So, I'm off for two weeks--and today started the second week, going back to work next Monday. I haven't been very idle on my down time though, between cleaning the apartment (and having a friend who loves to clean is a major bonus!) and knitting up a storm. But, i have been enjoying myself, and i haven't been thinking about work too much, so I'd say, vacation is successful!
I've finished the front panel of Silvie, though the only recent picture i have is from where i was almost finished his face, as you can see here. Now, I'm working my way up the back panel, almost to the bottom border--and trying to decide if i want the back to match the front, and add another Silvie to it. I have enough yarn, so that's not an issue, but do i really want to do that much stranded knitting again? I think....maybe. I still have time to decide, and to be frank, it might be of a benefit to the final sizing of the entire piece when it comes to fulling/felting it later.
I also have finished (finally) the Third Monkey bag of Doom. The second one still lives in limbo, but that's because it doesn't have a recipient yet other than myself--and I'm not in any particular rush to finish it. All it needs is for the lining to be cut and sewn, and now that i have my sewing machine running well, and a new straight edge ruler to go with my fabric cutting board, i should be able to get all that done relatively easily. Because i was lacking that simple, stupid piece of acrylic, i couldn't cut a straight line to save my life. Also reconfigured my rotary cutter for left-handed use, so that helps with the straight lines too.
More pics:
The monkey bag:
Done in Red Heart Super Saver solids (acrylic, of course) for the majority of the piece; the monkey's brown hair was done in TLC (another acrylic with a slightly softer feel), the lining is 100% cotton with a print of palm trees on a sky blue background, and a blue 19" zipper at the opening.
The bag isn't intended as a real book bag, given that the straps are knitted, and likely have a lot of stretch to them, but the recipient is going to be using this to help carry her own stuff around at the beach and such--so her mom doesn't have to feel like a pack mule. I chose acrylic for the project in particular for its easy-care properties; this is something which can get used and dirty and washed, and still keep going.
And my beautiful beauty of a sewing machine:
She's a Singer, obviously, but she's MINE! Her serial number is AH932372, which tells me that she is one of 50,000 class 15 machines (she's a model 15-91) manufactured in the Elizabethport factory in Elizabeth NJ, November 29th, 1948.I picked her up a few years ago, when someone local was having a yard sale--the machine had belonged to the woman's mother-in-law, if i recall correctly, and said mom-in-law was a seamstress by trade. I was told some of the history of the machine that way; the rest i learned via the serial number.
She was being sold because the husband did not have any particularly serious attachment to the machine itself--he had other things and ways to remember his mother--and his wife didn't know how to use it at all. Even though it had been a long time since i had touched a machine myself, i have a soft spot in my heart for these old Singers, and an interest in learning how to sew again, possibly even dabbling in quilting.
This machine is in beautiful condition, and after a bit of tinkering and replacing the power cord, runs like new! When i had first gotten ahold of her, the poor girl, although kept in good condition, was very dusty, and frozen tight--she was in serious need of a good oiling amongst other things, and her frozen condition was due to her being started up and run without being oiled up first. She came with the cabinet she is sitting in, a bench which needs a new seat cover, and the buttonholer accessory, which i have yet to tinker with. Partly because i am still learning my way around the machine itself; i don't want to dive into the various attachments that exist until i understand the basics of her, and the basics of sewing again. Fortunately, i was able to find not only a user manual for her online (she didn't come with one), but also a maintenance manual that shows how to fix just about every single part on the machine--particularly beneficial when it came time to take apart and re-assemble the tension knob correctly.
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