Sweaters, Coats and Tribbles

Photo Link
Here's my progress on the Jaeger Tilly pullover. I'm through with the back and last night I knitted the pocket linings twice. Yes, twice since I apparently couldn't read the instructions clearly enough to do the right number of stitches versus rows. They were quick though, even doing them twice. I've begun to cast on for the front now, and it's going well. I like this yarn, it's very soft and seems to be easy to knit with.

I am also quite thrilled with my wide wale corduroy and suede coat project. It's coming right along. I've chosen a pattern, Marfy 1014.

Photo Link
The side panels, pocket flaps, collar and lapels/front facings will be in the faux suede, and the rest will be corduroy. I'm also shortening it to car coat length. I did a lot of measuring against my old favorite coat that I'm hoping to replace, and this seems to fill the bill, even though it's a bit different in style. I'm starting to get excited about this project, and it's quite a while since I've felt that way, so that's exciting too.


Photo Link
Here's a cute quickie. It's a little potscrubber called a Tribble. I can see that they could be sort of addictive to knit, so perhaps that's why they're said to multiply so rapidly.
Tribble Pattern

Pinwheel Pattern

I made one more dishcloth from this pattern, the one on the right in PeachesNCreme Gumdrop. The first one is Pink Lemonade. The potholder on the lower left is made with one strand of each held together. I was a little unsure that the colors would work together, but I really like it. It's very multicolored without any predominant color. The potholder is also smaller.

Thank you to everyone who liked this pattern, and I will put it up here. I'm calling it Pinwheel, but there's another, extremely similar, version called Round Dishcloth by Amy Carpenter. Her version has wrapped short rows, which of course is the best method to make them invisible, and it's a good project to learn about short rows. The pattern I'm using does not wrap the short rows, but in my opinion, for a dishcloth, there's really no need. So, if you want to learn the correct short-row method that you can use in other, more 'important' patterns, her pattern is fine. Otherwise, mine is okay. Mine also is a bit smaller, which I like.

Pinwheel Dishcloth
#9 Needle
1 ball cotton yarn such as PeachesNCreme or Sugar&Cream

Cast on 15 stitches.
Row:

1. Knit across, turn.
2. K3, YO, K11, turn. (This leaves 1 stitch on the needle. There will be an increasing number of stitches on the needle on most right side rows.)
3. K back to the beginning, turn.
4. K3, YO, K11, turn.
5. K
6. K3, YO, K11, turn.
7. K
8. BO 3, K2, YO, K8.
9. K
10. K3, YO, K8.
11. K
12. K3, YO, K8.
13. K
14. BO3, K2, YO, K5.
15. K
16. K3, YO, K5.
17. K
18. K3, YO, K5.
19. K
20. BO3, K all stitches, turn and you are ready to begin R1 again.

This makes one section. You will probably do the 20 row section 6 times or so, whatever makes a complete circle for you. You can graft the stitches at the end, BO and seam, crochet together with the CO row, or whatever joining method you may care to use.

Pinwheel Potholder

#9 Needle
2 strands cotton yarn, held together
This is worked the same as the dishcloth, but with the differing stitch counts.

Cast On 12
Row:

1. K
2. K3, YO, K8
3. K
4. K3, YO, K8
5. K
6. K3, YO, K8
7. K
8. BO3, K2, YO, K5
9. K
10. K3, YO, K5
11. K
12. K3, YO, K5
13. K
14. BO3, K2, YO, K3
15. K
16. K3, YO, K3
17. K
18. K3, YO, K3
19. K
20. BO3, K to end. You are ready to begin Row 1 again.

For some unknown reason, the potholder pattern must have red row numbers. Well, I have to go eat dinner, so they'll have to stay that way.

A Coat in My Future? and Books!

 

It's a horribly cold day today, (high of 15) and I went out this afternoon to the grocery store for a few essentials since this is going to be the "warm" day for the next week. Of course I felt compelled to stop at Hancock Fabric for their 5-day sale. There were a few of those 99 cent Simplicity patterns I needed.

