Less craft more work…

My regular readers will know that I have recently started a new job, which I love. But it’s taken away from my crafting time which I don’t like so much! Thats ok though. For the first time in a long time I am looking forward to the future and am even coming to terms with the idea that maybe our life is meant to be just the two of us. Plus it’s nice to be working full-time again and bringing in a useful wage! Since I last posted we have brought a new car(at 18y.o we figured the old one was ready to leave home), I have sorted out my wardrobe (no longer avoiding buying clothes just in case I get pregnant) and I feel like I have a marriage again instead of just being two people going through the motions of IVF while living in the same house. Dan has also given up teaching karate and it’s great to get to spend time together during the week. So as I have said life is good, and it goes on.
Oh and in the absence of a ‘real’ baby….this is our new ‘baby’…isn’t she gorgeous!

This week I finished my first garment in my home spun yarn. I dyed it myself as well and am really happy with it. My spinning has got a lot finer since I spun this yarn. This one is about a 14ply equiv. and now I spin at a 5-6ply equiv. I knitted it up at about 16sts to 10cm and used a Cleackheaton vintage hues pattern with some alterations, mainly a higher neck as the original looked like it would spend half it’s life falling off my shoulders! I also had to re-knit the yoke at one point as the change in yarn meant that my row tension was a bit off so it ended up feeling like it was trying to cut my arms off. I also did my first knitted pockets, normally I don’t like pockets on knitting but these ones are so cute (and totally useless) that I just had to make them. As always I am in love with my choice of button, must be something about being an ex-button shop worker…

While I was waiting to start my new job, but had finished at the old one, I cut out a bagsket and then left it to marinate in a corner of the sewing room. Finally last weekend I wanted to make it. To be honest it’s only the 2nd thing I have made on my new machine that is for me and I really should have been working on Mum’s skirt (sorry Mum). I made it as I wanted a middle size knitting bag, I have a giant one that can hold an entire mans jumper with room to spare and a little sock size one but nothing in-between for parts of garments. I found the tutorial via the ’sew obsessed’ group on ravelry and just knew it was perfect. Then I had a dig through the fabric stash where I found the main pink fabric which I think was meant to be shorts (what was I THINKING) and a couple random fat quarters I had picked up along the way, together they made a much nicer bag than the plain pink would ever have made shorts.