January is National Craft Month!

I love knitting, but I started cheating this month. I bought my mom a sewing machine for Christmas, and figured I would test it out by teaching myself to sew a small project. I had absolutely no idea how to even make a straight stitch, but I forged ahead anyway.

My project of choice is the E-reader cover from Urban Threads .  It was the perfect solution for my Nook Cover search, mostly because they used the same Nook model in their example.  Overall, the project had a few frustrating parts to it.  However, for a more experienced sewist, i know it would be easy as pie.  Some of my frustration occcured when I either made the speed of the machine go too fast, or I forgot to hold the thread at the beginning of a stitch, and it quickly disappeared and the needle became unthreaded.  I tried unsuccessfully to use the automatic needle threader, so I just did it the old fashioned way by manually putting the thread through the teeny tiny hole.  I remember when I was 5, my grandmother used to ask me to thread her needles because she couldn't see it.  Luckily, I still have 20/20 vision, so that wasn't a problem.

So, enough of me babbling.  You must be so excited to see the project in action.  Here we go!

Firstly, here is the lovely Sewing machine.  I got a deal on Woot.com for both a machine and serger for $1 less than the price of the serger on Amazon.  Yaaay me!

Next up, I ordered the fabric from Fabric.com.  It is designed by Timeless Treasures, and called Do Ewe Knit.  I thought the motif was fitting, since knitting is my first love.  (I am not a heartless cheater)

I also got thread, elastic and interfacing from there as well. 

I went to Michael's to get Plastic Canvas and a trusty grid ruler.

Lastly, I got these cute sheep buttons from KnitPicks.

So, now that I gathered all of my materials, it was time to begin. I washed the fabric to preshrink it.  But before I washed it, I had to seam the edges.  I started with a zig zag stitch on the red material.  This is where I made my first mistake, but hey I am going to cut it off anyway.  It turns out the bobbin thread got tangled somehow.

So, I then decided to use the serger for the edges instead.  It went by so quickly and worked out even better.  

 My next step was to cut the plastic canvas to the size of the Nook.  I wanted to use plastic instead of cardboard, because I felt that it would be more stable.

Next, I drew out the pattern onto the fabric using tailor's chalk.  There is a 1 inch allowance between the rectangles for the spine.  There is also a 1/2 inch seam allowance around the whole thing. 

Next, I cut the interfacing to the approximate size of the fabric, and ironed it.

Then, I cut the pieces out to the exact measurements to finally prep before sewing.

Here I am seaming the pieces together. I started with the inner pocket, then moved on to the piece of fabric that is behind the Nook, as you can see in this picture.

Once everything was sewn up, it was time to turn the fabric inside out.  How fitting that I used a knitting needle to really get the corners neat.

My seams, aren't perfect, but they are good enough for my first try.  At some point I felt like I ripped out more thread than I actually sewed, but I was determined to finish it.

At this point, I inserted the plastic canvas. 

I also added and an extra layer of fusible fleece to the parts that would be nearest to the screen.

Now, its time for the finishing touches.  I hand stitched the button to the front cover.

Then, I hand stitched the bottom edge, where I inserted the inner stability pieces.

And here is the finished product.  I am so proud of myself.

And to prove to you that I totally didn't give up on knitting.... I finally finished my Fuschia Cabled Earflap Hat.  It fits perfectly when I have curly hair.

 

And when I have straight hair. 

I actually finished the hat the Friday before Vogue Knitting Live, but just realized that I forgot to post it. 

My next sewing project that I have planned is the Cosmo Bag from Amy Butler's Style Stitches book. It's the beautiful pink one on the cover.  I have read many blog comments about it, stating that it is not well suited for a beginner, and there are a million pieces to cut out, and it takes many hours to complete it. But hey, I really want it.  So, I will forge ahead. Besides, its all a learning experience right?

Introducing....The New Pattern Maker!

Hello everyone. I have been a little busy, doing a little knitting math the past few days. I have managed to create a pattern for the Mary J. Blige hat that I posted about a few weeks ago.
Here are pictures of Mary and I.

The hat was made using 1 skein of Cascade Magnum #9424 Savona Rose, size 13 and size 15 needles. I managed to have about 39 yards left over.

Here are the stages of my development.

Yes, I actually did a guage swatch. I got 2 sts/inch on size 15's just as the ballband said.

Here is it before I started to add in the decreases.

Here is the finished body of the hat. It even looks nice without the brim. This picture was taken during the knitting circle at Seaport Yarn.

Here is a closeup

A few more FO shots.

Both the yarn and buttons were purchased at Knit New York. I finished the hat there today, and I want to thank the staff so much for encouraging me while I was doing the finishing touches.

I absolutely love this hat. The cold air doesn't even blow through it. It is Super bulky and Super warm. I can't wait to make a sweater out of this Cascade stuff.

I am obsessed with this hat

So, last night, my dear friend Richelle sent me a message stating that the hat that Mary J. Blige is wearing on the cover of her Reflections album is "FIRE"...and I do agree, it is off the chain. Take a peek.

So, I stayed up till about 2:00 AM scouring the internet for any information that I can find. Well, I found the hat at an online boutique, it is made out of Alpaca, and it costs $200. What???? Well, a skein of Misti Alpaca Chunky or Cascade Magnum is around $20 at my LYS.

Paying 10% of the cost of a super trendy, celebrity-inspired hat in a color that noone else in the world has is priceless. And since I have Cascade Magnum already in my stash....you already know what I am going to do.

Now, let's get back to Richelle. I have known her since I was twelve. She is a dear friend of mine that I care for very much. I consider her part of my family. But her exact words in her text message were "Girl, I don't think you can make that". My response "Are you trying to challenge me??? That sounds like a dare". Does she know who I am??? I can knit anything! I am a Certified Instructor... and I even knit half asleep. Of course, I can make that hat.

So, my lovely knitting peeps, I am going to put my design /deciphering skills to the test. I have already worked out the cable pattern into a chart, and I just have to figure out the decreases. I will keep you posted on the progress.

Now, I am not trying to infringe on the original designer's copyright. I will not sell the pattern to anyone. I am just using it as inspiration. If I happen to make it as an exact match, then I am a genius and a knitwear company should hire me ASAP, and pay me a great rate, with benefits and vacation. LOL!! But seriously, I am a person who is trying to stick to a budget and doesn't need a hat that costs more than her monthly car insurance payment.

Yes, I know that everyone has missed me. It seems like forever since my last post. I have been knitting though. I will post pics as soon as I can. Right now, I have some serious deadline knitting to do for a gift, and I haven't even completed 50% of it. Pictures before the week is up, I promise.

I made a cream and silver Sparkly Hat to replace one that I lost, but it is too big, and has to be frogged. So, no pictures just yet. Sorry. My problem was that I did it fron the top down, using a slightly thicker yarn than the original hat. I made one increase too many. I absolutely hate the way it looks on my head. This new yarn is Berocco Pure Merino, and the reason I got it was that it was Superwash.

But, I still have confidence that I am a fabulous hat maker. I completed my Beret. Here is a pic.

I am also making cat Bordhi's Mobius Cowl to go along with it. More updates on that later.

Oh, and those earrings in the picture. A Shameka original. Sterling Silver and glass beads.

Happy Knitting Everyone!!!