Place mats

Went recently to Ikea to pick out fabric for my next project--place-mats. I love all of the Ikea fabrics. They are just so cool and modern, even the traditional ginghams look fresh compared to what you find in most of the fabric stores around here. I picked out a cool geometric cotton fabric and a coordinating grey linen.

They have been sitting in my closet for the last few weeks waiting for me to finish my last knitting project. Finally, today, I got to break out the sewing machine again and get to work.

Nothing fancy here. Just cut out four rectangles of each fabric, pinned them together right-sides facing, sewed around the edges, then pulled them right-side out and top-stitched. For a little whimsy, I did use a grey thread to match the grey solid linen and then used a different colored thread on the pattern side of each of the four place-mats. Ikea had a little box of four different threads, which, conveniently, matched perfectly with the colors in the geometric pattern print I used.

Cowl Finished!

Finished the Herringbone cowl, just in time for today's 80-degree temps. Perfect. Well, I'm sure there will be a refreeze in time for my friend Jen to enjoy it.

There are some trouble spots. I got a little lost in between rows, what with the row marker thingy, so there are some wobbly looking stitches in there. But, 90% of it looks good. Also, after binding off, I found a large space between the first bound-off stitch of the row and the last stitch where I pulled the yarn through. I kind of fudged it. But I think it looks cute.

Also, the thing is shedding quite a bit. Hmmm. Otherwise, happy with effort.

-CA

(Above: Snuggly cowl is starting to roll in on itself. I think that blocking it should take care of that.)

(Above: This is a detail of the "herringbone" stitch, from the pattern. In the background is my favorite light fixture, installed just a few years ago.)

UPDATE 2/19: Just blocked the scarf. I noticed, with some degree of horror, that when I blocked the scarf and pulled it lengthwise, the herringbone stitches seemed to lose their “herringboniness.” They just looked like weird stitches. When I (gently) pulled the cowl into a wider shape, the stitches seemed to ease back into their intended pattern. This photo shows what I’m talking about.

(Above: Observe the nice "herringboniness")

Big cowl is a big pain

Working on the big herringbone cowl as a gift (shhhh) for a friend. "Cast on 220 stitches," reads the first line of the pattern. What was I thinking? I got about 12 rows in (let's see...12 x 220 is.... nevermind, I can't count that high) and had dropped so many stitches I just pulled my circular needle out and started over with another ball of yarn. The second attempt is going better. But I'm still battling the demons of dropped stitches!

(Above: Ruins of my first attempt on the floor. )