Black Market Beagle

Quilt, Take 2

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:26:00 +0000

Decided that if I started now, I stood a chance of finishing a quilt for the boy by the time he moves out of the crib and into a bed. It's based roughly on the Big Zig quilt.

My first quilt was constructed with no advanced planning. I'm going another way on this one.

Two rows down, nine to go...

Yellow Orange Red Brown

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:48:00 +0000

Summer. Where did it go?

Our morning walks have turned into afternoon walks to seek out the warmest part of the day. The grey sidewalk has turned maple-in-October gold.

There's a little (purchased) bear suit with homemade paws awaiting a (gulp) ten-month-old's first Halloween.

And there's a Halloween-appropriate stack of fabric ready to be cut into for a quilt.

Crib Tour

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:50:00 +0000

The house and the kid- incredible time sucks they are. They're really cutting in to my leisure time. Knitting: rarely. Sewing: does hemming jeans and mending pillows count? Other craftiness: ha! Good thing I'm awful fond of them both.

In lieu of anything new and crafty, I'll show off the nicest space in the joint: where kid and house collide. Bear's room started off like this (mmm, cream of pea soup). And progressed to this last fall.

Nowadays it's fully occupied and looks like so:

The furniture is heavy on the Ikea. Okay, it's all from Ikea. I would have loved a modern nursery set, but holy $$$. And by the time I bought furniture, I was way too pregnant and busy to diy it. So, Ikea it was.

The room has pristine oak floors (like most of the house) which I covered with Flor tiles. I think they really make the room. As much as I love the wall color (and I really love it- I'd like to paint my bedroom this color), I think the room would have ended up a little too precious without the rug.

I don't want to talk about the ceiling fan.

Extravagant crib set, eh? SIDS prevention guidelines say no loose clothy bits in the crib, which appeals to my ~~cheap~~ minimalist tendencies (besides, it's not like my infant is going to use a quilt). By the way, it's not easy to find red crib sheets.

Yes, the artwork is off center and kind of awkwardly hung, but fixed very firmly to the wall. Like, won't come down until Bear leaves for college fixed. Thanks to my husband for that (both the awkward placement and sturdy mounting). All three prints are of polars bears, which pop up all over the room.

The thing about the bears-
1. We enjoy going to the zoo and are particularly fond of the polar bears.
2. My husband has a much loved pair of polar bear print pajama pants that we like to joke about.
3. I decided on the paint color, Arctic Blue, and polar bear theme before I even knew the sex of the baby.
4. The choice of the baby's name was strongly influenced by the fact that "Bear" is the obvious nickname. (But I am not trying to theme my child. I fell for the name before "Bear" was distilled from it.)

The number print is from Binth and, though awesome in its own right, coordinates ridiculously well with the rug. The futon got shoved in the room for Christmas houseguests and never left (the futon, not the guests). My little lap quilt from way back when found a home on it. Eventually the futon will be removed in favor of more play space, but for now, it's nice to have a place to read and to set the car seat for loading and unloading.

My husband tricked out the closet with a custom-built organizer (there's shelves down the center and a full-length hanging area on the other side). It's obviously set up for baby clothes, but can be adjusted as Bear grows.

Now, if only the rest of the house was finished...

Domesticity

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Sat, 30 May 2009 19:58:00 +0000

Cooking, cleaning, shopping, knitting, laundering, mothering. I'm so domestic lately that sometimes I kinda want to gag. But... shhh... I kind of like it sometimes. Except when the UPS guy comes. Always when I'm cooking dinner. So I answer the door wearing an apron*. Sometimes with a baby on my hip. Embarrassing.

All this being at home has me thinking a lot about the house. I have a million projects that I'd like to do, but for now, I'm settling for trying to do some (late) spring cleaning and organizing, and the picture thing. See, I can no longer stand having frames photos sitting on surfaces (collecting dust!), and even the thought of laying out groupings of artwork for the walls exhausts me (not to mention that I'm squeamish about putting a bunch of holes in the wall). Add to the fact that I'm going to have baby and family pictures to display and I'm really liking the idea of putting up picture ledges. That way I can change out photos and frames easily. To help me visualize what I want to do, I made the cheesiest mock up ever:

In Paint, since I'm too po' for Photoshop. My depiction of this in the center really makes the mock up, doesn't it? All in all, I like it, though. I think it will work. Next step: a trip to Ikea for the ledges and some frames.

