OAL 2015: Finished Outfit

I finished my Outfit-along outfit before the deadline! Hooray! I'm super happy with the results and I've gotten so much wear out of my dress that the pattern is going to be a sewing staple. I sewed New Look 6223 and knit Tambourine by Julia Farwell-Clay.

Let's talk about the dress first, shall we? 

I chose a dark blue eyelet cotton blend and lined it with a light blue daphne - the eyelet is a mid-weight cotton and the daphne is very lightweight so between the two I get a dress with nice weight and drape that feels very summery but won't blow up around my head at every breeze. I did my first ever full bust adjustment following this tutorial and love the result. 

This dress has pockets, soft pleats at the waist, and comes to just above my knee. I can see myself making a ton of dresses from this pattern in various fabrics - I might even try one in wool! 

 On to the knitting! Tambourine is a pattern by Julia Farwell-Clay from the Spring 2015 issue of Pom Pom Magazine. I loved this sweater at first sight and knew that it would be perfect in orange. Earlier this year I frogged a sweater that never fit quite right and while the color was perfect, French Marigold by Miss Babs, the gauge was all wrong.

I took my gauge swatch and plugged the numbers into the schematic numbers to see if I could follow another size to get the fit I wanted with my yarn. I followed the size 43, which is my full bust measurement, with my smaller DK gauge to get a nice fit through the shoulders and added extra increases for my bust. The other thing I had to factor into the row gauge was the stitch pattern along the front of the sweater but this ended up working out with my gauge - six repeats of the pattern fit perfectly into the front of the sweater without having to adjust anything. 

I knit the entire sweater on US #5 (3.75mm) needles. Besides the gauge modification, my biggest change to the pattern was to knit the sleeves from the top down following Barbara Walker's method in Knitting from the Top. You may have noticed that my sweater doesn't have buttons and that's because: 1) I haven't found the perfect match and 2) I almost never button my cardigans. As soon as the weather cools down a bit I'll be sporting my new outfit pieces together, for now I'm settling on wearing my awesome new dress.

This & That

I'm having a pretty difficult time getting back into my routine after the two knitting retreats I attended. Back to work, back to housework, back to...everything. I've had a busy few weeks including finally throwing a birthday party for Little A (her birthday is Christmas Eve) and a small group of her friends. Our apartment is too small for entertaining so I booked a sprinkle party at our local cupcake shop and crafted some party favors. 

Unicorn headbands!!! I used this tutorial for the horns and the flowers and they were a smashing success. Each kid also got a sparkly pinwheel to take home since decorating and eating cupcakes was sugar enough for a group of six year old kids.

I've also spent a little bit of time sewing some of my recent fabric purchases. 

This is Butterick 5526 and it's my first time sewing a button up shirt in a loooong time.  I have yet to purchase buttons but the fabric is from my trip to the sewing expo in Puyallup a couple months back. It's a cotton gauze which was kind of a pain to sew with since it's got a bit of stretch to it but on the plus side I don't really have to press it due to the crinkle texture.

Today I wound my skein of Reliquary II from A Verb for Keeping Warm to cast on a new project that will (hopefully) be a pattern at some point. I've got a rough sketch and some stitch counts and need to do a little swatching. 

In other news, I'm taking part in Me Made May this year so if you're participating you should let me know your Instagram name! Mine is erinbirnel.

Wardrobe Architect 2015

One of my goals for this year is to sew and knit more of my wardrobe. The question that keeps popping up is how to go about this while having a cohesive wardrobe that works for my work life and home life. Theoretically, I should be able to look at what I own and just go from there, but I'm having some trouble separating the frosting (pretty, patterned pieces) from the cake (basic wardrobe building blocks) in order to figure out what needs to be made. I stumbled across the Coletterie 2015 Wardrobe Architect Challenge and decided that this was the perfect tool to help curate my wardrobe. 

 

One of my two OAL ensembles from last year.

I'll be working throughout the year to plan, sew, and knit my wardrobe and I hope you'll join me in creating a hand made wardrobe to the extent that you're able (or interested). I've decided on some of my own guidelines:

• think about how to replace clothes when they wear out, if they need to replaced at all
• define and curate my personal style
• sew or knit garments or go to thrift/consignment stores rather than purchasing new

I'm exempting some items from this list: undergarments, tights, and shoes.  My hope for this project is to end the year with a mostly me-made wardrobe that fits my needs, showcases my personal style, and makes me happy. I hope you'll join me!

Happy Things for a Tuesday

Photo courtesy of Misi Photo

I'm having a case of the Mondays... on Tuesday. I'm firmly convinced that Tuesday is the worst day of the week; no re-entry from the weekend, not a hump day, not even close to Friday - it's just there, being a Tuesday. Blech.

