Storage solutions, sewing and knitting.

I saw my elder daughter Liz a couple of days ago and was able to hand her the first of the two sweaters she asked me to knit. It was duly worn, admired, and when she left, a few short hours later, she was still wearing it. Now, what more can a loving mum hope for? To knit something for someone and for it to be appreciated............

I'm working steadily on the second sweater. This is the Dickinson Pullover by Kathy Zimmerman from the Fall 2007 edition of Interweave Knits. This is such a nice design to knit, that I find it rather compulsive knitting. Just as well, since I've had to rip it back a few inches or so. I made such a silly error in placing the cables, then compounded it by making a different error when I sarted that section again. It got ripped back around four inches the first time, but only around a couple of rows or so the remaining times. Never mind, the back is now completed, though I have not cast off the stitches. I've placed these on a stitch holder.




Here you see the ever helpful Aggie modelling the back. On the shoulder of my tailor's dummy, you can also see the work completed so far for the front.





I decided to add to my storage containers again this week. I went into "The Works", which is a very cheap stationers/booksellers/artist's supplies shop. I bought a couple of their large paintbrush holders. I bought two some months ago as an experiment - wanting to find some way of keeping my knitting needles neat and tidy. I needed two more to contain my many circular needles. The nice thing about these holders is that they can stand upright when you fold them, useful when doing a series of tension (gauge) swatches.



As you can see, the folders look really neat and tidy on the shelves above my desk. The next thing I must do is sew on some labels. The folders are all fabric covered.

Whilst in "The Works", I also found a really cheap book about Japan. It is beautifully illustrated. Especially useful since I shall be returning to the annual "Arts Week" in school after the Easter break. My topic this year is "Japan". The children will find the photos in this book really helpful.




One other item I have been working on is the Japanese folded hanging which I started some time ago.



The photos show the completed bottom half. This now has a purchased tassel as well as beading and some tiny bells. The red heart came from the miniature rose my husband bought me for Valentines Day.
I am intending the hanging to be hollow, though I might change my mind when it comes closer to completion. This shows the inside.



Recently, I got the next part of the Band Robin in the post. This gorgeous piece now hangs on my board ready for me to start work. Did you see the deilghtful little card sitting on my shelf beside the hanging? The card arrived with the Band Robin. The stitched design is printed on the reverse......



I am looking forward to getting on with this one. For further information about this project, please visit the Stitching Sisters Blog.