*I have to wear an apron because I always manage to get grease spattered on me. Which I don't notice until I'm hanging clean laundry. So I have to treat and wash my clothes again. And if there is anything I don't need right now, it's more laundry... which reminds me that I have to go put a load in the dryer. Ugh.

Ups and Downs

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:09:00 +0000

I'm learning that having a baby can be wonderful. Like when they're sleeping. And not so fun. Like when they're awake. Kidding. Mostly.

Babies get so many sweet, adorable, thoughtful gifts (because, face it, buying gifts for babies is just plain fun). Awesome. Babies cannot write out their own thank-you notes. Not awesome.

Best of all, handmade gifts.

From my sister-in-law, customized onesies:

A bib from an old friend's wife:

Bootays from my aunt:

Blankets, from left to right, fleece and crocheted from my mother-in-law, knit from my mom and a simple double layer flannel blanket, sewn by me:

And a yummy brown and aqua quilt from my mom:

Now, on to those thank-you notes.

Craving...

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:15:00 +0000

Sleep

At eight weeks, my baby does not sleep through the night. In fact, my baby would prefer not to sleep at night at all it seems. I totally understand now how sleep deprivation can be used as a torture device. (And as for that "sleep when your baby sleeps" nonsense, it's great as long as you are able to get all your sleep in 45-minute intervals and don't have any need to eat, shower, do laundry, leave the house, or get any kind of non-baby human contact.)

Root Beer

Before late in my pregnancy, I could take it or leave it. I always preferred ginger ale. Now, however, I'd be happy to drink nothing but.

Spring

While I loved, loved, loved the weather in California, I've never hated Wisconsin winters. I still don't hate winter, but I'm so ready for spring this year. It all probably has to do with being extra-cooped up inside with the baby. I can't wait for the first day it's warm enough to take the baby out for a walk (note to self: buy stroller sometime before warm day arrives).

Knitting

The last time I knit? A couple of hours before my water broke and we left for the hospital. Last thing I knit?

The most frustrating thing is that I considered taking the sock along to the hospital, but discarded the idea thinking that I'd be in too much pain to knit. I didn't know that I'd spend the first sixteen or so hours of my hospital stay in relatively mild labor watching repeats of college football games.

At least I finished the knitting on this stripey (and highly modified) version of Knitty's Daisy:

Now, if only I could get it washed and the zipper on it. And find the time to knit something else.

My Biggest Project Yet

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:27:00 +0000

In fact, he's three weeks old today. (He was a New Year's Eve baby.) I now totally understand how this mom gig can be a full time job. I've been spending almost eight hours a day just feeding him. Plus there's all the time that gets eaten up by cuddling and staring at him... not that I do that. Heh. He's turning me into a big softy.

Having him (his nickname from the get-go had been Bear) around has been a lot like I expected and at the same time, totally different. Breastfeeding has been, um, challenging. Much harder than I was led to expect. And by hard, I mean painful. I have come to the conclusion that if someone doesn't go through a period of initial breastfeeding pain, that they are very, very lucky. Even with classes, a super-supportive husband, and a slew of nurses and lactation consultants- the pain. Sleep is the other big challenge. It didn't seem like it would be such a big deal at first, but that was before the newborn drowsiness began to wear off.

On the other hand, labor and his delivery was no worse than I expected. We had a few small complications, but Bear and I came both came away from it healthy. I've unexpectedly lost almost all of my pregnancy weight, which I attribute to the breastfeeding and a curious absence of appetite (despite being ravenous during early labor and my sisters-in-law's tales of increased stomach capacity after giving birth). It's actually kinda tough to pack in all the calories I need per day. Also, cloth diapering has been much easier than I expected. It helped that we bought a no-brainer package from a local baby store (which I highly recommend if you, like me, are totally overwhelmed by the diaper options out there). We're washing our own, and it's much, much easier than I anticipated.

All in all, I'm pretty tired, a little sore and blissfully happy. Time to go stare at the baby.