Well, I took a quick tour around the store and happened to notice a piece of extremely wide-wale corduroy on the home-dec remnant table. It's my color, a dull gray-green, and I've been looking for a corduroy like this for a couple years to make a coat. There was a little over 3.5 yards, so I can make a car-coat length, which is just what I want. There was also a nice thick, fairly drapey faux suede in a matching color, so I can have a little detailing. Then I happened to find a beautiful stretch moleskin in a very similar color as well. I'm thinking a pair of pants from it, and there may be enough for something else as well. So, my quick look turned into a huge bag that I brought home. I'm really pleased with what I found though. The three pieces are in the photo above. I want a fairly plain style, and I'm going to look through my patterns, as I suspect I have something that will be just perfect. I'm hoping to end up with something similar to a RTW coat that's my everyday do-anything coat. It's getting a little aged now, so a replacement would be fine.

 

I got a wonderful book for Christmas from my sister. It's the one on the right above, The Art of Knitting: Inspirational Stitches, Textures, and Surfaces by Francoise Tellier-Loumagne. It's quite unusual in its approach, and is mostly photos of various knit techniques, not necessarily handknit techniques, or even regular knitting machine techniques. It is quite inspirational though, and I'm enjoying dipping in and absorbing it slowly.

The other book is The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes of The Knitters Review. I expect to be able to match yarns and patterns more easily with this in hand. I hope so anyway. I imagine a lot will depend on whether I take the advice I'm given, or whether I decide I can make it work anyway. Live and learn!

 

My last new treasures are the Japanese pattern books Pattern Magic 1 & 2. I read on several websites in December that you could order them from AmazonJapan, and they were having a free shipping special so it was the time to order. I'd been wishing for the first one for quite some time, and when this deal came, and both books were available, I bit. Well, they're lovely books, and when you order, no shipping shows in your total. However.....when they come, the shipping is included, and it's slightly more than the cost of the books. I contacted AmazonJapan and they will do nothing about it. So, I'm pleased with the books, but there's a definite bad taste in the mouth as well.

Jaeger Tilly and Hungary

Photo Link

Here's my progress on the Jaeger pullover (Tilly) that I'm doing in Little Lehigh cotton. I made a gauge swatch that matched the stated gauge, using needles 2 sizes smaller than recommended. I then began the back. Somehow the actual sweater knitting was much different than the swatch, and after a couple inches progress, it was obvious that it was much bigger than I wanted. I ended up going down another 2 needle sizes before I got the correct gauge. Instead of Size 7 & 8 needles, I'm using Size 3 & 4 needles. I continue to wonder how anyone could get the stated gauge with the recommended needles, notwithstanding that I'm using a different yarn than specified. I still don't see how you could do it. Quite a lot of unnecessary messing around in my view anyway. But it's going well now, and I like the texture and feel of it. It's not going to be a particularly fast project since it's about 19 rows to the inch. Oh well, I'm not in any hurry. I'm doing the back in a smaller size than the front, as I often do for sweaters.

You're probably wondering about the mention of Hungary. I was looking through some stats on who reads this blog (I love seeing where people are from!) and even though it's not particularly detailed, and many visitors show no information, I can sometimes tell what country and/or city they're from. Suddenly a couple days ago, I noticed that there were about 30 readers from Hungary! I wondered what brought that about, and found a Forum called Nok Lapja Cafe that linked to this site along with several other sewing blogs I'm familiar with, including Debbie Cook's. I have to assume it's a sewing blog, but you can imagine how disappointed I was when I found that Google Translate doesn't do Hungarian yet! Sigh. I did see a mention of SWAP there, though, so I thought that was quite interesting. Even though I'm not SWAPping this year, I am fully behind the concept, and try to apply it within my wardrobe. I wonder if Julie at Timmel Fabrics has heard from anyone in Hungary?

Before Christmas I walked into a waiting room with my knitting bag, and saw another woman sitting by herself knitting away, so I sat beside her and we had quite a nice talk. She was making a scarf and I was working on the last sleeve of Zachary's Drops Pullover. She kindly offered to give me a pretty dishcloth pattern. I was very pleased to find the next time I went to that office that they had it for me in my file! I decided to make it up quickly, and here it is. It was fast and fun! Pretty wild colors, no?

