theraineysisters knitting and so much more

November 25, 2007

From Susan — Tote à Tote

Filed under: Modular Purse — lv2knit @ 2:46 pm

I promised a picture of my side by side Modular Totes and voila:

November2507002.jpg picture by lv2knit

I now love my new purse ;).  Felting is an amazing phenomenon — it transforms an ugly duckling into a relatively ::beautiful:: swan!  Even DH said he had held out little hope for the purse and now thinks it’s great.

Lettie wants to use it as a knitting bag for smaller projects:

November2507005.jpg picture by lv2knit

The original pattern can be purchased as a pdf download hard copy to be mailed* from the Yarnery for $4.50.  The changes I made to transform the large tote into a purse are written in this file: Modular Purse Modifications, which can be found in our Free Patterns section — upper righthand corner.  You will need to buy the original pattern.

June asked what I did in the blocking process to prevent the flap from getting “wavy” — answer: nuthin.  I think the firm i-cord edge may have prevented the ruffling effect, but other than that I did nothing special.  Now, I will go forth and use my lil spring-colored bag — woo hoo!

*Please note correction!  The Yarnery will send you a hard copy of the Modular Tote Pattern, not send an electronic pdf.

August 13, 2016

From Susan — Sew What??!!

Filed under: Updates — lv2knit @ 11:20 am

Hi, Folks!!  I am immersed in watching Olympic Gold!  The Americans are doing so well!

When  Sally was here in July, she and I stopped in at Blue Bamboo, one of my favorite fabric shops.  It is primarily for quilters, but I find most of my fabrics there.  They had a very cute, Minnesota-themed tote bag as a featured pattern for the quilting shop hop.  You could pre-order the kit, which I did.  Here is the pattern:

I think it is a fairly popular pattern.  I got the kit last week and made it over the weekend.  It turned out so cute!

It looks ginormous in the picture, but it is only about 12 inches high and 15 inches wide!  I had to play around with it a little bit to make the straps longer – the kit only included the exact fabric needed.  It has six very nice pockets inside:

The picture looks like a fish, but is just the pockets! 😉  I added a magnetic snap.  I really like it and may make another, though it was a TON of work.  The second time around I would know what I was doing!

April 15, 2012

From Sally — Decisions, Decisions

Filed under: Milkweed — surly @ 5:50 pm

Sometimes, the hardest part of a project is to keep myself from casting on before I think through how I want to finish it. Some decisions made in the excitement of new yarn! new pattern! can’t be “undecided” later. I finally just started a long cardigan that I’ve wanted to make since I first saw it. Because some of our readers wanted more “in progress” photographs and information, I thought I would walk you through some of the decisions I made before I cast on and then update you on other choices as I progress.

The cardigan is Milkweed, designed by Carol Sunday of Sunday Knits. I loved its length, the dramatic “milkweed” cables, and its vintage look. Carol has designed many beautiful sweaters that are in my mental queue.

I didn’t have any yarn in my stash screaming to be used, so I bought the yarn from Sunday Knits as well. I chose her Angelic 5-ply, a nice blend of merino and angora in the colorway “Bone.” It’s a “natural” color, with the barest hint of a gray undertone. Lovely. It came beautifully wrapped in tissue with a lightweight tote. Even better!

Two decisions were made off the bat:

1. I decided to knit the body of the cardigan in one piece to the armhole. (The pattern has you knit the back and fronts separately, as many patterns do.) On one hand, I knew it would make the knitting feel “slow” even though it’s the same amount of knitting in the end. My reason for doing it this way was aesthetic: I don’t think that seams in seed stitch ever look perfect — at least mine don’t. Even though it’s a short little 2 inches of seed stitch at the bottom, I prefer the continuity all around the bottom.

2. As you can see in the picture of the cardigan itself, the bottom of each front piece is angled or slightly curved. I chose to square my fronts off. That meant I had to figure out ahead of time exactly how many front stitches I was supposed to end up with and where the cables were placed. Not hard, obviously, but just one more thing to do before casting on.

So, I was good to go, except I had to choose which cast on I wanted to use because they all look slightly different flowing into different stitches. I swatched a little bit, and then settled on a cable cast on, with the “wrong” side of the cable cast on being on the right side of my cardigan. Finally, I made one other small decision. It may not be evident in the cardigan photo above, but the small cables within the milkweed design alternate in how they cross. I kept that alternating, but started one of my front milkweed charts in a different place so that the cable crossings on each front mirror each other. (They both either twist away from the center or towards the center.)

Are you beginning to wonder whether I think too much? Here are a few progress photos. This is unblocked, raw knitting still scrunched on the needles, but I think it’s turning out. I can’t wait to get to the shawl collar!

