Be Mine, Valentine

I think I must have one of the sweetest valentines ever -- not only does he put up with my obsessive vintage machine collecting, he actually goes out of his way to enable it. Introducing the newest member of the vintage machine family --

That little darling is a Singer 221 -- otherwise known as a Featherweight. Such a cutie, and it's in beautiful condition. Well, that is the finish is in good condition -- there was a nasty tangle of thread in the bobbin area, and it will need de-linting. It kind of makes me wonder if it looks so little used because someone made a mess of threading/bobbin winding/or somesuch and just gave up on it, as it would seem that a machine of 1953 vintage should have signs of a bit more wear and tear. Not to complain though -- I'm quite happy it looks (and stitches now) as good as it does. Thank you, Mr. Minglingyarn!

At long last -- Falkenberg!

Started back in the beginning of November, it's taken me until mid-January to finish -- whew!

Stats: Donna, a Hanne Falkenberg design in colorway 6. Shetland wool knit with size 2 needles. Knit in size L, and shown without (optional) buttons.

I'm thinking I could have knit this one a bit smaller -- it's not greatly over sized, but I think it would look better with a closer-to-the-body look. One thing I'll change will be to put the button loops and buttons on it to give it a more pulled in look. All in all, I'm pleased, but looking forward to starting something just a bit quicker!

Finally, sewing photos

More sewing, rather than knitting or crocheting, has been happening around the casa lately and here are a few photos of the results.

First up, McCall's 6208, view E. Sewn from a sweater knit from Gorgeous Fabrics. Very simple layering piece, but it hits every color in my fall/winter wardrobe, so it should be useful. Rated as an "Easy" pattern, and I would agree with that.

Next, a little experiment using Vogue 8525 as a launching pad. I had admired a jacket sewn from felted ready-made sweaters, but was unable to find any suitable felting candidates at our local thrift stores. Hah! That's no problem for a knitter -- so, I simply created my own felted (or fulled) fabric by machine knitting up some yardage on my handy little LK 150 using some bargain coned Shetland yarn I had in the stash. A few trips through the washer and dryer and voila -- lovely, thick felted fabric. I wanted something easier than a jacket to practice on, so I used this simple pull-on skirt pattern. I split the front and back pattern pieces so I would have front and back center seams to do a little hand stitching embellishment, and left the hem unturned (would have been much too thick) and ran some basic blanket stitching around it -- mostly for looks, as it doesn't seem to want to ravel. I used a sportweight, superwash sock yarn for the hand stitching. It remains to be seen how this will hold up in subsequent laundering, but nothing much lost (other than my time) if it doesn't -- I'm guessing that the total material cost was around $6 - $7?

And finally, a dress -- Kwik Sew 3658, which I have previously made as a top. Made from a rayon/poly/lycra doubleknit. The scarf is a quick project from Vogue Patterns magazine -- ummm, two issues past? Usually called an 'infinity' scarf -- simple to make in many different fabrications -- and they make nice gifts, if you are so inclined.

Mid-December Already, Really??

WHOOOOSH -- anyone else feel like life is passing by much too quickly? Wasn't it just Thanksgiving?

There are finished sewing projects to show, but sadly not photographed yet. Probably due to the very cold weather we've been having -- need the extra light you get from photographing outdoors, but don't really want to be outdoors! Later then.

How about a recipe for a holiday treat instead? Here's an easy to make version of caramel popcorn that's a near relative of the commercially available Poppy***k. Hmmmm, spelling it out that way makes it look like a slightly naughty word, doesn't it? Anyway, here it is:

Baked Caramel Corn

• 1/2 cup popping corn
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking SODA
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup of roasted, non-salted nuts, if desired

Pop the corn, using your favorite method -- I use an air popper, and make it in two separate batches. Leave it plain -- no salt or butter. Place the popped corn in one or two large roasting, or cake pans. If you're adding nuts, just sprinkle them over the popcorn.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy saucepan.

Into the melted butter, stir in the sugar, corn syrup and salt.

Bring the mixture to a full boil and while keeping it well stirred, cook for about 5 minutes. Take it off the heat, and stir in the baking SODA and the vanilla -- mix well.

Pour this mixture over the popped corn, and mix it up really well. Work quickly, as it thickens as it cools.

Place corn in a 250 degree oven and let bake for one hour -- stir it well about every 15 minutes or so. Remove from the oven and let cool.

ENJOY!

No recipe, but here's something else I was experimenting with -- homemade marshmallows.

















They weren't bad, although I think my marshmallow guru Brendan does them better. He generously shared his recipe, and some tips, so next time they're sure to be fabulous! The thought was to coat homemade marshmallows with caramel and then dip them in some bittersweet chocolate. I got as far as covering the marshmallows with caramel before deciding it wasn't going to work as well as I wanted. Had a bit of marshmallow meltage, but basically it was a sticky (but tasty!) mess. Ah well, and on to the next experiment!

Knock It Off!

So, I'm in a national clothing chain -- perhaps one named after the science of humankind -- and I see what I consider to be a cute, plaid skirt. Not being the target customer for this particular emporium, however, there are a few things about it that make it 'not quite' for my particular, oh, let's call it maturity.

All is not lost though for a woman with a sewing machine (or two), a yard of plaid, and New Look 6843. Trace off the front pattern piece -- draw a few curved tiers (don't forget to add those seam allowances!)breathe easily with a new, lower, thinner waistband, and voila:

Inspired by, but not a copy of, that cute, plaid skirt. Color me pleased.

Bobbing to the surface...

...after being slammed by a nasty virus. Whew -- glad to be feeling better.

So, how about a couple of finished projects? First up, Cerisara by Bonne Marie Burns, the design talent over at Chicknits . Yarn: Classic Elite Premiere from the stash -- gosh, I LOVE that color!







Interesting, all-in-one construction. You may need to pay attention in a couple of areas, but trust in the directions and you'll be just fine. I'm a big fan of Bonne Marie's work -- very wearable clothing with a current look.

It's always fun to try a new yarn, and next up is a cute little beret from the folks at Quince & Co. The yarn is sourced from fiber produced in the US -- also spun here. I used Osprey, which is their aran weight. It was delightful to work with, but did lose a little color with wet blocking. I look forward to trying one of their lighter weight yarns in another project. This beret only needed one skein, so it was ideal for testing a new (to me) yarn -- the pattern was simple, and easy to knit.

No additional work done on the vintage Elgin sewing machine, but I hope to have it ready for viewing soon. Who knows? Maybe I'll even get it to sew!

Like looking in a mirror...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!