UFO's To The Rescue

I was so bored at work yesterday that I was motivated to finish 3 knitting UFO's. What's a UFO, you ask? UnFinished Object. I bet every crafter, regardless of medium, has them. In the knitting and sewing world, UFO's abound. I've been reorganizing my sewing studio and found way more sewing UFO's than I care to reveal. I'm working on finishing up many of them. It is puzzling to me why some projects get set aside with so little left to do to finish. A thought for another day. I want to write about what I finished. 


Socks
I finished these 2 sock projects. 

The colorful red sock on the left is the dreaded "2nd sock" from a pair I started last summer in the Purl Hunter KAL. The mate has been in my sock drawer for 9 months. Here is the perfect example of "Why didn't I finish this?" I had 10 stitches to bind off. That was it! Bind off 10 stitches and it was completed. It took me about 10 minutes. Now why didn't I finish it? Why did I lay it aside with only 10 stitches to bind off? No clue, but it's finished now and happily united with its mate. 

The odd looking socks on the right are yoga socks. They have neither a heel nor toe to provide grip when doing yoga poses. I only started these in June so they've not been laying around long. Still I'm glad to have them off the needles and available for my weekly yoga session. 

Cardigan

I also finished this cardigan. This was a KAL at my LYS last early fall. I actually had finished this and worn it a couple of times. Then I realized that the sleeve seams were finished on the right side. Oops! It was a pain to take out the seams. The yarn is thick/thin and because the fabric is so open, the seams had been crocheted, not just regular-style seaming. So the cardi sat around for several months before I tackled taking out the seams. Then it sat around a couple more months before I resewed the seams. Again, it took me all of about 30 minutes to accomplish the seaming. And now I can wear it again. 

I know this doesn't look very exciting, but the yarn is interesting and the cardigan was knit and constructed in an interesting manner. Instead of a back, 2 fronts and 2 sleeves, this is knit in rectangles that are then seamed together to create the garment. It can actually be turned upside down and worn that way, but I think it creates too much fabric around my neck, not a good look for me. I wasn't that crazy about the color, but I was matching it up with tops I have and it looks great with a navy or dark brown knit top underneath. 

So I'm really pleased with what I accomplished yesterday. With these 3 projects complete I'm pretty sure I have only 4 projects left on my needles. 

• My Dahlia cardi which is coming along nicely. I'm about halfway finished with the 1st sleeve. 
• My Bayarri cardi. This is a challenging entrelac cardigan. It's another knitting project way above my skill level so it's slow going. It will move up in priority once I finish Dahlia.
• A simple fuzzy scarf for Miss Riley's Christmas present
• A simple g-string project to match a knitted nightgown I made a couple years ago. This is going to be one of those projects I finish up in 30 minutes and wonder why it took me so long. 

So I celebrated my accomplishments by ordering yarn for a project I'm planning. And that's all I'm going to say about that!

Saturday Afternoon Sewing

I've had a hard time focusing today so rather than work on the blue rayon slacks, I finished another UFO this afternoon. Yeah!


I made these hot pad holders to match an apron I made last summer. 


When I made the apron I didn't have any heat-resistant batting so I laid the squares aside until "later". I have no idea why I even remembered these little things, but a week or so ago, they popped in my head. I made a trip to Jo-Ann's and bought what I needed and here they are. 






Here is the apron I made last year. It is reversible, which is a technique I first used with this apron, but now utilize any time I work with quilting weight fabrics. 




It makes the apron beefier and provides a much nicer edge finish. 

A Look Inside My Lull

There was a lull in sewing last week for a couple of reasons, the heat and poor sleep. I am at that peri-menopausal point where I have a really difficult time sleeping. I'm usually hot which is a problem because DH's heart medicine makes him cold. This combination usually finds me asleep on the couch in the cool bar basement or in the guest bed with the overhead fan on high. Plus, even if I'm comfortable temperature-wise, sometimes I can't get to sleep or I can't stay asleep or I wake up in the middle of the night unable to get back to sleep. The result is that I'm tired, sluggish and unmotivated to do much.

Add to the sleep issue hot & humid temperatures and I lost several days of sewing. We've had such great unseasonably cool weather that last couple of weeks that I was caught off guard when we had 2 days around 90 degrees with typical August humidity. Thinking I would just make it through was a mistake. Although my office was o.k. (It is in the basement.) my sewing studio was miserable. The weekend brought yard and house work.


But all was not lost. Wednesday I spent most of the day with my youngest daughter, Chef M. (Technically she's not a chef but she's working on it!) We met for coffee then hit the last day of the YMCA book fair. Books were $10 for any size box you could carry. Chef M. found some cookbooks along with some sci-fi novels for her SO. I found these items. The Stitch by Stitch book has a variety of knit, crochet, & sewing projects. I purchased it for the knitted lace baby blanket project. There is an interesting needlepoint/cross stitch Santa in the Holidays in Cross Stitch book. And the tailoring book is from Palmer/Pletsch, always a good resource.