The Third Day of the Rest of My Life

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:16:00 +0000

I feel like the reset button has been pushed on my life. Last Friday was my last day of work. Not my last day of work until maternity leave was through, but my last day of work. As in, I no longer have a job outside the home (by choice). My new job is of the frighteningly traditional domestic sort. Needless to say, there are some mixed feelings, including a healthy dose of anxiety, that go with this choice*, but I'm pretty sure this is the right decision for our family for the moment.

This week I'm embracing the domestic. Albeit slowly, since being 37(!) weeks pregnant does not allow for sudden movements. Yesterday I spent a bit of the afternoon making the suddenly ubiquitous peppermint bark. I remember my mom making it with confectioner's coating and smashed starlight mints when I was a kid. I, however, now have a taste for the layered dark and white chocolate version so popular now. I thought that making it would be a cinch: layer some melted chocolate, incorporate some peppermint extract and pile on some crushed mints. Easy right? Um, not quite.

All of the recipes I saw called for the bark to be stored in the refrigerator. Why? Tempering. Or, rather, a lack thereof. If you just melt chocolate and allow it to cool, you lose the temper- the snap, the shininess, and the solidity at room temperature. So, in order to make something simple more difficult, I followed the "seed method" directions at Cooking For Engineers, and somehow managed to temper my chocolate. And my white chocolate. And produced three pounds of non-refrigerated peppermint bark.

Hmm, this domestic stuff is not so bad so far...

*I also feel very fortunate to even have this choice both financially and career-wise.

Also, It's Cold Out

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:39:00 +0000

Still here. Still pregnant. Still finishing things. Occasionally. I'm trying not to make myself feel too bad about having made almost nothing for this baby. This household is busier than it has ever been. The husband is workingworkingworking* and trying to get the house ready for winter (and being a dear and doing the dishes every night since I can no longer reach the sink with any degree of comfort). I'm working full time, trying to keep our domestic life in good working order, preparing for our new tiny roommate and, oh, utterly exhausted from putting the finishing touches on the little human I'm growing inside me (who is due in just over six weeks). And have I mentioned the classes? The classes on how to keep the aforementioned little human alive and kicking?

I'm overwhelmed. Probably pretty typical. In any case I can rest easier** knowing that the kid will have a wee Jayne hat. Allow George to model:

Loosely based on this pattern and knit in this yarn. More on Ravelry.

But wait! What is George sitting on? George looks to be in my family room, but that piece of furniture doesn't appear to be a futon. Why, could that be a sofa? Say, a big, red sectional?

And in the living room, another sofa?

Yup. Another momentous occasion around here: the passing of the futons. They've passed all the way to the basement to take up residence in (as my mom likes to call it) the rumpus room. I'm thrilled to have couches just like the grownups have. I can't wait to make new pillows for them. Just as soon as I get time. Hahahahahahaha...

*I'm sure things vary by what kind of program you're in and what kind of school you're at and a million other things, but let me tell you, being a first-year professor is no cushy job. Between his class, meetings, proposals, papers, grad students, and, oh yeah, research, my husband is working 60-80 hours a week. If you really want to tick him off, naively suggest that he has it easy since he's only teaching one class or mention something about having summers or school breaks off (hah!).

**Seriously, I don't have a car seat in which to transport him home from the hospital, but I'm relieved that my child will be identifiable as a geekbaby by his headwear?

Spooky

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:13:00 +0000

Halloween? Not up there on my list of favorite holidays. At least not since I stopped trick-or-treating. Which may have been in high school.

The event I am looking forward to is the end of daylight savings time. Finally. I'm looking forward to it being not pitch black out for my morning constitutional. Plus, an extra hour of sleep! Ugh. You know you're getting old when sleep is better than candy.

Works In Progress

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:55:00 +0000

The proto-kid in my belly and this house are so very linked together in my head. I figured out I was pregnant the same week we first saw the house and put in an offer. (Never have I been filled with as much crazy excited apprehensive wacko nervous energy as when stopping at the drugstore for a pregnancy test directly after seeing for the first time this “yes, this is it, let’s buy it nownownow because it WILL be mine” house.) We closed on the house right at the end of my first trimester (“Hi mom… yup everything is set for the closing… by the way, I’m knocked up”). My morning (ha!) sickness let up just as we moved in. And now in a perfect storm of anxiety (Ack!, Are birthing classes going to freak me out? Why is registering so hard? Why’d he stop kicking? Am I gaining too little weight? Too much weight? And WHAT ARE WE GOING TO NAME HIM????), the only thing I feel I have under control is his room.

