Knitted Gems Designs & Crafts

Falling in Love with Stencils

November 22, 2009 in Family | 3 comments

What I learned while painting Elizabeth’s room is the following:

The prep work takes the longest and is the least fun.
Painting a ceiling sucks as much as you thought it would.
Painting a wall is quick and easy.
But the one task that brought me the most joy was stenciling.

Stenciling is so much fun! You get a huge impact and a custom look for very little effort and time. That is my kind of painting.

Next on Marie’s to-do list (which is so much shorter than Dan’s to-do list. Not that I’m bragging.): Make curtains for Elizabeth’s room.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.

The 5 Cent Tour

November 16, 2009 in Family | 11 comments

The room isn’t done, which is why this tour is only 5 cents. Yet, I couldn’t wait to show off all that has been accomplished.

Before photo:

And now?

Well, this is what the backside of the panel doors look like now.

The front of the doors have been stenciled with Elly’s name on them. (Elizabeth wouldn’t fit.)

The shortest of the walls features a home plate. (The rest of the walls are awaiting more stenciling and a pair of baseball bats).

I couldn’t resist buying this switch plate for her room.

Part of the reason I am so excited that the painting is done (outside of the few stenciling projects) is because this belly o’ mine was starting to get in the way of crouching and climbing. Do you believe there are only 9 more weeks to go? I fluctuate between excitement and utter disbelief.

Now Dan has to start tackling all the tasks on his Honey-Do list. The biggest item on it is to rip up that lovely green carpet that now sports splotches of white and red paint. With a little luck, the hardwood underneath won’t need any work outside of a good dusting and mopping.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.

5 Cent Tour Coming Soon

November 10, 2009 in Family | 4 comments

It’s almost done!

The walls are receiving a 2nd coat of paint today. Hopefully by weeks end, I’ll be able to give you a sneak peek into ‘lil Elizabeth’s room.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.

Elizabeth’s First Dress and Bunny

November 3, 2009 in Family | 11 comments

Last night, while watching the Phillies win Game 5 of the World Series, I finished Elizabeth’s 1st dress.

This pattern required a lot of hand stitching, specifically slip-stitching. Due to this fact, a month had passed between when I had cut the fabric out and when I had gathered up the momentum to sew the dress together. Yet, it turned out to be the perfect baseball project, filling the countless minutes (hours!) of TV commercials.

Stats:
Pattern: Simplicity 2900 from their vintage collection
Fabric: a gift, the mundu from a sari made in India
Size: Small (6 months)

In the mail, Elizabeth received another gift.

This yellow bunny was hand knit by Nicole, author of Throws Like a Girl blog. I had won a small contest on her blog, guessing correctly on how long it took her to make mac-n-cheese on her grill (1.5 hours!). As a prize, she offered to knit something for Elizabeth. She picked this pattern. Isn’t it adorable? I’m just so thrilled and thankful.

Baby Notes:
Elly is quite active these days.
Visits to the midwife have increased to biweekly.
My wedding rings no longer fit. I wear them on a chain now.
The pregnancy shirt I made may not make it the full 9 months. It already feels a bit short in the front.

Card Overflow

October 28, 2009 in Cards | 3 comments

My card system is starting to implode from my recent and not so recent card-making marathons.

The collection of cards for this year’s and next year’s birthdays no longer fits into 1 organizer. Recently, I had to buy a 2nd one.

The card drawer is nearing its capacity limit.

Don’t be deceived by the cleanliness. Most of the cards are just stacked on top of each other. To find just the right card, I have to dig through the entire stack. For example, in the far right corner is a stack of cards: Baby Shower Thank You cards on top of Christmas cards on top of Baby Announcement cards.

In an attempt to organize, I converted an old photo box into a card organizer. It too is full.

My recent subscription to the Card Maker magazine is NOT helping matters.

So, I have made the decision to place some of my cards in my Etsy shop in the hopes of removing some of the clutter.

This will of course make room for more cards.

If anybody has any better ideas, I am all ears. I’ve never had so many cards stockpiled and am puzzled as to how to store them until it’s time to mail them out.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.

Not a Match

October 22, 2009 in My Knitting Designs | 4 comments

I crossed my fingers and went with my gut instinct.

It didn’t work out. Clearly the mohair yarn is not from the Tapis colorway. Tamsie was right; Tapis is too dark.

Yet I can’t find another colorway in the entire Parisienne color chart that matches better. Heck I’ve even dug through the entire Ravelry database of all stashed Parisienne yarns and haven’t come up with a match. It occurred to me that the color has been discontinued, but I can’t seem to locate a list of Collinette’s discontinued colors. Google failed me. In the fine print, Colinette does mention that all their yarns are hand-dyed and thus no two skeins are the same. Perhaps that is my problem.

So, it’s back to plan B. Basically I’m going to knit every last inch of yarn that I have available and just hope that the shawl turns out big enough to wrap baby Elizabeth in. Then, I’ll knit a ‘Mommy-sized’ shawl to match.

