Alex, the wonder dog ? - May 17, 2013

Alex, my beautiful red haired boy dachshund, died suddenly today after being hit by a school bus.  I was away at the time but Paul told me that he did not suffer.  After losing Kimora last summer and now with Alex gone, Kelis is is a very lonely girl while Paul and I have spent hours just sitting close together, with her in the middle, trying to make sense of it all and not succeeding.

Six years and ten days ago Alex came to me from Dachshund Rescue of Houston.  He had been found with a harness grown into his back and, after about four months at the vet's and another month with a wonderful foster family, he came to live with me and The Girls - aka Kelis and Kimora. His rescue name was Lance but I soon changed it to Alex because I had an old boss that was called Lance and my Alex was nothing like him.

From then on he was my boy and we had a lot of ups and downs.  He never really got house trained properly.  Just when I thought things were going well he would 'mark' the big comfy chair.  Every meal was his last and every treat was the last one in the world.  Every meal time, walk, car ride, cuddle time, nap or outdoor trek was enthusiastically approached with lots of tail wagging, dancing and barking.  He was my shadow and I have composed many a Facebook post, blog entry or e-mail with him on my lap or snugged up behind my back.   

I have become that crazy dog lady I described in this post and have finally admitted that a home without a dog is not my home. There are many posts in this blog about all his antics but there are three that truly make me  chuckle.  Here's the one where he talks about getting all his bandages off after the dog attack surgery  Then there is the one about dog walking which I really like.  And for a bit of comic relief, this post shows five mangled dog toys that I sewed together so Alex could tear them apart again.

He was a good dog and will be sorely missed.

Dog Crate Cover

While browsing Facebook today someone posted a beautiful dog crate cover.  Immediately there was an outcry about how expensive they were.  Someone wished they had instructions to make one.  I offered to put instructions together....

  How to Make a Basic Dog Crate Cover

This cover will have a roll-up door covering and a side viewing roll-up window cover.  For the bed inside, I would just cover a pre-purchased bed in your chosen fabric.  A basic envelope style pillow/bed cover can be seen here -http://tatertotsandjello.com/2012/10/make-a-pillow-cover-in-4-easy-steps.html

Suggested fabrics –

Exterior - I believe that the best fabric is a cotton, light to medium weight upholstery fabric.

Lining - some contrasting cotton fabric in the same or lighter weight fabric.

Note:  Cotton upholstery fabrics seem to wash very well and hold a press for a long time.

Measurements –

Top – A Length ___________, B Width  ___________.

Side - A Length __________ (as above) , C Height ___________.

Cutting

1. For the top - Cut two A + 1” by B + 1”– One of lining fabric, plus one of the exterior fabric. (I am suggesting a two layer top to make the ‘roof’ a little more light proof.)

