Getting somewhere, with a little advice at the end

Well, after a weekend of freaking out and not being a very nice mom, I finally had a real chunk of time on Monday and have squeezed a little more here and there, and have made some progress on my projects. I have also improved my disposition.

The dolls:

The hair is pinned on and the girl's hair is only long on one side, but you can tell what they'll look like now. I have to say, I love them. The are just the right size and they look like people, not babies, which I find refreshing what with all the baby dolls we have hanging around.

The felted fruit for the "farm ensemble":

We have a farm theme in mind, with overalls and plaid shirts, aprons, kerchiefs, pitchforks, and mini food. This is the start of the food, we have the overalls and plaid shirts, aprons, kerchiefs, and pitchforks to go. Yes, I am giggling maniacally.

The sweater bag:

I love this too, to the point that I think I will find it hard to give away. But it will be good for me. Right?

The cupcakes:

Did I mention I have been a little obsessed with cup cakes? Making them and eating them. You may have noticed the new color scheme, and no, I'm not happy with it. I am thinking it needs to be sweeter and a little more custom, with maybe a cupcake theme, so I can eat them with purpose. So I am experimenting with cupcakes. I will eat make more.

And the reclaimed yarn:

I actually have 6 balls of different weights and fibers. I also have some hard earned advice to give away for free. The tutorial I referenced before is wonderful, so I suggest checking it out. But when it comes to buying the sweaters in the first place, let me share what I've experienced.

1. If the sweater had any percentage of wool in it, make sure it has not felted AT ALL. I now peer closely at the fibers and pull gently to hear whether they tear or not (yes, I fit right in with the nut jobs at Goodwill). This is importent because trying to pull apart a sweater with even minimal felting can make it sooooooooo not worth it. And yes, I should say fulling, but more people think of this as felting and I want to be clear.

2. Really look at the seams. The cheaper the sweater was to begin with, i.e. forever21, the more likely it was serged at the seams, rendering it mostly useless. I have found GAP, J Crew, Banana Republic and similar brand to have reliable, well built sweaters, and good fiber content too.

3. Don't even try with a chenille sweater. The loops wear away the fluffy stuff and you end up with a bobbly, ugly mess, and not even a cute bobbly mess. Someone out there may have found one that works, but I have not.

4. This next one is in the tutorial too, but it bears repeating. I wish I could get a good picture of this, but the seams (on the good sweaters) are sewn with a knit stitch that on one side looks like a line of stitching and the other looks like the top of a crochet row or a bound off knit edge. If you cut this thread near the last loop and pick a couple of loops out, you can then pull on the thread and all the loops holding the seam will pull out and your sweater will fall to pieces. Ahhhhhhhhh. Well worth figuring out.

Anyway, I hope this is informative. I have found some good sweaters out there, the winter stuff is making it's way into the stores now. I have some good wool, angora, cotton, and alpaca, plus high quality blends of all sorts. It's been very satisfying.

So, that's me, a little more sane.

:)

Comments

[Zoe]

Those are great tips! I never would have thought about making sure the sweater hadn't felted at all, but I can totally envision how this would make the task SO frustrating. Thanks for the good advice!

[riarug]

Hey there! You and I are peas in a pod I think. I am the world's greatest "I can do it all" type person who ends up staying up the 36 hours before deadlines. I am convinced that I work best under deadlines and that I get so much done, but hey, who am I kidding, I also get sick and worried and grumpy.

I am so envious that you were a subscriber to Handcarft Illustrated. I bought a few from the newstand when they were still publishing, but I think I only have 7 or 8. They are so my style, not so much the projects, but man! the presentation!

The ones I won are here http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7018115410.

I don't have any of these. Do you? are they good? Silly question, of course they are.

I love love love the articles you are working on, and I wish my daughter could attend such a wonderful school.

And my blog, well, it's being a pain but I am hoping it will be useful when I am done cataloguing. Phew! Are you going to join the new Backtack project?

[mo]

I think that fuzzy green cupcake is about the cutest thing I have seen in a long time! And I love your son's comment about the "toad" truck.

[Beverly]

That recycled sweater purse is wonderful. I have a cashmere sweater I'd love to do the same thing with--from a thrift store, of course! Do you have a tutorial? Or can you direct me to one? Thanks!