Finally Finished

 Finally Finished

Yes, I have finally finished knitting "THE" sweater ... but I lost at yarn chicken and had to reach out to my daughter for possible yarn to finish the final sleeve cuff.

Fortunately she had a yarn that worked.

Yarn chicken FAIL!

Even with the yarn chicken fail, here she is ... in all of her glory ... finally finished and wearable.

Only a small, not very noticeable yarn difference in the final cuff.

I'm proud of myself for learning how to knit a sweater.

Now, I am not only a sock knitter, I'm a sweater knitter, too! 

Sweater Project

 Sweater Project

I began this project in March of 2024 ... as you know, I am a sock knitter and I don't normally venture to far from knitting socks.

Well, here we are ... 

The pattern = Fall Bluff Sweater by Ashley Lillis

Ashley can be found on YouTube, Instagram, and she has a shop on Etsy

The yarn = Wool Ease by Lion Brand

This is a raglan sweater, the neckline (yoke) is in a sky blue color. I used this yarn on a different project so, I don't know the color name of the blue yarn. The yarn is however, Wool Ease by Lion Brand.

There are new to me knitting techniques in sweater making and I won't lie the entire sweater knitting process intimidates me. Ashley's pattern is well written and she also has a YouTube video on the making of this sweater that has been extremely valuable in any progress I have made thus far.

Progress as of April 2025

At which point I got into my head about this project and set it aside.

September 1, 2025

And my courage to pick this project back up returns ...

Working to complete the body of the sweater.

The yarn label with information.

The yarn color for the body is Carousel

I was able to complete the body of the sweater and the 1x1 ribbing.

Very exciting, I need to weave in my bind off yarn tail and the body of my sweater will be completely finished.

By the evening ... I had picked up all of the stitches from the waste yarn holding them to begin working the first sleeve.

Yay!!!!

Halloween Shirt 2024

 Halloween Shirt 2024

My 2024 Halloween shirt 🎃

A sweet friend at work made this shirt for me. She also made my 2023 Halloween shirt 🎃 Which is the exact same shirt ... minus Pee Wee.

I love this so much!

Trick or Treat Smell My Feet 🎃

hahahahaha!!

Pajama Pants Sewing 101

 Pajama Pants Sewing 101

Wow!!! I did it! I made a pair of pajama pants!

This is a easy pattern ... I could actually figure it out without to much difficulty.

I was so nervous cutting into the fabric with the pattern piece on it. But, I just re-read the instruction and went for it.

It was a bit nerve wracking ... but I managed to cut out the pattern pieces correctly.

I cut the medium size but the next pair I make will be the small size and I didn't cut the elastic for the waist correct. I should have cut it 1 inch smaller than my waist size instead of 1 inch larger than my waist size.

I even had a pair of pinking shears to trim the seams.

But all in all for my first time sewing clothing ... pajama pants, in general. Following a pattern and sewing up my very first sewing project.

I'm really really happy with the results.

Sweater and Boots Weather

Sweater and Boots Weather 

Finally, the weather is changing ... last week it was up in the 80's this week it will barely reach 70 for the highs and the lows are in the 40's.

I need some new sweaters and some new boots ...

Here's a pair of boots that I'm crazy for ...

I'm pretty sure I'm going to purchase these ... I 💖them ...

I love these shoes too! 

I'm very fortunate that I work for a company that has a very relaxed dress code. I've been looking for some new work clothes ... sweaters and boots!

Longing for a Snow Day ...

Longing for a snow day ...

It snowed here yesterday ... for about 15 minutes! ugh!!!

Then about 15 minutes later it was all gone!

😞😞😞

Why do I long for a snow day?

The quiet peacefulness of snow. No work or school. Time to snuggle in and enjoy being at home.

In my case ... at home in my sewing room.

No snow day for us yet this year ... bummer!

This is the Stars and Stripes pattern by Thimble Blossoms

My sister asked me to make a couple of baby quilts for gifts for June babies.

One boy quilt and one girl quilt.

As I am still working from my stash of fabric only, I eyeball this little stack of red,white, and blue fabrics gifted to me from a friend.  It turned out to be the perfect amount of fabric to make this adorable little boy baby quilt. As I mentioned, I used the Stars and Stripes pattern by Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms. I'm going to use a coordinating red binding to finish this quilt once it has been machine quilted. I had so much fun making this sweet little quilt and it went together so quickly.

I was also able to choose the fabric and get it ready for piecing, the baby girl quilt top my sister requested.

Pictures coming soon!

I'm also working on 3 t-shirt quilts. I finished one this past weekend and if I'm really really lucky ... "fingers crossed" ... I hope to finish the remaining two this weekend. T-shirt quilts aren't my favorite quilts to make but they are very popular.

As far as my personal quilting projects go ... I'm still working on the Red / White Wonky Stars.

With all of the commission work I am presently doing ... this quilt project is on the back burner for now. 

I am however still pondering learning how to make my own clothes. 

For more than a couple of years now I have been thinking about making some of my own clothing.

For whatever reason I am very intimidated by this process!

That being said ... I have decided that once I complete all of the commission work I am presently working on ... I am going to dive into the world of sewing my own clothing!

There I said it out loud! 

YIKES!!!!! 

Mending

Not only am I mending clothing but I am mending from 

a terrible cold.

Tis' the season I suppose.

A few days ago I decided to mend my favorite cardigan sweater instead of tossing it and searching for a new one. Why ... because I really love this comfy old sweater.

Somehow over time I ended up with holes in both of elbows.

I have never mended a sweater, truth be told I have probably never mended any clothing.

As this was my first mending attempt, I think it went pretty well.

I've learned a few things.

1. I should have used yarn the same size and weight as the yarn the sweater was originally made of.

2. I probably should have knitted a swatch and woven it in as a patch.

Instead, I chose a heavier weight of yarn in a contrasting color, I wanted to see my patches. I crocheted the patches as I went picking up the stitches at the edges of the holes to secure the patches to the sweater. On one elbow I crocheted a circular patch and on the other elbow I crocheted a larger square patch.

I love the results and I love that I have added new life to my favorite sweater. There is something very rewarding about mending an article of clothing and not just throwing it away.