And after today, I will have time–I have tomorrow through January 4th OFF. I’m going to try to finish that taupe cardigan (I have to start over on the back, though, so it may not happen), sew two shirts, and knit one of these cowl-y scarf-y things:
(Found, along with a pattern, on the suitably titled CopyCat blog of craftiness.)
Category: Tuesday Project Roundup
Tuesday Project Roundup: Too Busy For Projects
There’s a reason I made last week a week of Things That Are Soothing: I left the house yesterday and came home thirteen hours later. It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas in retail! There are parties to attend! Parties to plan! Presents to wrap! Booze to stockpile against the coming Canadian cold front! You get the picture.
I have sewing projects planned for my winter vacation between Christmas and New Year’s (bless you, winter vacation) and I’m knitting when I can, but there’s not much to show for this week.
I don’t want to complain too much, though, because as frantic as Christmas can get, we can’t forget what it’s all about: The night when we get presents.
Tuesday Project Roundup: Measure Twice, Cut Once
Even measuring once would have been enough, but I’m not used to making things with long, cuffed sleeves so their length didn’t come up–until it was too late. Oh well. It was a nice enough way to spend a couple of days of vacation last week.
The knitting is going well, too. Look, more sleeves! (These are long enough.)
I haven’t cut into the Japanese fabric from last week, though, because I need to save a project for Christmas vacation and because there’s a possibility of a new sewing machine that either Santa or the Birthday Fairy will bring.
(Hear that, Santa or Birthday Fairy? I still think that’s a great idea.)
Tuesday Project Roundup:
I haven’t mentioned yet that I have this week off, which means this pile of materials will probably be at least half finished by this time next week: 
The floral in the middle is the stuff from Japan, obviously not stuck in customs. And see that yarn? I couldn’t decide which blue to order for the pullover sweater, so I changed projects completely. Now I will have a nice neutral cardigan that matches what I’ll make out of the fabric.
Tuesday Project Roundup: I’m A Lumberjack and I’m OK
I got inspired to sew again–inspired by Paul Bunyan, that is!
I used a shirtdress pattern from the 70’s
and posed like the pattern model:
While it may look like a nightshirt, a plaid flannel dress is actually like wearing a bathrobe all day. It’s really comfy.
Tuesday Project Roundup: Bilbo Had A Vest LIke This, Too
I did finish the vest over the weekend and it turned out about 95% as wearable as I hoped. (The armholes are a little long; I was in too much of a hurry to check them.) The contrasting red faced hem (worked kind of like this, but at the end of the sweater, not the beginning) turned out really well, and overall I like it. It looks very rustic to me, like something that would be worn in the Shire where life is simple, the yarn is purple, and nobody wants to go far from home.
However, you’ll notice there are no pockets yet. I tried experimenting with an inset pocket (like on a suit jacket) on a swatch and that was really alarming:
It’s already become a cat toy.
But a Shire vest has to have pockets, my precious, so now I’m considering patch pockets (like the back of jeans) versus further experimentation with an inset pocket. We’ll see.
Details: Free pattern here, with the lace and extra bands edited out.
Yarn is Beaverslide fisherman weight, in “Nightshade.”
Also: Happy Veterans Day today to Dad and Mr. Isbell! Thank you!
Tuesday Project Roundup: Not Long Now
I’m trying to have another knitting home run with this vest: I want it to be as wearable as the green sweater, so I’m planning on doing a good job with the sewing up and the edging, and adding a faced hem and pockets (in the red yarn). Which makes me only about 2/3 finished.
(The main yarn is from the magic farm in Montana that makes its wool smell like flowers. Every time I work on it I pretend that I have a magic farm in Montana and get to take care of sheep and grow food all day.)
Tuesday Project Roundup: Just Use Your Imagination Anyway
After rescheduling the last project roundup because I didn’t want people to use their imagination about how cute this dress looks when being worn, I give you:
A closet shot.
A dark and slightly blurry closet shot that doesn’t show the cute detail of the fabric or the nice dark brown buttons. It was a busy week.
I think this might be the Last Dress of the Season. I have fabric for one more, but my sewing mojo is gone and I’m not sure the weather will continue to be dress weather until I can get it finished. On to flannel shirts and more knitting, I guess.
In other seasonal news, this is what it looks like before I make the bed in the morning, when it’s not cold enough to run the heat in the whole apartment: 
Mr. Isbell and I have dubbed the quartz space heater tower “Minas Heatas,” because we’re Lord of the Rings geeks like that. Toby doesn’t call it anything but I think he loves it even more than me.
Tuesday Project Roundup: Almost, Not At All, And About 60 Percent
That’s the degree of completion for this pile:
A navy beret is on top, the plaid on the bottom will be a shirt, and the floral on the right just needs side seams, cuffs, and buttonholes to be a dress.
(Why all this navy? I found a navy and gray coat at the J. Crew outlet I had to visit last week. I guess that’s like caving and emailing the ex-boyfriend you kind of hate but must know all about and, instead of getting mad all over again, he gives you information about a freelance job that pays really well? Something like that.)
Tuesday Project Roundup: Socks For The Coming Winter And/Or End Times
If, like me, you don’t like cold, you’re already dreading this winter. And if you’re reading the news and already are an anxious person to begin with (like me), you’re both dreading the cold AND fearing for the collapse of the economy and the end of Life As We Know It.
If so, I recommend learning to knit and making some socks: You may be anxious but you’ll have warm feet.
This pair was already about 60% finished–probably about this time last year–then put away. It’s amazing how quickly a sock goes after a sweater! (And it’s the yarn that’s making the stripes; not any fanciness on my part.)