Knit for Victory!

I'm so in!!

I've never knit a sweater before. Actually, I haven't knit much more than cat toys and scarves, but we've all got to tackle our first sweater at some point right? And I'm avoiding "The Sweater Curse" by knitting one for myself. If you're a reader of the By Gum, By Golly! blog you'd have noticed the fabulous 1940s pullover that the uber-talented Tasha just finished - If you haven't had the pleasure, check it out HERE.

When I first saw the super-informative post series she did while knitting this piece, I knew I had to give it a try. Not only am I a sucker for 1940s/1950s fashion, but I haven't mastered knitting on circulars or DPNs yet, and this pattern is written for straight needles.

Into my queue it went, and I didn't give it another thought until this morning. When Tasha posted the Knit for Victory knitting challenge I joined without hesitation. I had previously joined and semi-completed the Fall for Cotton challenge. I "successfully" sewed two 100% cotton "garments" - The previously-mentioned shady apron, which clearly deserves its own post, and a much-required pincushion for my wrist (no leaving it at the machine when I need it at my cutting table like the tomato). The issue though, we were supposed to use vintage patterns, and I didn't - Challenge not met.

The helpful tips series and pattern I'm using for the Knit for Victory challenge is all found HERE - By Gum, By Golly!  - Will you be victorious and knit your way through this challenge? Share your thoughts in the comments section below :)

Now the fun part.... Yarn selection!!! I'm thinking jewel tones, maybe a sapphire blue, but who knows what I'll end up with.

Binding off,
C :)

Norma the Singer 99K

This summer, my Gma gave me her mother's Singer 99K. It's in-cabinet and came with the sewing stool which was full of attachments, and even a few vintage patterns.

 I named her Norma, after my great grandmother, and Norma was in desperate need of a bath. After spending 40 years in my Gma's living room, even being tucked away in her cabinet, she was still covered in a layer of nicotine tar and dust.

I took her all apart, cleaned and greased what needed it and adjusted the stitch tension to my tastes, all with some good old Google assistance.

I've been trying to snap some pictures of Norma and my sewing area as it sits today, but we're having dreary weather here and the lighting conditions are less than ideal for decent picture taking, as they clearly were when I took this initial photo, but alas, this is the only snap I have of her in the condition she was in when I got her. Yes, I probably just take bad photos in general, okay? I'm sorry. I promise to update with *different pictures eventually.

*I'm not even going to promise better photos

I've hung the in-package accessories on the wall, cheap and easy sewing space deco.  Does anybody actually use a needle threader? I find them impossible to use, but I digress.

I was able to date my machine by the serial number by visiting the Singer page, and found my machine was made in 1956. Awesome! The 50s is my favourite fashion era, gives me a nice feeling knowing I'll be making vintage reproductions on a vintage machine.

The attachments that came with it that I've been able to identify so far are -

The Ruffler 
Adjustable Hemmer
Narrow Rolled Hemmer
Edge Stitcher
Shirring Foot

I dunno how to use any of them LOL :)   I need to purchase myself a zig-zag attachment, as currently my machine only sews straight stitches.

Do you have a vintage machine? What model? Using the link above, are you able to date when it was made? Do you have any different attachments, or any questions or tips? Want to tell me that I ask too many open questions at the end of my blog posts? Great! I wanna hear from you!

Cutting loose,
C :)



Coming soon - A long winded post about my first ever garments, which include an apron, pin cushion and an actual dress from commercial pattern.

My newest "habit".... Knitting :)

My first blog post!  First things first... Hi guys, I'm C! I'm a 27 year old Canadian, recent-non-smoker, in a long term relationship with 3 cat-childrens :) I love shoes, being creative, rockabilly music, and hockey. Thanks for coming by and taking a peek at my little sliver of the interwebs.

I taught myself how to knit. I love it!! Why? Why not!

I quit smoking cigarettes in February. YAY ME!! But I needed some sort of hobby to keep my hands busy and my mind off the cravings. So what's a fairly easy, *cheap and non-offensive habit to replace cigarettes with? Knitting!!

*knitting is only cheap if you don't go all Derpy and buy ALL OF THE YARNS!!

I put an open request out on my Facebook asking if anybody was a knitter, or knew one, who would be willing to donate a pair of needles to my cause (who wants to buy needles before they even know how to knit? Not this gal). Turns out, I had completely forgotten this, my own Gma can knit! She happily gave me a few pairs of straight needles, the ones she was using but hadn't picked up in over a decade. 

"I can give you the tools, but I can't help with the skills, I've completely forgotten how to do it." she said. "That's okay, Gma, Google can help me." And help me it did.

It took me over a week to learn how to purl, the whole "you just knit backwards" way of describing it did nothing for me. I finally found a very clear video tutorial and finally figured it out.

So my first project..... I'm a little crazy, a little ballsy, probably a good mixture of both, and my first project (aside from the "scarf" of learning stitches) ended up being a Breakfast at Tiffany's Audrey Hepburn doll. Pattern found HERE.

Much to my chagrin, that pattern actually suggests you buy felt, and sew Audrey's dress.... Are you kidding me? It's a KNIT doll.. She should be wearing a knitted dress. So not only am I NOT knitting a scarf for my first project, but I'm actually (in essence) creating a pattern. Brave, I know.

My friend Megan is a major Ms.Hepburn fan and I wanted to gift her with something from my heart to hers. Here's how she turned out:

 


I know. She doesn't look EXACTLY like the doll from the pattern. But it's close enough, darnit. I couldn't find the specific wool they suggest you use for the body, so I just bought something close to "flesh toned" yarn (it was actually baby yarn) from Walmart.  She photographed paler than she is in person, I promise, I didn't knit her out of cream yarn.

The pattern also suggests you knit gloves and put them on the doll, but that made no sense to me, so I just knit the gloves as her arms, and added shoes.

The hardest part for me was actually making her little necklace and tiara, and embroidering her face on there and not having her be too "hit with a hammer" looking.  I over stuffed her a little so she's got a bit of a barrel chest, but what can ya do. Most importantly, my friend Megan loves and appreciates her.


I've since knit boxes upon boxes of cat-nip whales for the Humane Society (and my own cats) and I recently knit a pink with white polka dot  scarf for a friend doing a breast cancer charity run - Shown here on my handsome fur-fella Moo :)


Currently on my needles, is my first project made for myself, a pair of slippers since  it's October in Canada and my parquet floors are cold. Queued up is a 1940s pullover, recently featured in a knit-along on ByGumByGolly. On my "to learn" list is crochet and needlepoint.

If I was so lucky to win the InterweaveStore.com contest, I'd love to receive -
1) Knit Your Own Zombie
2) Learn to Read Knitting Charts on Demand Web Seminar
3)  Fixing Knitting Mistakes with Kate Atherley
4) The Crocheter's Toolbox: Lily Chin's Techniques and Tricks for Savvy Crocheters
5) Beastly Crochet




Can you knit? Would you like to learn? Comments are encouraged and always welcome :)

If you'd like to enter the InterweaveStore.com contest, find out more HERE.

Binding off,
C