Category Archives: Home Improvement

November 12, 2016 · 2:24 PM

A Tale of Two Socks

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Over the last couple of months, I have finished knitting two socks. As you can see from the photo above, they are not from the same pair. Some knitters like to knit their socks two at a time to avoid this exact scenario. I prefer knitting them one at a time because it makes the project more portable.

The sock on the left is Strie, Top Down, from the book Sock Architecture. This is my first sock with a flap and gusset heel and the fit is perfect!

The sock on the right is Cableship by Michelle Hunter. It was her October mystery knit-a-long, which is why I started it before finishing the Strie pair. I can’t resist a Michelle Hunter knit-a-long!

I can’t decide which pair of socks to finish first.

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On one hand, the Strie sock fits perfectly, and I love the colors, so I can’t wait to start wearing the finished pair. But the sock is kind of boring to knit.

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On the other hand, Cableship is more interesting to knit. Also, it has a couple of fit issues, and I am anxious to try a few things on the second sock to see if I can improve the fit.

I guess will just have to wait and see which one I am inspired to pick up and knit!

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Filed under Home Improvement

Tagged as Cableship, knitting, socks, Strie

June 18, 2014 · 12:07 PM

WIP Wednesday: Too Busy To Write Edition

When I started my WIP Wednesday feature last month, my intention was to write an update at least every other week (as long as I had updates to share!). Well, it’s nearly a month and a half later. Whoops! My excuse is not that I haven’t accomplished anything, but rather that I have been so busy with my projects that I haven’t had time to write about them.

Knitting

Larch is coming along nicely! This has been a very enjoyable project and I love how the pattern shows off the beautiful yarn so well. I can’t wait to finish this one!

Next month I will be starting another mystery knit-a-long! This one will be a two color hat. I chose the following colors of Simplicity. I used the Pantone Fall 2014 Fashion Color Report for inspiration.

This is another KAL hosted by Skacel and Michelle Hunter. For more information about the KAL see: http://knitpurlhunter.com/kal/uncategorized/july-kal-3/. If you are interested in participating in a mystery KAL, I highly recommend Michelle’s. They are very well run and I always learn something new!

Home Improvement

My bedroom project is coming along slowly, but surely. It is slow-going because this is the first time I have done any of this, and I am learning as I go. The project also got stopped in it’s tracks due to have my mother visit to help me with a garage sale (she stayed in the room, so I had to make it liveable for her) and the school year ending.

Since I last updated you, I have ripped out the closet doors, washed the walls (a painful process because of leftover wallpaper glue), painted the ceiling, and patched the walls. I had hoped to have a fun before/after photo of the ceiling and new light fixture for you, but we ran into a snag with the light fixture that requires some research and perhaps a consultation with an electrician. Trust me, the picture will be more fun when the light fixture is installed!

I made a decision about the closet doors! They have been removed and will not be replaced. My sister-in-law, who has young children of her own, convinced me to go doorless. Thinking about ease-of-use and accessibility for my daughter, this made the most sense. Here is a photo of the closet right now:

The white bits are where the original shelf and rod were installed. I removed those and patched the walls.

Right now I am working on masking the rooms so I can get the walls painted. I hope to get that done when summer school starts in a couple of weeks. Then the project will be put on hiatus until the new school year starts in August.

Work-in-Progress Wednesday: First Edition

Welcome to Work-in-Progress (WIP) Wednesday! I hope to be updating you every (well, most) Wednesday on various projects I am working on.

Knitting

I have been knitting pretty continuously the last few months. I recently finished a project that I will be sharing with you soon. I just need to take some pictures (hopefully on Sunday as I will be wearing the finished item for Mother’s Day). I pretty much immediately started a new project that I am quite excited about.

Meet Larch:

It’s a little shawlette or scarflet that I have been wanting to make for over a year. I had just been waiting for the right yarn to find me. The yarn and I finally crossed paths recently and I love it!

Back in January I started my first pair of socks as part of a mystery knit-a-long. This is how far I got:

The project stalled for a couple of reasons:

1) I started a Downton Abbey KAL at the same time I started these socks. I discovered that I am a one-project-at-a-time girl, and this is the one that didn’t get worked on.

2) After trying on my socks, I found that the cast-on edge is quite tight around my ankle, which discouraged me. I think I will start over soon with a looser cast-on. I want the finished socks to be comfortable to wear!

Home Improvement

In other news, I finally started a home improvement project I have been talking about for years! I am turning our spare bedroom into a freshly painted and revamped bedroom for my daughter.

I have ripped out molding, removed doors, pulled down shelving, and sanded down flaws. By the end of this project, I will have learned how to paint a room (can you believe this is my first time?), install baseboards and molding around a door, install a closet organizer, and all sorts of mundane home improvement tasks.

Now I would like to get some opinions about the closet. I have already removed the original, boring shelf and bar and will replace them with some sort of closet organizing system (I haven’t designed it yet). I am trying to decide what to do about the doors.

These are the original sliding doors that were installed when the house was built. They are in good condition and function well. I have some fun ideas about how I can spruce them up and make them more interesting. But, I am also considering replacing them with bi-fold type doors. Any opinions? Pros and cons for the different types of doors? I would love to hear what you think!

Whew! I have a lot going on! What projects are you working on?

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Filed under Home Improvement, Knitting

Tagged as DIY, knitting, Larch, shawl, socks, WIP Wednesday

March 20, 2013 · 12:51 PM

In Progress

Here’s what I’ve been up to lately!

On the Needle

I have maintained my enthusiasm for knitting and am continuing work on my XO Raglan Cardigan. I am almost, but not quite, halfway through the right front piece. It’s a good thing the buttonholes (my first ever) are in garter stitch because they are far from perfect, but the garter stitch hides them nicely.

Almost halfway done…

I like the look of the little pockets. Someone described them as the “cutest little non-functional pockets ever”, and I agree!

Cute little pocket

I hope to finish the right front in the next few weeks so I can then block the pieces and sew them together!

On the Cutting Table

Nothing!

Now that we are headed into Spring, I have decided to hold off sewing my daughter her second pair of sweatpants. She won’t have any use for them over the next few months, so if I wait until Fall I can make sure they will fit before making them.

Earlier this week I completely packed up my sewing stuff to make way for a home improvement project. I guess I will have to satisfy my creative urges with knitting for a while!

Bye-bye sewing stuff!

Home Improvement

Our sewing/guest/dump-everything room is being converted into a bedroom for my daughter. I have been talking about doing this for years and I am now going on public record to declare that it is actually going to get done this Spring (I hope I didn’t just jinx myself!).

We will be getting rid of the ugly popcorn ceiling in this room and two other bedrooms (actually, the guys came and removed it yesterday, yay!) and replacing the outdated light fixture.

Ugly Ceiling

Wallpaper has already been removed (thanks, Mom!) and I will be painting the walls a pretty lavender. The moulding desperately needs to be updated, so that will happen too.

This old trim needs updating!

The finishing touch will be some sort of closet organization.

Once my daughter’s new bedroom is complete, I will turn my attention to a couple of the other bedrooms with the end result being a room dedicated to sewing and crafts!

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Filed under Home Improvement, Knitting, Sewing

Tagged as home improvement, knitting, popcorn ceiling, XO Raglan Cardigan