I last left you with some of the pieces of the Gramps baby sweater. Here it is complete with its green ribbing and the cowl collar. (Paul loves this colour combiniation so I think I'll have to find something to make for him using them. But he's a BIG guy and a sweater might be too much for me. I'll figure out something appropriate for him though, perhaps socks.)
The buttons were the real find in finishing it, at least for me. I traveled to Dressew on West Hastings in Vancouver. Over the years it has become my go to place when it comes to all things crafty. Their location is on the fringe of a seedy part of Hastings Street in the infamous east side of Vancouver, but the hours of operation are only during the day so I have never felt uncomfortable walking the streets to get there.
This store reminds me of the discount fabric stores found during the late 20th century. Like these stores, Dressew has taken over a rather old and large department store space (30,000 square feet) and as I already mentioned it is in a not-so-nice neighborhood. The wooden floors creak as you stroll through their rather jam-packed isles. Check out the photos taken by the Sewaholic in June 2010. She has done a great job of capturing how cramped and "almost" organized the place feels. Because of this type of retailing you can get great deals, though. (If you want to find out more about Dressew check out the article written by the Courier in March 2011 as the store commemorated its 50th anniversary.) For years they have carried a nice array of $2/skein mostly acrylic and cotton yarns, but recently their inventory has been low I've noticed. When I asked if they were intentionally getting out of the yarn business I was told the owner just hadn't been able to locate reasonbly priced product. They still carry a nice selection of knitting accessories; all my stitch markers, stitch holders, yarn needles for holding and knitting cables and stitch counters have come from them at about 75% less than from other shops. If you craft, this should be one of your go to shops as well.
Back to my Gramps sweater. I knew the buttons had to be just right in order to capture the heathery gray of the main colour of yarn as they sit on the green ribbing for the closure. If you look at Sewaholic's second picture you'll see in the center-right shelves filled with small cylinders. Each contains buttons and Dressew has shelves and shelves of these cylinders. It took about 30 minutes of hunting, but I found the perfect heather gray button in the right size and colour to match my project! (Although all buttons are categorized by colour, the search requires you look at each tube.) It was so worth it, I got my perfect buttons for a total of $0.50 and you can purchase just the number you need rather than the extras you usually get on button cards. In the not-so-distant past Dressew sold cards of baby themed buttons for $0.50 each. I picked up about 20 cards for myself and my mom. These buttons often sell for $1.00 per button, not 3 or 4 for $0.50. I love a good bargain. But alas, they've run out of those deals now.
As I finished my first Gramps I find I have enough of my heather gray leftover to make another sweater. So yesterday I was forced to go back to my LYS in order to find something that might work for a girl's sweater. Here's the leftover gray with the new heathered pink:
Now that I seem to have mastered new skills I should continue to practice them so I don't lose them, right? This of course also means another trip to Dressew as well, gosh that's too bad!
Thanks again Alexa for setting me on this path. It has been a good adventure.
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| Mike with my finished Gramps sweater |
This store reminds me of the discount fabric stores found during the late 20th century. Like these stores, Dressew has taken over a rather old and large department store space (30,000 square feet) and as I already mentioned it is in a not-so-nice neighborhood. The wooden floors creak as you stroll through their rather jam-packed isles. Check out the photos taken by the Sewaholic in June 2010. She has done a great job of capturing how cramped and "almost" organized the place feels. Because of this type of retailing you can get great deals, though. (If you want to find out more about Dressew check out the article written by the Courier in March 2011 as the store commemorated its 50th anniversary.) For years they have carried a nice array of $2/skein mostly acrylic and cotton yarns, but recently their inventory has been low I've noticed. When I asked if they were intentionally getting out of the yarn business I was told the owner just hadn't been able to locate reasonbly priced product. They still carry a nice selection of knitting accessories; all my stitch markers, stitch holders, yarn needles for holding and knitting cables and stitch counters have come from them at about 75% less than from other shops. If you craft, this should be one of your go to shops as well.
Back to my Gramps sweater. I knew the buttons had to be just right in order to capture the heathery gray of the main colour of yarn as they sit on the green ribbing for the closure. If you look at Sewaholic's second picture you'll see in the center-right shelves filled with small cylinders. Each contains buttons and Dressew has shelves and shelves of these cylinders. It took about 30 minutes of hunting, but I found the perfect heather gray button in the right size and colour to match my project! (Although all buttons are categorized by colour, the search requires you look at each tube.) It was so worth it, I got my perfect buttons for a total of $0.50 and you can purchase just the number you need rather than the extras you usually get on button cards. In the not-so-distant past Dressew sold cards of baby themed buttons for $0.50 each. I picked up about 20 cards for myself and my mom. These buttons often sell for $1.00 per button, not 3 or 4 for $0.50. I love a good bargain. But alas, they've run out of those deals now.
As I finished my first Gramps I find I have enough of my heather gray leftover to make another sweater. So yesterday I was forced to go back to my LYS in order to find something that might work for a girl's sweater. Here's the leftover gray with the new heathered pink:
Now that I seem to have mastered new skills I should continue to practice them so I don't lose them, right? This of course also means another trip to Dressew as well, gosh that's too bad!
Thanks again Alexa for setting me on this path. It has been a good adventure.
Looking forward to seeing the pink Gramms(?) sweater.
ReplyDeleteGramms, you got it, but don't hold your breath. It will take a few weeks.
ReplyDelete