Westie Bestie Baby Cardigan

I'm always learning as a knitter and I like to challenge myself. Colorwork and seaming are two of my weaknesses, so of course, I decided to tackle them in the same project. 

My best friend from college gave birth to her second baby boy in June, and in July, I started knitting the 6-month size of "Baby Classic Sweater #3165" from 1946's Fleisher Fashions, Volume 75. The pattern suggests embroidering sailboats or flowers on the finished sweater, and although I'm eager to improve my embroidery skills, I thought it would be an opportunity to try some colorwork. Ha ha ha. Knitting this baby cardigan nearly made me homicidal.  Small needles, Fair Isle technique, kitchener stitches, picking up stitches, vertical seaming, and hemming all threw me for a loop (See what I did there? Knitting = loops). Weeeeeeeeee!

First thing's first: I had to design my terrier puppy dog. My inspiration was the family dog, Ruger, and my specific terrier of choice was the West Highland White Terrier. I wasn't sure whether to use intarsia or Fair Isle method, but opted for the latter. Despite multiple do-overs and some rough edges, I think my puppies are cute, even if Ali did tease me that they look like cows. She's mean.

I used the kitchener stitch to connect the two puppy fronts with the back piece. What. A. Bitch.

Next came picking up stitches on a vertical edge; first along the neck for the collar and then along the body for the arm. This seemed to trouble me the most, especially at the neck, and it was at this point that I decided to take a break from my project. Resting your mind and fingers can be very good for the creative soul. Unfortunately, it ended up being a 3-month break and babies grow, you know. So, yeah, I started to bust ass in October. Once I figured out how to pick up only 54 stitches out of some 80 stitches across 8 inches, I used this site for reference.

Trying to mark stitches for pick-up along the neck.

Moving onto the sleeve, I realized back-lighting helps.

Phew! Stitches picked up for the sleeve.

I chose to knit the sleeves in the round because in my book, the less seaming, the better. Though I may have only managed to complete one sock, it served its purpose by giving me practice with double pointed needles.  They no longer intimidate me. I split the picked-up stitches among three size 2 double pointed needles and switched to my size 1 dpns for the ribbing.

With the sleeves complete, I did some gentle ironing and moved on to using vertical seaming on the sides between the front and back pieces. Ali made up for her cow comment when she said my seaming looked professional. And, ugh, weaving in the ends. I HATE that part.

Then came my superbly underwhelming hemming, button-hole finishing, and button sewing job. Oh! And a french knot in black embroidery floss for the puppy nose. :)

I also gifted this little boy with a pound puppy! I didn't realize that someone somewhere was still making these! It made me ridiculously happy. :-)

On a related note, this has been sitting in our basement since about 1985. Future craft project?

Electronics Need Love Too

I decided to try my hand at felting in the form of a kindle kozy for my aunt using Patons Classic Wool in Cognac Heather. I first knit a swatch and took measurements before and after felting to determine my gauge. Then I calculated the number of stitches and rows needed to achieve kindle dimensions in felted form. I knit in the round leaving the bottom open for stitching later and a flap at the top.

Tools for felting include a towel, tongs, measuring tape, timer, and a zippered garment bag/pillowcase (optional). With the washer set to mini load, hot wash, and heavy agitation, I let the kozy stew for two five-minute sessions, checking the felting after each one. Then I put it back in for about two minutes until I was satisfied that the stitches had disappeared, the fabric edges had stiffened, and the kozy fit the appropriate measurements.

Once sufficiently felted, I wrung out the excess hot water, rinsed it under cold water, wrung it out again and positioned it on the towel with my cardboard kindle inside and wooden spoon under the flap.

After several days of air-drying, it was time to think about embellishments. I cut leaf shapes from three green shades of eco-felt and pinned them in place.

Using antique gold embroidery floss, I attached and decorated the leaves with back and fly stitches, unintentionally stabbing myself numerous times. Once the embroidery was finished, I sewed the bottom closed with a sewing needle and thread. I also used the gold floss to attach another one of my Mamaw's upcycled buttons and cut the button hole with a utility knife.

The kozy is complete.