Wool Sweater

My mom and I knitted this sweater together. I’d like to say she was holding one needle while I worked the other, but it was more of a tag team system. Our gauge isn’t identical, but the blocking evened it all out. I used a pattern but added several inches to the torso & sleeve length, and they’re still barely long enough because as the sweater stretches around me, it shortens more than I expected. My question to seasoned knitters is – can you pick up & knit on a ribbed edge to add length, or will that look weird?

Best T-shirt So Far

I finally made a great t-shirt to go with my favorite jeans. It only took a year - but I finally succeeded in making the all American outfit. Of course, the jeans are starting to fall apart after a year of almost constant wear.

Recycled Clothing

I was looking for a quick and satisfying project, so I made two tops out of four shirts I already had that didn’t fit right. Knit tops are always too square and short for me. These are tops that wouldn’t be worth donating, so I reworked them. It’s hard to get a good looking seam at the waist. I used a three-thread flatlock on the striped top and four-thread overlock on the solid one. I’m not thrilled with either seam, but overall I really like the striped top. It’s very flattering because the darker color at the waist makes a good transition to the dark pants. It gives me a waist without making my butt look too long. That’s the problem with high-waisted pants – they elongate the legs really well in the front, but they make the butt look really huge, especially when the pockets end higher than the cheek folds.

Pillow Cover

I made this pillow cover from some cool vintage bark cloth Sharon gave me. I see now that the pattern is upside down – or maybe it’s the pillow.

Grapes and Grapefruit

Second Breakfast today consisted of grapes and grapefruit, followed by super dark chocolate.

Tote Bags & Dog Toys

I made nine more tote bags and some dogs toys.


A friend told me that the Salvation Army uses 60% of its budget for disposal because people unload so much unsellable junk there. There should be a disposal & recycling center next to Salvation Army. Then you could get rid of all your clutter at once. I would want to see a bin for recycling electronics, old tennis shoes, and all those other weird things - large pieces of metal - and anything else that salvation army can't use, but shouldn't be thrown out. I think the major reason people are so irresponsible about recycling is that it's confusing and inconvenient when it gets more complicated than cans & paper. There could also be a pawn shop or eBay selling store. It would be a strip mall of disposing solutions. At the end there could be a car wash. Wouldn't that feel great? When I’m doing a home purge I always like to shave my legs as the finishing touch.