packyderms_wife
Neither here nor there.
It's October!!!
Whatcha all got going as far as stitching, knitting, etc., going on?
Whatcha all got going as far as stitching, knitting, etc., going on?
I tend to listen on the light side because I am doing something while listening. I do really like Dan Brown, though and the Outlander books. I tend toward the fantasy genre. I am just finishing the Witch series (Paula Brackston.) Before that, I finished the C.J. Archer Glass and Steele series. (You can tell I am going down my library alphabetically - lol.) I loved the Jodi Taylor Chronicles of St. Marys series and the series by Deborah Harkness. I binge read when I am quilting. I binge listen to music when I am weaving or spinning. (Movie composers and blue grass/mountain music.)
What fun, Jacki! When I was in a weaving phase, I was making a lot of dish towels. My daughter was trying to get me to sell them. I would have to have a lot of inventory for that. It must keep you busy! I bet it is fun meeting all the customers.
[Right now I have a warp for a complex overshot table runner on the loom. I did one and donated it for a school auction. I have warp for two more. I wish I had just warped it for some twill towels, it would be easier to get back into it. Once I start the pattern, I need to complete it or I will never find my place again.]
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Late this afternoon, Angela Walters is offering another Free motion quilt challenge. Check it out later today at youtube.com/channel/UC0pG03YOX2DSwn8Se32TnNQ/videos
Marsh your link doesn't work.
I really like the Green Pepper patterns. I occasionally find them used, and buy them whenever I find them.
Jacki
I think they started in Eugene, Oregon, and used to have a store in downtown. I have a wide variety, including horse blanket, dog packs, and a wide variety of outdoor clothing.
I am always looking for interesting patterns, including historical ones like Folkwear, etc.
Jacki
I have mostly just been knitting hats, they are fast and husband uses them constantly (and destroys them pretty fast too - the same way he does sweaters).
Now that I have a working computer, I'm hoping to get a bit more organized and see if I can get gun oil to oil the knitting machines and try to use them again.
I'm starting to think that making him some quick "work sweaters" would be a good idea to supplement the ones I get from the Charity shops as he doesn't seem to get the difference between a work sweater and one of my art pieces.
I am delighted he is finding his hobby in midlife of serious gardening and poultry raising but it is rather hard on the clothing especially in this climate.
Meanwhile, double hats (one hat with a lining or second hat inside the first one so they are reversible) are in process.
Well, what a difference one conversation makes,
Nightwolf admitted the reason he keeps wearing my "art" sweaters to do work outside in (sigh) is because they are "so warm" and the commercial sweaters (even wool) are not (I get them cheap at the charity shop).
Now they are warm because they have two strands of yarn in the pattern and/or because I knit them on smaller needles so the fabric is thicker (with exceptions for Icelandic or other really bulky yarns).
He showed me the probable handknit (by someone else) thrift store sweater he put on the clean the stove and said "it is so loose between the cables and it just isn't very warm."
I looked at it and it looks like one of those old "weekend" sweater patterns (probably more like a week in this case) done on size nine or ten needles with aran yarn.
It looked lovely (or it did when I got it for a work sweater) but it is very open and I can see why it doesn't work well for outside work.
So end result, he needs a couple of fast track sweaters so I'm going to use some of my yarn stash and a bit to make him a couple, that should tide him over until I can get the knitting machines working well enough to make them really fast (I made myself a sweater in an afternoon years ago but I had a friend helping me with her machine).
Thankfully the sweaters are larger projects so I will still be casting on hats and socks which are the other things we really need.
I just wish he had told me the problem about four or five dead "art" sweaters ago lol
(oh and he hates stripes so I will probably go for Norwegian "lice" patterns and other "tricks" to make warmer fabric, though he thought even the single knit layers in the smaller needles were warm enough)
Why not buy a charity shop sweater that's a couple of sizes too big and gently felt them so that there are no gaps? I've done this in the past and it made for a really nice sweater vest.
Yep, good idea and I will probably do that too - I used to be able to find more felted ones where people had taken wool Aran sweaters and washed them in a hot wash by accident. They were perfect for when he was blacksmithing or working out in the cold.
But you don't find nearly as many of those anymore as most people get their sweaters cheap at places like Lidle or Aldi and they are usually at least 50 percent polyester so they don't shrink and felt like that - the stretch out, pill and get ugly but if anything they tend to stretch out even larger not shrink.
I do still find them on occasion and this really is the time of year to be looking. Nightwolf still has the "weighlifter" build of the very small waist and extra-large sized shoulders even though he doesn't work out like he used to and that also makes felting down old sweaters a bit harder but again I'll look - he doesn't much care for vests.