The Sweatshop of Love Blog

I’m loving all the posts I’ve been reading so far for Knit and Crochet Blog Week. The idea is for all the knitters and crocheters out there with blogs to answer the same questions for a week. Fun, right? I’m learning so much already about the bloggers I read.

So, naturally, I want to participate, too!

DAY ONE:  How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting?

I learned my senior year of high school. My English (and everything else cool, like drama and humanities) teacher, Mrs Reniche, taught knitting on the side and knit and designed these amazing intarsia sweaters that she sold for hundreds and hundreds of dollars. My friend Theresa and I thought it was the coolest thing ever and the three of us got together after school and Mrs Reniche taught us to knit. Every week more and more people came, and we had the best time hiding in Mrs Reniche’s room, talking and knitting. And I haven’t stopped since!

Most people assume that it’s your mom or grandmother that teach you to knit, but I actually taught my mom to knit, and every time my grandma sees me knitting she says, ‘Allyson, you are going to give yourself arthritis.’

I started teaching knitting four years ago when I was graduating from college and I love every second I get to spend knitting, with knitters, and talking about knitting. And, luckily for me, that is pretty often!

Box Bag!

I’m going to preface this by saying I’m not a great seamstress by any means. I know enough to get by. You know, if the apocalypse hit and there were no more Targets and I had to make myself a shirt.

Or, and this is something I’m increasingly worried about, if I’m sized out of regular stores. Old Navy’s XS is too big for me, which is stupid because I think I’m a normal sized, healthy woman. Will some day I have to make my clothes because my only options are stores I can’t afford?

… um, so I sewed this bag! It’s a box bag, and I’ve been seeing them everywhere. A few of my students use them as knitting project bags because you can keep your yarn in there, just throw the short strap around your arm and knit on the go.

I happened across this Box Bag Tutorial from Stacy Sews and thought I could probably patch one together.

Box Bag with Plaid Lining

Stacy’s tutorial was great. Lots of pictures and I’m sure it would have been even easier if I knew anything about sewing. She described a great way to sew in the button that it took me FOREVER to figure out. But once I did it was a cinch!

Problems:

1. Didn’t have a 12″ zipper, so I used a 7″ one. I’ve got a million 7″ zippers because those are skirt sized.

Zipper Issues

2. Sewed the bottom of the zipper into the seam I had to make because my zipper wasn’t long enough. And fixed it by cutting it.

Strap Issues

3. I don’t like to pin things. I didn’t pin the strap in before I sewed it so the fabric wasn’t matched up correctly. And I left it.

Box Bag with Long Strap

Not a problem? The sweet long strap I put on it!

I hate bags with just short straps. I always have to put it in another bag with a long strap to bring it anywhere. So I cut out a long strip of fabric, sewed it up, and attached it to a bottom corner and a top corner.

Now this box bag is not only a hot knitting project bag, but a biking bag and a dance party bag! It’s like a clutch with a shoulder strap.

I used it Sunday when I went over to a friend’s outdoor birthday party. All I needed were keys, chapstick, my phone, and my knitting.

Can you tell I’m in love? And how perfect is that color? I picked this fabric up at that Portland estate sale. This was the leftover fabric she used to make her curtains out of. Kinda cool, right?

I can’t wait to rock this bag all summer long!

Traverse City Tube Top

6/1/10: This pattern is now available as part of The Sweatshop of Love’s Summer Tour 2010 Ebook of Knitting Patterns.

I got recognized at the Chicago Craft Mafia’s Do it Your Own D*mn Self Craft Show Saturday! This super sweet woman recognized me from the blog and because I was wearing my Dollar and a Half Cardigan that I’m constantly wearing.

I excitedly told my friend, who quickly said, ‘It’s because you put your face on every blog post. It’s a wonder it hasn’t happened before.’

…

Yeah. I do that. But! But! It’s because…! I have to wear…! Gah.

I’m sorry.

So, no ugly mug on today’s post. Promise. I’ll have to be recognized from now on for my boobs.

Traverse City Tube Top

Which are looking mighty fine in this cute tube top I designed! After pulling out my failed tank, I cast on this seed stitch button band.

Button Band Back Closure

Yeah, I said buttons!

Then I picked up stitches along the bottom edge and knit the pretty diamond texture stitch.

No Face! No Face!

I’m in love with this top! I can’t wait until it’s 100 degrees outside so I can wear it. Because right now it’s chilly and I had a hard time even posing for these pictures without my goose bumps showing.

Love this top, too? I’m looking for a test knitter! Email me at allyson [at] thesweatshopoflove [dot] com and I’ll send you the details.

Or you can wait until June 1st for the pattern to be published.

JUNE FIRST! What is happening on June 1st?

Let’s just say it’s going to be a big day for The Sweatshop! Details to come.

