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Topics - Ploshkin

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91
A Good Yarn / Finally finished a sweater
« on: January 17, 2018, 11:26:58 AM »
I lost momentum on this sweater when I found that I was knitting the second sleeve 2 sizes smaller than the first sleeve!  I think the other thing was that I made a bag to keep my knitting in so it was out of sight, out of mind.  When it is chucked on the end of the sofa I tend to pick it up and do a bit.
This was my experiment in having as few seams as possible to sew up  (I hate sewing up).  I knitted the body in the round (magic loop)  then split at the armholes for the front and back - I cast off the front and back shoulders together which gave a nice, stable join but no seam to sew.  I knitted the sleeves in the round so when I had finished the knitting the only sewing I had to do was sewing in the sleeves.  It worked really well and I may well be doing it again.

The yarn is James C Brett Marble Chunky.  It's acrylic which I would never normally use but it does have a lovely, soft feel.  The style is odd for chunky because it is short and fitted at the waist  with 3/4 sleeves.  I wasn't sure how that would work but I really like it and have worn it several times already.
I'm not really into big, floppy sweaters and don't like crew, cowl or polo  necks - they don't suit me and also I can't bear anything woolly touching my skin.  I have a couple of t shirts with a suitable neckline that I can wear under this without showing.

The yarn goes a long way, It used less than 2 balls and I had bought 3 so I'll have to do a hat or scarf.

92
Current Projects / **¡¡¥#! (Insert your own expletive)
« on: December 04, 2017, 11:07:46 AM »
I found some extra wide backing fabric for my mystery quilt.  Quilt is 50" square, fabric 108" - perfect.  One metre, cut in half, two pieces 54" wide joined together, a good 2" to play with each side and a decent bit of spare fabric for something else.
When I sandwiched the quilt I found that it must have been a bit of a fantasy 108" because I only had about 3/4" each side.  I wasn't too bothered as I wasn't intending doing a lot of squiggly, dense quilting.
It's all going swimmingly, just one side left to quilt when I noticed the information strip along the selvedge - except that it's not on the selvedge!  It's a *****ing great 1/2" wide, 15" long white strip (on dark fabric naturally) that extends 1 1/4" into the body of the fabric.  Inevitably, that is the edge that the top drifted towards during the sandwiching process.  Is it going to be covered by the binding?  Of course it *****ing well isn't.
I was going to cut a strip off and sew on a new bit but that required taking out part of some of the quilting lines - I wouldn't have been happy with it anyway.  So, I've finished the quilting and now have to come up with a creative way of dealing with it.  I think I'll let it simmer for a couple of hours.

93
Sewing Machines / Sewing Machine Bulb
« on: November 11, 2017, 15:45:24 PM »
My Elna 664 Overlocker has a miserable level of horrible yellow light.  I do have a daylight lamp on my sewing table but can't get it into a useful position to help when I am using the machine.  Either it's in the way or I bang my head on it.

The machine has a 15w bayonet bulb which looks pretty standard.  I was looking to see if I could get an LED to replace it.
I have found this but it doesn't list the machine I have.  It does say universal.  Would it be safe do you think to use one of these if the fitting is the same?

94
Your Favourite Suppliers / 108" Quilt Backing Fabric
« on: November 10, 2017, 11:00:48 AM »
Looking for a backing fabric for my mystery quilt I came across this site.  Not cheap but the largest range of wide backing fabrics I have seen.
The website appears to be rather clunky in operation and doesn't have much information about the stuff but they would be contactable I'm sure.  Of course having found just the right fabric out of the hundreds there I had probably picked the only one that only had 1/2 metre left :S


95
Access All Accessories / Two small bags
« on: November 07, 2017, 15:39:43 PM »
Inspired by Leila May (thanks) I have made 2 bags - one for my 13 year old niece and the other for my surrogate grand daughter who is a year younger.  I haven't made a bag before so it was all a bit experimental.  They're only simple messenger type bags so I didn't use a pattern, I just made it up as I went along.  They're 8" x 6" x 2" deep
I had some lovely double sided denim (I think Bodgeit had the same or similar for a top) so they have a deep purple sheen on the main black bit and the reverse on the flaps.  The size was dictated by the fat quarters I had for the lining.  I've put a pocket inside and an elastic loop to hold a pen - nothing more adventurous.   I used invisible magnetic closures but the magnet is a bit weak through the denim.  I did somehow manage to get them in the right place so that they close automatically.
Anyway, I'm happy with them for a first attempt and was also impressed that my Pfaff went through 8 layers of denim without any problem.

