Twinkle, Twinkle, Ivory Keys

Twinkle Twinkle Ivory Keys,

How Can I reach with Arms like these?

So, I'm teaching my little guy piano.  Mostly because I'm cheap and can't yet justify paying someone to entertain my son for a half hour.  He is actually doing quite well - not because I'm awesome, but because he is - but there is a slight problem.  And slight is actually the best choice in words.  My little guy is only seven, and he takes after his father and myself in that he is slight ... or slightly short ... in stature.  This, of course, makes him super cute, but also hampers his ability to reach the keys and keep his wrists in the right position.


I tried the cheap solution, a few phone books, and he just couldn't stay on. Then, I bought a piece of thick styrofoam from Home Depot (actually, I already had a sheet of it because I had to seal off a vent area below our house) but he kept sliding it around as he played ... he's a wiggler ... and once or twice actually fell off the bench.  Oops.  Plus, the white styrofoam clashed with my lovely living room.


So, I decided to make a piano bench booster, and make it pretty and functional.


First off, with white styrofoam, when you cut it, the edges get all crumbly and suddenly you have inedible popcorn bits all over you, the floor and anything within walking distance - especially if you walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water before checking the soles of your shoes.  And no, it doesn't vacuum up nicely.  My suggestion to avoid that would be to tape the edges of your project with packing tape.

Now, I made the pillows in my living room with a gorgeous red/gold fabric (dual sided, so two for the price of one!  Yay!).  I figured, if I'm making a 'pillow-like' cover for the piano bench, it should match - plus I didn't want to buy more fabric. I'm cheap.  I've mentioned that before.  Unfortunately, the leftover remnants of my fabric looked a bit like the number 5, so I had to get creative with the top.  

At first, I thought I would sew in an elastic bottom to hug the bench, but then I realized I wanted a cleaner look.  Also, a sturdier hold to the bench would ensure my little guy's safety as he wiggled through Old MacDonald. So, I had to sew a bottom to the booster and buttonable straps to wrap around benchtop. 

The above picture shows the seat attached to the benchtop (the weird peach color is why I painted the piano black). Now, I'm sure you'll notice the ragged edges and frayed bits.  I don't really care what this looks like on the bottom. Anyone who cares what it looks like will simply have to sew me a well-edged replacement.  Each strap is bound with a snap-button so I can take it off when I get the chance to tickle the ivories. 

Well, here it is, sitting on the piano bench.  I'm rather proud of the design on top, since I just quickly pieced it together by eyeballed measurements. 

So, doesn't it look nice?  It matched perfectly with the design of the room, stays perfectly in place under a squirmy seven-year-old and makes me happy that it's no longer a white, popcorny mess.  I wonder what my next project is ... Wish me Luck!

I did it!

So, I did it.   I didn't think I could.  I'm pretty sure many of my loved ones thought I had bitten off more than I could chew.  And, I did.  But, thanks to a grandpa who was a dentist, I have fabulous teeth and can chew and chew forever (which is, at times, kind of how it felt working on this thing).  But, now the needles are down, the arthritic feeling in my hands is going away and I have a new sweater to wear!  Of course, it's a little too warm here now - 90 degrees is not exactly knit-sweater weather - but in just 3 short months, I will be styling in my homemade, handknit cardigan.
Now, I learned a few things on this bumpy road to knitville, and because I'm such a giver, I'm going to share with all of you so you don't have to repeat my mistakes ... or at least so we can commiserate together. These are in no specific order, just the way my brain has thrown them my way.