I’m loving the aqua-y blue walls. An Ikea run last weekend scored the super basic white furniture I was looking for. The Flor tiles arrived all of three days after I ordered them and give the whole room a colorful punch and keep it from looking too blue-and-white-baby-boy-precious. There is a pile of prints and frames in the guest room waiting only for mats before being hung. The closet organizer was speced out this weekend and there are plans to replace the ugliest ceiling fan in the world with one that is, um, less ugly.

I know that all this will mean nothing to the kid and in the grand scheme of things, decorating a bedroom doesn’t matter a lick. I have some vague knowledge that my life is going to be turned on its head in a couple of months. But for now, in the midst of my roiling emotions and hormones, I’m decorating the room. And I’m enjoying it, dammit!

Before

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:37:00 +0000

Summer is just not my season. Heat. Suntans. Shorts. I just don't do them. Summer produce is all well and good, but to tell you the truth, I love roasting and braising more than the juicy rawness of summer meals. I love wearing sweaters and curling up under wooly blankets and taking warm baths. By coincidence perhaps, the first day of Autumn frequently falls on my birthday.

Last week the heat broke here and since then, the weather has taken a definite turn towards the autumnal. I'm loving it. Gone is the lethargy that's been plaguing me since May when heat and morning sickness conspired to turn me into a slug for much of the spring and early summer. As soon as the morning sickness abated, I was hit with the busy one-two punch that was July and August. Finally now things are calming down. I'm taking time to knit and read blogs.

I'm also finally 1. starting to show and 2. starting to prepare for The Kid. The boy kid, as a matter of fact. Beginning with the room. I think I know that there really isn't any big race to get a room ready for the kid. He probably won't start out sleeping in a crib and doesn't need a room painted just the right color with just the right furniture, decorated just so. The thing is, I think Mr. Beagle and I need a room that looks like a baby's room with a crib and the whole shebang to make it real for us. And if the room gets painted just right color and decorated just so, well that would just be nifty.

For now, I just have a room that's mostly empty, clean, and has since been prepped for painting.

Right now it's a pale shade of pea soup and contains the fugliest ceiling fan known to man. The ceiling fan will be replaced (with another fan- we have radiant heat and no air conditioning- fans are a must).

But first: painting. Cross your fingers that Benjamin Moore's* Arctic Blue is just the right color.

*We've been using Benjamin Moore Aura low VOC paint in our house, and we could not be more pleased with it. It is virtually odor-free, has great color choices, and truly is self-priming. We've only had to do one coat, even when changing colors dramatically. It's kind of spendy, but I feel like it's worth it.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 22:18:00 +0000

Busiest. Summer. Ever.

What didn't I do this summer? Knit, sew, craft or read blogs.

What did I do? Well, we closed on the house, then immediately took off for a week of vacation in the U.P.

Then it was off for Northern Wisconsin to see my baby brother married (I could post one of my photos, but they all pale in comparison to the shots taken by their amazing photographer).

Then it was back to Madison to clean, paint, and move in to the house. The house which happens to contain some amazing original 1963 light fixtures.

Then it was off to the Detroit area for the wedding of some good friends, during which, I consumed several kiddie cocktails (or Shirley Temples, if you will).

Less than a week later, we were in Montreal for a vacaconference? conferencecation? and to try some poutine. (And where Mr. Beagle snapped the water lily photo at the top of the post.)

And in between all that, we participated all kinds of family activities and had houseguests on five different occasions.

Oh, yeah, I also secured and started a new job. For which I had to buy all new pants. Because my old ones don't fit. Because in addition to everything else this summer, I'm also pregnant.

Dude, I'm tired.

I'm Still Here...

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:15:00 +0000

But currently, I'm here:

Taking a little bit of time off of work and relaxing with friends at their lake house in Northern Michigan. Today's activities featured lounging, reading, napping, and eating. Tomorrow's forecast: more of the same. Mmmm. This weekend, we will head south to Northern Wisconsin to see my baby brother get married.

