Sewing Room Open For Business

 My sewing room in the basement is open for business.  Ed and I moved all the shelves, bins and other stuff from one corner of the basement into the room.  This is the majority of my crafting stuff in the basement, but not all.  There are still boxes on the other side of the basement that need sorted through. 

There is still a lot of work to do down here, but it is now a usable space.  Once I get my sewing area finished, we will set up the front of the room as a TV area with a couch, side tables, and big-screen television.  I want a couch that can convert to a bed.  Blake said that once we get that area finished, he'll stay down there when he comes to visit.

My sewing station is a combination of salvaged cabinets and pieces from IKEA.  My son-in-law Craig is a construction manager for a local home builder.  The other year when the neighborhood he was working was finishing up, he had to convert the sales office, which was in the garage of the model, back into a garage. Usually they just discard the desks.  He grabbed them for me because he thought they would be good for my sewing room.  I used the lower cabinets along with a tabletop from IKEA for the perfect sewing table.  

I also bought another gridded tabletop and pedestals from IKEA for a cutting table.  The pedestals will allow me to raise and lower the cutting table as needed.  My back is thanking me for that!!

If you look on the left side of the photo above, you'll see some more cabinets.  Those are along the back wall and are waiting for another tabletop from IKEA.  The length I want is currently out of stock.  Once it is in, I want to get that, another white bookcase like in the photo above, and a new chair.  The folding chair I am using at the moment is too low. The chair I'm planning on getting will raise and lower and will be on wheels.

Besides the new furniture, I also bought myself a new sewing machine. It is a Baby Lock Brilliant. I gave my old machine to my daughter Trisha.  She is now doing a lot of sewing and had a very junky Singer.  She'll get a lot of good use out of my old Husqvarna Rose.

My first project on my new machine is an autumnal wall hanging.  I purchases several of the 2024 Riley Blake monthly kits.  Not all, though, because some of them just didn't appeal to me. I'm working on the one with the pumpkin.  I'm not sure where I'll put it.  It is meant to be hung on the front door, but I don't think I want it outside. I'll have to find a spot in the house to display it.  Once I get others made, I can swap them in and out each month.

My garden has ended up being mostly a failure.  The crops did fine, but I've been plagued with deer and rabbits.  The cherry tomatoes have produced enough that Ed has had some to snack on. The deer have eaten all of the green tomatoes off the other two plants.  I am getting a few eggplants.  Need to find some recipes for them.  The lettuce, beans and snap peas became rabbit food and the spinach just didn't grow very big. The asparagus seeds never sprouted. The only real success was the herbs and the flowers. The zinnias and marigolds look great and all of the herbs have been thriving.  I need to go out and harvest some of the herbs to dry them.  That will be this weekend's project.

My knitting has been slowly moving along.  I'm trying to get a couple summer tops finished as well as my Candy Corn sweater.

The Shakerag top is my go to project when I need a break during the workday. It is definitely a hot weather top.  Since we are past that season I'm not killing myself to get it finished.

The Cumulus Tee is coming along. It is miles and miles of stockinette.  This is my TV  and car knitting.  Once the body is finished I just have the neckline to do.  I'm hoping I get this done in the next couple weeks.  I have something on September 19 that I would like to wear this to.  I think it is a doable goal.

My Candy Corn sweater got pulled out of hibernation and it getting attention. I thought I had one sleeve done, but sadly no. I'm getting close to having the first sleeve done.  Then I'll need to do the second sleeve, block and seam the pieces and do the neckband. My goal is to have this done by mid-October so it gets some wear during the Halloween and Thanksgiving season. 

It is hard to believe that we are in the final third of 2026. I purchased my planner for next year and made the first entry.

July 1, 2027 - the first day of retirement!!!  Ed will be retired for a month at that point.  We are in the process of figuring out medical insurance for both of us.  He will go on Medicare.  I will need to find something off the market because I will only be 63.  Ed is planning on spending most of his days fishing.  I have a long list of things I want to do during my days, including walking, reading, knitting, sewing, and gardening.  We are also planning the trips we want to take.  We are definitely not one of those couples that won't know what to do with ourselves in retirement.  301 days to go!!!