The left front

The back

Finally, let me share a little touch of spring. We have a beautiful cherry tree in our front yard and when the petals fall the yard is carpeted in pink “bunny snow.” This year, Thor the Wonder Puppy (our aged but beloved golden retriever) was rolling in the grass when he was hit by a sudden petal blizzard. The result was an overload of cuteness.

January 19, 2011

Additional Free Patterns, Pattern Modifications, and Miscellany

Filed under: — surly @ 4:02 pm

Beaded Wedding Purse

Beaded Wedding Purse

Beaded Cellphone Mini-Purse Pattern

How to Make a Sock Monkey

Knitted Bear in the Round

Merci Scarf

Modular Tote Modifications

One Day Hat

Santa Stocking for Pets

Wrapped in Care Shawl Patterns

April 30, 2009

From Sally — Do You Feel a Change in the Force?

Filed under: Cathedral — surly @ 10:42 am

There’s a whisper on the night-wind, there’s a star agleam to guide us . . .

Yes, the rumors are true: The Rainey Sisters are about to be together again. Susan arrives tomorrow for a Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival extravaganza. We plan to hit the Festival early Saturday morning and shop and gawk until we drop. We also hope to stop by the Ravelry meet up, and we’d love to meet some of you. Most of the time, though, we’ll be fingering yarn and dreaming up projects we’ll never have a chance to knit. It’s our speciality. So while you’re wandering the fairgrounds, keep an eye out for our infamous RaineySisters tote bag (because chances are you might not recognize us from our slightly dated trademark photograph).

In knitting news, I’ve finished the first sleeve of my Cathedral sweater and started the second. Before I got too far with the second sleeve, I wanted to baste the first one into the sweater to decide whether the sleeve cap needed any alterations. I always dread seaming on reverse stockinette or garter stitch; I am not always pleased with the results. This time, I was ecstatic. Here’s the side seam:

I know!

The sleeve basted in nicely, and the fit is really cute. Here’s a quickie shot:

I’m actually getting excited about finishing this sweater! Let’s hope I don’t get too distracted by Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival purchases.

November 24, 2008

From Susan — The Ripple Effect

Filed under: Completed Projects — lv2knit @ 8:25 pm

I guess you could say I like things that create waves!  Bad pun.  Here is my latest (and very small calibre) FO.  It is the “Ripple Me This” felted bag from Knitters Fall 2008.   There has not been much in Knitters lately (like the last 10 years 🙁 ) that has inspired me to pick up the needles, but I thought this bag was kind of cute.  I made this one for a class sample and used stash (aka leftover) yarn:


Nature Spun Worsted in Hurricane Seas and Limestone (2 skeins each)

The bag switches colors:


In the above picture, the two sides are shown sewn together before felting.  It is amazing how much knitting it takes to make even a small bag.  I’ve been working on it for the past week.

And during blocking:

It is a fun little project and it is a nice shape for a tote, so I would give it a thumbs up for stash busting and gifting.  I still need to actually sew the handles on so technically it isn’t quite done, but I will call it a [nearly] FO and close enough.

Are all of you ready for Thanksgiving?  I love Thanksgiving because all I do is drive one hour and fifteen minutes each way and then eat, eat, eat.   My beloved FIL still does the cooking even though he is 86 years old.  I love him dearly.  Wishing the best of holidays to you and yours!!

PS to Ellen, and others:  The cleaning is the worst!  However, it’s better than when my husband and I were “newly weds” (1st 5-6 years) when we would be running around so much at the last minute that 9 times out of ten he opened the door with a towel wrapped around his waist — I am not kidding!  And, we were often so late for weddings that half the time we walked in with the bride and her father, with people muttering, who the hell are those two? 

Ironically, I just received an issue of Knitters yesterday — I thought my subscription had lapsed, so when it arrived I was surprised, but I also felt a small pang of guilt since I have every single issue.  Maybe this was a sign.  So, I thought, I’ll give it one more chance.  If this issue has anything good, I’ll renew.                                       Sorry — no go 🙁 .

May 2, 2008

From Susan and Sally — DC to Md to NYC

Filed under: Uncategorized — Both Sisters @ 5:19 pm

Susan arrived in DC today for a 5-day multi-faceted extravaganza.  Actually, it may be more like deja vu all over again!  Susan was thrilled to see flowers in bloom since spring in Minnesota has been non-existent slow in coming.  It is in the high 70’s here and absolutely gorgeous.