Fun, Fun, Fun

Photo Link

Here's the very nicely packed box I received in the mail today from Fuzzy Mabel's. What fun! I've been trying to find a nice, not-horribly-expensive yarn to use for a sweater I've been drooling over from Jaeger JB40, which is a discontinued pattern book for a discontinued yarn, Roma. I found the book at The Yarn Barn, but the yarn is not available in colors I wanted. I finally decided to try a cotton yarn, Kraemer's Little Lehigh, in green and off-white. While looking at Fuzzy Mabel's, I noticed they had a very well-stocked clearance section, including some nice colors of Katia Bolero, a yarn that I used to make a shell a couple years ago, and liked very much. I bought enough Pewter with Gold to make a nice something-or-other.

Photo Link

You can see the Jaeger pattern with the proposed yarn below.

Photo Link

I like the interesting almost houndstooth stitch pattern, and the cute details, like the pocket and the neckline V, and sleeve hems. This will be a spring sweater I think, especially in a cotton yarn.


Photo Link

I finished the second side of the Waterlily purse yesterday, which you can see above, just in time for the new yarn to arrive today. Now to finish it. I have ideas, but nothing concrete. I'm thinking webbing handles if I can find the right color. I'm calling it the Waterlily purse because it reminds me strongly of some of Monet's Waterlily paintings. This is a torn fabric strip "yarn" and I just love the effect of it. It makes me want to rip up some fabric myself, and see what happens.

We're back to normal around here, and I spent today and yesterday doing all the household stuff that I've been letting slide, like multi-loads of laundry. Luckily, I kind of like to do laundry. The Peeper's thrilled, as he hangs out by the washing machine, so he gets lots of company. There's nothing like a purring cat napping next to you while you fold towels, or sew, or knit.

Photo Link

Segue Shell is Finished

Photo Link

I finished this shell last night. This is a photo of it with the Vogue jacket I made some time ago. I think the colors are perfect. After doing the neckline finish twice and finally deciding on a simple crocheted edge. The yarn stands up too much to do the specified picked-up and purled edge which is supposed to roll gently, and usually does (I've made this pattern numerous times). I also did a crocheted finish on the armscyes to make the shoulder area a bit wider at the top. I began at the side seam, just chaining/slipping the yarn along for a few stitches, then one single crochet, then the rest of the way around was half-double until I got to the same level I began, and one single to taper down, and then finish at the side seam again. I do this quite often on shells, as I like to cover those unsightly bits, and I especially don't like to have my bra peeking out. You can see the effect here.

Photo Link

Anyway, I'm quite pleased with this. It took about 2 1/2 skeins, so I have some left to play with. Not sure what to do, but I'm thinking about a belt with some other yarns. Something will happen anyway, as it's too pretty (and pricey) to just let it go.

Another Nice Knit Top

Photo Link

Here's another knit top from the same FSG#1960 top pattern with the Vogue collar grafted onto it. This is a very thin mesh knit that I fell in love with for the color and the interesting shadowy leaf print. It was another Wal-Mart $1/yard find, and I made it up almost immediately. I never even thought about the fact that it would match my fleece Haiku Two jacket, which was a "muslin" but I wear it a lot as a casual jacket in winter since it's so nice and warm, and I don't have to worry about anything happening to it.

It may seem silly, but I had a revelation lately about the fact that I'm always cold when I go anywhere. I need to wear more clothes. Not that I don't wear winter clothes in winter, but we keep it warmer in our house than a lot of people do, plus we have a couple humidifiers going all the time, which also makes it more comfortable. Anyway, I've started wearing 2 wool sweaters, or several layers besides just an undershirt and top, for example. My sister took the nicest photo of me the other day when I was wearing 2 sweaters I'd knitted, and I'll put it here. I love the way the colors work together, and of course since I made them both, I like them!


Photo Link

Just Knitting - Trendsetter Shell & Dishcloths

Photo Link

I finally chose a pattern to use with this gorgeous ribbon yarn, Trendsetter's Segué. I'm making the Marla shell from Berroco's leaflet #189, Summer Basics. I've made this several times before and I always like it. It has a raised neckline, decorative ridges at the collarbone (which won't show in this yarn) and slightly cut-in armholes. I was hoping to get it out of two skeins, but I think it is probably going to take slightly more. It's a very quick knit though. I started yesterday and this is what I have so far. It's the back. The front is almost the same except the neckline. I like to make the back in a Small and the front in a Large size, tapering the front to a small at the shoulders. This always fits me better than a shell that's symmetrical front and back. Gee, I wonder why?