I thought I'd counteract the ickiness by sharing some happy things, like this pattern. It's the Graceful Pullover by Maria Yarley and it's a ballet-inspired fingering weight sweater guaranteed to make the little girl in your life pirouette. It's a $6.99 download via Ravelry and 100% of the proceeds go to a friend of the designer who recently lost her husband and has four children to raise.You get an adorable pattern and get to help someone in need, how great is that?

I've also started thinking about Christmas knitting (you realize it's next month, right?) and I'm happy that I started last month and have two projects done and another on the needles. Of course, that's not to say that I won't be furiously knitting up until the last minute trying to eke out every last minute and yard. 

Here's a sneak peak since I'll have an entire FO post about this project later in the week. I'm tempted to keep it for myself!

Finally, Colette just released a stunner of a pattern called the Dahlia dress. It looks like a wardrobe staple and I'm contemplating joining the sewalong but not before I bust out a top with this fabric:

I purchased this fabric from Spoonflower for Miss Crayola Creepy's Cat Lady Sewing Challenge. I'm planning on a Sorbetto top from Colette which I should be able to sew in an afternoon. Should. I have until the 9th to get it together and we'll just not think about the fact that Knit Fit! is this weekend and I'll be away from my sewing machine. 

Well, that pick me up worked for me and I hope it worked for you, too!

Blog Hop

My friend, Amy, of Quixotic Pixels asked me to participate in a blog hop last week and I jumped at the chance! Amy is a busy mother of two and she's always creating things - from sewing to knitting to jewelry-making, I'm always impressed with the amount of crafting she fits into her busy schedule. 

The blog hop has four main questions, so let's get to it, shall we?

What am I working on? 

This is probably going to be the longest part of this post! 

 

I cut out an Emery Dress last weekend and am waiting for a good block of time to start the sewing! All of my pieces are marked and ready to go, I just have to pick up some black fabric for the collar and lining the skirt. I'm using a chambray from fabric.com and since the fabric is really lightweight I want to line the skirt to make it feel more substantial. 

 This is the first of four knitting projects I have on the needles. The pattern is Pretty (me) by Nadia Cretin-Lechenne from the ebook Emmitouflage(s). I'm using Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sport in the Del Rey color.

 This project is Sylkie by the Shetland Trader in some Imperial Stock Ranch Columbia. The color is Cactus Blossom. When this grows up it'll be a cowl for snuggling up in during the cold, rainy season.

 A pair of Simple Skyp Socks in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock December Ribbon Candy color. This picture is deceptive, I'm actually through the heel turn of the second sock.

Finally, I've barely even cast on the Love & Happiness cowl by Amy Christoffers of Savory Knitting. It's a heavily cabled cowl and I'm using the Plucky Knitter Primo! Worsted in Bleedin' Armadillo Groom Cake (I purchased this yarn at a craft/garage sale and it's a club colorway).

How does my work differ from others of its genre? 

 Hmm. I can't say that my work is hugely different from other work out there. My sewing is heavily influenced by sewing bloggers that I read and my knitting tends to be inspired by yarn I want to use or patterns that speak to me. I have a few designs on Ravelry and they tend to be simple items. In general, the items that I design are influenced by my yarn choice and tend to be a marriage of easy knitting (good for social knitting) and simple texture.

(Photo by Amy of Quixotic Pixels)

This is my design, Pillsbury, knit in Dream in Color Classy. It's a free pattern on Ravelry.

Why do I write/create what I do? 

 The urge to create things is strong in my family - my grandmother did all manner of crafts and my mom sewed all the time when I was a kid - so it runs in the family, I guess. My mom urged me and my sister to do all kinds of crafts growing up so I learned to sew when I was twelve, did embroidery and cross-stitch, and finally hit upon knitting in my late twenties. I find crafting of all kinds to be good for my well-being and a good way to make useful things for my family and friends. I knit when I'm happy, I console myself with knitting when I'm sad, and I use knitting as a way to stay in touch with friends at our weekly meet-ups.

How does my writing/creative process work?

In choosing patterns to sew I usually look at sewing blogs for inspiration. I'll also look at my wardrobe to see what clothing hole needs to be filled and then go from there. 

Choosing a pattern to knit can be as easy as looking at my queue on Ravelry and deciding what to make next, or, digging through my stash and finding a yarn that speaks to me. The second option is way more fun, by the way. I'll then swatch if the project is a sweater and go from there or cast on right away and get to knitting my new project.

This feels odd to write, but most of my designs are fueled by knitting ennui. Sometimes I just don't want to be married to a pattern or don't have the head space for following someone's directions. I'll dig through my stash, think of the kind of item I want to knit and what kind of design attributes I want it to have (see above, a marriage of simple but interesting) and get cracking. I've learned to take notes from the get-go and to annotate changes as I make them rather than try and knit an item to the finish before writing anything down. Once an item is done I'll sit down at the computer and write a rough draft pattern from my notes and then find a test knitter (usually my friend, Monica). Once the pattern is tested and I get feedback about the pattern I'll make any necessary changes and then wrangle another friend to take pictures for me. The final step is to format the pattern and the pictures and get the whole shebang uploaded to the Ravelry pattern shop. The whole process has to move along at a pretty nice clip or else I get bored and patterns languish (like a shawl that has been sitting around for two years).