Surprisingly, I’m not upset about my yarn shortage issues anymore. Watching the Phillies become the National League championships last night cured me of any sadness. We’re off to the World Series for the 2nd year in a row! I still can’t believe it. Nobody pinch me please.

Running out of Yarn Again

October 15, 2009 in Family, My Knitting Designs | 14 comments

Why do I always get myself into these situations? You would think that I would learn. But noooo. I have once again knit myself into a corner.

According to my original design (partially stolen from EZ’s Pi Shawl pattern), I’m supposed to knit 78 more rows in the mohair. Ha! There is no way that is going to happen. Do you see how much mohair yarn is leftover?

Not a lot. So, what’s a girl to do?

There is the obvious answer; I could rip it all out and start over with an adequate yarn supply. Just the thought of this option makes me light headed and nauseated. There has to be another way. Oh, please.

Option B: Knit with the mohair for hopefully 6 more rows so the length matches the previous mohair section. Then, switch back to the red merino yarn and add another lace section. The only problem with this option is that I’m not sure how far my merino skein will stretch. It too is down to half a skein. I really got myself into a fix, didn’t I? giggle and moan.

Option C: Settle for a really small shawl – something only a baby could wear. This seems absurd. I did not spend all this time knitting the shawl so it can be used once or twice while Elly is too young to appreciate it.

Option D: Incorporate a new color into the shawl. I’m worried that this would look odd, since I would be introducing the new color when the shawl is more than halfway finished.

Option E: Explain to Elly when she is older how it is the thought that counts.

I think I’m going to go cry now.

On a happier note, I reached a new milestone in my bump growth. Dan’s clothes now fit. Here I was thinking that I would need to go buy a maternity sweater or two for the upcoming cold weather.

I think this will do just fine.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.

The Priming Work is Done jingle

October 8, 2009 in Family | 6 comments

The priming work is done
The priming work is done.
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The priming work is done.

All together now!
The priming work is done …..

After weeks! of working in the office/soon-to-be-nursery, only the priming has been completed.

It was supposed to be a simple job. All I had to do was lightly sand the doors and trim and then slap on a coat of primer. Plan A failed when the paint fell off in huge strips with the slightest of pressure.

Plan B required much more elbow grease. First, the loose paint had to be stripped. Then, came the sanding, followed by more stripping in certain areas that were missed the first time around. Afterwords, everything got another douse of sanding.

It seems that the previous owners just painted overtop the glossy paint, bare wood or polyurethane doors without adding a base coat of primer. I honestly believe that the previous owners never used primer on anything. Walking around the house, I can see the paint just chipping away or bubbling up in so many spots. Those are projects that will have to wait for another day.

It’s a good thing Dan didn’t take up the carpet first. There are a lot of white specks all over it now thanks to my meticulous paint job.

The fun will begin tomorrow in the almost-nursery: painting!

Shawl and Bump Progress

October 5, 2009 in Family, My Knitting Designs | 8 comments

I finally had enough stitches on the needle to jump to the next size up: a 40-inch circular. Frankly, I could have transferred it to a 60-inch circular, but since I don’t have one in my collection, this was the best I could do.

I think I cheered to see the shawl finally expanded and no longer crunched up in hat mode.

91 more rounds to knit in the mohair before I can design the border. I’m leaning towards a variation of the Alpine Edging in Barbara Walker’s 2nd Treasury book. Yesterday I ordered Barbara Abbey’s Knitting Lace to peruse her collection of lace edgings and see if I couldn’t locate something more suitable to the diamond motifs featured in the shawl.

Now that I have embraced the maternity clothes, it is hard to gauge whether or not I’ve gotten much bigger. I don’t feel bigger. Pictures don’t lie though.

The bump keeps growing. I should have guessed, since the kicks have gotten harder.

3.5 more months to go, assuming she arrives on time. Let the countdown begin.

This is a post from Knitted Gem’s blog, authored by Marie Haigh.

Card Frenzy to Hide the Shawl

September 28, 2009 in Cards, My Knitting Designs | 5 comments

I finished all 50 of the birth announcement cards (to be sent out in January after Elly is born).

They are addressed and signed. All that needs to be added are stamps, the baby’s stats and a picture. A dear friend of mine had a great idea on how to include the stats: print them out 4 to a page and slide one into each card. It sounds so much easier than my original plan of hand-writing the info into each card.

Because I couldn’t stop there, I made more cards.

And then more cards

Until finally last night, I packed up all my card supplies and stashed them away. I think my favorite layout of the entire weekend can be seen in these 2 cards.

Now that I overwhelmed you with pictures of cards, perhaps you won’t bother to notice that the shawl doesn’t look any larger than the picture I took of it over a week ago.

That’s what happens when you rip out the entire last section. It was worth it though. The lace pattern had only shifted over two stitches, but it bothered me. This shawl is supposed to be an heirloom for Elizabeth – something she can wear on her wedding day. (Maybe I should have knit it in white.) I knew I wouldn’t be happy with her wearing a shawl that had an obvious-error-to-me in it. So, out it came.

This time not only did it knit up much faster, the lace pattern has no errors. What a relief.