2. For the front door side - Cut two – B + 1” by C +1 ” – One of lining fabric, plus one of the exterior.

-          Cut four – 6” by C + 3” – straps – lining fabric

3. For the plain side – Cut one – A + 1” by C + 3” – exterior fabric

4. For the back – Cut one – B + 1” by C + 3” – exterior fabric

5. For the side with the window - Cut 2 – A/3 + 3” by C + 3” – exterior fabric

-          Cut  2– A/3 +2” by C + 3”  - one of exterior and one of lining

-          Cut four – 6” by C + 3” – straps – lining fabric

6. Label all the pieces.

Sewing – assumes ½” seam allowances and 2” hems

1. Layer the top pieces together wrong sides together.  And a layer of batting or interfacing if you wish.  Press, pin and set aside.
2. Take the plain side exterior fabric and join into one long strip with the rear fabric and one of the window side fabrics.  Join using ½ “seam allowances.  Serge the seam allowances to tidy them up or use some other durable seam finish – fold over and top stitch, cover with bias binding etc.
3. Fold the bottom up 1” inch, press, then fold up 2” and press again.  Sew the hem up
4. Fold the sides in ¼” twice.  Press and sew down these side seams.
5. Pin the raw, unfinished edge to the prepared top carefully matching the joining seams to the top corners.  Join together using ½’seam allowances.  Leave the seam finishing until the end.
6. Prepare the front roll-up door by completing the straps first.  Right sides together lengthwise sew the long edge together.  Turn right side out and press with the seam to the middle of one side.  Fold one short end ¼” twice and sew down.  Do this twice.
7. For the door, layer the exterior fabric right sides together with the lining fabric and sew three sides together – two sides and the bottom using a ½”seam allowance.  Turn right side out and press well.
8. Pin the two of the straps to the top, each ¼ of B in from the side, then the raw edge of the door pocket then the final two straps even with the first two straps.  Sew together using a ½”inch seam allowance.  Finish off the seam later.
9. Right now you have the door flap, the back and the right end of the window side attached to the top.   An appropriate adult beverage seems appropriate now.
10.  For the left end of the window side, fold up the bottom ½” and press.  Fold up again by 2”, press.  Sew the hem up.  Fold in the sides ¼”twice, press and sew down.
11. Pin the piece from step 10 to the top and attach to the top using a ½”seam allowance.
12. The sides for the window side of the cage cover are about 2” wider than one third the total length of the side so that the window side should not leak light.
13. Prepare the side window the same as the front door – steps 6, 7 and 8.
14. Finish the seam allowances at the top by serging or binding with bias tape or a French seam or a fake flat felled seam….your choice.

Place over your cage.  Roll up the windows and see if your pup likes their new home.

Note – This is all very basic and can be changed in a zillion different ways.  Add trims around the top, add an overlap on the front door side, add fusible appliques to the outside, add a lining to all the bits without it…and on and on and on.

I wish I could show you one all made up but I don't have a wire crate right now but I do have some great fabric!

BTW - share often but please give credit for the basic design where possible.

A Place For Everything

My organizing philosophy has always been centered around the maxim that every room needs a junk drawer.  When that drawer gets full then you must organize the contents to either get rid of useless junk (like the bread bag ties in the kitchen junk drawer that I will never use) or to find a new home for things that can logically go together.

Everything and anything can go in a junk drawer but groups of like things need their own space.

The same goes for things needed for specific activities.  Your purse (if you use one) is like a portable junk drawer.  It usually includes individual items that are needed while out and about but it also accumulates lots of things that have no place else to live.   My check book lives in my purse but I have rarely written a check outside the house in years. Lip balm is used at home, most of the time, but my purse attracts them lie flies to honey.

I have specific tote bags for my library books, my swimming stuff, my knitting projects (multiple bags!), the Quilt Guild Library records, the Quilt Show Garage Sale records and even a special bag for the dogs' medicines.

What I did not have, until the other day, was a specific tote bag for the Knitting in Kingwood records. I had been using one that was too big for amount of stuff I needed to take to each meeting and it was very awkward to use.

Determined to fix this lack, and armed with my knowledge from a class with Gilbert Muniz a few years ago, I created this bag that exactly fits all the stuff I cart around for Knitting in Kingwood.

What do you think?

For the big bag, I used my embroidery machine for the label, some outdoor fabric from JoAnn's for the exterior, some buckram to stiffen it up a little, some leftover cotton fabric for the lining and some fabulous leather handles I have been hanging onto for many years. The little white bag, which fits nicely into the bigger bag, is made from some felted wool and holds the little bits and pieces I seem to need at the meetings like membership cards, pens and others bits.

Best part is, is that I can pass on this bag to the next leader and they will have everything they need in one place and won't have to go searching for membership lists, the copier card or organizational rules.

While the rest of my life may be spiraling into chaos at least my KIK materials are organized.

