Laddu Pullover v 2.0

The sweater for my son was done during the week, and a brief spell of rain, brought down the temperature low enough for him to wear it during this winter. I used my laddu pattern for the design with a few bits of modifications. Firstly, I upsized it. Secondly, I knit the sleeves in same color as the body. Thirdly, I joined the sleeves and body and knit the yoke in round. Fourthly, I incorporated some cable into the raglan decreases.

Despite all the modifications , the sweater knit up quite fast. My son approves of it and gives it a high score of nine out of ten.

Sewing: Multi-zippered Bag

Recently, at our home, there arose a need for a particular type of bag, with a good number of pockets. This was the perfect chance for me to pursue my ever-expanding pinterest board for sewn bags. After successfully  gleaning inspiration from there, I set forth to sew this bag.

 Sewing was simple enough,  except for the fact that I broke three needles in the process. That was mostly due to my trying to rush the sewing machine through thick wads of fabric and zipper. I learnt after many tries, to tread more gently. The fabric was some leftover bed linen.

Anyhow, the bag beautifully fits the role intended for it, and has gone into regular use. It is so useful, I think I just might make some more of these at some point in the future.

Knitting Update

I am working on a sweater right now, another one for my son. It is more than half done, only half a sleeve and the yoke being left.

For the last few days, I have taken time away from i
t to sew a dress for my daughter. That dress is now done, so I hope to dedicate my craft time over the weekend, to this sweater, inshaAllah.

Sewing: Clothespin Bag

After completing my last project, which was that pair of upcycled gloves, I promptly started another knitting project _ another sweater for my son. This one is far simpler than the cabled one I finished at the start of this year, and I have made considerable progress. However, all this time, I had been having a craving for a quick sewing project, some sort of bag. Finally, I got out my supplies and sewed up this clothespin bag.

It was done in two sittings. First I selected the design (from this tutorial ) and drafted the pattern. The next morning, I did the actual sewing.

 All the fabrics came from my scrap bin. It was my first time doing an appliqué and I quite enjoyed it.  And it makes a nifty home for my clothespin, which were earlier housed in a makeshift pillow-case.

Upcycled Stashbuster Spirals Gloves

Five years ago, I made these socks for my son. Over time, these developed holes in the soles and went to languish in my mending basket.

I came upon them some days ago, while cleaning my craft space.They were beyond repair in the foot part, but the leg portions could be salvaged. So I unraveled both socks down to the first few inches and re-knit them up as finger-less gloves.

 

 My oldest daughter laid a claim to these gloves, right at the start. This project was a win thrice over; saving the yarn, freeing up some space and my daughter getting her promised pair of finger-less gloves.

Dreams Of Aran Pullover

 

Three weeks ago, I made a tall claim of getting this sweater done in a week. But seasonal illnesses took most of December away from me and I was only able to really knit during the last week.

 Still, I cannot help but be thrilled about being able to post a FO (finished object) on the first day of the new year. Especially, since it means that I have finally finished a project that I started in October 2014, and that I was mostly successful in getting it done by the end of December (It was all done except the neckband).
You can tell by the length of time it was on the needles, that it was not an easy project. Like all knitting project for men, it took too long to grow. The cables slowed the knitting even further. Then I ran out of yarn, with both sleeves to go, and could not find the color in the same yarn wight. So after much misgiving, I knit the sleeves with two strands of much thinner yarn, held together, and am happy to report that the difference between two yarns is barely noticeable.

 

The pattern, like most DROPS patterns, was a bit difficult to decipher at places, but was well-worth the effort. In the end, I am totally pleased with the sweater and the fact that it got done in time for my son to wear during the winter season. My son rates it an eight out of ten, which is not bad at all, considering he compares it to his Neville sweater, which is totally awesome.

November and Creature Comforts Cardi

November was a month of hope improvements. We had to get the plumbing replaced in the bathroom, to make sure we had hot water this winter. Besides that and some electrical work, we decided it was time to throw out are old, nearly crumbling, carpets and have new flooring installed. That, of course, involved a lot of moving around of furniture, and a lot more of cleaning. But in the end, it was so worth the effort. We are now able to breathe and live in much cleaner and dust-free space, alhamdollillah. And in my effort to keep it that way, I have turned into something of an obsessive-compulsive, cleaning up the littlest of particles and mopping, all day long. And my husband has a thing going for doormats and shaggy rugs!

 In the middle of all the mayhem, I found time to finish my cardigan. To be fair, it is a shrug, knitted as a rectangular piece, so it did not take much time. The aran sweater sleeve that I am knitting for my son's sweater, has probably taken more time. Anyway, I had wanted to knit this pattern for a long time, even though I was uncertain about the shrug style. And I am happy that I did. The leaf pattern was fun to knit. And even if it is not the most comfortable and coziest thing, the cardi does look nice and is a break from the usual, run-of-the mill styles. I have been wearing it for two weeks now. The only issue is the ribbing everting, but that just may be because of the yarn being acrylic and not blocked.

Now, I am trying to complete my son's sweater. As I mentioned, the cables take a lot of time, but hopefully I will have a finished sleeve soon and can finish the other one over the coming week. That is, if I get some time off from the cleaning. I have some windows and sofa cleaning planned for this week.