Hemming can be hard to do

Sorry this post is late. Since I worked last Sunday, I had this past Friday off and I vowed to stay away from the computer and enjoy myself. And enjoy myself I did! All weekend long! Take a gander of some of what I did:

Do you remember these shorts?

Mmmm ... I didn't realize how dark this picture was. Sorry!

I tackled them again Friday. It took three hours -- yes, three hours! -- to re-hem these so that the fabric wouldn't bunch. I tried three different techniques, including sewing a basting line and trying to ease in the extra fabric like you do with sleeves.

I finally found out that I had tapered the leg hems in the wrong direction! Yep, that was it. After sewing the leg seams from the seam line to the edge of the fabric, the material laid nice and flat. Before, I had tapered in, toward the leg itself!

Look! No bunching fabric! Yes!

Now the legs lay nice and even. I'm so happy and can't wait for it to warm up so Chris can wear them every day this summer!

I also cut off the original hem, which was fine because the shorts were too long for the hubby anyway. They now hit him just above the knee and fit nicely too.

These shorts are by no means perfect, but they are improved enough that Chris might wear them more often when the weather warms up.

Besides scratching my head over what should have been a simple technique, I also took a day trip with the fam, baked tortillas and took up two pajama bottoms this weekend. I'm feeling very satisfied after such a productive weekend!

David A.'s wool gloves

OK, I actually finished these gloves more than a week ago. I just haven't been home during daylight hours to snap some photos. So here they are:

Thanks to Chris for modeling these!

I dropped these in the mail today so they're on their way to the mid-West. Hopefully our friend, David A., will get some good use out of them this winter!

These are made from Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool in Natural Brown. This is the same yarn I used to make the wool beret.

Here's the beret in progress.

The gloves are based on my "Hubby's Fingerless Mitts" pattern I created last year. I designed the pattern for Chris and made a size medium for him last year.

For David, whose hands are longer (though more slender), I cast on 40 stitches instead of 36 for a large size. I also knitted 6 additional rounds in the palms, or 20 rounds instead of 14.

I also redesigned the thumbs. Instead of knitting the rounds, I purled them and I think it looks better.

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What's Needlin' Ewe's 2011 Sweater Challenge Update: I've decided on my first sweater. It's Kim Hamlin's "Lattice and Hollow Cardigan" from Interweave Knits Spring 2010 issue.

This photo belongs to "Interweave Knits."
Click on the links above to visit the magazine's website to buy the pattern or the Spring 2010 issue.

Chris picked out burgundy and navy-colored merino yarns from Malabrigo. I'll keep you posted as I get it going. The challenge's goal is to knit a sweater every two months so there will be six sweaters by the end of December. So I've got six weeks to knit this one up!

Where to Shop: Making Ends Meet

Go read about my visit to Making Ends Meet last month on our trip out West. It's a really nice home decor store in Shelbyville, Ky.

FO: crocheted wool beret, other updates

I finished the beret in the past week but haven't been home during daylight hours to snap a photo for you.

Here it is. Please forgive the poor lighting; the funny, close-up of my head; and the bad photo styling. I'm doing what I can with what resources I have!

I think this would look better with a lighter weight yarn. This is also wool, so I'm sure some washing will felt this right up.

The pattern is by Jennifer L. Appleby and is from Interweave Crochet's Winter 2007 issue. I found it to be a fun, quick pattern, though there were a few mistakes in the pattern copy I have. Either that or I managed to create more treble crosses than the pattern called for, but that didn't mess up any of the other steps and the pattern came out without much trouble.

Here's a close-up of the brim and the treble crosses. I like the contrast between the two.

I would definitely recommend this pattern!

Using the same yarn (Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool) I'm making David A., a friend, a pair of fingerless mitts, using my Hubby's Fingerless Mitts pattern.

David's hands are longer and wider than my husbands, so I cast on 40 stitches (for a large size) instead of 36 (medium). I may knit more than 40 rows before beginning the thumbs and palm sections since David's hands are somewhat longer. I don't know how much longer I need to make it though.

A knitting/crocheting goal for the year: six sweaters! What's Needlin' Ewe, which I wrote about here, is hosting a 2011 Sweater Challenge and I think I'm going to participate!

The store is challenging knitters and crocheters to complete a sweater every two months through December 2011. That means six sweaters in 12 months. Only one of them can be a baby or child's sweater; the rest must be adult-sized garments. They can, however, be summer, winter or fall garments and that includes tanks and cardigans!

I have several patterns running through my mind and I'm trying to decide which ones I want to tackle.