Happy Birthday, Lucy! It's early morning so not much merriment has been made yet - will report back later when it has. But she has opened her presents so I can reveal Secret Project Number 6. Guess what! It's an Ambigram cushion. 
It says LUCY both ways up. I used a traditional "four patch" and the fabrics are restful shades of green and blue with the extra bright rainbow colours. This one was quite stressful to make because Lucy hasn't been going out very much lately, and when she does she is not predictable. At least when Sam goes out you get an early warning of his return when you hear the garage door opening, but Lucy's truck doesn't fit in the garage so the first you know of her return is her opening the back door. You then have about 3 seconds to throw the secret work over the back of the sofa and pick up your knitting and try to look like that is what you have been doing all the time. Because it was stressful I made lots of mistakes that had to be fixed in creative ways - the edging didn't start out nearly as elaborate, but I cut the outside border too short and added in the small corner squares. Then I realised I had made the inside border too long so I had to add a very thin inner-inside border to make up the seam allowance. Anyway I prefer to think of it as the cushion telling me how it wants to be rather than me being stupid and I am pleased with the result
As well as the cushion I made her some stitch markers and row markers.
I completed this set of four stitch markers and I hope you can see some improvement in my loop making.
Then I made some row markers - they have lobster claw clasps instead of rings so you can clip them directly onto the stitches themselves. Here they are in action on Lucy's knitting.
This was one of my early attempts at wrapping the end to make the loop. I bought the proper chainnosed pliers specially.
Lucy is knitting the zippered jacket featured in the latest Cast On issue. She has done the back and one front and she has just started the first sleeve. Here is her progress with the sleeve so far.
It has a really interesting tweedy pattern in it and a double cable up the centre. The hardest part has been remembering which way the diagonal on the tweed pattern goes in which area of the piece. I really love the colour she has chosen for it. I am nervous about the zipper as I have managed to avoid ever sewing one into a knitted garment so far. It's a bridge that will be crossed when we reach it, but I can see it being a very rickety rope bridge with lots of missing wooden slats and frayed rope. We will put on our Indiana Jones outfits and some tension building music, and be very brave.
If you are in France, Bonne Fête Nationale! or Happy Bastille Day!
Happy birthday to Lucy! I hope you have a wonderful day!
Posted by: Alison | July 14, 2006 at 11:23 AM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCY!!!!!!!! HAVE A FAB DAY!!!!! the cushion is fantastic and the stitch markers a really pretty and useful and therefore fulfill both of william morris' criteria for owning something...cool
Posted by: Carolinne Willson | July 14, 2006 at 12:10 PM