That first batch was a wonky looking lot but they covered our faces. Taking out a few for the family, the rest were donated to the soup kitchen at the church next door. I feel a little bad about those now but I was doing my best at the time.
Sunday, September 19, 2021
Masking Up
That first batch was a wonky looking lot but they covered our faces. Taking out a few for the family, the rest were donated to the soup kitchen at the church next door. I feel a little bad about those now but I was doing my best at the time.
Thursday, September 09, 2021
A Tale of Three Dresses
As I stated in my last post, my dive back into sewing was driven by one particular social media post. For some reason (known only to the algorithm designers) my mask adventures led to an ad in my feed from Rebecca Page. The ad photo was of the Classic Dress, a style that just screamed my name.
I love a summer dress with a flowy skirt and a fitted bodice and I had to have it. But I was afraid. I remembered the last dress I made, an ill fitting affair that I wore two or three times before retiring it and the slightly too tight nursing tops. But the ad kept popping up in my feed like it was daring me to give it a try. So I did.
I ordered the fabric on line from a highly recommended source and the website even matched the thread, lining, and zipper for me. This so excited me that I didn't realize that the vendor was located in Manhattan's Garment District -- a mere ten blocks away (and only two blocks from my office!).
The pattern was purchased and downloaded, I measured myself, assembled the pattern and started. The instructions were incredibly detailed and guided me through every step of the process from my first French seam to the final hem. Going slowly and carefully, reading and rereading the instructions, I put it all together. I sewed, I pressed and I trimmed. At one point I realized I was running out of matching thread and switched to using white on the inside seams, conserving the lilac for the hem.
And suddenly I was done!
This one fits perfectly! It seems (seams?) that when I actually use the recommended seam allowance the dress is just right -- almost. In between dresses I purchased a social media promoted gadget -- a magnetic seam allowance guide -- so I am no longer eyeballing my seams and they are now the correct width and much more regular. Love it!
As for the "almost" part of the fitting, I realized that the neck didn't lie quite right. This prompted me to go back to the first two dresses and realize that it doesn't lie right on them either. The problem is my body shape, not the pattern. So, I made a small box pleat in the center of the front neckline and now it lies better. Another lesson learned. On the next go I will try to actually alter the pattern piece to fix it since I want the dress to lie a little closer to my chest without the added pleat. Oh, and I also hemmed this one properly. The first two I just folded up the hem evenly around. This time I had my daughter mark the proper hem placement so that the back doesn't look shorter then the front. That lesson was learned from the mommy and me skirts. But that's another story!
#rpclassicdress, #rebeccapage, #rebeccapageba, #sponsored, #sewing, #skilllearning, #productionnotfidgeting,
Monday, September 06, 2021
Sew What?
It has been a long time since I posted and even longer since I quietly stopped blogging regularly. I could write an update of all that has happened in the intervening years but that would just bore you. Instead, I will fast forward to the last 18 months.
When I started this blog it was to highlight my knitting. Eventually it grew to include stories of my family and the city I love -- and the occasional squirrel. I am resurrecting the blog to once again share my hobbies and the journey that is the coming years.
Over the last 18 months all of us have had to adapt and change to accommodate the times. It hasn't always been easy but there are plenty of stories of the good that has come out of the not so good. One of the pleasant occurrences in my life was the return to an old past time. It appeared in the guise of protecting my family -- and persisted.
For the last 22 years I have been an active and avid knitter. Hundreds of socks have emerged from my needles. A score or more of sweaters, mostly for my son, and enough wraps and scarves and shawls to keep a small village warm. Alongside and complementing the knitting is the spinning -- not on a bike (though I do still ride) but on a spinning wheel. Miles and miles of yarn has been created while listening to a good book or seven while sitting on my balcony.
But before I knit regularly I dabbled in other needle crafts. Some bobbin lace here, a bit of cross stitch there and yards and yards of tatting. With the onset of pregnancy I dove into sewing. I made some decent maternity clothes, a few pieces of nursing attire and many cute infant and toddler clothes. Sewing, however, requires space to spread out and space is at a premium in a NYC apartment. So I turned to knitting. Small and portable it fits nicely into the apartment lifestyle. (Feel free to laugh here.)
Masks were the gateway for my return to sewing. My membership in mask making groups on social media led to sewing ads appearing in my feeds. One particular ad kept attracting my attention and down the rabbit hole I went.
During lockdown we were all working from home. Our daughter, who had moved out, commuted each day to our apartment and her old room, now my craft room. She and I shared an office -- a room that kept calling out to me to craft instead of working.
Our adjustment to working from home required that my sewing machine table become a desk where one of us worked while the other used my actual desk. For several months I would convert the sewing machine table back and forth from "desk" during the week to sewing table on the weekends so that I could churn out masks for those I love.
Now we are back in our respective offices and my weekends and evenings are devoted to making. Dresses, tops, workout gear and whatever else catches my fancy. Just yesterday Mike wore a particularly silly pair of shorts that I made for him. So (sew), to get to the point, I will now be sharing my journey from mask maker to sewist here, with you gentle readers. Yes, this will be a brag book but I also intend to talk through my difficulties and how I solved them -- or didn't. You can take the teacher out of the classroom but not out of the person.
The name of the blog will remain the same because, why not? Besides, I do still knit, just not quire as prolifically.
