Goodies and FO

Well Ravelympics are well underway....I am on a good pace (I think) and will show you tomorrow where I'm at!  Yesterday I wore my new skirt to church!!!  No one commented on it, but I enjoyed wearing it and liked how it looked!  The hand sewing on the inside wasn't too bad!  I definitely will make this again...maybe the other style.  So now I am keeping my eye out for cute skirt fabric!  

If you need/want more details on the skirt let me know and I will try my best!  I had a couple of sewing projects for my Secret Prayer Sock Swap package and I got those done (except for a hand sewn detail on one of them)  It felt good to sew again, but it feels good to have the machine put back up again.  My kitchen table was a mess!

Last week I also won another contest!  Aunt Kathy has been doing a contest a week (for quite a while) and last week I won the knitting gadget jackpot!  Look at all these goodies!  Go say hi to her (and in the process you will enter yourself in the contest for a really cute needle holder made in sheep fabric)

Well today I'm working on my shawl....and doing some math...only 2 weeks of summer left....must enjoy every minute! Have a super day!  :)

Training nearing an end

Well the time is drawing near....the Olympics start tomorrow....so the ravelympics start tomorrow at 7:00am (local time).  I think I'm readying.  I have wound my yarn into a cake (800 yds of laceweight took awhile).  I do need to find my pattern again.  I'm in the Shawl Relay and making another swallowtail shawl (but a little larger)

My Secret Prayer Swap Socks are almost done (just 1/2 a toe more to go, then hide ends, block)  It feels good to have those done!  There are a few other projects I want to put in the package but they should be easy to get done!

I started a plain vanilla sock for Knit Night (although I missed this week).  It doesn't involve thinking so it is perfect for visiting!  I'm loving watching the colors change!  So fun!

So today's goals:

1. Finish Swap socks
   
2. Finish skirt (I hope this is doable....I think it is thanks to Jennifer!  She commented in the last post asking if my machine had a hem stitch.  Who knew?  Not me!  No hand hemming for me.   A little practice and the hem was done in no time and looks so much better than if I had done it by hand!  Thanks Jennifer....got to love blog friends!)
   
3. Now if all that gets done I will try to work on the last little goodies for my swap package...Can't wait to show it all to you!
4. Rest up for the games!  Go team Baton Rouge Red Sticks!!!!

Sewing Adventures

So I've started working on my skirt!  (Also knitting my Secret Prayer Swap Socks...not sure how you all do it with these secret knits and test knits...guess I'm not good at secrets)  My transition to sewing has had some interesting parts.  

First of all I selected the size that matched my waist measurement (even though I never wear that size). I went to cut it out and see what the pattern looked like for that size

I know it is hard to see, put the "cut here" lines were gone!  yep I double checked...no where to be seen!  Some of the writing was there but no lines!  So I compared the 2 previous sizes to see how to modify the smaller size to make the larger size (yikes!)   I think that went well!

Then got the yoke done and pleats and tried it on before putting in the zipper.  Way too big!!!  (I told you I never wore that size)  So I took in the side seams (that is where the pattern changed between sizes) and fixed the yoke.  Guess I didn't need that missing piece after all!   

Now I need to fix the zipper (I realized last night that I wasn't doing it quite right) and do the inside of the yoke and the hem.  Speaking of the hem...the pattern says to do that first by deciding how long you want the skirt.  I didn't do that because I couldn't tell how long the skirt would be....now that I can "try" it on....I've got the hem ready to be hand stitched (not my favorite part)

But even with all these trials (I'm keep telling myself it is just because it has been so long since I've sewn) I'm really liking how it is turning out.  I see myself using this pattern again!

And the winner is......

Look at all those entries!!!! When I had this idea of a contest to celebrate my "Alive-iversary" I had no idea I would get such a response!!!  Now I bet most of you thought.....me being a math person......I would use a random number generator to pick a winner.  Nope.  Technically they aren't random....they are based on an algorithm....now in reality they are probably random enough....but you don't really care about that.  So I wrote everyone's name down, cut equal size strips, no folding  (don't want an unfair advantage) and asked DH to draw a winner....

.....Congratulations Turtle!!!  (I don't have an email address for you, so please email me so I can email you your gift certificate!)  Go congratulate Turtle yourself!!!  

I tell you it sure has been fun reading all your comments!!! and meeting so many new people!!!

On the knitting front, my second Merino Lace sock just got finished.  It is waiting for a proper photo shoot another day.   One of my next projects.....involves my sewing machine!

I'm going to make a brown skirt!  I've had a hard time finding a dark brown skirt that I like and fits, so I decided to try making one!  I think it will be a fun project.  The fabric of the skirt is hard to photograph, but hopefully you get the idea.  I'll keep you updated on my progress!

Oh and please don't be afraid to leave a little comment!  You all are so good at it and I so enjoy hearing from you!!!