Tuesday, June 30, 2015

newest must-have accessory for mk-ers...

I was sitting here last night, about 7:30,  watching 'The Fall' (really good BBC program) on Netflix and the power went out. Do you realize how many things you cannot do when there is no power? Back in the day, you could at least phone in and see what the problem is or report it but not now...phone doesn't even work and I don't have a cell phone. Couldn't make a cup of tea...it wasn't really storming, just a bit of rain but was sort of dark-ish, too dark to read, too early to go to bed...I played a bit of Candy Crush on my ipad mini but got to the end of that level and I have to wait 24 hours for the next one...oh, I know, I don't need power to knit! Went to my machine and figured I could make the bands for the watermelon hoodie.
Well, couldn't really see good enough for picking up...then I remembered! I have sister Janet's headlamp in my backpack! I didn't really steal it, it was just there when I got home from Europe and she probably hasn't even missed it. I strap it on my forehead and wow, this is brilliant! Heh-heh, no pun intended! :-) You can adjust the angle of the light and it points right where you're working! Why didn't I think of this when I was making that navy one? Got 2 bands done before the lights came back on! and there wasn't anyone here to see how ridiculous I looked!;))

Monday, June 29, 2015

follow-up...

I am just finishing up making the pieces of my fourth hoodie - the navy one pictured here is for my friend Vickie's hubby (get better soon, big guy!) and the watermelon/hot pink one is for her ( I couldn't talk them into matchy-match ones). I needed to make a couple more for my demos at the Founder's Fest Seminar in Minneapolis, July 25, 26, 2015 (http://www.midwestmachineknitters.org/events/foundersfest/).  I will be showing seaming and finishing on the machine and as an extra class, sewing in the zipper - Dee said she'd bring a sewing machine just for this. So the navy one is all done, with the zipper pinned in place, ready for the sewing - I thought I'd show it here, because I wasted time looking for a navy zipper the right length and after a couple of weeks of finding nothing in navy that wasn't plastic, decided to opt for this black tape zipper with bronze teeth - I think it looks great and elevates the jacket from plain, old... to Wow, where did you get the nice hoodie? I already knew I wasn't going to be able to find a good match for the watermelon colour, so I'll keep you posted on my solution - a grey with silver teeth  or white with silver teeth...

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

manfriend hoodie pattern...

The pattern is ready! A comfy, wearable, durable, zip front hoodie for the man in your life and, a bonus pattern, GirlFriend Hoodie for the girls! The yarn is 'Bonita' from Knitcraft - 500g/1850 yd, mercerised cotton. The man pattern has 5 sizes,  finished chest,  44, 47, 50, 54, 57 in. Third size takes 750g.
The girl pattern, A-line (3 inches larger in hip), finished bust 38, 41, 44, 47, 50 in. Third size takes 650g. I got the two beige hoodies out of 3 cones of yarn. I have the yarn in stock, so if you can't find it from your regular supplier, I do mail order! (email me privately for cost and colours available.) And it's not like I'm saying, make matching hoodies for you and yours - I did it, planning to dye one (or both) to see what happens!
The pattern is written for the Advanced Beginner level, with lots of info on using shortrowing for decreasing, like the curve of the underarm, the neckline and the top of the sleeve cap; all the seaming is done on the machine, with outside seams on shoulder, neckline and sleeve cap to add a little extra design; the front patch pocket is made first and attached as you knit; lots of detail for stabilizing the front edge and sewing in the zipper, using the sewing machine - when you're finished this project you can move up to Intermediate! Oh, it's all just stockinette, so can be made on any standard gauge machine.
Order here, now, just click the 'Add to Cart' button under ManFriend Hoodie at the top right side of this blog. Thanks and talk to you soon!
P.S. thanks to Tom the machine knitting guy for testing this pattern for me! He did a great job!