Chef M and I hit the local Goodwill store also. In addition to be a talented cook, she also has the knack of finding great buys at thrift shops. I have lost count of the number of times I have commented and her clothes and her reply is she got it at Goodwill. I'm looking for a man's brown cardigan I can use in the needle felting project from the current issue of Sew Stylish. No luck that day, but I'll keep checking back.

I spent a lot of time this past week searching for the trim for my Chanel-style jacket I'm working on. Here is my fabric. The variegated cross yarn can be pulled out easily. So I tried braiding it, weaving it, crocheting it and knitting an I-cord. Nope. Didn't look right. So I purchased lots of samples of trims from a LFS. They were too wide, too narrow, too plain, too intricate. I tried black, white & black & white. I considered grosgrain ribbon, petersham, (I was amazed that the manager of the LFS did not know the difference between petersham and grosgrain ribbon. How sad.) satin ribbon, silk bias ribbon. I spent hours looking at trims on the Internet. Nothing really seemed right.
Then yesterday as really a last ditch effort I stopped in at Jo-Ann's and bought about 6 or 8 more samples of trim. Lo and behold, one of them looks really good, and I am trying out adding the variegated yarn from the fabric. I should have a sample by the middle of the week. I'm so excited!

Just need to make buttonholes and sew on the buttons of my Bells shirt and it will be finished. I hope to do that this evening.

Disappearing UFO's

Here are 2 completed UFO's.

The one on the left was driving me crazy about the buttons. Hence, the time in the button box yesterday.

The Home Sweet Home is cross stitched on paper. The stitching has been completed for years. I was trying to figure out the "best" framing for it. I found this frame recently and decided to "just do it". The frame has a history. It hung above the couch (along with 4 others) in my childhood home. The frames held pictures of me and my four brothers. I'm not sure how I ended up with 3 of the frames, where the other frame is, nor where the pictures went, but it brings back good memories.

P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S, Progress

I've been really tired this week but I have spent time every evening on my projects.


Here's a picture of my Sewing Workshop Bells shirt. This is that fabulous silk/bamboo fabric. The color is really chambray, not purple-ish. It's a great color that will fit in my wardrobe with no problem. I have all 3 front bands on the body of the shirt. Yes, that's right. I said 3 front bands. There is a "floating" band on left side in addition to the regular front band. It is attached for about 4" at the top, then "floats" freely. It will have buttonholes so it can buttoned "in many interesting" ways, according to the pattern. The fit is still bothering me. It is better now that I have the front bands on. But I still don't think I would call this a semi-fitted garment. It's pretty fitted around the arms and bust. All in all, I really like this garment. Did I mention the fabric is fabulous?












Here is the counted cross stitch UFO I'm finishing up. I had trouble finding the right color buttons. Who knew it was such a big deal finding light and dark wood tone buttons. I just need to sew on the buttons and then frame it and it will be finished. Yeah! I like the pillow finishing shown, but darn it--I already have the frame and I don't want to waste it. (Obviously, being well organized I purchased the frame at the time I purchased the cloth and pattern. That'll teach me!)














And finally, I decided on my fabric for my Go Chanel or Go Home sew-along. I had almost decided to go with a purple/black/grey fabric I purchased at Vogue Fabrics some time back. I had the 2 yds the pattern calls for, but I just couldn't get comfortable with my choice. I checked around the online shops for possible trim and buttons and nothing really jumped out at me as looking great with the fabric. So I pulled out my swatches this morning and decided to go with this fabric. It is a wool boucle. I bought it at the Puyallup Sewing show from Peggy Sagers at Silhouette Patterns. I have about 3-1/2 yds. I can cut those 2" wide seam allowances and not worry. Also, if something happens and I need to recut a piece, I will have the fabric to do that. I feel really good about my choice. I'm excited about finding trim and buttons. I just wasn't excited with my first almost-choice of fabric. Now I need to go post about my progress with the jacket on the Go Chanel blog.

Back In The Saddle Again

I'm home from my business trip and no more house guests so I spent time this weekend sewing and working on another UFO. Progress was made on each front.

On the sewing front, I started a Sewing Workshop shirt, Bells, from the Bells & Whistles pattern. I am using this very awesome silk/bamboo fabric (Did I mention how luxurious, indulgent and just plain awesome this fabric is?) from my friend Londa. I do not believe I have ever worked with a fabric so beautiful. The hand is soft, it sews like a dream, presses even better, feels wonderful on. I'm very impressed with this fabric. I should finish this shirt this week and I'll post picture then.

I guess I haven't used Sewing Workshop patterns before. I am disappointed that there aren't any finished garment measurements. I measured the flat pattern and figured I would be o.k. cutting my normal size. But--it's going to be what I would call "fitted", not "semi-fitted" as the pattern description states. Other than that, I am pleased with the pattern so far. (I'm about half way finished.) Linda Lee writes great directions, and gives great tips for a professional finish. I have 2 of her books, Mastering Miters and Sewing Edges and Corners. Both are great references.