Tomorrow is the start of the world famous Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.  Susan has been meaning to come out for this particular weekend for several years.  It happened to hit right after Sally’s recent visit to the Twin Cities — which seems like only yesterday!  Obviously, the focus of the event is sheep and wool and everything knitting/spinning.  We will report back after the big day.  If you see us wandering around, please be sure to say “hi.”  We will be carrying our Rainey Sisters totes for identification.

Sunday, it is off to New York to see a Broadway play and visit yarn shops — something wild and crazy and out of character completely ;)!

Sally has brought out her knitting bag so let’s hope for the best.  TTFN

March 26, 2008

From Susan and Sally — The Winners Are…..

Filed under: Back Story — Both Sisters @ 9:27 am

…not you!  Unless you received a congratulatory email ;)!


The winners of the yarn are:

Cindy M. won the Nature’s Palette Fingering Weight yarn in Dark Teal,

Nancy H. won the Nature’s Palette Fingering Weight yarn in Clover,

and Delores S. won two skeins of Fortissima Cotton Colori sock yarn.

 

Michelle M. is the lucky winner of our signature mug.  Now who would mind waking up to these young, pretty knitters??!!

But even Michelle is envious of Esther S., grand prize winner of The Rainey Sisters high-quality canvas tote.

Congratulations to all the winners.  We really appreciated all of your entries — we laughed , we cried, and we shrieked in horror.  We also noted several themes. Many of you chose an Elizabeth Zimmerman book as a favorite that you couldn’t do without on a desert island. Many of you wanted a good, basic wool (despite being trapped in the tropics). And many of you had tales of woe based upon troubles with gauge. However, the following story of a knitting disaster certainly struck a chord — especially since we had both mentioned Henry VIII as one of our favorite projects. 

From Jewel’s Purls

*What was your biggest knitting disaster?  
(Submitted from her blog post, dated August 20, 2006 –Jewel’s Purls):

“I’ve debated all weekend how I was going to write this or even if I should.   As you recall, my last post showed I was starting the sleeves on Hank.   I checked my gauge when I started Hank about a year ago, however, for some unknown reason I didn’t pay close attention to my gauge when I picked him up again.  I have no clue where my common sense was let alone my brain.  I was so captured by paying close attention to the charts and watching the design magically appear before me.   The size of Hank probably would have fit Henry VIII himself.  It was large.  Humongous Hank.

Really upset with myself I put him aside (in a clear plastic box with a tight-fitting lid) and decided to think about what I should do.  I had already cut the steeks and was picking up the sleeve stitches.  I consulted my fellow knit buddies and decided I was going to frog Hank.  After all, it’s about the process and the end result, right?  There was no way I could ever look at Hank again knowing he wasn’t done correctly.   I spent a lot of $ on the yarn and it was going to be done right!

The following day after work I decided my decision was the right one but I wasn’t in the mood for frogging.  I took Hank’s charts and was going to put it in with the yarn and unfinished sweater.  I should have immediately suspected something was wrong when I noticed the lid wasn’t on.  When I picked up the box it didn’t take long for me to realize that Poppy, our male cat, had decided that the half-off lid was an invitation for him to use the box as a litter box.   Hank was the recipient of Poppy’s business and did it smell!   Cat pee is one of the things that immediately makes me want to lose my lunch.  I put Hank outside and sat in my chair and cried.  And cried.   And cried.

Again, my knit buddies were a source of support.   This weekend I tried several techniques and products to try to get the smell out.  It may be somewhat better, but it has felted in some places.   I may continue to felt Hank all the way and use him for something – what, I don’t know – or I may just throw him out.  It’s difficut to spend so much time and money on something and then have it end like this.  I learned several things:  check your gauge again and again and even if you think you’re right-on-the-money – check your gauge again!   Also, I learned that the projects I knit not only have a lot of money invested, but emotion as well.  I am surprised how the demise of Hank affected me.”

Postscript:   I did manage to get the smell out of Henry VIII and over time I meticulously frogged what parts hadn’t felted.  I managed to find several hanks of the discontinued autumn and marjoram and now have a full kit to start it again if I feel inclined to do so.

We were shocked to hear about the tortures perpetrated upon poor Henry and hope for his/its recovery!!  This story was so makes-you-want-to-gasp awful that we decided to compound her misery reward her with one of our signature mugs.

Finally, Sally’s daughter and her little assistant (who helped with the random drawing), really wanted us to reward the very first person who entered the contest for her enthusiasm. To keep the results from being tampered with or chewed up, we agreed. Therefore, a mug will also be going to Valerie B.

Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you again to everyone who entered!

March 11, 2008

From Susan and Sally — Our Second Annual Bloggiversary Contest!!!!