Here's the quickie, mindless knitting project I was doing while trying to decide what to do with the Segué above. I've been getting low on nice looking dishcloths, so it was time to make more. They're very fast, especially in the size I like them, which is 20st at the widest point, and they fit the hand very nicely. This is just Sugar&Cream cotton yarn. I gave some to my sister and she calls them coasters. They work for that, too.


Photo Link

Happy New Year!

Photo Link

I always get a new linen calendar towel each year to hang on the side of the refrigerator, and I think this one is particularly pretty. I am a sucker for poppies in almost any form, and I couldn't resist these.

One of the best things is that I get another pretty tea towel to use from the previous year's calendar when I put up the new one. I have them back to about 1983 I think.

Hope you're having a great year so far too!

The Sweaters and their Recipients

 

Chris and Zachary very kindly modeled their sweaters. They seemed very pleased with them, and that pleased me. Zachary is also showing his rolling pin. He's very much into cooking, and Alton Brown of Good Eats fame is his favorite.

I took my sister to get her Christmas present today. I had told her I'd get her a thimble from Thimbles by TJ Lane, so we went to the studio and she tried on thimbles aplenty. She had her heart set on a Yubinuki (ring thimble) like mine, but her fingers are so tiny that they had to take the smallest one they made (a 3 1/2, which is what mine is) and cut it down for her, so we waited and browsed among all the other wonderful things they make while they cut and soldered and fitted. It's now about a size 1, or a bit smaller. She made inroads on their other inventory of chatelaines and various dependant tools, and she has a gorgeous piece of jewelry now which is also a portable sewing kit, basically. We pick up her thimble next week after it's been hardened and polished.


I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season, and I hope it's not over yet!

One Last Sewn Gift

Photo Link
I needed a quick gift for a little girl, and decided last night that an embellished bag would be just the ticket. Fun for me to make, and fun for her to get. I used some Pendleton wool that I'd used for a larger purse for her foster-mother a couple years ago, so I think she'll be pleased to have a "matching" bag. The lining is a black stretch cotton printed with stick figures in gold. One end of the handle is topstitched to the front and one end to the back, and a there is a snap closure. This is a very, very simple project, but I think it's just right for a six-year-old.

Showing the Inside.

Photo Link

Better Photo of the Lining.

Photo Link

Xmas Sweaters Finished

Photo Link

I finally got both sweaters completely finished and photographed. It's awfully nice to see them lying there, all done. I hardly know what to do with myself now that I don't have one of them to pick up and work on in every spare moment.

They're both made with Bendigo Woolen Mill's Rustic yarn. It's 100% wool, and very nice to work with. Especially if you hate finishing, as it comes in 200g balls, and so there are many fewer ends to weave in, especially if you splice as you go along, as I do.

The Red Tweed sweater is a Child's Size 9/10, and the Midnight Tweed is a Men's XL. The patterns is Drops 59-6

I made one mistake which I'm glad I made. This may sound strange, but I'll explain. The patterns on the front and back of both sweaters are exactly the same, and the small box pattern at the sides has a varying number of stitches which makes the size difference. The sleeves however are a different matter. The adult sweater has a narrower version of the center cable panel flanked by the horseshoe cables, and the rest in the box pattern, as on the front. The child's version doesn't have room for all that when you begin the main sleeve stitches after the cuff. I read and reread the pattern, and finally did what (I thought) it called for. The horseshoe cable pattern with the rest in the box pattern. It worked out beautifully, and I liked the sleeve extensions even better than the adult version where it narrows to go behind the back neck, since it has a little textural pattern to it, and the adult's, which uses the main cable pattern there, doesn't. When I began the second child's sleeve, I realized I had misread the instructions, and it was supposed to be the narrowed main cable pattern without the horseshoe cables. Well, I certainly wasn't going to rip out a whole beautiful sleeve just because of that, and I really like mine better anyway.

Here's my version of the sleeve. You can see the other version below.

Photo Link

One thing that's tricky on this pattern is ending the sleeve extensions at the correct point. I ended up ripping back a few rows on some, and adding a few rows on others to make the graft come out exactly in the center back.