96
Embroidery and Embellishment / Xmas Decs
« on: November 02, 2017, 14:48:18 PM »
I don't do Christmas but I am not a Scrooge so here is an easy to make decoration.  I think it may have been on the old forum but can't actually remember where I got it.

Cut out a circle from 2 contrasting fabrics - I used a tea plate to draw round.
Put them right sides together and stitch a 1/4" seam all round leaving a small opening to turn through.  Make some notches in the seam allowance so that it is not lumpy when turned right sides out.

Turn right sides out and (this is the only fiddly bit) use the point of a needle or pin to pull out the seam edges so that you get a nice neat circle.  Topstitch all around the edge closing up the gap as you go.

Fold in half vertically and mark the north and south points with pins.  Repeat for the east and west points.

Use a needle and thread to first catch the north and south points together then, without breaking the thread, catch the east and west points together.  Leave the thread end if you want to attach an embellishment in the centre.

Fold back each of the 4 'petals' - give them a bit of a push and wiggle to get them looking nice.  Add a decoration if you want one and a hanging loop.

97
A Good Yarn / Second Sleeve
« on: November 01, 2017, 13:12:39 PM »
It doesn't help second sleeve syndrome when you get a third of the way through and realise you are doing it 2 sizes smaller than the first sleeve  :S

98
A Good Yarn / Love Knitting
« on: October 28, 2017, 09:22:31 AM »
On Thursday afternoon I ordered a few balls of sock yarn from Love Knitting.  At 3.00pm yesterday there was a parcel in my shed.
How's that for service?

99
Current Projects / I've FMQd Something!
« on: October 07, 2017, 14:12:44 PM »
I've never been good at practising anything, I just get bored which is why I've never really mastered the piano.  So, after 4 or 5 practice sandwiches for FMQ I went for broke and did some for real.
Nothing major, I made a bag to contain my current knitting which always languishes on the end of the sofa and spare needles, tape measure etc disappear between the cushions.

I don't know if it was brave or foolhardy to go for light stitching on plain fabric.  I decided to stick to 2 designs in columns so that I didn't encounter the problem of getting lost.  I stitched (not FMQ) vertical columns 2" apart to give me some hope of staying on track.  The only other markings I made were for the loopy pattern where I chalked a base line to try and keep me straight.  On the bottom I marked 6 radiating lines but cursed myself for using a frixion pen as it has left a light mark, but it's on the base so I don't have to look at it.

I don't suppose there are any 2 stitches the same length but on the whole I didn't find it difficult to keep reasonably even.  I kept the machine speed relatively low so that I could put my foot right down without racing off.  Actually, I realised that using a machine all the time you are pretty much  aware of the needle / fabric speed ratio and I found my hands automatically speeded up / slowed down as the needle went faster or slower.  The worst bits are when my sandwich stalled against something without me noticing and the stitches wobbled or went really small.  I only unpicked 1" of stitching where I had started off a column and something got stuck and it jumped sideways.

For a first attempt I am really pleased with how it went and I now know that there was a reason for my constantly getting into trouble at school for doodling on my exercise books.

100
Fun with Fabric / Fabric for vehicle seat covers.
« on: September 29, 2017, 10:32:15 AM »
Our farm pickup inevitably needs seat covers that are pretty hard wearing and water resistant - preferably able to take a spin in the washing machine.
The current ones are crappy Chinese ones that weren't cheap and i had to make holes in appropriate places for seat belts etc when first used.  The backing on one has already disintegrated after less than a year.  They are a pig to put on and I have nearly been in tears this morning trying to put them back on - they don't fit properly anyway, so naturally I have resolved to make some that fit.

Has anyone done this or similar?  I'm presuming a ripstop fabric but don't know  what weight I would need.  Who is a good supplier?  I'm also thinking a strong stretch fabric for the backs to get a good fit - any suggestions?  I don't have a problem with making a pattern, I can fiddle about with bits of spare fabric as much as I want.