And then, finally, we can return home to our conversation pit:

And, of course, the rest of the house that we closed on the day before we left on vacation. Homeowners. Crazy.

On the crafty front, well... it's been slow going. Busy summer, lots of non-crafty projects, blah, blah, blah. The Flutter Sleeve Cardigan is coming along nicely, if at a snail's pace. At the rate I'm going, it will be done just in time for fall.

Just In Time

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:42:00 +0000

See, I do knit. Quite a lot, actually. I knit the the back and fronts of this sweater. My gauge was off, so I knit them again. Same with the first half of the sleeves. Eh, it's the nature of knitting right?

Pattern: Tilted Duster from Fall 2007 Interweave
Begun: 3/08
Finished: 5/08
Size: 40.5"
Yarn: Berroco Peruvia
Needles: #5 and #6 circulars
Mods: Uh, none I think. I even used the called for yarn.

I'm pretty dang pleased with this sweater. It fits quite nicely, thanks in no small part to my willingness to reknit half the sweater when I realized I was wayyyy off gauge. The sleeves are a leeetle tight and if I were really persnickity, I would add a hook and eye to the point where the "skirt" meets at the chest.

Pros: Fits, looks pretty good, warm
Cons: Reknitting, knitting again, knitting pieces over, unnecessary apostrophe's, finishing a fall/winter sweater in May

An now? Hey, I'm already on to the next sweater:

Thi's Drive's Me Nut's

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:48:00 +0000

(Click for a bigger image if punctuation abuse doesn't make you queasy.)

Searching for non-cheesy modern furniture in Madison is also driving me nuts.

That is all.

Excuses, Excuses

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Sun, 04 May 2008 20:54:00 +0000

My Tilted Duster is still an unfinished pile of grey yarn. Turns out once I got the sleeves on, I did need to reknit the cuffs since they were too short. In the past week, I've only managed to do a cuff and a third. I haven't even gotten the buttons on. Not. Much. Progress. But I have an excuse.

This chair is not my excuse. But it was bought to put in my excuse.

We've been casually looking for a house for a while- maybe six months online and have been going to open houses for the past two months. We weren't in any hurry. Our lease doesn't end until the end of August. But then we stopped by the open house at the house. It was love at first walk through. We hustled all week to get an offer in. (How do people manage to do this if they don't have super-flexible jobs like Mr. Beagle and I???) After a little negotiations we had our offer accepted. Now we're hustling to get it inspected and get our loan going and all of that tedium. Oh, but if all goes well, we'll be moving in in two months.

Buying a pair of vintage chairs for the house is totally premature. I know that. But they'll go soooo well in the very mid century modern interior (built in 1963, multiple fireplaces, built-ins, lovely walnutty paneling*, funky light fixtures, and a conversation pit). Um, yeah, a conversation pit. How could we not want to buy it?

*Um, the paneling. Yeah, paneling is normally pretty horrendous and I have rarely met any that I didn't want to rip out or paint over, but trust me, this paneling is dark and warm and classy and really goes with the house. Plus it just begs to have this hung on it.

Happy Sunshine Yeah

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:14:00 +0000

In honor of the fact that today has gone from superdarkthunderstormy to sunny and bright, here's what I'm loving right now (in addition to the sunshine).

WEBS

Why? I've been really pleased with their selection, everything I've wanted to order has been in stock, and their prices are really reasonable. Plus, even with normal bare bones shipping, the yarn I ordered late on Sunday, arrived on Thursday. Which is great 'cause I'm just about ready to start my Flutter Sleeve Cardigan since I'm almost finished with...

The Tilted Duster

Why? It's fitting great so far and it's almost done. I'm a little worried about the sleeves being too short, but if that turns out to be the case, I figure I can take the ribbed cuffs out and reknit them longer. No drama.

My New Camera

Why? Because it's tiny, it's got a great anti-jiggle feature (technical camera term, yo), and I just discovered it's got an extraclose macro feature. See:

Mmm... yarn.

Lemon Blossoms

Why? Um, have you ever smelled a lemon blossom? Right after I took this picture, I made sweet, sweet love to that flower with a paintbrush. I'm hoping the babies take after their mother rather than me. Or the paintbrush.