The Most Expensive Quilt Ever

Just after the Houston International Quilt Festival in early November Martha and I went on a quilting cruise to the western Caribbean.  A quilting cruise usually entails an up charge on your cabin rate to cover the cruising expenses of several quilting teachers, the use of cruise organizers sewing machines, the use of the conference center for classes and sewing and lots of little extras like an opening cocktail party and lots of door prizes.  Our cruise included only one teacher, Deb Tucker and only one quilt.  This suited me just fine as I didn't want to end up with a bunch of small quilts, I did want to learn a new technique or two, I did want to work on a couple of UFO's and I did want to get in some serious sun bathing.

This is the quilt we worked on for the majority of our cruise:

It is about 42" square and it will reside on one of my walls once I get a curtain rod set up for it.

The special technique taught was the use of Deb Tucker's special ruler for the stars and another ruler for the little squares and triangles in the border.  Basically the technique is to create oversize blocks that are trimmed down to the right size.  The rulers really did help but it was very time consuming.

Why is this the world's most expensive quilt ever?   Along with base cabin charges at ~$1,300.00 I also was charged about ~$500.00 for the teacher and other extras and charged about ~$65.00 for the quilt kit.  I got one UFO top ~90% finished and one ~50% finished as well.  We did spend most one day playing with Bernina sewing machine accessories woth a great little kit included.

I figure this quilt, which is too small to snuggle up in, cost over $2,000.00.

Any every penny was well spent.

And I would even do it again.

And I even got to spend a few hours sun bathing.

While the Northeast gets hammered by a huge blizzard I hope this remembrance of my cruise will warm you up a little.

Goodbye to 2012

2012 was a pretty crappy year in so many ways but there were a few bright spots that I hope will carry on into 2013.  Here is my perspective on 2012 and some notes for 2013.

Stupid things I heard in 2012

1. Guns don't kill people, people kill people as an argument against gun control.  Who came up with this stupidity?  Does anyone remember MAD - Mutually Assured Destruction when major international powers had so many nuclear weapons that if anyone started to use them life on this planet would cease to exist?  About 99% of all the guns out there were purchased legally by someone at some point in time.  Yet there are many in the hands of criminals.  Wonder where they came from?  The guns used at Sandy Hook, the West Webster shootings and, locally, in Bellaire last week, were all purchased legally so please stop the empty rhetoric....or are we already in a state of of MAD?    
2. This won't hurt a bit.  Mammograms, injections, tooth pulling and exercises have occured with this assurance and it was wrong!  I have finally figured out that when someone says it won't hurt I am now prepared for torture.
3. This will look great on you.  No it doesn't!  It's too short, the wrong color, the hem is uneven and it shows off the bits I don't want people to know about. 

Smart things I heard in 2013

1. When in doubt, iron.  Don't know where I heard this but it is so true.  If you ask yourself if you can get away with not ironing something then you need to iron.  This applies to not only to the wrinkly shirt you left in the dryer overnight but to even more critical issues like your health.  If a doctor says you really need to take this pill get all the facts before blindly taking the 'required' pill. You could save your life.
2. I can't think of anything else smart.  I guess 2012 was pretty crappy.

Notes for 2013

1. From Couch to 5k.  Yet again I am going to eat less and move more.  I can walk a 5k in about one hour but this year I would like to do it with some jogging included.  The couch to 5k program looks pretty straight forward and, as an added incentive, I have already registered for an official 5k in early February.  When money is on the line I tend to do better.  Next goal is to figure out if my sneakers will work for this energized Alice.
2. Money in will equal money out.  My income has continued to be modest but my out flow is a little less modest. I might actually have to write out a budget and follow it.  A new experience for someone who wrote and managed multi-billion dollar budgets in a former life.
3. My mouth will finally heal correctly.  I have not written about this earlier but I had a tooth pulled eight months ago and my jaw does not want to close up the hole.  The hole goes into my sinuses,and even though every thing heals nicely, my body seems to like having a hole into my sinuses.  January 11 is another surgery to seal the hole.  It better work this time.
4. Google will finally let me post more than one picture a month.  I really like writing with pictures but Google has messed up big time.  When have I ever posted one picture that was half a gigabyte large?  half a megabyte maybe, but half a gig?  Never.  Grrrr.