Here's a close-up of the Shoulder/Sleeve/Body seam. You can also see the edge of the turtleneck which was picked up after the rest of the seaming was all done.

Photo Link

I had a little trouble doing the collar, since my shoulder began hurting when I started knitting around on it. A couple years ago, I had the same kind of pain which began when I picked up and knitted a similar collar on a sweater for me, which turned out to be rotator cuff injury. That sweater was much lighter than this one, and I tried to think of some way to change my method enough to make my shoulder feel better. I decided to change to double-pointed needles from a circular, and that seemed to help a lot. I think shoving the stitches along while lifting and turning the sweater was the problem. With the double-points, you knit off one needle, stop and turn, then begin again. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but it definitely made a lot of difference.

The Elves Are Busy

Thursday (the 13th) I was helping with a Christmas Luncheon and Program put on by one of my music clubs. I wasn't in charge of any of the food, and for the first time in several years, I wasn't on the program this month either. In fact, my regular accompanist, Diana, asked me if I knew what to do since we weren't performing. It did feel strange, but nice to just listen and enjoy, too. I was simply a flunky in the kitchen, mainly before we served. The dessert was the most interesting part. We have a member who lives in Pennsylvania, but is flown back every so often to perform and tour with a dance band, and it often coincides with our meetings. She had Whoopie Pies and Wilber Buds shipped here for us. The Whoopie Pies are an Amish thing, and very good, although very sweet. The Wilber Buds look a lot like Hershey kisses, and apparently the Wilber Chocolate factory employed Mr. Hershey before he started his own company, and they had the kiss-type candy form first. Isn't history interesting? All this information, and chocolate too!

I realized when I got home after the event, that I'd been paying no attention whatsoever to the calendar, and Christmas was creeping up on me even more quickly than usual. I began to knit on my nephew's sweater with greater concentration, and finished the knitting Saturday. It looks so tiny compared to the same sweater for my brother, but I think they're both the right size. Hope so anyway!

I decided to wait and block after I finished them, and I'm really glad I made that decision, since when I stitched my brother's together, I had to do some adjusting on the length of the saddle shoulder extensions which meet and are grafted at CB, and that might have been rather difficult after blocking. I've almost finished the neckband on his. I learned something too. When I first had shoulder pain which turned out to be rotator cuff injury, it began when I was doing a picked-up neckband on a sweater for me. I was using a circular needle. This is about the same thing, except the sweater is much heavier. I began on a circular, and started getting the same type of pain again. I decided that pushing the stitches along on the circular while lifting and repositioning the heavy sweater was probably the problem. I changed to double-pointed needles, and I think it's helped a lot. It's still a chore, doing 5" of 2x2 rib on Size 2 needles, but it looks really great.


Click here for a larger view and for earlier progress photos.

Now all I have to do is stitch up Zachary's sweater and do his neckband. I really was beginning to wonder if I was even going to get done in time since I started Chris's in about June, and didn't start Zach's until November. I feel like I've been doing no needlework except knitting for several weeks now, and I'm excited to be getting close to done.

A Form Workshop & Yarn

Today was the day set for the local Sewing Guild's Dress Form Workshop. I was the "leader" which turned out to be much easier than I'd dared to hope, and mainly consisted of just spearheading the effort and booking the room. Originally, 9 members wanted forms; 8 duct tape and 1 paper tape. 2 cancelled out because of late-arising conflicts, 1 decided she'd rather just watch and help, and as it turned out, 3 others didn't show up at all, so we did 3 forms and went home early. I can't blame anyone for deciding not to come, as the weather was supposed to be freezing rain and snow on top of the snow we already have. It didn't start with all that until we were about done, which was lucky. The high was only 14 degrees today, so it was not nice any way you look at it.

I did most of one duct tape form, and it turned out well I think. We had decided not to try to stuff them today as we assumed we wouldn't have time, so it will be interesting to hear how they turned out, and if everyone likes their form and uses it. It was nice to have enough helpers to cut tape and keep an eye on how it was going.

Since we got done earlier than we might have, I had time to stop at the LYS and snatch up this gorgeous ribbon yarn.

Photo Link
It's Segué by Trendsetter and I think it's the most beautiful colors, so I hope it shows up correctly for you. Suggested needle size is a 15, but I think I can probably get by with a 13 or so. I want to make a simple shell from it, and will probably have to rewrite the pattern for the gauge of 2spi.

