Your non-pro tips for the day

So here we have the second and third crochet hook rolls I’ve made. They’re similar, but I was testing different ways of making them, experimenting to find a prototype that I’m happy with. So far, I’m not 100% happy with any of them. I may make more, until I come up with something I’m actually happy with. Still, these are perfectly usable and are, in fact, already in use. Non pro-tip one: You’re probably not going to get it right on the first, second or even third try.

You’ll notice I’ve used white thread for all these items. I like seeing my stitches and quilting,so  I don’t always think it’s ideal for the stitches to blend in. Plus white thread for these things – well, it’s useful for me to have clear delineation between the pockets for the hooks so I know where to put them.

Visible stitches does bring out the perfectionist in me. After taking this picture I saw the top seam in the green one above – really crooked, right? Actually, ironing distorted it, it’s mostly straight but now it’s bothering me.  Non-pro tip 2: Think, plan, sketch, and visualize first. Cut second.

The purple one has a foldover flap that’s attached on the sides. I thought it would be useful for small metal hooks that tend to slip out easily. Hard to access your hooks, though. The one on the right was an experiment in using bias tape for the sides that irritated me so much I nearly didn’t finish it. Nice idea. Needs work.

These are, again, quilted. Now for your third non-pro tip. If you’re a sewer, you know they make a special quilting foot (and walking foot) that has an adjustable guide for sewing perfectly straight lines. If you don’t know about this, you can see this miraculous invention in action here.

I don’t have such a foot (I could, but that’s another story). But still, you’ll notice my quilting lines are pretty straight, right? Because I wouldn’t want to mark all those lines (how tedious!) I sew straight quilting lines this way, a trick that’s the result of a combination of necessity, perfectionism and laziness. And if, perhaps, your guide isn’t as adjustable as you’d like, this would still work.

1. Mark the first quilting line with chalk so it’s even with the side or whatever diagonal you’d like. Sew that first line.

2. Cut a thin but stiff piece of cardboard the width of the lines you’d like to make. Make sure it’s straight, and make it fairly long. Or you can use one already cut – for example, it turns out the instructions that come with zippers worked pretty well for the sewing machine pad lines.

3. Set your machine to either right or left positions, depending which side of the cardboard you’ll be sewing on, whatever is more comfortable for you. I prefer to sew on the left side.

4. Position the right (or left) edge of the cardboard parallel to the first sewn line, and position the other edge under the foot. Lower the presser foot so the needle is just off the left edge (or right edge) of the cardboard. Since the needle is to one side, quite a bit of the presser foot ends up on top of the cardboard, the effect of which is that the presser foot will hold the cardboard pretty steady.

5. Sew along the edge of the cardboard, moving the strip up when you run out of length. Be careful not to get too close and sew through the cardboard. Repeat step 4 and 5 for each quilted line.

It was fairly easy for me to keep the cardboard in place and sew a straight line this way. I’ve quilted all these pieces this way with good results. I’ve also found the cardboard makes the material flatter – the three layers seem to feed really easily this way without a lot of bunching up of the fabric, which can be a problem when you’re not using a walking foot.

Just a few more items left now.

An Awareness of Time Passing

At the beginning of this month (aww crap it’s already next month, nevermind) January I wrote out a sort of plan for production of creative things for the year. And already, I’m behind. I thought of time passing, about how I now have just 11 months to feel accomplished about my year!

And then I said no. I am not going to beat myself up about this. I know this happens. It is not a real problem and I am not actually upset. I think, in fact, that I’ve soldiered quite bravely on in the face of some disappointing problems that require fortitude to correct. You see, sometimes when I encounter a problem, I solve it by just getting rid of the problem. You have to admit, it is a type of solution. However, when the problem in question is something you’ve spent hours or days working on, it’s not so easy to just get rid of it. Actually, I think it would feel physically painful to try to throw something away like a sweater I crocheted.

The red sweater is a good example of this. After my last post, I sewed up the sides.  As I suspected, the sweater does not fit – the arms are too small and it requires decreases in the yoke. I am going to have to rip out the entire yoke, detach the sleeves and start on this part again. I do not want to. It makes me want to throw a two-year-old’s tantrum. But I will finish. Later. When I’m not so irritated that just looking at the problem makes me feel a little, ok a lot stabby. It’s a long version of that “count to 10″ recommendation for people with tempers.

Then there is the case of Jeremy’s Mountain Hat.

First, I made a mountain crochet chart. The chart is awesome. Then I made a beanie crown. The crown was … meh. Then I started making the rest of the hat, and encountered HAT FAIL. (1) I didn’t like my color changes, and (2) somehow I lost 10 stitches around. That’s right. I went from 72 stitches around to 62. The yarn that I’m working with is bulky, and when you carry yarn, sometimes the stitch the color changes on ceases to look like a stitch, so I ended up accidentally skipping it in the next row. I thought I was losing my mind.

PLUS -(3) the crown color yarn is slightly less bulky than the other two yarns, and I’m using tapestry crochet (where you carry 2 strands of yarn) for the pattern part. Ergo – there’s a significant fabric difference between the Not-as-thick-single-strand-crochet of the crown and Thicker-two-strand-crochet of the pattern. It was not attractive.

So I frogged the whole thing.

I going to start over. And when I’m done, it will be a thing of joy and beauty.

Just you wait.

Unending Rows

So … This was the red sweater I started last June. The one where I was struggling with the fit.

The one that I naively believed I would finish it before it got cold. HAHAHAHA. Yeah that’s funny.

This picture is from a week ago.  Somewhere around this point you start working on finishing it, at least that’s what you think. And that’s all nice and everything, and of course I figured my sweater’s a bit different because it’s a pullover instead of a cardigan. Except a few days later I figured out there’s really still a lot more work to do. Neverending.

I’m pretty convinced I’m going to spend at least 30 hours on this sweater, only to discover when it’s done it won’t even come close to fitting. *sob* At which point I may give up crocheting clothing for myself.

In the meantime, I’m getting to watch plenty of Doctor Who while I stitch.