gets annoying.
I started Cupcake from Happy Hooker again, because my gauge was off, and it wouldn't have fit at all. I found that the general measurements of this shirt had to be changed, because it seems to be for a specific body type only. It is an easy enough pattern, so you can loosely keep the general look of it, but change it a lot. One thing I've been thinking about crocheting is a granny square afghan. I've never made a blanket and I like that I can just get a little bit of yarn and add to it over time, because the dye lots wouldn't have to match. I just have to find the right yarn for it. This is a picture of my cat, who falls asleep in strange places.

Greensleeves

I'm almost done with this sweater. The sleeves will go by more slowly because I have to knit them with double pointed needles. It fits well enough for not really having a pattern. It seems too roomy in some areas, but I don't want to fix it. I wanted to use up this yarn, Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride, which I think is really itchy. I won't be getting anything with mohair in it anymore. I haven't been as into knitting lately, since I decided to just use up the yarn I have, and adjust or finish up previous projects. It's not as exciting as getting new yarn for a pattern I really like. At least I'm not knitting this sweater in the middle of the summer heat. Last year, I started a thick wool sweater in July, for some reason.

Summer time Crochet

I bought some yarn to start Cupcake, from the Happy Hooker. I'm gradually working my way through the book, since there are so many good projects in there. I want to make more knitted summer stuff, since I've basically only made worsted weight sweaters, that I can't wear all the time. So far, Cupcake seems easy enough, and I'm using the recommended yarn, Amazon DK. It's really smooth and lightweight. I keep starting new projects and not finishing them. I'm excited when I start, then the pattern seems tedious. If I work on a bunch of different projects, it keeps them from getting boring.
I'm glad summer is here, because it means in season fruit is here. There's nothing like organic strawberries, blueberries, and mangos, in my opinion.