So welcome or welcome back to Squid Knits and join me on my journey through life and crafts.
Monday, September 10, 2018
Make a Blanket Statement at Catskills Conf 2018
Make a Blanket Statement at Catskills Conf 2018
Looking forward to hearing all the great speakers at Catskills Conf?Naturally fidgety?
Don’t want to be rude by: constantly checking your phone? Daydreaming? Doodling?
Want to be even more constructive while filling your head with awesome and interesting new ideas?
Put needles (or hooks) and yarn in your hands and help us construct the third Catskills Conf blanket(s) for Project Linus.
The project will run in a few ways:
- Learn how to knit at Catskills Conf. I will be available before breakfast, during meals, during session breaks and as an alternative during the activity times. Caveat: I can only actively teach 2-3 newbies at a time -- but can do many over the course of the weekend. Then, knit blocks during the conference.
- Or … Bring pre-made knit or crocheted 7 inch X 9 inch blocks. Any color is fine, the yarn must be acrylic (Project Linus regulations) and should be worsted weight. Any pattern is fine. I have many premade blocks in burgundy but will make any color work!
- And / Or … knit the blocks during the conference. There will be more than enough yarn available for a large blanket, as well as knitting needles (and a few crochet hooks), scissors and rulers. Feel free to bring your own supplies (size 7 or 8 needles or crochet hook H/I).
Taking the bus and want to knit your way to the Ashokan Center? We’ll have the materials on the bus!
Blocks brought to the conference should be made in a worsted weight (medium weight) acrylic yarn using any pattern that makes you happy. A box or bag will be provided to leave completed blocks in.
As the blocks are finished, they will joined into a blanket. Work in progress will be on display all weekend.
The completed blanket(s) will be donated to a Project Linus chapter for distribution. Any left over blocks will be added to those made by a Project Linus group and incorporated into a blanket.
In each of the last two years we made one complete blanket over the course of the conference. These were donated to the NYC chapter of Project Linus. I am hoping to be able to complete 2 blankets this year but that will require people making the blocks ahead of time and bringing them to the conference.
The block size is 7 X 9 (inches) or 9 X 7. Direction does not matter.
Thank you!
Devorah Zamansky
Saturday, November 04, 2017
We Did It! Making a Blanket Statement at Catskill Conf
I am proud of what we accomplished.
Over a dozen knitters contributed to the project either by learning to knit and/or by completing blocks.
Thank you to: Sarah, Tiana, Milo, Carla, Joanna, Sabrina, Alyse, Jasper, Joe, Oliver, Kelly, Mandy and anyone whose name I many have missed!
Here is the completed blanket (displayed on my son's bed atop his elephant comforter).
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Make a Blanket Statement at Catskills Conf
- Learn how to knit at Catskill Conf. I will be available before breakfast, during meals, during session breaks and as an alternative during the activity times. Caveat: I can only actively teach 2-3 newbies at a time -- but can do many over the course of the weekend. Then, knit blocks during the conference.
- Or … Bring premade knit or crocheted 7 inch X 9 inch blocks. Our palette this year is woodsy colors … browns, oranges, greens and blues. Stuff that theoretically coordinates with the large amount of burgundy yarn that was gifted to me for this purpose.
- And / Or … knit the blocks during the conference. There will be more than enough yarn available for a large blanket, as well as knitting needles (and a few crochet hooks), scissors and rulers. Feel free to bring your own supplies (size 7 or 8 needles or crochet hook H/I).
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Monday, June 06, 2011
Eighteen pairs of socks: pair number 5 ... and another shawl
Sunday, May 22, 2011
100 Miles of Nowhere Somewhere
Consider this an early entry into Fat Cyclist's 100 Miles of Nowhere
East Harlem High School Division
I work in a true inner-city high school. One that, in a few short years, will cease to exist and will remain only in the memories of the staff and students who came through its doors.
Most of our students come from less than ideal, one might even say, crummy, circumstances. Many of them have only one parent at home. Others have none. Too many of my students need a hug when they come in each day, a pat on the back, a kind word. Too many of them start off life at a disadvantage and, by the time they reach us, catching up is hard to do.
I’ve heard people say that the students in my school can’t do it. That they can’t come back from years and years of lost time. That my students are going Nowhere.
This is what I pondered as I debated whether or not to take part in this year’s 100 Miles of Nowhere. I know that the main purpose of the ride is to raise funds and awareness for cancer research but the idea of going Nowhere just resonated with me as a metaphor for what people say about the students I love.
Too many of my students have been told, repeatedly, that they are going Nowhere. That school is pointless because they are going Nowhere and that they should just give up. And too many of them do give up. Those that don’t, however … they wind up Somewhere. And their kids get a better chance in life.
It is tough working against so much ingrained negativity. But sometimes we get through to them. And when we get through, and the kid that was told they’d go Nowhere winds up Somewhere … well that’s when we realize that all the work was worth it. When the kid you were sure would drop out gives you a hug at graduation … well then you just have to wipe away the tears.
So, in the spirit of getting Somewhere while staying in the same place, I am dedicating my morning commute to my students. For 5.25 miles a day, most week days and a few Saturdays, from now until June 30th I promise to keep my mind on my kids (and a small part of it on the traffic around me) and do my best to figure out how to get them Somewhere. Because everyone deserves to be given the chance to go Somewhere.