No creativity goals, no sewing UFOs to complete, no clutter to organize although all are needed, but I better find some smart things in 2013 that don't key off house work!

Happy New Year!

Oops! Shawl

This tale began on my birthday when the Jaunty Janetta gave me a hand-spun, hand-dyed lace weight skein of yarn.  It came from the FJCruiser shop on Etsy, and although there does not appear to be any lace weight yarn in the shop currently, the other yarns are gorgeous, reasonably priced, in a variety of weights and the colors are exquisite.

Such a wonderful yarn deserves a wonderful bit of knitting and I found the perfect pattern on Ravelry called the Monica Shawl.  Here is the link and I really want you to skip over for a moment to get a gander at this great shawl.

Notice the large size, the variety of stitches and that lovely spiky outer edge.  Gorgeous, right?

Although the pattern is written for sock weight yarn, I decided to use my lovely lace weight present.  I knew it would be a little smaller than the original but it seemed like a challenge I could successfully meet.

Here is mine in the colorway Flipper:

Beautiful effort with lots of pattern changes BUT what happened to the nice spiky outer edge?  It seems that I finished off the outer edge with a too tight bind off thus the spikes could not be stretched out to make the lovely spikes.

RATS!

I wear this a lot now that the days are cooled but I am still disappointed with my effort.  Maybe I should try it again?

Yeah, in another life!

Lush and Plush

There are a whole series of fancy ribbon yarns out there that are meant to be joined together  into a lush boa-type scarf.  I made a white one a couple of  years ago and posted it here.  I wasn't happy with the white and thought I would dye it only to discover that a mostly polyester fiber really doesn't take dye very well.  I still have it in my scarf drawer and someday I will were it out.

But I digress.

The white scarf was made out of a yarn called Flamenco by Trendsetter Yarns and retails for about $17.00 a skein.  Not a bad price for a whole scarf  but a lot if you aren't happy with it.  Imagine my surprise when I was in Jo-Ann's the other day and saw a whole box of similar styled ribbon yarns price at $4.99 each.  Less than five bucks , especially after using a coupon, seemed like a great yarn for this type of scarf.  Here's how mine came out:

 The yarn is by Red Heart and is called Boutique Sashay.  The scarf is only six stitches wide and came out to about five feet long.  The color way is Tango and I am very pleased with the little bit of glitz in the yarn.  This one will definitely be worn..

I am glad that I did not read any reviews before I bought it though as there are lots of complaints about the quality of the yarn .. lots of complaints about breaks and worn areas.  Then again, this is not an heirloom piece so I don't expect to shed any tears if it falls apart after a few wearings.

This is great project to work on while riding in a car or watching kids' sports as there really is very little skill or ability to the knitting to get an acceptable product.

I did learn one thing while photographing this scarf.  I learned that the prickly vines really do hurt for a long time when they rub against your legs.  OUCH!  I will try to watch my step next time.

Urbanista Hobo

At the American Sewing Guild Conference last weekend I took a class with Cheryl Kuczek on handbag techniques and was introduced to her patterns at Paradiso Designs.  She is a good teacher and I so enjoyed her breezy style.  No hard and fast rules for her but suggestions on what is an easier way to do things or where you could skimp on supplies.  Her use of fake leather and suede and iron-on vinyl, while not unique, was a revelation to me in the variety of uses these materials could be put.  I picked up three of her patterns and a couple of days ago i made her Urbanista Hobo bag.

As is typical with Hobo bags it is fairly unstructured with a flat bottom and a lot of interior pockets.  No top closure is included but you could easily add one.  Here's what that pattern shows and this is how mine turned out:

The fabric is a juvenile  canvas weight print from Jo-Ann's and so is the fake leather (pleather).  The canvas was very easy to work with and how could I resist the puppies cavorting all over it.   I only made a couple of changes from the original pattern.  I turned one of the divided pockets in the interior into one large zipper pocket and I made the slots on the side for the handles into a simple welt pocket where Cheryl used a more complex construction.  The more complex construction would have meant using more top stitch thread than I had so I went simple.
The interior is dog bone fabric and a red bit of Kona from my stash.  Heck, even the zipper on the pocket on the right came from my stash.  I think the whole thing cost less than $10.00 in supplies and that was because I had to buy some sew-in fleece.