Terro

Why? One word: Effective. Some more words: now that it's all new and improved and arsenic-free, it still works crazy good while being pretty dang safe (the new ant-killin' part is just Borax).

Keds Eleanor Mary Janes

Why? Besides being cute and mary janes and everything, the cherries are flocked. Flocked! (The only thing better would have been if these had ric-rack like some of the other Eleanors.) Plus they were on Sale at Piperlime with free shipping. An flocked!

How I Block

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:50:00 +0000

See I do knit... piles of grey yarn. I'm 20 rows from finishing the skirt of my Tilted Duster from last fall's Interweave, after which I just have to do the collar and (ugh) sew in the sleeves. And then I'll have me another warm, 100% wool sweater just in time for spring!

But on to more exciting things: blocking!

For the longest time, I didn't really get blocking. When I started knitting sweaters and the like, I begrudgingly laid out my wet knits on a towel and called it blocking. Then I was faced with the unfortunate Puff-Sleeved Feminine Cardigan results. I would save the project by blocking! I had to step my blocking up a notch with measuring and pinning to a futon mattress. The cardigan was not magically improved, but I made a stride forward in learning to block.

Lately I've been embracing the blocking. It actually really appeals to my ~~anal~~ detail-oriented side. All that measuring and pinning and pinning and measuring and pinning. Ooooh. So, without further ado, here's...

How I Block
This technique might be overkill for something that just needs a little shaping or stitch evening, but it works great when you need to ~~bitchslap your knitting~~ do some serious resizing because you're like me and can never ever ever get perfect guage.

Supplies:

Pen, paper, calculator

Measurers (I actually do use all four of these sometimes)

Foam Mat (They can be found with the exercise gear or in the toy section of your favorite retailer and are waaaaay cheaper then the blocking boards marketed to knitters, are configurable, and allow you to move your blocking knitting.)

And pins (I just use normal sewing pins.)

Technique:

I start by popping my knitting into a sinkful of water with a little no-rinse woolwash. (If I was using, say, alpaca which I am leery of soaking, I'd skip this step and pin it out dry and spray it with a water bottle as a last step.)

While the knitting is soaking, I take the finished dimension sketch from the pattern and resketch it using only the dimensions I need for the size I'm working on. Then, I calculate any dimensions that are not spelled out in the pattern that I think will be useful. This part is a little brainwork, but it really pays off when you start placing your pins.

Then I'll begin the prepinning. I like to start by placing all of the corner pins. If I was blocking a square gauge swatch, for example, I'd measure and place a pin at the four corners. For a complicated shape, this step may take a lot of time and measuring, but it's worth it in the end.

Next I'll pull my knitting out of it's bath and partially dry it (squeeze as much water out as I can- without wringing or stretching it, then lay it on a towel, roll the towel up, lay it on the floor and ~~dance~~ step on it).

Now I'll start pinning the knitting to the mat, beginning with the corner pins that are conveniently already laid out. From here on out, it's just pin, pin, pin. I lay a ruler along two corner pins and use it to line a pin up on the middle of the edge. And then I fill in the side with pins until everything is nice and flat and the batwing effect of stretched knitting is minimized. I just fudge the curved edges, pinning them by eye.

Once everything is sufficiently pinned, you just let 'em dry. I like to make sure everything is very, very dry before I take out my pins.

Happy blocking!

Sewing, Part Infinity

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:41:00 +0000

Let's pretend that the lemon tart is really the warm spring sun, okay? Also let's pretend that it isn't still butt-numbing cold out and that it didn't snow yesterday and that I don't live in a tundra-like wasteland, okay? Can we do that?

Okay, moving on.

Sewing. Last one. Really.

For a knitting group member's new baby. I could not think of a cute little shape for this one, so I totally copied Stephanie... right down to the letter (thanks for the idea Stephanie!). Lucky the babies both have the same initial, eh?

This is the first onesie that I handstitched (after the Heat and Bond). I hope it holds up. Handstitching was not my first choice, but I totally botched another onesie for another friend's baby on the machine. Machine + knits = scary.

