Electric Boogalloo Cowl

A few post ago I told you about a local quilt shop I discovered called Fibre Space.

I got down to business with two balls of Freia's Fibers. One of Pixie and the other of Nightshade. I love this yarn. A soft and yummy blend of 70% merino and 30% silk.

The pattern is the Electric Boogaloo Cowl by Tina Whitmore and available on Ravelry.

I worked on this cowl during those times that so often seem like wasted time. 

The time when Darling Husband is driving you to the supermarket, or waiting at the MVA. (This is my actual slip from the MVA. I waited there for about an hour for my number to be called. Thank goodness I brought the knitting.)

Those little moments of waiting are perfect for stitching up a couple rows. The pattern is simple and the yarn really shines.

I'm so glad I tried this pattern and this yarn. I have two more balls of Freia's Fibers so I'm all set to get stitching!

Have you discovered any new local shops? What about a new product that was such a wonderful surprise?

Wardrobe Wednesday: All Hallows Cape

Not long ago Professor Pincushion posted a wonderful tutorial on how to draft a cape pattern. I wanted to play along and on All Hallows I got busy in the early morning hours before the sun was up.

I drafted my cape pattern.  I wanted something small since this was my first draft.

Then I drafted the hood pattern. This hood is very roomy.

After cutting my cape pieces, I set the embroidery machine to stitching some fun designs. This design is from Urban Threads Embroidery. The set is called Gothic Nouveau and I bought it when it was first released in October. Urban Threads has hand embroidery versions of many of their designs, so don't let the lack of an embroidery machine hold you back from checking out their wonderful designs.

In hindsight I can tell you that these designs are too close to the front hem and not close enough to the bottom hem. I really need to print out my designs before setting up for placement. Not a disaster, but a learning moment.

The second learning moment came when I realized that I had cut and seamed two half capes to make a full-circle cape. The pattern designed by Professor Pincushion is for a half-circle cape. My choices to correct this error were few. I went with the one that I thought was the least painful and that let me keep my full-circle cape. I drafted a yoke to fill in the gap.

I decided to use a contrasting fabric, mostly because if I was going to make a mistake I was going to use it as a design element. Overall, I think it wasn't a disaster. I did learn a little something. More importantly, I learned how I can modify the pattern further.

I used another Urban Threads design from the same set for either side of the hood. Again, the design is too close to the front edge. Good placement from the top edge.

Here is the hood after seaming but before I finished the front edge. If I didn't need that hem it would have been perfect.

My finished cape! I wore it all day on All Hallows. It wasn't warm enough for outside, but it was good indoors. I have so many ideas on how to change this pattern. I want to modify it to make it easier to embroider. I want to modify the hood so it has a center panel that will change the shape of that leading edge. I want to make a longer version. So many possibilities!

Have you made something from a pattern you drafted yourself? I would love to hear about it.

Charity Quilting - Some Like it Pink

I squeezed in a couple more charity quilts for Annapolis Quilts for Kids.

Both of these quilts were made by other members of Quilts for Kids.

After quilting I hand them over to another member for binding.

2015 Charity Quilt Count:  46

Retail Therapy: Fibre Space

In an effort to find some of Freia's Fibers locally, I did some searching for yarn shops near where I work.

Google dutifully lead me to the Fibre Space. This is a great little shop with helpful staff and so many things to see.

I was warmly greeted by the staff and they showed me where to find the tasty yarn I was searching for.  Look at all these balls of Freia's Fibers!

I love these ombre yarns.  They are so colorful and soft and oh-so yummy.  It wasn't easy to narrow down my choices, but I managed to pick just four different colorways.  From left to right I'm pretty sure these are Metropolis, Dirty Hippie, Nightshade and Pixie.  I'm in a strange relationship with the Electric Boogaloo Cowl and these yarns are part of that relationship.

I also picked up this set of knit blockers since I do seem to have at least one shawl that has been finished for a couple years and has never been blocked.

Yummy yarn!

Since I managed to hit the $100 mark, this bag with their super-fun logo, was free.  The bag is $2 if you don't hit the mark, but it wasn't a difficult task.  I'm sure I'll be back when I need some more retail therapy.  I love finding friendly, local shops with awesome yarns.