• When knitting a pattern, read through it fairly carefully.  If you don't recognize terms or symbols, ask someone, go online and research.  Do something other than think "it's ok ... I'm sure it'll make sense when I get there."  Because it won't. In fact, by the time you get there, you're gonna be almost too frustrated to go on, because inevitably what you should have understood was necessary about 10 rows prior to when you finished.
• If the pattern specifies by length, not by row numbers, don't stretch your knitwork out so you can 'be done with that part of the pattern.'  This is, of course, up to you ... you may be a person who enjoys habitually pulling down the back and sides of your clothing so they sit right.  I'm not so much.
• See the above, because if you think blocking it and stretching it will work, you're wrong.  Very wrong. And then it will be too late to go back and add a few rows.  Well, ok, I'm sure it's never too late for some of you who are really really fabulous at knitting. But, if you are fabulous at knitting, you're probably not reading my blog unless it's for kicks and giggles.
• Take breaks and stretch those hands periodically, because when you grip a tall, heavy glass of water and try to bring it to your lips, it can be very very messy if your hands are all cramped up from two or three hours of knitting.
• Don't get so engrossed in the film you're watching while knitting that you forget to count.  Count stitches, rows, whatever.  Do it, because unraveling is very stressful when you've been so diligent at a lovely lace pattern and now you've added a few holes where they shouldn't be.

So, are you amazed after that list that I managed to knit at all, let alone finish a full sweater?  Well, lest you consider me a liar ...

Ta da (imagine fanfair and trumpets ... confetti if you like).  I'm quite proud of it.  Sure, there are a few things I'd do different the second time around, but I wouldn't know those things if I hadn't tried it.  The point is, I did it.  I set my mind to it, only set it down a few times, and each time I picked it up and kept going. And voila ... a sweater. Yay!

So, I wonder what's next in my hobby jar ... here goes nothing.  Wish me luck!

Orders and Refunds FAQs

Payment
Payment is due before the product can be made.
Custom orders will be created to meet your specifications and you can purchase from there.
I accept Paypal. Payment must be cleared before I can start on your product. You have 3 days to cancel an order to receive a full refund.

Refunds and Exchanges
Full refunds are offered when you cancel within 3 days of purchased. After that funds will be used in purchasing custom ordered items for your board. Only a partial refund can be given after that time.

Order Fulfillment
Make sure you plan in advance for your orders. I complete orders on a first come first serve basis. I may have up to 15 orders at a time to accomplish before yours, so if you have a short window in which you need your item, please contact me for an estimated time. The only exceptions are circles and hooks (unpainted), and RUSH ORDERS. If you wish to have it rushed, there is a $15 fee. Your board will then become priority and be completed sooner.

Other products offered will have different production times, as they do not take as long to complete. You can ALWAYS email me for ANY questions on estimated times.

CHRISTMAS ORDERS
Orders for Christmas should be purchased October 31st. After that there will be a $25 RUSH ORDER FEE. I do not accept Completed Birthday Board Orders after the 2nd week in November, but Birthday Board Kits and Circle Orders may be purchased in the 3rd week. After that any orders will be filled after the New Year.

Notes about Woodburned Rulers:
All boards are woodburned and hand cut -- all original markings (knots, splits, dents, etc) on wood are left to add charm and character. Woodburning is not perfect. When examined closely, the numbers and tic marks will not be completely uniform, but will be aesthetically pleasing and correct in measurement. I make every effort to buy wood with the least amount of imperfections, however it is untreated wood. It may have knots, splits, and dark spots.

It Almost Beat Me

So, remember how I said I was new to knitting.  Yeah ... apparently the pattern I picked doesn't lend itself well to new.  I managed to finish the back (yay!) and in spite of a weird little bind-off issue, it looks pretty much like I imagine a back should look.  I felt so proud.  I have one third of a cardigan!  I cast on some stitches and jumped head first into the front side of the sweater.  And stared at the pattern.  Worked it a few times, didn't understand what it was telling me to do ... lace patterns are unpleasant and difficult, I've decided ... did my best to figure it out, finished one full row and then put it down in quiet frustration.

A few days went by, and my darling hubby eyed my bag of yarn and asked how it was going.  What a sweet man to even recognize that I was working on something in the first place!  I rolled my eyes, sighed loudly and said, and I quote ... "The pattern is stupid and probably wrong.  I'm taking a break from it."

Now, my husband knows me well enough to recognize what "I'm taking a break" means.  It means, this will sit by the couch for a bit, then get moved to a chair, where it will be re-moved and shifted as it gets in the way of other projects I start and eventually be relegated into the black hole that is my craft room.  Left to live out it's unfinished existence next to the unfinished pajama bottoms, unfinished hemming projects and unfinished potpourri satchels.  Unfinished.  Are you sensing a pattern?