I had intended that this would replace my worn out library book bag (a heavy duty Scnlepp bag)  but now I am thinking it would make a great knitting bag or a great errand bag or....  There are a lot of possibilities.  Check out Paradiso Designs for some interesting patterns for both bags and other things.  I think you will be pleased.

Weave in ends and block.

Those are dreaded words for most knitters that come at the end of most knitting patterns. 'Weave in ends' is not the biggest issue but BLOCK can make me shiver with dread.

Blocking is the last step before you get to wear a knitted garment.  The goal is to get the item nice and flat and all those stitches evened out, with the flat parts flat and the puffy parts (think nups) puffy.

There are basically four ways to block an item:

1. Throw it in the washer and dryer,
2. Throw it in the washer and lay flat to dry,
3. Soak it/wash it by hand then steam it to size or
4. Soak it/wash it by hand then pin it to size. 

First you need to decide which way you want to wash it.  If you know the content of your yarn that can be pretty easy.  Anything that is 75% or more acrylic or 100% cotton can be safely thrown into the washer and dryer and it will turn out fine.  Acrylic and cotton yarns are simple because there is nothing you can do to make it get into a shape that it does not already have.  Anything with less acrylic or cotton should be tested.  Testing can be done successfully with your tension/gauge swatch.  You do make make tension swatches for every project, right?

Some yarns you just know should not be washed and dried in your  laundry machines.  100% wool will felt in the washer and dryer no matter how you handle it.  If you want felt, that is all well and good but if you don't, please avoid the laundry room.  Many super wash wools ask you to wash in the machine but dry outside of the machine.  Fancy yarns usually like you to handle them more carefully...hand wash and pinning.   Lets look at the four ways of blocking your project.

1.  THROW IT IN THE WASHER AND DRYER

This is not an official blocking method but it is useful to know.  This is the simplest way to block something but there are a couple of cautions.  First don't use hot water or cold water.  Room temperature or tepid water are just fine.  Most cottons will bleed color so don't put your best white blouse into the same wash...unless your knitting is white.  I also toss in a few color catchers to soak up that extra color.  Do not use your toughest cycle, normal or permanent press cycles only.  Acrylic items tend to dry just fine on normal and permanent press dryer cycles while heavy cotton items sometimes need extra drying time.

2,  THROW IT IN THE WASHER AND LAY FLAT TO DRY

This is how I handle super wash wool items and most anything with 25% acrylic content.  I generally do my socks this way.  I will wash them in a normal wash in the washing machine with other knit items then dry them on sock stretchers.  Sometimes though I have found that the strecthiness of the socks just doesn't come back after washing and blocking on stretchers.  When that happens I wash them again and put them right into dryer.

3.  SOAK IT/WASH IT BY HAND THEN STEAM TO SIZE

This is the way I handle odd shaped items that should never go into the washing machine. It is also the way I wash my hand embroidered items like cross stitch or linen work. Think of all-wool sweaters or odd shaped wool shawls and you get the idea.  In this instance. you fill up the kitchen sink with tepid/room temperature water and some gentle liquid soap.  I use liquid dish soap or Soak.  I prefer liquid dish soap even if I have to rinse it a lot because sometimes perfumed Soak makes my nose unhappy.  Gently immerse your item into the sink after the soap has dissolved and leave it for several hours.  You may gently agitate it every once in a while but the important thing is to let it soak for an extended period.  This will relax the yarn and make it easier to flatten it all out. Remember to wait for several hours before going on.

Gently remove your item from the soap bath and gently rinse it in tepid water until the soap has been removed.  Gently squeeze out excess water and lay out your item on a large bath towel roughly in the shape that your want it to take.  Roll up the towel around your item and leave it to damp dry for a few hours.

