im almost finished my Shadow. ¾ of an arm left. halloween-ing has gotten in the way of my final stretch, but i can see the end!
currently listening: guilty cubicles by bss
I finished my folded sweater.
During the last moment of packing for a quick trip for a Florida wedding, I grabbed the project bag from the pile and threw it in my suitcase. I proceeded to work tirelessly since all I had left was ¼ of an arm, and then the yoke. I can’t imagine what people thought of me on the plane– I was furiously knitting and attaching dangly sleeves to body and then working in the “folds” with 3 DPNs along with the long bendy circulars. BUT TRIUMPH I HAVE. This sweater is DONE.
I tried it on right when i cast off, and was rather nonplussed by the fit. I blocked it and sneaked a try on before it was 100% dry and oh my. its perfect. Ill get some pictures this weekend.
Happy.
the weather is changing. we will still have some hot days i think, but the instinct for me to pull out my corduroy pants is strong.
I made the “placket dress” I hinted at previously. the buttons are little wooden guys from joanns. It was a good learning experience, but I did a sloppy job. At worst, its a suitable house dress. At best, I can wear it to work with a cardigan. I based it loosely on the Colette Patterns Sorbetto, but I removed the pleat in the pattern piece, and lengthened about 14". The major issue was the bias tape facing did not get along very well with the placket. The fabric is some poly silky material, and I used leftover cotton bias tape.. not the best mix. Here is a bad pic:
I also made a dress from the Japanese Stylish Dress Book. I LOVE it. Its shapeless with a ridiculous amount of ease in the back, but its my favorite thing I’ve made so far this year. I made the smallest size, even though the “size chart” advised me to make it two sizes bigger. If you want to buy this book, beware: you pretty much have to trace the pattern pieces (vs just cutting them out) because the 27 patterns are all on top of each other on 3 double sided giant pages. I suppose that is the “right way” to use patterns, but I usually take the lazy route and just cut out the pattern pieces straight from the pattern. I found it very time consuming to trace the pattern pieces with tracing paper, and then add seam allowances. Maybe thats how they do it in Japan. (Also, after I took this picture, i added a strip of the dark fabric at the bottom to lengthen the dress a bit– it was very short before).
Today some friends and I are having a go at dyeing fibers. We are using onion skins. I’ve been scouring every grocery store to find dyestuffs, which got me some weird looks from cashiers and other shoppers. To dye, I have some knit cotton/modal and some stripey-eyelety cotton, as well as two skeins of worsted lamb’s pride, which is mostly wool with a little mohair. I hope the yarn turns out, if it does it might turn into a Lonely Tree Shawl! We’ll see how it goes!!!!
i am a little ridiculous. i made two anna dresses so far. one midi length with a v neck, and one maxi length with a slash neck and thigh-high split. these two dresses have been my foray into synthetic drape-y fabric. i want to be comfortable with silk, but first i want to learn on cheaper material.
one crucial thing i did not do for the maxi dress is pink the skirt seams. i finished the dress, ecstatically, tried it on and was so happy with the result– it fits like a dream. i wore the dress to work and about an hour into the workday, i noticed the seams were getting really….. unravely. by the end of the day giant clumps had formed along each seam, and some spots had unraveled through my seam! i was so upset! the parts of the dress i had pinked were fine, but these raw edges just were not happy. my plan is to rip out all of the skirt seams, and take them in a little bit so i can finish the edges correctly.
what a stupid mistake. now i know, i suppose!
i try to keep this blog on-topic, or at least mildly related to fiber crafts. but i saw this list and it really resonated with me, so i wanted to put it here. especially:
they are done! but the shorts are too tight!!!!!!! BOO!! haven’t had an epic fail in awhile i guess. (btw the shirt is a back view. i will definitely make this pattern again. super cute. just make the shorts in a bigger size). UPDATE: i gave the shorts to a lovely co worker! she said they fit!
here are the lakeside pajamas i am halfway through. still working on the shorts.
i’ve made 3 tank tops from 3 different patterns so far:
(I think its about time to move on to a new type of garment, and i think i am banning myself from any more florals…)
Next I am planning a sleeveless Hawthorn with some beautiful greenish bluish linen, and also I NEED TO FINISH my Folded sweater.
In other news, I’ve got some sticky bun dough rising in the kitchen…. mmmmmmm!
currently listening: sound of silver, lcd soundsystem (what else on the longest day of the year??)
emilyWools 