Also a few odds and ends:

I made a mistake in an earlier post. It's Jo-Ann. Not JoAnn's or even JoAnn. And they had neither the Alexander Henry bird fabric or hera markers. So I don't have to like them.

My wood-grain quilting inspiration was this. Gorgeous.

Next up: did you know I knit?

My Forearms Get Cold

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:32:00 +0000

Dear People Who Dictate What Fashions Are In the Stores,
I agree that little swing coats with 3/4 sleeves are cute. In fact, I own one. But why, oh why, must every jacket for the spring season have cap sleeves or short sleeves or half sleeves or 3/4 sleeves? Hm? Could you maybe offer up just a couple with long sleeves? For those of us that want to use a spring jacket to, you know, stay warm? Thanks a lot.
Regards,
Rebecca

I Bring You...

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:14:00 +0000

More sewing. Don't worry, though, we're getting to the end. Very little sewing left.

I was a little amazed to find this Alexander Henry print that I'd been coveting since, like, forever, at the local JoAnn's. (And lemme tell you, the local JoAnn's is waaaaay nicer than the nasty old CA JoAnn's that I used to frequent and I've already been to two local independently owned fabric stores that were just plain lovely. So there's that.) Now if only I could find the AH print with the yellow birds. If I, say, went to JoAnn's this afternoon and found it, well, that would be awesome. And I would be forced to like JoAnn's since they carry fabric and Bit'o'Honey.

Oh, yeah, the fabric:

Since I've declared war on paper products, I decided it was finally time to buck up and switch to cloth napkins. And apparently, work on my hemming skillz.

All I can say is that I'm going to get me a hera marker post haste. Endless hemming, hemming, hemming, hemming, hemming zips along much faster when you crease your folds first. Having no hera marker yet, I used my Martha Stewart brand bone folder. Worked okay. But since I'm going to JoAnn's and all, I really should pick up a hera marker too. Because buying stuff is fun.

For now, though, I'm going to continue to sit at my desk with my ears perked. The UPS lady is supposed to bring me a new camera today. Eeeee! I barely know what to do with myself. First I replaced my six year old cell phone, now my six year old camera. Ach! My cell phone and camera could have been first graders! If they were not inanimate objects. And not people.

Where Were We?

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:02:00 +0000

Ah yes, sewing.

Did you know that sewing vintage upholstery samples together to make a chair cushion results in a cushion that looks like it came from a 1960's couch? Curious.

Perfect for the chair that caused my dad to laugh at me for buying a piece of avocado green furniture.

Sewing, Episode III

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:08:00 +0000

I'm quite glad that I have a stockpile of sewing projects to show off since there's not much happening on the knitting front. Don't get me wrong- I love me a sweater project, but it takes a while before there's really anything to show for all the hard work. (In this case hard work may equate to sitting on the couch knitting sleeves while eating Easter candy and watching Dancing With the Stars*.)

On to the sewing: A couple of throw pillows on one of my futons were starting to look pretty shabby. Recently my mother gave me free reign to pick through a big bag of fabric scraps she scored on Ebay. A couple more scraps from my stash, some green broadcloth, and some manic log-cabining and the pillows got funky new covers.

Yes, the strips are supposed to be all askew.

And yes, I know the quilting lines are all wavy.

I was way inspired by some awesome wood grain-y quilting I saw on a blog. Can't for the life of me remember where.

*Yes. Dancing With the Stars. In general I haaaaate reality shows, but this one is just chock full of goofy charm. It is my guiltiest of guilty pleasures.

More Sewing!

rebeccabeagle@gmail.com (Rebecca Beagle) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:14:00 +0000

Oh, we shan't talk about the knitting. Oh, no. I'm working on Fall IK's Tilted Duster, and let's just say I've been doing some elaborate swatching. Sounds better than reknitting, no?

Egh.

'member this?

Well, now it's this:

Wrinkle-licious. And it came out okay, methinks. However, like 99% of all empire waisted tops, it makes me look a leeetle preggers and thus has not gotten any wearing yet. When will I learn?

I actually enjoyed sewing this quite a bit. I think it helped that I left the whole mess on the dining room table for a week and worked on it in little bits here and there. This helped me not make stupid mistakes. Of course, it also meant that our living area was dominated with sewing chaos for a week. Le sigh.