Another Warm Garment - Fleece Pants

Photo Link
These pants were inspired by the really nice warm fleece top I made at Thanksgiving. I found more of the same fabric, and bought enough to make pants, which were intended to be pajama/lounging pants, but which turned out looking good enough to wear in public if necessary, although around the house is where they will most likely be seen.

As you will see in the next photos, I did an unusual hem treatment. I wanted to have elastic at the hem so that if I did wear them as pajama pants, I could pull them down over my always-cold feet. I made them extra long, and put the elastic in loosely, and when I turn the elastic up, the pant hems appear normal. I am so pleased with this, as I don't think there's much that's flattering about elastic-bottomed pants.


Here's a close up of the hem in it's normal position.

Photo Link

And with the pant leg raised to show the elastic.

Photo Link

And here you can see the actual length of the pantleg, with my toe pointed, and just peeking out the bottom.

Photo Link

Here's a Side View,

Photo Link
And a Back View.

Photo Link

I used my TNT Burda pant pattern, with my wide-leg pattern add-on. This leg falls straight down from the widest point of the hip, and I like it very much. I made these with a drawstring waist, adding a 2" high yoke-like casing at the top. This style always fits me better than just cutting the top of the pant higher to accommodate it, although for very thin, drapey fabrics I like that better.

The little patch pocket was definitely an afterthought, as I realized when I tried them on after hemming, that I had nowhere to put my MP3 player or a cellphone, and that would never do. So, a fast, quick patch pocket was my solution.

I think these are a real success, as they're not only warm and comfy, they look pretty good as well. What more can you ask for?

Spot That Fake Chanel!

 

Piecework Magazine had a great article this month by Claire Shaeffer about the "detective" process she goes through to decide if an unlabeled Chanel-style suit is the real thing or just a close copy.

I used to subscribe to Piecework, and liked it very much. It is aimed more at the history and curation of textiles of all kinds than at the creation of pieces today. They have wonderful instructions and tutorials for recreating some of the techniques or items that they show. Not really recreating of course, but just enough to give you a taste of the technique, and enough information to send you on your way towards learning and doing more, if you are so moved. The photos are wonderful, and their range is very wide. I finally quit subscribing, but I still look at it on the news stand now and then, and the other day I was stunned to find this wonderful article in the latest issue (Nov/Dec07) without even a hint of it on the cover!

If you're interested in the inner workings of Chanel garments, this is invaluable information. It's not exhaustive, but so much has been written already, much of it by Claire Shaeffer herself, that we should be able to find the 'basics' in other places. This is just a little icing on the cake.

One of the things that caught my eye was the use of one of the blouse fabrics (this couture suit came with 2 blouses) to embellish the lining, and also the fact that it had pocket flaps with no pockets. Unusual, apparently, but not unheard of, and the kind of thing I myself would do, since I'd know I would never put anything in one of the patch pockets on the front of the jacket, and it would simply add bulk. Since it is apparently unusual, I'm sure it was the client's idea.

The other very interesting thing was the telltale topstitching on the edge of the jacket, but not on the lining. Very tricky.

Dress Form Stand

Carolyn asked what I was using for a stand for my dressform, and I thought I'd take photos and show it. The form itself has a 3/4" PVC pipe inside which is notched at the top with a not-very-thick, curved wooden hanger sitting in the notch. This fits into the shoulders, and the shape is padded up to match mine. This pipe fits on the outside of a metal tube which is part of the stand I got with a Uniquely You form that is very much the wrong size. The stand is something that I think could probably be easily made from components available at the hardware store. Here's a close-up of the lower part.



You can see that the "feet" are straight rods. These are threaded, and screw into the center piece, which has 4 holes for them. The metal tube/pipe is screwed into the center of the same piece. The PVC pipe fits over the metal one, and the plastic bushing slides on the metal pipe, but the PVC pipe sits on top of it. The wing-screw lets you secure the bushing at any height you like on the metal pipe, thus also raising or lowering the form. I will have to drill a hole in the PVC pipe for another wing-screw so that I can keep the form from twirling on the pipe. It's a very satisfactory system though, and should be easy to replicate if you're interested.

