why should it matter?

railway socks from nancy bush's "vintage socks"

our house is in a complete mess, i could not even find a calm place to knit, or sew. boxes are on top of each other, cats are in the boxes... where is my shirt? my shoes?

i wanted to use this yarn, sisu superwash wool that was retired from this, to knit my husband another pair of socks and had started this project a few weeks ago. charcoal is his favorite color. it looks really lovely and banana republic-ish. railway pattern is an alternate of knit and purl in various combinations. subtly sophisticated. but, can you see the pattern?

so subtle, you can't even tell. oh well.

i do love this pattern though, and will continue as is. maybe by the fall, husband will have yet another pair of handknit socks.

posted by blossom at 10:35 PM | Comments (12)

the packing began last weekend and i will be having a few boxes like this with the same label. yarn, yarn, yarn and more yarn! knitting books, too.

the next couple weekends, we'll move from one city to another. from one apartment to this house, from this house to a bigger apartment. all of us, including all the cats.

just when you think life can not be more complicated... a little visitor was begging at the door.

meow... can i come in?

aww, how could you not give this little grey thing some tuna or our cats' kitty treats? but we didn't. she was trying to make herself at home on our deck, and our cowardly cats were all hiding in the woods.

i'm really hungry...

later that day, we found out that she actually belongs to our neighbor across the street. what a relief. though it did not stop her from coming to visit the next day, and the day after that.

posted by blossom at 07:28 AM | Comments (18)

so have i at least inspired some of you to sew? please say yes! my goal this summer is to knit a top and then sew a skirt to match the top. actually, this is hege's idea. she is a great enabler for my sewing, just look at these loveliest fabrics she gave me!!! and, a close up on the ultrasuede. the prettiest powdery pink. i am not sure what this will become, but i think it matches pretty well with this cutest baby face that belongs to my niece.

i know we fiber enthusiasts are all about yarn and fiber porns. unfortunately my old site has recently been maliciously revived into an adult version. and i can't begin to tell you how awful but helpless i feel! blogger is not going to care about my complain so i can only ask you to update your links to this one. thank you!

posted by blossom at 01:56 PM | Comments (14)

this is just like finishing my first ever sweater almost 10 years ago, this weekend, i have made my first skirt!! flouncy, circle skirt in all 50's glamour. spring, anyone?

sewing has always been an intimidating craft for me hence the hesitation. however, now that i have made my first ever skirt, i can honestly said that it was really not as difficult as i had thought. i learned a lot about my machine, sewing, fabrics and patterns. but most importantly, the process was nothing but fun!!

the making of my circle skirt (mccalls M4875)**:

after the fabric is washed, dried and ironed, lay it flat for the cutting...

a pair of sharp scissors makes clean edges and makes cutting a lot more enjoyable. this step is probably the most crucial, i have documented my thoughts here.

now ready to sew: pin the sides together, mark the seam lines, baste it (i found it easier to sew if the fabrics are basted).

one side sewn. thanks for the blue seam line, the stitches are straight.

seam finish: i am not sure if this is the best method, i used the zig zag stitch to finish the seams, i guess i could have overcasted both of them and pressed it to one side?


side openings: narrow stitch. still need to work on pivoting. look how nasty the sides turned out. humph!

the right side of the seam looks pretty darn good though...

attach the bands: instruction said slipstich (by hand i suppose), i said: stitch those suckers with sewing machine. done in two minutes! heh...

now, sew the hem using narrow hem. circle skirt has looong circumference. plenty of opportunity to practice narrow hem. and, pressing hides all the flaws!

lastly, sew the hook and eye (two sets), i need to tidy up my hand sewing skills

and finally, the finished skirt...

it was a fun sewalong! thanks to stephanie, yaiann and mari for hosting. i look forward to sewing more interesting projects. now i need to find a pair of red ballet slippers.

** thank you becky for sharing your skirt. when i first saw the skirt, i never thought i would one day be able to make one myself. the power of blogging!

posted by blossom at 06:03 PM | Comments (34)

the center picture is the cover, the rest is the content. so rowan, so beautiful!

my sister bought me three japanese knitting magazines, one for women (me!), one for babies and one for accessories. i love all of them and i am showing you the one for women today. it is surprisingly beautiful. i'm loving all of the projects above and can see myself knitting one this coming winter.

later, i'll show you the accessories book. that one is also full of beautiful knits. if you think that i have been leading you on with many empty promises... i apologize. we have finally secured a place to stay in the new city and i am quitting my current job in a couple weeks. i am hoping to have a few weeks in between jobs so we can move and be able to catch up on knitting and sewing! for sewing... i went crazy with hancock fabrics' $1 per pattern last weekend and had also bought way too much fabric.

spring is here.

p.s. i deleted the old whispering pine blog today. if you are still linking me with the old address (i know some of you still do), it is now invalid.

posted by blossom at 03:02 PM | Comments (15)