FO: Knit Sunglasses Holder

First off, let me talk about how hard it was to name this project. A knit sunglasses holder? I mean...it sounds terrible! Awful! Like the itchy cruddy iPod holder/necklaces after-school knitting clubs teach kids to make for their family for Christmas because they are totally lacking in creative energy and resources. Anyway, I promise this project doesn't live up to that disappointment.

So this is something I have had my eye on for ages - ever since I saw a neat craft idea for hanging jewelry. Can't find the original inspirational photo now - dammit. I think it was on Apartment Therapy or something like that... Anyway, it's amazing and I've dreamt of using picture frames for hanging accessories ever since.

For this project I focused on a place to hang sunglasses - as that is a problem in this house - but it can be used for earrings, buttons, etc. (Buttons and brooches are the next item I need to address, in fact.) Interestingly enough, this idea has popped up a few times since then - most notably here (from my favorite inspirational knit-tastic blogger, of all people!) but never quite in the way I envisioned it.

Fast forward days, months, possibly a year? And I have FINALLY found the time and resources to make this happen. Here's a picture of the finished project:

There is, admittedly, room for improvement (I can see the sagging~ I didn't pull it tight enough around the glass! Bulky yarn made framing this a lot harder than I hoped - I actually cracked the glass.) But overall....I LOVE IT! And now, finally, have a cool place to hang all the sunglasses that end up floating around the house. 

Full notes coming soon !

I am not afraid of my Serger: Part I - Yoga Ball Cover

My husband bought me a Singer Serger sewing machine for mother's day. I was so stoked - thinking of all the amazing things I could do with it! Fast forward 1.5 years later and the thing is still in the box it got shipped in.

Or should I say was in the box - now it is out! And has even been used! Here's how. 

I bought the same one for my mother that mother's day as well, and although she actually opened the box she was in the same position as me. Too many options! So many words! What a big instruction booklet! Where do I start? Scary stuff. She just came down to visit and I decided it was time...I found an instructional DVD in the package and we sat down and watched the whole thing. (Ok, like 20 minutes. Nothing drastic.)

Not at all scary!

Although we were both kind of shocked to learn that this machine wouldn't be 'replacing' anything...it is supposed to be used in conjunction with a regular machine. Whoops. (No biggie though...we've been taking turns borrowing her Amazing and Irreplaceable Singer from the 70s since I was a kid. Although for a minute my husband freaked "You mean you're going to need to buy ANOTHER sewing machine?!?")

I already knew my first project - a cover for my yoga ball! Also known as a birthing ball or exercise ball, depending on what you're using it for. It will probably be a birthing ball sometime in the next few weeks, and then after that a baby-bouncing ball. Truly never has been a yoga ball, dunno why that's my term of choice. 

Anyway I digress. My doula has a fantastic cover and I inquired where she got it - a friend who makes and sells them for $30. $30!? But I have a serger! And 6 boxes of fabric waiting to be used! And the wonderful internet, who provides information like an easy pattern for sewing such simple awesome things! Check out the blog post I found that describes all you need to know here. 

Stash fabrics and simple sewing - perfect project. Here's my first go, using some funky 70s floral and a blue linen strip.

giant blue slingshot?

the strap!

SO! One project under my belt, gotta say I'm really pleased. It isn't bad for a first go. Next time I will definitely use a stretchy fabric (don't think I have any swimsuit fabric on hand, like the original blogger suggests) and probably go with a shorter strap. 

FO: Plastic Bag Stash-o-matic

Do you have something to stash plastic bags in?It's pretty much a "must" if you have dogs, are a huge reuse/recycle fan, or are Asian. The basic idea is it's something that you can easily stuff a lot of bags in, and pull bags out of, and is put in a convenient place in your home.

We have a bunch of them made by my auntie - sewn sleeves that have elastic at each end, to hold in the bags. Unfortunately we've used them so much that the elastic is shot. Now, anytime you try to grab a bag, a whole bunch dump out all over the floor, and, well, no one likes that.

Ah-ha, knitting to the rescue! Wouldn't it be neat if instead of sewn, closed fabric - our PBS was mesh? Since I've taken to hanging my sunglasses on this it makes perfect sense! A new, improved Stash-o-matic that has dual purpose AND uses some of my leftover yarn! Win-win-win.

Improvised as I went, it's a really easy knit. Basically I made a meshy leg warmer, and then added a strap. 

I may have tried it on and danced a short 80s musical montage. Cannot confirm.

Check out the Ravelry project page here. 

Full notes on their way - I'm going to try another version and then type up the best product. So far I'm thinking I'll definitely switch to a larger gauge for the mesh, and a smaller needle garter stitch for the ends instead of ribbing. 

Call it a comeback - sure!

It's been a while - but I'm finally back on track! Not only am I finally able to knit I'm also able to blog about it. Reason? I finally started my maternity leave! Of course it's official baby-watch time - my due date is only 11 days away. So let's see how much I can get done before I am rudely interrupted by being a 2nd time mom. ON YOUR MARKS....!

ever vigilant

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Gator Scarf

Love this. What a project.

Found here - modified from this pattern

Old to the web, new to me

Finding a defunct blog is the new 'checking out an old book' - but easier, faster, and less dusty. It feels like living history - close, still vibrant, and usually still relevant. Fashions, politics, and opinions will ever change - but  seeing such clear traces of their previous incarnations and being able to view them up close creates a new style of understanding history. Immediate history, sure - and extremely well documented.

A rambling introduction to another cool site I have been enjoying :)

Check out Japanese Knitting Patterns. Though it seems to be no longer updated, I really dig going through the archives. I dig the writer's mission of documenting their experience with Japanese knitting and patterns - a subject I can never seem to find enough of.

Flip Flop Knitspiration

I always get sent links or told stories about how "Japanese people are SO WEIRD!" and then asked "WHY?!" because anyone with any Japanese blood is apparently an authority and automatically obligated to give insight to validate or sensationalize whatever obliquely racist idea is floating, half-formed, in their head.

Whoops, that's not what I was going to write.

Hey, different cultures are different! And I happen to be especially proud of mine. Especially when I see something like...

JAPANESE FLIP FLOP KNITTING PATTERNS!!!!

The multi-toe separation ones are my favorite. GENIUS!

Found them here, and apparently you can buy it here.