A new blog title?
Tuesday, January 16th, 2007I call myself a knitter. So why isn’t my blog filled with entries about the many projects I’ve completed in the last year? The answer is simple. I’ve been neglecting my knitting needles a bit and spending time with my sewing machine. Let me describe my sewing machine – a heavy, metal Sears-Kenmore, built sometime in the last century and set into a wooden table that lives in my kitchen. It was a gift from my mother-in-law, and for a long time it simply sat in the kitchen staring at me reproachfully. I probably owned it two years before even opening it. I think I have a small fear of things mechanical (I’m 30 and just got my driver’s license last July). My knitting needles I have complete control over. The sewing machine, on the other hand, can go very, very fast.
Last fall I decided enough was enough (I had taken my 6 lessons and passed my driving test after all), and so I opened my sewing machine. This is my first project:
It started as a sweater. A sweater that I had obsessed about for a year and absolutely HAD to knit. Well, 8 inches into the body, I decided that I hated working on it. I have my mother’s cheap-gene though and so I obsessed over what I could with the 8 inches I had managed to knit. A felted bag! That was the answer. I knit a bottom, and felted the whole thing by hand in my bathroom sink and tub. The bag needed a lining and I had a dress that I had bought for $10 several years ago and never worn. (I hated the dress, but adored the fabric.) I measured the felted bag, made some templates on tissue paper, cut out the fabric, and whir whir with my sewing machine – a lining for my bag. I loved the way the project came out and decided that the sewing machine might not be so bad after all.
I made this skirt (the top of the zipper isn’t perfect, but I have plenty of long shirts to cover that up):
I made these cute little zipper bags as Christmas presents:
And this tote bag for me:
I steeked a sweater (sorry, no picture).
And now I’m taking a quilting class………
In the meantime I’ve knitted a tweed vest and have a lovely hank of hand-painted mohair boucle. (I’ve been neglecting my knitting needles, but there still my first true love.)
