My Introduction to Mario Brothers

Lest you all think that do nothing but sew and knit all day, let me impress you with the knowledge that I now also know how to die many, many different ways and repeatedly.

Last night Jonathan asked me to play Mario Brothers with him. He set it all up with our projector.


I know most of you have grown up doing such things, but I can count on my thumbs the number of times I have held a game control in my hands.

Last night was the second.

I died so many times, so creatively, that Jonathan was shoveling lives at me left and right. I couldn't even figure out how to stay on Yoshi! Needless to say, it was not my prowess that got us through the haunted castle.

This is my synopsis:
When I was in grade school and had to memorize long lists of really obscure things for geography or history, I used to motivate myself by fantasizing that someday a man might come up to me and my Dad, put a gun to our heads and say:
"Here's a blank sheet of paper with the African continent on it. Fill in all the countries and their capitols, spelled correctly, or I will blow your heads off."
"Lucky for me I just had to do this in school," I would say to my dad, and then proceed to save our lives. It made me feel better.

If that same man came up to me and Jonathan and said, "Play through an entire level of Mario Brothers as Luigi, or I will blow your heads off," it would not be me trying to save our lives -- that would be ALL Jonathan's job!

Ask me in a couple months, though. Maybe the man will wait until I've had a chance to practice. I've heard practice helps. I've already figured out that it helps if you don't die by stepping off cliffs.

The Zipper Stitch--dedicated to my friend Dorothy

OK you start with the pieces you want to join next to each other with the wrong sides up.


Then you thread a darning needle with yarn the same color as the pieces you want to join..I used a different color, just so you could see where the stitches were going.


Start as close to the corner as you can. From underneath, put the darning needle through both threads that make the top stitch of your piece. Pull the needle up, and pull the thread through most of the way.


Next, still from underneath, put the darning needle through both threads that make the top stitch of your second piece. You can see how there is a little hole already there.


So the thread comes under and up through the first piece, and then under and up through the second piece. Find the next set of threads in the first piece, and pull the thread up and through. Just remember you are always coming from underneath.


Continue back and forth until you come to the end. You also want to keep track of how your pieces are matching up...sometimes you won't have exactly the same number of stitches..so just fudge it a little by skipping a hole or doing two stitches into the same hole.


Pull the thread tight as you go, because it will be hard to do later..this stitch doesn't really slide through very easily, as it cinches down so tight.


Just a few more stitches...first piece


Second piece....


Pull it tight....


When you turn it over, the stitching is pretty much invisible.


Especially if you didn't use a different colored yarn!
Happy Zipper Stitching!

More on Plane Projects

Last Thursday, armed with many things to do, I left Jonathan behind in Seattle and got on a red-eye flight to Boston. Then I took a three-hour bus ride up to Hanover, where spent I the weekend with my parents and grandparents celebrating my brother Jon's graduation from Dartmouth College. (And I have some funny pictures of that event coming up next!)

As I juggled my carry on bags through security, on and off two planes and one bus, I realized I have become very, very spoiled in my last four years of travel with Jonathan. Not only does he lift my bags and keep me amused with long hours of conversation, he remembers all the numbers--the flight, the time, how long, when, etc. I, on the other hand, could not remember a number for longer than about two minutes, which meant I was constantly stressing out about the responsibility! I don't know how or when this lack of independence snuck up on me, but boy oh boy have I ever slipped down the slippery slope of wife-dom!

Travelling alone did have one advantage. I finished all three projects I brought along to entertain me! It was a lonely success, but success nonetheless!

The Guatemalan Vest.



The Grey Cashmere Refurbishment



Knitted Green Cardigan

Guatemalan Vest

This handwoven vest was worn by my Grandma Ruth when she was a missionary in Ecuador.
I'd been planning on remaking it with some navy corduroy so that it would fit my 'Aunt' Beth..who loves the colors in it!

I wanted to bring her the vest when I stayed at her farm again for Jon's graduation....so of course I started sewing it on Thursday! ( yes my flight was that night!)


It was a little complicated at first, because the hand-woven fabric frayed so easily that I couldn't take out the original seams without destroying it. Taking the advise of my local fabric store, I decided to sew some hem tape as close to the seam as I could.


After that I just cut out the seams and wrapped the hem tape around the loose edge. It made it so much easier to handle and sew later.



Next I needed to re-shape the armholes and add in the side fabric. I had copied the shape of the correct size onto this piece of paper. I also noticed the facing would not work for the new armholes.


So I lined up the fabric of the vest and the blue corduroy and cut them to match the curve of the armhole shape I had traced earlier.


Next, I sewed the side up. I also noticed I would need to cut out new facing for the new shape of the armholes.

As I had no pattern, I needed to trace the new shape of the vest to make a facing pattern

Before I got on the plane, this is what it looked like--all ready for the hand-sewing.


Thank goodness it fit just right! =)

The Grey Cashmere Refurbishment

Here's a really easy way to make over your sweaters!

I picked up this funny old sweater at a thrift store for $5.99. I liked it all except for the neckline. I decided to cut it out and then put in some ribbon for the neckline.

My friends down at Nancy's Sewing Basket told me that I should sew along the line I planned to cut before cutting it out to keep the sweater from unraveling.

I traced the neckline from a shirt I like, and then sewed several lines around it. I'm starting to believe that permanent markers are essential for every craft project!


I was shocked at how easy this was. It seriously took 10 minutes or less.


Snip, snip, and out comes the old neck!


Then I sewed a basting line down the middle of the ribbon so I could gather it to make the curve around the neck.


Ironed it in half, like hem tape. The ribbon was really soft chenille. I think that helped with shaping it around the neck. This is what I took with me on the plane.


This is what I took with me on the plane.


I sewed the ribbon on by hand while enjoying the front porch rocking chairs with the grands.


Done! Just like that! It was nice to have a project that took LESS time than I thought it would!

History of the Knitted Green Cardigan

People often ask "How long did it take you to knit that?" Instead, I think they should ask, "Where have you knitted that?" Let me illustrate by giving you the complete history of my knitted green cardigan.
Once upon a time in February there was a HUGE variegated ball of yarn on sale at Jo Anne's for $6.95. It was called a pound of love...and weighed one pound...which is a lot of variegated green yarn! I bought it. I had this much left AFTER knitting the whole sweater!

In March, I took Cole, the two-year old munchkin in nanny for, to play with the train set at Barnes and Noble...a knitting book caught my eye... it had a lovely raglan sweater pattern in it. I bought it.

In April, I worked out the calculations of the "gauge" required in Cole's bedroom while he fell asleep. Same place, next day, I started knitting. That weekend I spent many hours knitting it on our orange sofa (pictured above). Then I finished most of the body in a car on Sunday while traveling up to see the tulips. (We left the knitting in the car for this picture)

In May, I brought it with me on vacation to Florida, but never touched it there. I started the sleeves on the way out to Spokane.

I worked the sleeves at my Monday "reading night" with the girls, and finished them while on Jury duty in the Kent Regional Court House.

In June, I joined the sleeves to the body and started knitting the yoke while having coffee with my friend Debora. I fell asleep while knitting on the airplane to MA...several times! I finished the yoke on the bus from Boston to Hanover.

I finished all the ends and necklines with Grandma and Grandpa on the drive from Hanover to the Liberty Hill Farm.

If you look closely , you can see it on me down at the end of Aunt Beth's farmhouse table, warm and green!

It sure kept me happily ever snuggly on the plane home to Jonathan!
And that's the story of the sweater that took 4 months knit!