101
Patchwork & Quilting ... Welcome to the Darkside / A bit more FMQ
« on: September 26, 2017, 14:43:12 PM »
After making a reasonable stab at the sandwich of the month  stippling and inspired by Ruby's perseverence I've been having another dabble at FMQ.  On the first bit I learned that you really need to have a bit of a plan before you start as I was struggling to know what to do or where to go but .... I got absolutely no 'eyelashes' on the back this time so I guess my hand / speed coordination was a bit better.
The second bit I stuck to one design and am quite pleased with how it looks (if you squint).  Top RH corner is where I started and I think it gets a bit better as it goes on.  I managed to cover the whole bit reasonably evenly without getting stuck anywhere.  (Actually, the back looks quite good because the bobbin thread was cream so the actual stitches aren't jumping out at you, just the shapes) I also found that I got much better at stopping and starting.   
I'm finding that my stitches tend to go a bit small on the curves - is there an optimum stitch length to aim for though I won't be measuring them  8)

102
A Good Yarn / Will this work?
« on: September 25, 2017, 11:53:29 AM »
I've just got some yarn to knit a chunky sweater (James Brett Marble Chunky)
Having completed my top down, in the round sweater I am now hooked.  I like knitting with the cables as I have tendonitis in both hands and I particularly like the no sewing up.  The pattern I am going to use doesn't have raglan sleeves otherwise I might be tempted to attempt knitting it from the top. 
However I have a plan - knit the front and back simultaneously, in the round, taking off 2 stitches from what would be the sides (4 stitches in total) to account for there being no side seams.  Do this until the armhole shaping then split and do the front and back separately.  Knit the sleeves in the round minus 2 stitches to account for the lack of seam then knit the sleeve head flat.  That would mean the only sewing up would be the shoulders and sleeve heads.  Neckband then knitted in the round.
It seems perfectly doable to me.  Is there any major flaw in the plan that has escaped me?

103
In the wardrobe / Fleece Jacket
« on: September 24, 2017, 15:58:17 PM »
Having got my fleece jacket out of the washing machine and realised that whatever was splatted on the front of it was not going to wash off I remembered a bit of fleece fabric that has been sitting in a bag for a couple of years at least.
So I have made another jacket using New Look 6251
It's a good value pattern as it has a mens and womens version with separate pattern pieces.  The fleece is a double sided one which came from My Fabrics.  It's quite thick and warm but the seams squished down nicely with the overlocker. 

104
A Good Yarn / Finished a Sweater
« on: September 20, 2017, 14:02:13 PM »
This is a follow up to my previous thread 'Starting a Sweater' posted when TSP was in its infancy.  Yes, it has taken me 6 months.  I'm not really such a slow knitter but I don't really knit much through the summer so it had got as far as needing the sleeves then got put down again until recently.
Although I've been knitting since the age of 4 this is a first for me - first time using cable to knit in the round, first time doing magic loop, first time knitting a sweater entirely in the round and first time knitting any garment top down.  I'm really pleased with the way it has turned out and I like the fact that you can try it on as you go and of course that there is no sewing up, just 6 ends to sew in.
I've given it a cool hand wash and gentle steam to even up the stitches - when I started there were some wibbly stitches where the loops of the cable split the round but I got better at tensioning the yarn as I went along.  I can still see the line but hopefully no one will be looking that closely at me to notice it or if they are I hope it is someone who knows me very well. 

I think another time I would not have the break points down the centre front and centre back but put them where they would notice less.  I feel a bit daft to say that I have only just discovered stitch markers.  I knew that they existed but have not previously found the need to use them.  I can see them being very useful in knitting of this kind.

The pattern is a Drops Design one and the yarn is Drops Cotton Merino which is lovely to knit with and very soft - I can wear it against my skin and there's not many fibres I can say that about.

105
In the wardrobe / Shirt for DH
« on: September 07, 2017, 14:04:54 PM »
I've finished DH's short sleeved shirt now that summer has finished.  It hasn't taken me that long it's just that I started with a wearable (not) toile some time ago and having altered the pattern to include a back yoke found that I couldn't sew in the sleeves very well and it turned out too small.  I realised that I had forgotten a couple of seam allowances in my alterations.  I put it to one side and it took a while to get going again.
Fabric is a beautiful quality Italian shirting that I got from Croft Mill, not that he would notice if I made it out of a bin bag, but it was lovely fabric for me to sew.  I've never made a man's shirt before.  The fabric actually has a salmon coloured vertical stripe.

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