Knitting Wardrobe Malfunction

I am beginning to think that knitting, in general, may be my Craftfail.  This is the project I started working on after the scarf mishap.  I was so excited about this pattern I swatched, I never swatch!  My gauge was perfect, I started knitting and was obsessed, knitting in every free moment, trying not to lose momentum on this project.  Finally the day came when I could try it on to get an idea of how AWESOME it was going to be……well, it’s pretty tight.  It’s not supposed to be tight, it’s uncomfortably tight (notice how the stitches are stretched)…not even if it stretches out a bit will this work.  Sigh, digging out the measuring tape.  Well, there’s the problem,  the pattern says that an extra large fits a 13” to 13 1/2” bicep and my bicep is 14 1/2”!  Yep, that explains it.
I will have to frog the whole thing, sigh, almost 2 weeks worth of knitting because, while I measured my chest, I did not measure my bicep, who knew that would be what wouldn’t fit?  The chest could stand to be a bit bigger too, I don’t want some sort of upside down muffin top going on under that cape.
The shaping on the pattern is beautiful.  I am always amazed at how knitting can be shaped around curves just from increasing and decreasing.  I still love the pattern, but I may need to take a break from it and pout about my mistake.  I will also need to sit down and do some math to get this pattern to fit, ugh, math.

Lessons of the Day

1.  50% cotton and 50% polyester shirts do not discharge well with bleach, always check the label, assume nothing! (not even close to the look I was going for and the photo looks better than the actual fabric)

2.  Bleach pens get old and don’t work as well as a fresh pen.

3.  Make a sample, it saves time in the long run.

4.  Messy fingers are bad, watch what you’re touching or you’re going to have to come up with some creative ways to make it look like you did that on purpose. (sigh, maybe some appliqué will work)

5.  Iron freezer paper on the back of fabric that you are painting to keep the paint from seeping through the fabric.

6.  Make a copy of you design, that way if you make a mistake you have a back up copy and won’t have to start from scratch.

7.  Be flexible, sometimes you plan needs to change to accomplish the look you are going for.

8.  If you must spray bleach water do it outside or you will be sorry, trust me, I know.

9.  White vinegar neutralizes bleach, keep it handy to stop bleaching action, rinse fabric thoroughly and launder the bleached fabric.

10. A day where you learn something, but don’t necessarily accomplish anything is not a wasted day.

All of these lessons came up today, hopefully tomorrow I will have a completed project to share.

NOOOOOOO, Everything Was Going So Smoothly, WHYYYYYYY!

So I’m having a great day sewing.  I am almost finished making this adorable apron for Little Miss when I realize I am almost out of thread, NOOOOOOOOO.  There are a lot of decorative stitches on this apron and it has used a ton of thread, plus I have used this same thread to sew the set of felt cupcakes (which still aren’t finished).I have to finish the binding on the apron and finish/add the pockets and I also need to finish beading the felt cupcakes.  In order to leave the house I would need to shower, get dressed, dress the children, gas up the car and drive over to Hobby Lobby for a spool of thread.  I’m feeling a bit lazy and I don’t really want to leave the house, wishing I had another color of thread that I could use…maybe purple, would that be weird? an apron stitched in half pink and half purple, it is just a play apron, are the sewing police going to knock on my door and force me to rip it out and re-do it if I use two different colors of thread?  I think not, purple it is and I’ll save the rest of this pink for the cupcakes.

It really is turning out nicely besides the thread mishap.  I have enough of the cupcake fabric left to make a drawstring bag to wrap up this apron and the cupcakes.  BTW this apron is from Simplicity 2699 (expect a pattern review later this week).  I guess I’ll go and load up a bobbin with purple and get back to sewing and maybe some more cleaning, I still have eight loads of laundry to fold, it’s clean, just not folded.

Overcooked?

I'm working on a new polymer clay tutorial. I hope this is not an indication of how my week is going to go.