On the UFO front, nothing completed this weekend--but I'm close! I am finishing up another cross stitch project. The stitching is done on linen over 2 threads. I was having such a hard time counting the threads that I broke down today and bought one of those hang-around-your-neck-lighted-magnifying glasses. Wow! That really helped these old eyes of mine. I hope to finish this project in the next day or so and I'll post a picture.

On the Go Chanel or Go Home front, I took my pattern and fabric swatches with me last week to mull over. I'm still a little undecided about the fabric. I have it narrowed down to 2 possibilities. I bought muslin for my test garment so while I work on that I can continue stewing over the fabric selection.

On The Road Again

No sewing this past week. DD and her 4 children surprised me with a visit. It was a fabulous time. I love spending time with my daughter, and my grandchildren are such a source of pleasure. Although worn out and in need of extra sleep today, I thoroughly enjoy having all of them around!

And, unfortunately, I will be traveling on business again this week. So no sewing until next weekend.

I did manage to complete another UFO. I finished cross stitching a bread cloth. It took maybe an hour to finish up the outlining. I am surprised at how many of my UFO's can be completed with just a little investment of time. I wonder why I didn't finish these items way back when. The good thing is I get a real sense of accomplishment when I do finish another project.

And speaking of projects, I have joined the Go Chanel or Go Home sew along. I'm really excited to be sewing a Chanel-style jacket. I've never tackled anything like this. Check all the excitement over there.

I won't be duplicating my Chanel posts. I'll have other projects (aka UFO's) to write about here.

Unexpected

An unplanned, unexpected, emergency business trip interrupted my sewing last week. But I was able to spend most of this weekend in my studio working on the UFO list.

I finished this little knitted purse. I knit the pieces 2 years ago. It just laid in a heap on a shelf in my sewing studio ever since. I thought it would be a snap to sew together. Wrong! Unexpectedly it took me about 4 hours to finish this. Admittedly, part of that time (about an hour) was spent adding a lining, but still it took another 3 hours to do all the finishing. I'm not entirely happy with it. It is soft and floppy. I wish I had added something on the bottom to at least make the bottom more sturdy, but I don't know the first thing about making purses and consequently, have none of those materials. I thought about just using cardboard, but decided not to. It could bend and get a crease; if the purse got wet on the bottom it would get mushy; the sharp edges might cut the yarn. I decided cardboard would not be a good choice. So now that the purse is finished I'm not sure what to do with it except MARK 1 MORE ITEM OFF THE UFO LIST! YEAH!

I give up on the machine hemstitching. I just don't get the how the wing needle works. I spent several more hours today trying all the different decorative stitches on my Bernina and trying several techniques from the book, Fine Machine Sewing. I wasn't able to come up with anything that I thought looked even remotely acceptable. Again, an unexpected turn of events. I decided to just turn a wide hem and topstitch. I think the table cover will be fine. I am disappointed that I am unable to bring my idea to fruition, but I believe reality is taking over this project.

Keeping My Nose to the Grindstone, er Needles

I've been hard at work trying to finish up all the UFO's in the sewing studio. I reviewed my list again and realized that it is actually about 50/50 clothes & craft projects. Over the last couple of evenings I completed these cute Halloween witches. And, I weaved in the ends on 2 pairs of socks I knitted in the last couple of months. Next up is re-making a pair of brown pants for DGD2. They match an outfit I made for her for Christmas. Unfortunately, the bleach fairy visited them. I have them cut out and ready to stitch up. Also, I'm continuing to practise the machine hem stitching for DD1's table cover.

Weekends Were Made For…

Yard Work—I've been making an concerted effort to work in my yard for several hours every weekend this summer. I'm not a real gardener kind of gal. Don't get me wrong, I want the yard to look really nice, but gardening and yard work is not on my Top 10 Things I Love To Do list. However, this spring I looked around and decided the yard really needed some TLC. So now I listen to podcasts on my iPod and spend time on Saturday morning or Sunday working around the yard. I've transplanted some plants to better locations. I reworked some edging around one bed. And I pull all the little weeds before they get big. All in all, I think the time spent is paying off. The yard is looking a little more loved.

Sewing—I find late July and early August to be sewing black holes—too late for summer clothes, a bit too early for fall & winter items. So I decided it would be a good time to work on UFO's. I went on a scavenger hunt around the studio and identified 18 UFO's. Only a couple are actually clothing items, thank goodness. Most are crafty things where the item is 90% complete and I just need to finish it up. For instance, I have some cute Halloween stuffed goblins about 50% complete. I just need to spend an hour or 2 and assemble them.

So in that vein, I completed 2 items that I actually will use in the sewing studio. One is a cover for my sewing machine. It matches the cover I made for my serger. The other item is a hanging fabric wall organizer. Right now I have these little metal basket things hanging on the back of the door to hold stuff. The problem is the baskets are just a bit too wide for that space so the door is only open part way or the baskets bang into the wall. This hanging wall organizer will be flatter so I can put an end to the little dents in the wall (which will have to be spackled next time I paint).

Knitting—On the knitted sock front--woo-hoo! I am working the ribbing at the top of the sock. Only 1" to go and I will be finished. I am so close that I took the plunge and began swatching for my next project. Details later.