Pink Pajamas and A Scarf

All Pajama Photos

I finished the second pair of pajamas, this one for me. I used a cotton batik-type fabric and hot pink thread for the details. I used a scalloped feather stitch on both sides of the buttonholes on the placket, which I think is kind of fun.



The pockets on the pants are the little gathered patch pockets from the
Marfy cape I made last winter.
The pockets were the reason I loved that pattern, and I immediately thought of them when I needed pockets.


I did a very fast label by doing alphabet stitching on grosgrain ribbon. Not the best base, but it was the perfect color. I stitched it onto the right side of the placket just below the last button.



The color was very hard to photograph accurately for some reason, but in the photo below with the scarf, it's about as true as any of them.


Scarf Photos

The gray scarf is what I began as a sample for my hand-rolled-hem demonstration. It's a crinkled chiffon and I used silk thread to stitch the hem. It's about 40" square, and I'm thinking of selling it at the Mu Phi Fundraiser this fall since it's really not my color. I have about 2 yards of the fabric left, and thought a blouse with the scarf would be fun, but I am wondering why I chose this color. I guess it was good that I had no qualms in cutting up some of it for practice squares for the demonstration attendees.

String Bag & Lots of News

Photo Link

I decided to knit for the Mu Phi Fundraiser again this year. I skipped last year, and was surprised, but rather pleased too, that my things were missed. I'm making scarves again, which you can see at the bottom, but I also thought it would be fun to try knitting a string carrier bag. This is my second attempt, and I'm kind of pleased with it. It's a slight modification of a pattern I found somewhere on the web. I'm going to do the next one a little differently and I think it will be improved, although I'm happy with this one for myself.

Here it is flat.


And as worn over the shoulder.


One of the problems I have with the idea of making this type of bag as a replacement for throw-away bags is that so many of the patterns I see have you using very expensive yarn. That seems ridiculous, especially if I'm going to try to sell these at a bazaar. Wetspun linen would be ideal for these and they might last a hundred years, but who's going to pay over $20 for one, and that would only cover the cost of the yarn, with no profit for the group. So, I decided to use something cheap and available (I got it at the dime store). This is Aunt Lydia's Size 3 Fashion Crochet Thread in mercerized cotton. It should be quite durable, and has the right look for what I wanted. I'll see how it holds up, but I think it will be just fine. This bag took almost 2 balls, which was less than $4 worth of yarn, about right for something like this, I'd say.

Here are the scarves I'm making.

These are a fun pattern called the Potato Chip Scarf. The pattern is from KnitPicks, although I cast on 180 stitches, as per their original pattern, and it gives you a nice length. These are great for wrapping around the throat, and they stay in position wherever you put them.

I finished the Marfy #1234 jacket last night and I'm very pleased with it. I may wait a day or two to take photos. I've got a rotten cold right now, and I'm not looking too fashionable, to say the least. I will just tease you with a (semi-fuzzy) photo of one of the hand-embroidered buttonholes halfway done. You can see the double strand of thread I used to cord these. After they were done except for the bartack on the inner end, I pulled up the cording threads to shape them, tied the threads off and finished the bartack.

Photo Link
I worried about them and tested and tested and thought I'd made a big mistake in not doing bound buttonholes to start with, but as it turns out, I love them. I love the look, and I really loved doing them. They're really fairly fast too, which shocked me.

My other big news is that I'm getting a new sewing machine!!! It's a Pfaff 2144 which has been very gently used. In fact, my sister traded it in on the newest Pfaff CV, and she literally almost didn't use it at all, so I'm getting a wonderful, and basically brand new machine. Her dealer is checking and updating it, and shipping it to me, and I'm hoping it will get here by the end of next week. Much anticipation here, and a little anxiety that the learning curve I've heard about with these will be a problem. Naturally, I want it to do everything I want, right now, rather than after I figure it out. Patience is NOT my middle name. It's going to be fun though, and I'm ready for a new machine I think. I haven't worn out my Elna, but it's been going strong for 20 years now, and it's showing its age a bit here and there. I take care with it, but it will be fun to have all the new bells and whistles.

I will be interested to see if the embroidery bug bites. Somehow I doubt it, although I want to try buttonholes using the embroidery capability of the machine. I saw this on a Babylock TOL machine a couple years ago, and it was the first thing that really made me sit up and take notice of an embroidery-capable machine.

Yarnish Delight

From 12-5-06

I finished this quick little scarf Monday night. I think it's pretty cute, and for anyone with a cold neck, it's very nice. I like it worn both straight, as shown, and also with the "knot" at the side. The pattern is from Katherine Burgess, and is a free download. It's a rather old-fashioned item, but I think it's very nice, and after all, Vintage is In!

From 12-5-06

I ordered a new color card and price list from Bendigo Wools (of Bendigo, Australia) just a couple days ago, and here it came yesterday! They don't have a website, you just have to email them, and call a toll-free number to order. They hold the record for fastest service ever for a yarn order, from anywhere, to me. (I once got a yarn order which came from Australia, in 3 days!) I was pleased to get the color card, as I always liked their yarn, and they're very reasonably priced. I really like one of their colors in the Rustic line (which is on the back of the card shown) and will probably order some for a cardigan I have in mind. I wish the color was available in the Colonial line, as I like the cabled construction of the yarn. It gives such wonderful stitch definition and durability, but I'm afraid the color will trump everything. I have my heart set on a cabled cardigan, although I'm not quite settled on the pattern yet.