In the mean time, I’m going to hope for warmer weather so I can wear this top around and get recognized for what I’m really good for.

Pattern: To be released soon

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Sport in Flamingo

Needles: Size 4 straight needles, size 7 circulars

Ravelry Project Page

Twin Cities Headband!

(Just a quick warning: All of the pictures in this post are of me oogling my kitty, Pudge Rodriguez)

Monday I blogged about the new Twin Cities Knit Kits, which I’m in love with and can’t stop looking at in amazement from the other side of the room.

And, more importantly, can’t stop wearing.

And that are flying off the shelves! Get yours at The Sweatshop Etsy Page before they are gone.

I don’t think I’ve left the house without a Twin Cities headband on my head or Twin Cities socks on my feet.

Saturday my friend Jamie (<- follow immediately, and at Nice Jumpshot, too) had a launch party for the new Chicago culture blog Tremble Tremble and I seized the opportunity to yet again style my Twin Cities headband.

All weekend I was frantically putting together the kits. I was sticking stickers to something right up to the party opening bell tequila shot, so of course I didn’t notice that I royally screwed up the hem on this skirt.

This is one of the skirts I picked up at the estate sale in Portland, which didn’t remotely fit in Portland but magically fit Saturday night. The only problem? The hem had fallen out.

Lumpy Skirt

Clearly I couldn’t be bothered to pin it in place or measure anything before sewing it up, because that is one lumpy hem. I tried to just follow the holes left by the first hem. Sigh.

But the rest of this outfit is rockin! It’s the first time I’ve worn footless tights. I don’t really understand the point of footless tights, but I had them and thank god I had the foresight to wear them with heels so I didn’t look real stubby. The fuchsia tights look great with the flamingo Twin Cities headband!

Ouchies

I would hate to see how my knees would have looked if I wasn’t wearing tights when I beefed it down the stairs later that night! I spent all of Sunday under ice packs.

So. Stupid.

And, upon arriving back home after the party, I drunkenly washed the blood out of my tights but didn’t manage to wash my face. I had my priorities straight!

Pre-Knee Bust Up

At least I was looking cute beforehand!

Headband: Twin Cities Headband in Flamingo

Deep V Lace T-Shirt: Target a million years ago

Polka Dot Vintage Wrap Skirt: Portland estate sale

Fuchsia Footless Tights: Target

Pointy Black Heels: Payless

Before

After

It’s really hard to accept the fact that something you are knitting just isn’t working. You’ve dedicated hours to working on it. You had such a clear vision of how it was going to look and how you were going to wear it. But it just isn’t working, and it isn’t going to work, and instead of being stubborn and wasting more time on it, you rip it out.

This poor Allendale Tank didn’t really have a chance. The yarn is beautiful, the stitch is fun, but when I finished the top section it was kinda short, and it didn’t have the easy hang I was envisioning.

I tried the front bib section three times and had just gotten it right; but I put it on and it was bunchy and unflattering and just everything I didn’t want in a little knit tank.

My thoughts, all at the same time:

1. I’ll add a bottom panel of thicker ribbing to pull it down a little and add length!

2. I’ll add thicker top tie and straps to give it more coverage and detail!

3. I’ll add armhole edging so it can hang lower, giving it more length!

4. It’s never going to be what I want it to be.

Why did the 4th option win? Mainly because I knew I could do better. If I did all of those things would the sweater be wearable? Yes. And probably really cute! But if I started over with the knowledge of why this sweater failed I could build a better sweater from the get go, writing a better pattern from the start and ending with a smoother, more together design.

Just Do It

How to Pull Out Your Knitting Project Failure

1. Once you decide to do it, do it. Don’t let it sit around for days and wallow. The longer it sits there the harder it will be to pick it up and pull it out.

2. Pull up facebook, a blog you’ve been meaning to catch up on, a magazine. Distract yourself from what is about to go down. Put your brain on something other than all the work you are about to pull out.

3. Put your work behind you so you won’t watch the stitches coming out. Don’t just sit there watching every stitch. Make sure it’s in a position where you won’t get lots of knots or tangles, but make sure it’s out of your eyeline.

4. Ball as you pull. Read your magazine. Get into a happy place. Make a nice tight ball of yarn so you can use that yarn again.

5. Cast something on right away. It doesn’t have to be with that failure yarn or another version of that failure project, but cast something on so the last stitches you knit aren’t just sitting in a sad ball of failure yarn.

In a few days you won’t even remember the time you lost on that other project. Do I sound convincing? All I can think about right now is how I could have used that knitting time to knit the baby sweater I have to knit instead of that tank, and I would have a little baby sweater right now instead of just a ball of yarn if I would have started that project instead of the tank last weekend.

But I haven’t gotten to step 5 yet. See how important step 5 is to avoid knitting self loathing?

Casting on! I’m casting on right now!