I'm Still Here

I didn't intend to let over 2 and half months go by since my last post.  My excuses are 1. I didn't have much knitting progress to show, 2. we put in a garden this year and I've been spending time out there, and 3. I had cataract surgery in both eyes, limiting my knitting and screen time.

The Over the Moon baby blanket was finished and given to my friend on Monday.  She visits her daughter and new grandson every day.  She's not a helicopter grandma.  She has to go daily to give her daughter a shot for a blood clotting condition.  But she says it's a great excuse to get some cuddles in with the little guy.

I am very happy with how the blanket turned out.  The pattern is absolutely fantastic. The only change I might make if I make it again is to use a join as you go method for joining the blocks.  The yarn was Knit Picks Comfy.  It is part cotton and part acrylic, making it machine wash and dry. I have small bits of the blue, green, and brown left and over 4 skeins of the cream.  They may become another baby project some day.

I'm making slow progress on the Cumulus Tee.  After getting splitting for the sleeves I decided to add bust darts.  I've never done those before and thought I'd see how they worked out for me. Because I have a larger bust, the fronts of my sweaters tend to ride up an inch or so.  After I completed the bust darts, I worked on the sleeves. Now I can work on the body until I either get to the length I want or run out of yarn.  I do have a small amount of yarn from the sleeves reserved for the I-cord edge around the neck.  Since this yarn came from a shop about 100 miles away, I have to watch my usage to make sure I am able to finish with what I have.

To break up the monotony of fingering weight stockinette, I cast on a Shakerag Top. The Shakerag Top comes from the MDK Field Guide No. 6 Transparency.  I'm making this out of Ito Kinu in the color Mint.  I purchased the yarn at the MDK Nash Yarn Fest back in April.  My knitting enabler friend and her sister also purchased cones of Ito for their own Shakerags.  We may be 'twinning' next year at the 2027 MDK Nash Yarn Fest.

Once I get one of these two tops finished, I'm going to pick up my hibernating Harrisburg Pullover.  I think I'm on the second sleeve, which just leaves me the seaming and neckline to finish afterwards.  We are having some much loved cool weather and my thoughts are going towards the autumnal knits.

The construction of my sewing room is now complete.  We need my son-in-law to come over and help assemble some desks he salvaged for me from his worksite.  A few weeks ago Ed and I stopped at IKEA to buy a couple table tops.  Once I get the furniture in place I can start moving my stash into place.

As part of the new sewing room plan, I purchased a new sewing machine for myself.  I am giving my old machine to one of my daughters.  Trisha has started making quilts, bags, and clothing for herself and the kids. My old machine is almost as old as she, but it runs great. She currently has a very cheap Singer that doesn't tolerate heavy usage. My son-in-law says the machine cries when Trisha spends too much time with it.  The machine I purchased is still being shipped.  I'm a bit unhappy with how long it is taking to arrive.  The shop told me it would be a couple weeks, but we are going on a month now.  They say it should be in by July 30. If it comes in today or tomorrow, I'll be able to pick it up Saturday.  But if it after this weekend, I won't be able to get over to the shop until August 8.  The shop is on the far opposite side of town (45 minute drive in good traffic) and is only open until 5 Monday through Saturday.  No Sunday hours. Since I work until 4, it is impossible for me to get over there except on a Saturday. You might be wondering why I can't go on August 2. I'm booked up that day with a hair appointment in the morning, a pig roast in the afternoon, and a babysitting commitment in the evening.

To finish off this post, I'll end with a photo dump of some of the activities, little ones, and creatures I've enjoyed in the past few months.  The last picture is some strange insect that stared at me the entire time I did my Bible study Sunday morning while sitting on the deck.

