Productively Challenged

I am itching to cast on for something new and I have remembered these mittens I really would like to make. They would be nice and portable, no?

But alas, I have 2 sweaters that are almost finished. ( And wouldn’t it be grreat if I had 2 new sweaters I could wear?) My top-down sweater is at the first sleeve stage and before I can move ahead, I have to exactly figure out, how long they are supposed to be. Unfortunately I have a history, of hand knitted sweaters with too short sleeves, maybe that explains the hesitation.

But, it is true, as I have just been told again: “Just do it and stop talking about it!”

So, I better follow this advice! Bye for now!

P.s. My new pants are dirt magnets. They came out of the washing machine covered in tissue fuzz and when I finally got them clean again, I dropped a dirty knife on my lap 10 minutes later. Urgh!

Squeezed in some sewing

Last September I bought some fabric and had big plans about sewing two tops for me. Then I got sick and I never got around to it. Lately I noticed how much I miss sewing and decided not to wait for the “perfect moment” any longer.

I decided to take a day off and pulled out a fabric that I had bought so long ago, that I can’t even remember. It is a beautiful thick, soft, gray cotton twill with a bit of stretch. I made these pants (bottom right), well sort of.

Just because I always have to make things differently I omitted the buttons, but added a fly and zipper ( I just find zippers on the side of pants uncomfortable.) I also added an inch in length.

I have wanted pants with wide legs for quite a while now and I must say I really like the look on me. ( Plus the pants are sooo comfortable.)

I have different sizes in the hip and waist, so I had to make a few adjustments. I used a different pattern that I have drafted myself as comparison and it was pretty easy to make the necessary changes. The pants fit me well, but funny enough they are a bit too high in the front and a bit too low in the back. ( Nothing a good sweater can’t hide and I am still decent when I sit down.) Apparently I was expected to have a flatter derriere and a larger tummy…

I will fix that next time. I have already looked through my stash, but I have not found another suitable fabric. I have to go fabric shopping, I guess…

Work In Progress – Not So Much

I started this sweater in August when we went on our vacation and sadly I have worked very little on it lately. I really like how it looks. I wish it was finished!

Yarn: It is a wool/silk blend that I got from Louet, but they don’t carry it anymore.  The yarn is a single ply and seems to hold up very well. I kettle-dyed it myself in red-violet.

Pattern: my own, inspired by the Cozy V-Neck Pullover in Fitted Knits. The biggest changes I have made are the scoop neck and that the ribbing ends just below the bust. It is a top-down sweater and to figure that out, I used this book.

Now I want to add 1 more inch in length and start on the sleeves. Well, when the laundry is done and dinner and …

SALE – Almost Solid Sock Yarn

All the Almost Solid Sock Yarns are 20% off. Just click on the picture!

The Day After

Last summer my husband told me about the FIRST Lego League (FLL) and asked me, if I wanted to coach a team with him. I had to think about this, because even though I had never coached a team before I had a good idea about the hard work that would be involved. I was not sure, if I had the skills, the patience and endurance needed.

In the end we decided to do it. We chose several kids our children were friends with and we were very lucky, that most of them could make it. Our team of six had its first meeting in September and we met every week (sometimes several times) until our first competition early December. To our big surprise we won the Lego part of the competition. This is very unusual for a new team. We were elated.

Yesterday we went to the BC Provincials and competed against 17 teams.  From the very beginning things did not go well for us. Parts broke, the robot got stuck, models were lost that had not been lost before, hands trembled and details were forgotten. In the end we placed 4th, never coming close to our potential.

We all were very disappointed. But even though we did not get the trophy, we won so much.

Reflecting back on all these weeks of hard work I must say I am very proud of what the kids have accomplished and I feel privileged to have witnessed it. It was like planting a seed, feeding it and watching it grow.

In normal school life children have a set frame of work they have to do, but in FLL every kid can show his or her strength. They can choose what they want to do, how much work they want to put in and sometimes they surprise themselves and their parents. Suddenly there were actors, screenwriters, programmers, designers and inventors. They learned new skills, overcame stage fright and pushed against exhaustion. I loved how well they got along with each other and that new friendships were forged.

I hope they won’t forget this experience. I know I won’t.

For me personally this has been a weird turn of events. I have rarely been in any kind of competition in my life, but  my next competition is in 6 weeks. My tap dance teacher has registered us in a dance competition and  we are talking fishnet stockings. Oi!