Unwrap your towel and lay your item on a flat surface that is water resistant and heat proof...I use my big ironing board.  Gently tug your item into shape and press it flat with a steam iron.  I put the iron down then pick it straight up and press the next section.  I start at those edges that may be curled from knitting and work on them before going on to the body of the item.

Let the item rest flat covered by another towel or two overnight until completely cool.  Store your item folded or flat on a shelf, out of the sun but exposed to air.

4.  SOAK IT/WASH IT BY HAND THEN PIN IT TO SIZE

This is the preferred method for blocking those lacy shawls made out of wool that we all love to see but dread to block.  Start off the same way as the method above right up to the unwrapping from the towel.

With a spray bottle of clean water on hand, for re-wetting, if necessary, lay out your item on a flat surface.  Also have on hand blocking wires, stainless steel pins and a large pinnable surface (could be your carpet or a special mat or an extra large cutting board which is pinnable).  Carefully thread the wires through the edges stitches of your item...yes, every edge stitch.....then use the pins to pull the wires apart stretching the item to within an inch of its life.  Yes, this can take a lot of time.  Yes, it is worth it.  For curved edges just pin the tips, again stretching until well stretched.  Leave your item to air dry...usually several hours.

You could skip the wires but then you would need to pin every edge stitch as well as the pointy bits.

Remove the wires and pins and gently fold the item, matching the edges and ends together then let it rest between a couple of towels on a flat surface with a pillow or two on top of it.  Leave it over night and the next morning you will be extremely pleased with how your shawl looks.  This last step is recommended by Nancy Bush and really does make for a better product.

So that's my take on blocking knitted items.  There are hundreds of You Tube videos and articles available on the internet which have their own take on this topic but these are the four methods I use so they might be useful to you.  Some links you might enjoy are listed below:

Basic lace blocking on Knit Picks
Knitty's take on blocking (pretty funny in parts)
Knit Simple's instructions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfwAkgtitwE - a nice video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fQitQ2j8AI&feature=related - an early Knitting Daily episode

itty-bitty hats

itty-bitty hats by Susan B. Anderson has got to be one of the best little knitting books I have ever used.  I recently got a copy as a door prize at a Knitting in Kingwood meeting and have been using it the past week or so to complete my Olympic challenge for myself.  That challenge was to knit a hat a night for the Head Start kids in Humble and this book has helped me accomplish that goal...at least so far.

This is a beginner book with nothing a beginner could not accomplish but with enough interest for the intermediate knitter.  About 80% of the hats are based on a simple beanie pattern and, although tedious to the experienced, every pattern repeats all the instructions for the basic construction.  No flipping pages to refresh your memory on how many stitches to cast on or how to make the crown shaping.  It is all there in every pattern.

It is spiral bound so it lays flat, the type face is clear, the pictures are adorable and there is enough inspiration to keep you going for a very long time.  There are about fifty pages in basic knitting instructions with lots of clear illustrations...perfect for those who want to get into knitting in the round without committing to a lot of different yarns and needles. One of the patterns is for a hat that looks like a frosted birthday cake that sent me off to a spiral variation that turned out very well.

All the yarn used is of the same weight so you can just go to your KYS and pick up a bunch of coordinating yarns and you are off to the races.  I made about ten hats from three balls of Plymouth Encore and here is how a couple turned out...

Cute, right?

The one on the right is the basic hat with a little i-cord topping while the one on the left is a variation from the book.  The one on the left is not to designed to cover a child's ears so you need to add some rows if you want that feature.  There is a bonnet style hat shown in the book that I have not tried but I can't believe it will be harder than the other styles.

I don't know if I will meet the challenge of a hat a day during the Olympics, now that the emphasis has moved onto the Track and Field, but this book is one I will keep using for many years to come as a jumping off point for many more itty-bitty hats.

And just for some comic relief...and since he rarely looks at this blog....here is a picture of a very shaggy Paul walking Alex.