  

Flowers Abloom

 A very long term project will be done this month.  I am committed to finish Astri.  I have 5 more rows of flowers to attach.  Buddy likes this blanket so I'm sure he'll claim it once it is done.

In the photo above, those rows will go along the right side.  After they are added, then I will finish weaving in the ends. I'm very motivated to get this done.  Once this is finished, I'll review all the details.

I finished a baby sweater for a friend's son and daughter-in-law.  This was another Baby Sophistocate made out of Plymouth Encore.  It is my go-to, easy baby gift.

The couple lives in Maine and my friends have moved over an hour away.  I need to figure out how I'm going to get this sweater to the baby.  I made the 12-month size knowing it may take a little while before I get it to them.

I also finally got a chance to sew up the signature quilt from Kristin and Michael's wedding.  It turned out being about 36" x 36".  They are going to just use it as a throw for Henry to play on.

I had some issues with a few of the blocks.  People signed all the way to the edge of the squares.  When I sewed it together, some of the messages got cut off.  There was no other way to handle it.

I'm working on another baby blanket.  This one if for a friend's daughter who is expecting her first.  The pattern I'm using is called Over The Moon by CrochetObjet.  I am working on the inner circles right now. There are 48 to make, 16 in each color:  green, blue, and tan.  I have beige yarn for the background.

Moran is the maker behind CrochetObjet.  I love her patterns.  I've made 4 of her Chunky Benjis.  I also have her Chamomile and Sage pattern as well of the Granny Stripe Shawl.  Those will go on my hooks soon.

Moran lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.  She has a YouTube channel called MDays where she shares her life in a very open manner.  Unless you've been under a rock for the past several years, you know that Israel has been involved in several wars, first with Hamas and now with Iran.  Mo has shown how her family lives with the constant threat of rockets.  Her apartment building did get damaged, forcing her and her family to look for temporary accommodations while repairs are made.  And sadly, she has shared about the death of her youngest son at the beginning of April.  I can't imagine what all she is going through.  If you get a chance, check out her Etsy shop and purchase a pattern or two.

Slow progress is being made on my birthday cast on, the Cumulus tee.

I've joined in the round and have completed all of the sleeve increases.  There are a few more rows of body increases before I split the sleeves and body.  Once I get to that point it will be boring knitting in the round.  Perfect television and car-riding knitting.

That's about all for now.  I have some sourdough proofing in the oven to make an apple-cinnamon loaf.  I also need to put a chicken in the Instant Pot for shredded chicken.  Time to get moving with that.

Spring Flowers

Another finished object is off the needles.  This is a modified version of the Pressed Flowers shawl by Amy Christoffers.  I made this out of Rowan Norwegian Wool in the colors Mountain and Frost Pink, all of which was stash yarn.  This shawl was knit as an accessory to wear at the upcoming Nash Yarn Fest.

I modified the patterna a bit.  First, I did not do all of the repeats of the main chart.  The pattern calls for the chart to be worked a total of five times.  I only did three.  I did not want a massive shawl.  The other modification was the bind off.  Instead of the sewn bind off, I did an I-cord.  Part of the reason I didn't do the sewn bind off was the length of yarn needed to execute the sew bind off.  Norwegian Wool is only 2-ply and not tightly plied.  I felt that with all the drag on the yarn as the edge was sewn would cause the yarn to break.  Also, I've done a sewn bind off on a couple recent projects.  I just wasn't feeling like doing it again.  I really feel I made the right choice.  The I-cord gives the edge a nice bit of structure.

Now that I'm done with this project I have to get moving on a couple baby gifts.  I have a Baby Sophisticate on the needles for a little one that has probably already made her appearance.  This little one was due last week.  I am also working on a crocheted afghan for another little one due to arrive in June.  I'm very far behind on that project.  It will probably be my car project when I head to Nashville in a few weeks.

Besides those, I'm make slow progress on my birthday cast on, the Cumulus Tee.  No new pictures because it looks pretty much the same.  I'll share once I get the neckline joined in the round.