Here's the stand showing the bottom of the form.

Duct Tape Dressform

OR:

How I Spent My Thanksgiving Vacation


Photo Link

Actually, the title refers both to the form and the top I have on. It's another of the FSG1960 tops I've been doing lately. This is a nice, soft knit-back fleece I found. I just about froze to death on Thanksgiving evening at my parent's home and knew I was going to be spending a lot of time there in the next several days. Also, I was the only one who was cold, so I went home in the evening and made this top, and it's just what I needed. In this photo, there's a dusty streak near the bottom, but I was moving things around the basement and apparently didn't notice. So, you get to see the real me.

The form was very kindly wrapped by my sister, who was here for the holiday. I think she did a beautiful job. It's very true, especially in the shoulder/bust area. The midriff/waist/hip was bigger than I measure, probably because I had to breathe while we did this, so we made some changes. The shape is still very good. We extended the form one tape-width or so below the rear, onto the leg. You can see how that worked out. I think it was probably a good idea.

I am rather stunned to see just how crooked I am, but we really checked and looked and it is just like me. Oh well, better to know than not, I guess. Here's a close-up of just the form. I'm leading a form workshop in December for my local sewing guild, and I'm glad we did this first. It's going to be interesting to see if everyone else is as pleased with their results as I am with mine.


Photo Link

I'm Back

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. I've been dealing with family medical stuff, and then suddenly it was me being the "sickie." I'm sure most of you are familiar with the reality that whether one is ill or just recovering from a small procedure, the basic work of keeping the household running must continue anyway, and we know how that works. It would really be a luxury to just get to let everything go for a while, and I must say I did my best to let that happen, but all I achieved was letting some of my favorite things go by the wayside for a while, including my blog. I also seemed to lose my will to create for a time, but it's slowly returning as well, and I have been knitting anyway. Maybe not really the will to create, but there was just no decision-making happening, and what is the creative process if not a string of decisions?

I will also admit that I had no idea that I would really, really need to take it easy for as long as I did, even thought I had been told. As my nearest and dearest often says, I think I know it all, and I just don't listen. I do have to admit, he was pretty much correct there, as he often is. I do want to say a great big thank you to all of you who have sent such kind wishes. I really appreciate it, and I hope to be back to normal (?) very soon, if not right now.

Since it's cold again, I naturally have had the urge to make some warm things to wear. The zebra print knit top I made was such a yucky knit fabric mitigated only by its really great print, but I liked the pattern blend I used of FSG#1960 with a cut-on very long funnel neck, and I repeated it in another, beefier knit, and I've been wearing it with great pleasure. Now getting a picture of it that pleases me is another thing altogether, but I finally decided that it just isn't going to get any better than this. So, we will all suffer together.

I bought some interesting knit fabric a while back that is a very deep plum, and fairly sheer. I decided it would make a very nice overblouse, and used an older Vogue pattern for the basic shape. I decided it needed something, and tried a tie collar, which was dowdy in the extreme, so I thought the time had come for an unusual approach, so I took some HugSnug rayon seam binding that I got on a 100 yd. roll from the Pendleton outlet, and which just happens to match the lace fabric, and started making loops along the collar. It's definitely different, and I like the way it turned out. I'm using the former tie collar as a belt. I edged the sleeves with the seam binding as well, using it almost like a flat piping. You can see a close up below, and the colors are pretty true, at least on my monitor.

Here's the overblouse, over the blue top, which is NOT what I plan to wear it with, but it needs something with a collar, and I have nothing the right color and style, and it's too see-through to wear alone. The pants are another pair from my favorite Burda pattern, and the fabric is not what I had hoped. It's a polyester microfiber, but it's not nearly as nice as the fabric I bought a few years ago that I thought was very similar. This is drapier, and it's horribly staticky, and nothing seems to help. It doesn't actually crawl up your legs when worn, but it attracts every cat hair and dust mote within a 3-block region, and it seems unwilling to shed wrinkles. Now if polyester wants to wrinkle, what is the point?

I have been knitting away on my nephew's Xmas sweater, which will match his Dad's in style, but in a different color, and I'm getting close to dividing for the armscyes. It's going faster since it's smaller, but I'm making it a little large so he can wear it for at least a few years.