Thursday, September 12, 2013

Needle and ThREAD #25: A Fall Sweater


Hello again, Needle and ThREAD.  I've missed you!  August was a whirlwind of a month with so many comings and goings and not much of anything happening in the sewing room.

But this little sweater did get finished for a very special little girl's 4th birthday.  I sent it on without blocking so it's looking a little "poochy" in places.  I also am not very happy with the wonkiness that resulted when I picked up stitches for the front band.  I either need more practice doing this or need to stick to sweater patterns with the buttonhole band incorporated into each row.  Still, it's a pretty little sweater and the lattice work detail is not hard to do. If you're interested, the pattern is Springtime in Hollister.

I just bought more yarn yesterday for a little boy blanket.  Itching to get going on that one!

There is soooo much fabric in here right now.  Sari strips on the design wall, fabrics donated for our refugee sewing class in bins all around, and African prints, the best Goodwill fabric find ever, overflowing the cubby they're in.  This is a good problem to have.  Now, I've just got to sit down and get sewing!

Reading has taken a back seat in the last month.  I did finish a short book which has helped me to better understand the country of Burma (Myanmar) and the backgrounds of some of the women in our sewing class, Burmese Refugees: Letters from the Thai Burma Border.  More books on Burma and refugees on my reading list and some photography books, too.  I'm also itching for some good fiction.

Heading to the library tomorrow to replenish my stack!

needle and thREAD



2 comments:

Kathie said...

What a sweet sweater Beth! I was thinking of you when I visited a sheep farm - they card the wool and do every step until it's ready to sell in their little shop. It was so bright and colourful! A knitter's dream :)

Amber Benton said...

Looks beautiful from here! A tip for picking up stitches is to slip the first stitch of every row. This makes up for the difference in the width vs the height of knit stitches. When you pick up stitches perpendicularly on a band like this unless you have slipped the stitches you cannot pick up stitches In a one stich to one row ratio. You my not have done this - sometimes wonkiness has to do only with tension. It can usually be blocked out, but I'm sure that once Clara puts it on and it's worn and laundered it will look just as a much loved sweater should!