First day of school 2015

Summer was over way too quickly!

 

Eleri is starting 1st grade. She will be in the same class for all of lower elementary.

 

 

Her locker is on the bottom. Perfect for her.

 

 

Bye, Mom. I have things to learn.

 

 

Niall is starting 5th grade. This is his second year in upper elementary.

 

 He plans to have an excellent year.

 

Rowan is starting 8th grade. This is his last year at Sterling Montessori. 

 

He is a good sport about having a stalker mom.

 

First and last day pictures

Time flies so fast

For Lisa - How I cheat on sewing flat seams

I've tried to do French and flat seams all sorts of ways, and always fought with wrinkles and oddities. I forget where I saw how to do it this way --if it was a tutorial or someone showed me-- so when Lisa asked me I couldn't tell her how to find it.
So here goes.

Step 1:
Sew your seam with the normal seam allowance, with the wrong sides together. It feels wrong. Do it anyway.

 

 

2: Trim one side of your seam, but leave the other one long

 

 

3. Press your seam toward the long side

 

 

4. Fold the long side over the short side, so your cut edge lines up with the seam you sewed and press it down

 and it looks like this

 

 

5. Fold this bit over and press it down, so your raw edge is all snugged in there and can't get out.

 

See? It looks great! But you still have to sew it down.

 

 

6. Sew it down, getting as close to the folded edge as you're comfortable with

 

 

Done! It looks professional, and it wears well. I do this for the center seams in pants. It takes a little longer, but most of it is done with the iron so you don't get little folds and bunches once it's sewed down. There's probably an easier way to do it, but this is the way that works for me.

Quart Cozy

I had someone ask me for a cozy for her quart sized mason jar, and I couldn't find a pattern that I liked. I wanted it to be simple so it would work with variegated yarn if I had some I wanted to use, but it also needed a see through bit so you'd know when it was time for a refill.
Enter, the quart cozy

Pattern:

Worsted yarn, leftovers should do it. I knit on size 6 needles. Gauge ~5.5sts per inch

Cast on 56. Join to knit in the round.

K2P2 ribbing for 7 rows.

Begin pattern section. Cozy is knit in stockinette with one panel of the pattern stuck in wherever you like. Or you could go nuts and put it in twice. That's completely up to you.

Pattern Section

Row 1 - P2, SSK, YO, K3, YO, K2tog, P2

Row 2 - P2, K7, P2

Row 3 - P2, K2, YO, sl 1, K2tog, PSSO, YO, K2, P2

Row 4 - P2, K7, P2

After your piece is 6.5" (including ribbing) begin to decrease

K5, K2tog for 1 round

K4, K2tog around

K3, K2tog around... and so on, ending with a K2tog round.

Thread your needle through the last 8sts and pull tight. Weave in ends. Enjoy

 

Resolution

In which I am determined to photograph everything I knit this year.
We're off to a great start.