I'm calling this little patch of stitching done! That's the one I just did now, and just for reminders, here are the ones I did back in November. That's the one on the cuff. And that's the one on the front near the pocket. And here's the one on the back up by the shoulder. And here's where I'm super mean and say no, I can't really take a picture that shows them to you all at once (several people asked last time).  That's because they're all over the place on the sweater, and you can't actually see them all [...]

Remember back in November when I had some holes in an old sweater? And I hated the idea of shopping so much that I decided to embroider over the things instead of buying a new sweater (you can follow along on the whole adventure over here if you're so inclined, scroll down...). Yeah, well the sweater got another hole (kittens...blame kittens).  But once you're that invested in fixing something, you're not going to let it go for one more little hole.  You're going to grab the same batch of threads you used last time and stitch on it some more. [...]

So let's see where we ended up.  First the sleeve. Then the shoulder. Then the front. I love it.  Totally couldn't be happier.  I'm actually considering doing this in a few other spots on the sweater where there are no holes just for the fun of it because I don't want to be done yet. And for folks asking or wondering, no it's really not hard.  You can find embroidery floss at most any craft store.  The only other things you need are a needle (I like the blunt ones, but some people like pointy ones...experiment and see what you [...]

So I took a break from the hole on the front of the sweater and moved onto the one on the cuff of the sleeve.  The first round of stitching looked something like this. Then I spent some time on the one on the back of the shoulder (right where the front, back, and sleeve all come together).  It's working out something like this. In both cases I've gone with stabilizing (or really even emphasizing) the hole rather than trying to hide it.  And both spots will be getting Lots More Stitches before this is over.  But I'm having so [...]

It's true...the hole (or rather holes) are  still there.  But I find I don't mind them so much now! Full disclaimer, I know next to nothing about embroidery.  Which should be fairly obvious to anyone who does know something about it.  So apologies if you're cringing over there. My approach really is more or less keep doodling until it starts to look interesting.  I think it's a viable technique, all things considered. I mean really, if you hate it, you can pick it back out.  And I sort of don't hate it.  I might actually rather like it! So what [...]

So I have a small assemblage of house sweaters.  What can I say.  The house is old and drafty, and I work from home.  Warmth often wins out over fashion. One of my very favorite house sweaters (a gray cashmere cardigan with pockets) seems to have sprung a leak.  Let me be more specific.  It's sprung several leaks.  It's got a good sized hole on the back of the shoulder (snagged on a dead tree while climbing on rocks), two little holes on the front near the bottom (embers from a camp fire if the char marks are any indicator), [...]