Luckily, again, my husband knows me.  And he knows I'm trying to turn over a new leaf and actually finish a project.  And, as luck would have it, he knows someone who is an expert knitter!  She even goes to knitting conventions!  And, she's nice.  So he asked if she could help me.  She said yes!

So, last Saturday, in between a neighborhood cleanup and a family dinner, I encroached on her precious time (she has a little one, and was willing to let me come during his nap time!  Didn't I say she was nice!) and she helped me.  And boy, did she help me!  She didn't even laugh when I told her how many times I restarted the pattern, didn't chuckle at all when I asked her how to do even the simplest of techniques ... SSK - I just kept dropping it.  And, even when I was showing her how I worked the pattern, and she noticed that I wasn't even knitting in the normal way (self-taught leaves a lot of room for error), she only studied my work and said nicely, "I'm really surprised that you were able to make this look right without actually doing it right!"  She helped fix my knitting technique (which, by the way, explains why I couldn't do a SSK in the first place) and then explained what to do within the pattern.  The whole pattern!  She even lent me a knitting book.  What a sweetie!  When I'm a pro at knitting, I will be just as helpful and nice to the newbies!

So, I am once again knitting like the wind, and this time in the correct way (I totally own SSK now).  Looks like this project may have narrowly escaped the dooming clutches of the unfinished pile and might have a home in my closet after all!

And look, look at the pretty chevrons (I'm probably not spelling that right, but I'm not in the mood to look it up).  See how nice that will look on me!  Just use your imagination, that's what I'm doing!

Knit, Purl, Knit ... Wait ... Oh dang!

So, I began this project because I love the feel of a knitted sweater, I needed a cute off-white cardigan, and I can't afford to buy a really great off-white cardigan.  Now, I hate shopping.  I know, it can't be true.  But it is.  So, after looking on Amazon and seeing endless books that don't actually show what patterns it offers (did I mention I hate going to the store), I was given a brain-bulb (you know, lightbulb over the head ...  an idea).  Find a book at the library and see if you can even do the patterns!

So, I headed over to my local library - which I love, by the way, because it has everything. And if it doesn't have it, it will get it for you! Wonderful! - and found a few of the books I had unsuccessfully browsed online.  I found the book "feminine Knits" and was excited to see quite a few patterns I wanted to try.  So, I checked it out and brought it home, and stared at it for a few days, not sure how to start, what yarn to buy, why I was doing this ... panic.


Then, I took a deep breath and started searching online for any knitting website there was to help me understand yarn weight. Which, by the way, is insane.  I have to agree that we need to just move to number of times the yarn wraps around a designated and universally-sized and -accepted dowel.  But, I digress.  I found several websites.  My favorite is this one ... http://www.knittingbrain.com/yarns.php  Check it out if you ever wonder what type of yarn to use (or not to use!).


So, armed with that knowledge I ventured to my local craft store - because I'm not enough of a knitter to venture into an actual yarn shop (and I'm sure it would actually be spelled shoppe and they would recognize me as an interloper immediately).  I found a few skeins  - anyone know how to actually pronounce this, by the way? I've heard it several ways and am curious - that were on sale (yay!) and rushed home.  I brushed aside the little thought pestering my brain to check for any pattern corrections (yeah ... don't do that, brush it aside ... listen to that little voice and go online. It's your friend and will save you time and headaches) and got started.  And unraveled and restarted.  And unraveled and restarted again. And unraveled and restarted once more.  And ... you get the picture. 


Apparently, I need to read ALL of the instructions, not just the ones I caught while skimming the page.  This is a fun little irony, considering I've been working on helping my 7-year old enjoy reading to read, not just to finish (skim) a book. Life's little lessons.  

After several mishaps and discoveries - the corrections page on the publisher's website was probably my favorite - I have been progressing at a lovely pace and am beginning to actually see how this might fit on my body at some point in the near future. This picture is the back of the cardigan - you can kind of see the beginnings of the arm holes.

And, someday, if I'm patient, and look online for any tips or hints, it might someday look like this:  

Isn't it pretty? I hope it will be as pretty on me as it is on the model.  I'm excited. I'll let you know how it's going!