Filed under: Back Story — Both Sisters @ 1:09 pm

 Yes, it’s once again that magical time of year when we thank you, our readers, for sharing another year of knitting adventures and misadventures with us. March 20, 2008 is our official Bloggiversary. This year’s fabulous prizes:

Yarn! Yarn! Yarn!

Three lucky winners will take home some cheery yarn for a spring project.

1. Two skeins of Nature’s Palette Fingering Weight yarn in Clover. This bright pink would make a wonderful pair of Sweetheart Glovelets. (Each skein is 50 grams and contains 185 yards of 100% merino wool.)

2. Two skeins of Fortissimia Cotton Colori sock yarn in bright pinks, greens, blues, and yellows. (Each skein is 50 grams and contains 210 meters.)

3. Two skeins of Nature’s Palette Fingering Weight yarn in Dark Teal. (Each skein is 50 grams and contains 185 yards of 100% merino wool.)

As exciting as those prizes are, there’s more!

The Official Rainey Sister Mug

Yes, one lucky knitter could be reading our blog while relaxing with a cup of tea or coffee served in her (or his) very own Rainey Sister mug. It’s almost like being a Rainey Sister, but without having to blog about it.

Last, but not least (drumroll please):

The Official Rainey Sisters Project Tote

We know. It’s almost too much to take in at once.

While you take a moment to get your breath back after all the excitement, here’s how to enter:

How to enter:
Send an email to theraineysisters@msn.com and put “Contest” in the subject line. Choose one of the following questions to answer.

1. Of everything you’ve ever knit, what is your favorite? Why?

2. What was your biggest knitting disaster?

3. If you were stranded on a desert island, what one knitting related book would you want to have with you? What yarn? Needles and other knitting necessities would be hanging from the palms!

That’s all there is to it! Five lucky winnners will be selected at random. The Rainey Sisters reserve the right to quote portions of winning (and non-winning) entries in a future blog.

Deadline is midnight March 20, 2008 (meaning that you have all day on the 20th to submit your entries.)

December 2, 2007

From Susan — What We Do and What Muggles See…

Filed under: Back Story — lv2knit @ 1:09 pm

…or “Thank you for not knitting.”

I am a member of Ravelry, but to be honest, I do not put much time or effort into it.  I did, however, stumble onto an interesting forum discussion about the rudeness of non-knitters.  There were ~275 comments! 

The gist of the thread was the reaction of non-knitters when we pull out our knitting in regular social situations.  By “regular” I mean where knitting is not one of the purposes of the gathering.  Many people thought it was rude of muggles to say things like, “What are you knitting now?!?” or comment on it other than to compliment the beauty of the work.

Others were more understanding of the muggle perspective.  I guess I fall into the latter catergory.  Obviously, I am an avid knitter and feel absolutely naked without my knitting.  I never go anywhere without it.  My friends and family know it’s “love me, love my knitting.”  That said, I do see how a non-knitter could perceive it as rude when someone brings out a knitting project and works on it in front of them. 

It appears that the knitter is not attending to the conversation, and perception is everything.  I would not think of taking my knitting to someone’s home for a special dinner party.  It would look like I have “something better to do” than converse and attend to the other guests.  Am I able to knit and talk at the same time?  Of course!  But the appearance is that I care more about my knitting than the other people there.  Am I antsy and feel at odds the whole time — you bet!  But I suck it up and knit when I get home.

When I go to break at work I always bring my knitting EXCEPT when there are only two of us.  I want the other person to feel like I am fully focused on them.  And my work peeps are very well trained: they notice when I don’t have my knitting with me (Hey, where’s your knitting!?). 

My close friends know that I would always rather be knitting, but even with them I would not bring my knitting to a special event or occasion.  But “Movie Night” at my house?  That knitting is out the second my butt hits the chair!!

I know that most knitters feel it is our right and privilege to knit whenever and wherever we please, and I do agree that it is great to take your knitting to restaurants, movies (!), dentist offices, etc. etc.  But I also believe we must respect that others may perceive that we are being exclusive rather than inclusive in the vibe we put out. 

PS re: Modular Tote Pattern from The Yarnery — this pattern can be purchased on line but will be sent as a hard copy pattern, not a pdf download.  Sorry about the miscommunication on my part ;).

PSS: From Susan to Elise: I teach workshops at my job and every so often there is a knitter in the audience. I know that people fidget less and concentrate more when they knit something simple and straight forward, so it does not bother me. If I have knitters in the group, I say “I see that there are some knitters in the group today. I do have a problem with people knitting in class — I wish I was one of them!” You handled your grad school situation perfectly by addressing it up front.

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