Sweater Surgery Book Contributions

Ok, I know I'm lame, but I'm finally getting around to posting my contributions to the Sweater Surgery book. (Disclaimer: I purposefully blurred out the instructional text because of copyright issues. Besides, that way, you can go buy the book. :-) Or, if you're interested, I'd be willing to teach any one of these projects at your shop or party. I also teach knitting and dyeing.)



The instructions are just for the Twiggy Headband (page 63)...it's the rainbow colored one. The other two headbands are featured in the book's Gallery section on page 131 and do not include instructions.


Nine-to-Five was also flashed in a quick 1-second clip on DIY Network's "Uncommon Threads." Originally, my friends and I were also supposed to demo this project, but the producers realized that they didn't have enough time, so we just worked on Shelly.


Everyone loves the Hippie Chicks! I came up with the idea when I was experimenting with dyeing a recycled angora sweater. I love the way the publisher styled Opal and Sunshine. Recently, I sold both of them to a very cute and enthusiastic Taiko drummer named Susie.


Violet Flower was such a labor-intensive project. Well all of the featured projects are, but this one takes the cake with the size ratio. This is made from a recycled, upcycled sweater sleeve that I felted. Then I dip-dyed it (not as easy as it seems because you have to hold it to get saturation and try to control the colors to make sure that it seemed more fluid), hand-stitched the purse and the lining and did the embroidery edges. Each petal is also individually laid out and sewn. The center of the flower also is the closure.


Shelly has an extra cameo on page 14, and has her own Gallery photo on page 127. I had posted about Shelly before and my experiences on Uncommon Threads in September 2006 (Geez, has it been that long?)


These two hats (page 130) are featured in the Gallery section as well and do not have any accompanying instructions. Gwlana was originally intended to be an artsy-ish woven bowl, but then Zona commented that it could be cute as a kid's hat -- and I agree! Cosmopolitan is made from cut pieces of a felted wool sweater. I used the texture of the sweater fabric to create interest in the hat.

Brrr it's cold.

I just came back from chilly San Francisco, where I visited my sister and some friends. It was pretty cold up there -- a stark contrast to the heat in Southern California.

I hung out first with my friend Pipe ("pee-pay") who was visiting from Laredo, Texas where he grew up and currently works. Pipe has a deep fascination for Japan and Japanese culture and history, especially samurai history and old-school anime, so we spent quite some time in Japantown. On his last day, we went to the Asian Art Museum, where there was a special exhibit on Tezuka Osamu, father of anime and creator of Astro Boy.

After Pipe left, I visited with some other friends, including Cristina of String Theory. Cristina came with me, my sister and my sister's friends to a neighborhood garage sale. There were some fabulous items -- like antique sewing machines. Unfortunately, I didn't think I could haul those on the plane, so I settled for 1 slightly used and 1 new pack of heavy duty sheet protectors for $7. The used pack still looked like there was at least 30-40 sheets left in the pack. All in all, it was a great deal, and my beat up knitting patterns will surely appreciate the protectors!

Later, Cristina and her hubby treated me to a yummy late lunch at Burma Superstar. Boy do I miss all the fabulous restaurants and good eats in San Francisco! Don't get me wrong -- there are great eats in L.A. and O.C., but everything so spread apart, going to a favorite haunt sometimes seem such a chore, especially with the notorious SoCal traffic.

Anyway, as for the slippers I made for my sister, I ended up felting it a 3rd time. I don't think she likes it that much -- she complained that the sole was a little floppy and folded under when she walked in them. I think she just walks funny. LOL! I tested them at home and at her house, and I had no problems.
Pattern: House Slippers from Knit2Together by Mel Clark and Tracy Ullman
Yarn: SkiFoggy Yarn from Japan, using 3 strands
Needles: As recommended in pattern - US 11 and US 13 circulars
Notes: I felted the slippers 3 times to get the right size, but I have a front loading washer, so that may have something to do with it. Working the toe and the back lip can be a little awkward. on the circulars. It may be a little less awkward to incorporate dpns when working around the tight curves. Although the felting gives the slipper structure, the sole still can be a little floppy for some people. I'd also suggest using rubber rug spray or puffy paint on the sole for some traction and safety, especially when trying to walk on tiled or wood floors.

My sister really liked her socks. I'm still editing the pattern, so I'll do a separate posting with the pattern link later.

Slippers for a Yeti

In a couple of weeks, I will be heading to San Francisco to visit my sister and meet up with some friends. As a housewarming gift for my sister, who just got a house, I decided to make her a pair of house slippers from Knit 2 Together, which I bought for an awesome price of $5.50 on Amazon!

The pattern in the book calls for some of my favorite yarns - Manos del Uruguay or Rio de la Plata yarn. However, I decided to use some Japanese yarn I got from a swap instead. The yarn feels like a virgin wool yarn, which would be good yarn for felting. For the life of me, I could not get the same exact gauge, but I used it anyway -- it was close enough. The pattern gauge is 8.75 stitches per 4" of garter stitch using 3 strands of Manos/Rio yarn on US13 needles. I tested the gauge of my yarn using double, triple and quadruple stranding and US 11, 13 and 15 needles. The closest gauge I obtained was 8 stitches per 4" of garter stitch with US 13 needles and triple stranding.

The slipper was a quick and easy knit, although picking up and working stitches from the sole was a little awkward at the toe and heel. As I was working the last 4 rows of the second slipper, it suddenly dawned on me that maybe the yarn is superwash. Even though I don't read Japanese, I should have done a spit-felt test! Oh well, if it doesn't work out, I'll leave the slippers in a forest for Bigfoot. Time for the washing machine!

I'm also planning on knitting my sock fanatic sister a pair of socks. She has lots of socks organized very neatly in OCD fashion in a drawer, but she's never had a pair of hand-knitted socks. She has never asked me to knit her a pair either. I haven't decided whether to knit a pair of argyles or a pair with a skull motif. My sister loves argyle socks, but I don't know if I'm ready for knitting argyle socks - plus, I'm having a hard time finding a nice pattern. Since the age of 13-14, my sister also has had an inexplicable (in my mind) obsession with all things skull. I'm leaning towards the skull thing, but either way, I'm sure she'll be pleased.