T-shirt reconstruction...

... always wanted to try it. I had this long sleeved lavender colored t-shirt from United colors shrinks-in-the-wash-a-ton. It got to a point where it revealed far too much of my tummy to be wearable. Plus the neckline was a bit too low. So I decided to fix that. 

I sacrificed another t-shirt, and simply sewed bits of it to the lavender shirt. I didn't bother with finishing the edges, since the original shirt didn't have finished edges either.

Of course I messed up. The fabric glue I used to glue down the ends of the new neckline seeped through. I had to add a fabric rose to cover it up. I was going for Sporty spice with this recon, but got Girlie spice instead. Oh well, it doesn't look that bad.

I also made a braided necklace, just for the heck of it, the kind that was all the rage on the internet recently. If you're going to do this, use a t-shit that doesn't have side seams. Or at least one that isn't XS, so you'll have enough material to braid with.

Ogrlicu sam čak i nosila na poslu. Komentar kolegice: Ča ti je to, neka špaga? ;))

Ruler? I don't need no freakin' ruler!

Except that I clearly do. As you can see in this very askew quilted (or is it patchwork?) tote below.

In a spur of late night inspiration I finally figured out what to do with this Sublime Stitching embroidery I stitched ages ago.

Getting a ruler out and measuring everything seemed like too much work, so I decided to eyeball everything. Big mistake.

Turns out you really do need a ruler for quilting. Or at least a good eye.

Castiel

I have really stupid reasons when it comes to choosing patterns that I want to knit.
Sometimes it's the color of the modeled garment. Other times it's the photo of the designer's finished object (like it looks so pretty in the snow, let's knit it, even tough my version probably won't ever see any snow). This time it was the name.

Let me embarrass myself completely by telling you that I decided to knit the Castiel hat just because Castiel is the name of a character on the TV show Supernatural. About two brothers that hunt demons and monsters. Castiel is an angel that helps them. Yes, I watch that. And it's really not so stupid as my description makes it sound. Right, moving on. Here's the hat on my head:


I bought the pattern and spent two nights trying to figure out the tubular cast on it calls for. Finally gave up when I realized it looks horrible. I went with the long tail cast on I always use.


Finished it in about a week, and then took some pictures at night and in the morning. Too dark during the night, too bright this morning, hence the lousy quality. It has nothing to do with my photographic skills. Or lack thereof.

During the past week I also somehow managed to add this to my already big stash of yarn:

Clearly I have a problem. Or more potential hats in my future.

Basic Blue and a lonely sleeve

Guess what's new! I finally finished the Basic Black cardigan I moaned about in previous posts. Guess what else is new? I don't like it. Well, to be honest, that's not exactly new, I always find flaws in my knitting and I'm super self-critical.
But this cardi seems to confirm my inability to knit anything with set-in sleeves. They're a little tight in the armpits and pull a little too much to the back.

But the main screw-up is the button-band. The button-band from hell. I ripped and re-knit that sucker three times. Still not good. It puckers and looks weird. While I was knitting it, I kept wondering where I went wrong. I finally figured it out THREE SECONDS AGO!!

(please ignore the fridge in the background. And the ironing board. And the 80's mustache on the guy on TV. And the general mess.)

The pattern says to pick up four in every 5 stitches. That wasn't enough, so I picked up every single stitch. Along the stockinette edge where I slipped a stitch on every row to make it look neat. Which means I have half as much stitches on the button-band than I do on the rest of the cardigan front. And that's the reason it pulls up.

Oh, epiphany why has thou come too late?

I don't want to rip and knit that thing again. Do.Not. Want. I'm actually wearing it right now. Paired with old sweatpants, a washed out cotton t-shirt and slippers it makes for a nice house sweater.

Meanwhile, this is what I'm knitting next. Caitlin pullover. One sleeve done. No setting them in. And no button band. Hopefully that means I won't mess it up.

Look at all those ends that need to be weaved in. :-(

Happy New Year!

Let me introduce you to my new friend. He's a small dude, only about 11 cm tall. He's not all that talkative, but if he was, he'd probably say something along the lines of: Do you smell carrots?

His, um, genetic code came from Lion Brand, as did his wardrobe. His accessorizes color choices were greatly inspired by this:

(he's a bit of a copy cat ;)

My amigurumi friend and I have a message for you all, dear readers.

We wish you all the best in 2011! Happy New Year!