St. Patrick's Day Cowl - in Progress.

Dear readers,

I'm so close to finishing this St. Patrick's Day inspired cowl.  I took the class in January - and it has been literally dragging on.  The yarn is fantastic - Merino, Silk, and Cashmere.  The yarn is scrumptious in aran commercial moss.  The pattern is  Tule Fog Cowl by Karinknits Designs on Ravelry.

I wanted something Celtic but yet modern.  So, I will try to finish this in the next few days. .

Pixie photobombing my project (as usual!).

She's love this yarn . . . . a bit too much - the second skein, below.

Ugg!! Can I never finish this project!!!

Have your knitted projects ever driven you mad?

P.

Anise Sew-Along: Delayed until further notice

Dear readers,
I originally planned to join the Colette Anise Sew-Along!

I fell in love with Sarai's version. 

So, I planned to make my own version as well with the green wool below.

Oops - only 2.5 yards rather than the 4.5 3 and 3/8 yards the pattern calls for (ed.  oops!).

So, this project is (sadly) delayed until I find a fabric I'm equally in love with.  I am going to make a flowy skirt with the green wool from a self drafted pattern.

Has this ever happened to you?   True, I normally buy 2.5 yards when I'm out and about - I never think about 4 - 8 yards.  I guess I need an attitude adjustment while fabric shopping and stashing.

P.

Decades of Style - Pattern adjustment

Dear readers,

I have begun my entry to the world of Decades of Style patterns.  This is the pattern I am making - with princess seams -

 - the 1944 House dress.  I love princess seams and my sloper (or basic bodice) is perfect for that.  So, I am taking the original pattern (traced) and marking, what I hope, are the correct pattern adjustments.  The original pattern is very close to my sloper - very unusual.

Below is the original fashion fabric - I hope to make it up before St. Patrick's Day.  It is a linen and I plan to underline with batiste.  It's an expensive fabric so I am making a toile or muslin before cutting (so unlike me!)

As you can see the alterations are in green.  WARNING:  My alterations are a swag - measured from the slopers -  *real* pattern making and adjustment involved detailed measurements and math.  So, I am using the "swag" method - we'll see how it shapes up!  One note is that I did "rotate" the dart to the side to match the pattern.

The back alteration below is the largest - I have a very broad back.  I also have asymmetrical shoulders  -  but because of the ease I am making both sides with the same sloper alternations (laziness!).

 I have no idea what to do with the sleeve alterations - the sleeve (in tracing paper) is nothing close to my sloper (behind, on oaktag).  So, this is part of the reason I'm making a muslin. . .

Some of my pattern making tools.

 Colored markers are key.

Slopers taking a rest on the piano.

Next up is the muslin. . . more to follow!
P.

Sewing Blogger's Map

Dear readers,

I'm probably the last person to pin on this - but I love it - how fantastic!! Thanks to Sister at Dr. Fun Living La Vida Loca:) And Katie, MD at Katiekadiddllehopper for linking to this. And, a big thanks toAnother Sewing Scientist for this fantastic creation.

View Map the Sewintists in a larger map

If you haven't pinned yet - this will kill half your day browsing other pins! Highly recommended. P.

More knitting - scarf, fingerless mitt, and new projects ...

Dear readers,

I've been in a two week class and haven't been posting as much as I'd like.  Here's what I've been up to:

 Another wonderful scarf from the Reversible Cable Pattern on Reversible Scarves on Ravelry - the scarf is a belated Christmas gift for my sister-in-law to be - she picked out the yarn color - Misti Alpaca in Falstaff.  It's going to look fantastic with jeans - unfortunately she and my brother live in small town adjacent to Sarasota, Florida (the rest of my family lives there). . . so she'll need a ski trip to wear it!  Todd, are you listening?

I also took a class on fingerless mitts - a simple class, really - but I learned to use Double-Pointed Needles (DPNs) - so easy - I'm glad I learned the technique.   J. and my co-workers call them my "homeless mitts" but they are good at typing on the computer.   These are a very soft merino wool in worsted weight.  I want to make a few different patterns for fingerless mitts -  which I have the pictures below - all linked to Fingerless Mitts on Ravelry.   I'm also a bit obsessed with legwarmers ...

All of these are from Ravelry - Yoga Socks:

 The Dude (J. likes this):

Tube Sock Legwarmers:

Melody Leggings:

 Susie's Fingerless Mitts:

I couldn't make my tailored jacket - the pattern called for 3-4 yards of fabric and unfortunately I had 2.5. . . so I am going on to a few other projects that I will share this weekend. . . .

How is your knitting coming along?
P.

Hold your excitement. . . Dishtowels

Dear readers,

Between ruining my waistband on my pants and finally fixing it - I was sew restless!  So, what did I do - bought some Moda by United Notions (5.49 yard) dishtowel fabric from a local store and made gifts!

I also made two pillowcases (no pictures but similar to previous pillowcases). . .one tool bag for knitting (a later post), blind-hemmed suit pants (super easy with my blind hemming foot) and tailored an anthropologies dress to fit better (lots of ripping).

I had a difficult time finishing the dish towels, I tried my binder foot, my roll foot, my hemmer - nothing worked exceed good old fashioned folding and top stitching. . . so not perfect - but my first try.

I've decided to do the Colette Anise Sew-Along.  I am getting my tailoring tools today or this weekend from B. Black and Sons, Shoulder pads, sleeve heads. . . I'll set up a post so you can follow along - I expect plenty of disasters!!

This will probably be my last bit of winter sewing - and after this - I'm onto the Spring?  Has anyone ventured into Spring sewing yet?

P.