Hello, anyone who might still be subscribed to this feed. Hows it going? I am going to start blogging again over here at streets and yos. without making any lofty promises about daily or weekly updates, lets give it a go.. starting with a recent sewing project, recovering my boyfriend's old ikea poang chairs.

For about a year, these two chairs have sat in my living room, looking ok but not stellar. They are two 15-year-old ikea poang chairs, still in great condition but for the covers, which were faded and out of shape. When bf and I combined households, I said, sure, bring the chairs, they are comfy and I can certainly make covers for them.

before

It took me awhile to get around to them. The redo over at habitual was a great inspiration.

To make these covers, I copied the old ones. I first examined one and took dimensions. Since they are basically a long rectangle, its not too hard. I didn't have enough fabric to do the front and back solidly, so I added some spare ivory fabric to the back.

The back is made up of several pieces with two zippers.

My zipper sewing left something to be desired.. looks okay in this photo, but in real life, no. Luckily noone will ever see this while the chairs are in use. There are two zippers and a couple rows of stitching in between.

The front is actually quilted - it is made up of a sandwich outer fabric, batting, and muslin. I don't have a walking foot for my sewing machine, which is recommended for sewing this sort of thing. So I used spray glue to attach the layers, then sewed the 4 vertical lines while holding the fabric taut. I was amazed that this worked.

With the addition of a fuzzy blanket, its a great cat spot.

Fabric: 5 yards from Amy Butler's Nigella Collection, purchased at quilthome.com

the camping sweater in action, near a shelter on the AT

Peace Fleece makes for a good warm camping sweater. This yarn was leftover from a sweater my sister made.. she made a sweater, and I made a sweater, and there's still a ball leftover!

Jared's classic seamless hybrid leads the way in terms of inspiration for this sweater. I wanted a simple, hardworking sweater knitted in the round, and had already tried raglan and yoke styles, so this was it.

Its a good seamless pattern. The instructions are a little bare for how many stitches to use on the saddle section. Luckily, another knitter on ravelry who used a similar stitch count took good notes.

I knitted this with zero ease, which led to a good fit. The bottom ended up a little flared on the first go round, which I only noticed once it was complete. Its an easy fix - I clipped the yarn a couple inches from the bottom, and knitted down, leaving out the shaping. Moral of the story? Sweater bottom ribbing can get stretched out, knit it a little smaller.

a little rumply from being folded in a drawer

front shaping

back neck

Specs:
Pattern: Seamless Hybrid from by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Yarn: Peace Fleece worsted, about 4 skeins
Needles: size 8 bamboo circs
Ravelry Link

Its been so long since I've blogged on a regular basis I have forgotten how to write posts. not the technical part, but the words part. Ravelry has stepped in as a cataloger of projects, so what goes on the blog? Maybe blogs are more about the notes, thoughts, and dispatches from someone involved in the creative process. I think thats what I like about reading them. hmm, its a working theory.. anyway, a bit of sewing from the weekend:

This weekend we spent a solid day winterizing the apartment. After extensive research and purchasing at the local hardware store, we kept those drafts where they belong: outside. We shrink-wrapped windows and weather-stripped doorframes. Or should I say, bf did these things. My contribution to winterization: draft snakes.

You don't really need a pattern for a draft snake; its as simple as it looks. But I like instructions, so I consulted the pattern in . Its basically a tube with the ends sewn and filled with rice or dried beans.

I used some fabric leftover from a pillow. Its Amy Butler fabric, from her Nigella collection, which you may to start to notice, is a recurring theme in my apartment. If I am not careful, the sewing projects will add up and my smallish space will turn into crazy pattern land. But for now, its ok. and the draft snakes are doing their job.