Sewing – Page 10 – Thimbleanna

Darn It!

42 Comments / February 20, 2013 June 22, 2013 / Chat, Sewing

Darn it — my sock got a hole in it, so I had to darn it.

{Sorry, you may groan now.}

After 7 or 8 years of knitting socks they’ve finally started to get holes in them. I don’t waste my time darning store-bought socks because they’re so inexpensive to replace, but hand-knit socks are expensive and take a lot of time to knit — therefore well worth the five minutes it takes to fix them.

So, while I was fixing the hole, I thought I’d show you how I do it. I can’t even remember how I learned how to darn socks and I’m by no means an expert. I don’t even know if it’s the right way, but it works for me.

You need a sock with a hole, matching yarn (or not, your preference), a needle, scissors, and a darning egg. (You can use a lightbulb. Make that an incandescent lightbulb — those goofy corkscrew lightbulbs probably won’t work.)

I thread the needle with a reeeeeeeally long piece of yarn and then I stitch a circle around the outside of the hole. Can you see it in picture below? I don’t knot the end of the yarn — I leave a tail hanging out to weave in later.

Then I stitch fairly close parallel lines back and forth until I’ve gone all the way across the circle. I make sure that each line starts and ends outside of the original circle that I stitched. My lines aren’t neat and tidy but I’m not entering them in a contest, so I don’t care.

After the base threads are laid down, I start at one end and weave perpendicular lines. Over and under every other stitch, just like we did with our little weaving projects in elementary school. When I have the needle all the way across for each line, I squish a little on the lines that have already been woven. This helps to pack the yarn in a little.

When the circle is filled in, I weave in the ends of the yarn. Then I go back and weave in the tail that was left when I started weaving. There’s nothing attractive about my little patch, but it will extend the life of my socks for a little while longer.

If you want more info about darning, a quick google search will turn up lots of resources. There are even different patterns that you can follow so that your patch will look much prettier than mine!

Happy Darning!
XOXO,
Anna

Cordurain

37 Comments / January 13, 2013 June 22, 2013 / Sewing

Well kids, I hope you’ve all had a wonderful weekend. It’s been dreary, chilly and rainy here. I went outside today and found this pretty scene on MeMum’s clothesline.

I’ve managed a bit of sewing this past week, and I was in search of a bit of sunlight (not to be had!) to take a few pictures of my new top.

Remember a year ago when I made a shirt using the bright green Amy Butler corduroy? I LOVE that shirt. I’ve worn it to death.

It’s so warm and cozy in the winter, so I decided to make another one from the same pattern. This time with a blue Amy Butler corduroy. It’s hard to get a good picture of the shirt ’cause the print is so wild. I’m thinking maybe next time I should find a solid corduroy.

In the meantime, this shirt should be pretty happy with some jeans.

Ok peeps, off to pay some bills. Have a good week!

XOXO,
Anna

Trip Trippy Trip

18 Comments / August 18, 2012 June 22, 2013 / Sewing

Man, oh Man. It’s just been impossible to have a regular blogging schedule this past several weeks. Too much busy work. I started working on those towels I showed in the last post, but I can’t even manage to finish that little project. I did, however, make some quick covers for those goofy travel pillows that you see in airports. My Cool Britannia fabric was burning a hole in my stash.

I put a little loop on the top so we can hook them to our suitcases while running through airports.

And there’s a little sleep mask to go along with the set. That’s for SweetiePie — she loves a good sleep mask. (The Princess is in Red and the Queen is in Blue!)

Covered travel pillows mean vacation time is almost here. WooHoo! Months ago, we discovered that TheFirstChild would be really busy with rotations this summer, so I thought it would be fun to have a diversion for SweetiePie so she wouldn’t be too lonely. A Girl Getaway!!! The ManoftheHouse isn’t going this time — he’ll keep the resident catlets company while we’re gone. Anyhoo…I’m checking out now — there’s still so much to do around here before we go. Be good while we’re gone — I’m sure you can guess where we’re going with very little trouble! ;-D

XOXO,
Anna

(P.S. At some point I’m going to close all comments while I’m gone — the spam levels the last few weeks have been ridiculous!)

(Also, I forgot to add — are you guys on Instagram? If we can find occasional internet access I might post a picture or two @Thimbleanna.)

A Happy Basket

47 Comments / July 25, 2012 June 22, 2013 / Sewing

Well, Kidlets, I managed to get my bike basket liner finished! The house is a pigsty but the basket is lined. And that’s all that matters. It’s all about priorities.

I decided to highlight a little Heather Ross banana bike — I looooove those cute bikes. It’s just a plain liner, but I decided to put a little extra piece in there to cover any stuff that I might have in the basket. (I don’t want someone to pull up next to me and be able to easily grab my wallet or something out of there.) Cover use is optional though. If I decide not to use it, I’ll just let it hang to the insides of the basket.

All the fabrics are from my stash. Luckily, I had enough of that cute Dear Stella bike print to use for the gathered cover. The colors were perfect for the other prints I had selected.

I do sort of regret using the Heather Bailey print on the inner lining. I love that print and you really don’t see much of it with the gathered cover in place. I put a double pocket on one side to hold my cell phone and keys — so I won’t have to fish around for them when I have other goodies in the basket.

I also placed some grommets in the lining to allow the handles to be on the outside. I could have just cut one big hole and bound around it, but grommets were a lot easier.

I did have one happy accident — that blue strip around the top of the basket wasn’t originally there, but when I put everything together, the yellow fabric just wasn’t long enough. I had to unpick a seam and I added the blue strip. I love it and I think it looks like I planned it all along.

So, there it is. Another fun little project. I’m looking forward to using my new liner when I go to visit MeMum and BigDaddy — it’s a nice bike ride with some of our new bike trails.

I’m really liking those flowers in the basket — what kind of looks do you think I’ll get on the trails if I drive around with fresh flowers sprouting from my bike?
Perfect!

XOXO,
Anna

Wascally Wabbit

31 Comments / June 19, 2012 June 22, 2013 / Around the House, Sewing

How’s your week coming along? Lots of running around here. I did drag out a more recent UFO and managed a little piecing time over the weekend.

It’s my Children at Play quilt top – I’m making good progress and hopefully there will be a finished top pretty soon. In the meantime, I played with the scraps too.

And contemplated what to do with all of these leftover triangles. Still undecided – any ideas?

Hey! Want to see my little garden? We finally have a little sunny space in our yard – created when the retaining wall was put in last fall. I love a little garden. I don’t have much hope for the beets and carrots – I really just planted them because they look so pretty.

Good thing I’m not really counting on them ’cause someone else has other ideas. See that teeny leaf on the left down there?

Those are the remains of a beet. Ramn Dabbit!!! I tried putting used cat litter around the edge of the garden. It worked for awhile, but Peee-Eeeew! It was smelly. Now we have a little wire fence. Hopefully it will work.

Off to dream of Wabbits in cages!
XOXO,
Anna