I guess that'll do! Thanks for stopping by on the blog hop! I've passed the torch to Stariel of Stariel Knits and Andi of My Sister's Knitter. Watch for their blog posts next Monday! A big thanks to Amy for asking me to participate in my first ever blog hop.

OAL Finishline!

What do you know? I have two, TWO, finished outfits for the Outfit-along hosted by Andi Satterlund of Untangling Knots and Lauren of Lladybird. I finished both outfits in plenty of time but had a hard time getting pictures. My bestie is visiting from Indiana so I drafted her for an impromptu photo shoot and what do you know? it's way easier to have someone else take pictures!

 The cardigan is Myrna by Andi Satterlund and I knit it in Cascade 220 in color #2409. I lengthened the body and mirrored the decreases to make the cardigan more wearable with the rest of my wardrobe.

The dress is Simplicity 1803 with the notched neckline option and soft pleats instead of a gathered waist. I love a dress with pockets and I decided to move them to the side seams a la Ladybird's suggestion. The fabric is a rayon/linen blend from the folks at JoAnn's.

 My second cardigan is Sylph by Louisa Harding from her book, Cardigans. The cardigan is knit in pieces and seamed and the only modification I made was to lengthen the body by about an inch. Since my fabric was a little crazy I wanted a simple, classic shape in a solid color. I used Miss Babs Yowza! Whatta Skein in the Ironweed color. The yarn was kicking around in my stash since the first Sock Summit and I was super happy to have the perfect use for it.

 I used Simplicity 1803 (again) with the plain vee neckline for my second dress which I'm calling my Zebra Fruit Stripes dress. The fabric is the same rayon/linen blend from JoAnn's since I like working with it so much. Really. It has excellent drape, is easy to sew, and is easy to launder.

This challenge really lit a fire under me to do more sewing and to think about my existing wardrobe and how to make new things that work with it. Both of my dresses work with store-bought cardigans I already own and both cardigans look cute paired with jeans, pants, and skirts that I already own. 

Did you participate in the OAL? How did your outfit turn out? Did you finish in time?

More Fun With OAL2014!

I'm really sad to say that I woke up with a horrible cold this morning and am still feeling pretty yucktastic but really really excited about the latest episode of my podcast - Doubleknit #92! In this episode we interviewed Andi Satterlund of Untangling Knots about the Outfit-Along and talked about our sewing plans and knitting plans for the OAL. Andi also hung out to talk movies with us and it was super fun! If you're curious about Andi's sewing experience or want to hear more about the selected knit pattern for the OAL, Myrna, give it a listen. 

In more OAL news, I finished my dress this week and promptly purchased fabric for two more dresses - we'll see how many OAL garments I can cram into the next month or so, huh? 

This is a Kaufman chambray with an awesome anchor print that I ordered from fabric.com. I plan on making the super popular Emery Dress by Christine Haynes with it. I think it'll look fabulous with my Audrey in Unst from last year (photo below). If I don't get around to making an OAL set with it I already own something handmade that will work toward my Me Made May 2015 goal.

I also picked up some more linen blend yardage from Joann's in a crazy kind of zebra print. I used the same blend for my first OAL dress and was happy to see the same type of fabric on sale for half off since I liked sewing with it. I'll be using the same Simplicity 1803 pattern but a different view for this fabric. It looks like my tendency for sewing is to choose a nice print and then knit something solid-colored to match and I'm okay with that! The zebra print will pair nicely with lots of solid colored cardigans.

How's your OAL progress? Zooming through the sewing and stuck on the knitting or vice versa?

Sewn FO: Super Stripes

Over the weekend I did a small jaunt to the fabric store and my LYS to pick up supplies for the OAL with a friend of mine. Since my last go at sewing when I was in high school I've learned a thing or two about fabric stash management: 1) it's really fun to go fabric shopping 2) I shouldn't purchase more fabric than I'm willing to sew in the next couple of projects because that way lies madness (also, fabric hoarding).

 I wanted to buy fabric for at least three projects but talked myself down and came away with this one awesome cut of stripey fabric. The fabric is just a poly rayon which means it has really good drape and is kind of a pain to sew. I made a simple gathered skirt with a side zipper and button at the waist. I'm standing crooked in both shots (balancing on a kid's chair to try and get the whole skirt in the shot isn't easy) but the stripes mostly line up at the seams and my hem is nice and straight. I wore this to work today and it goes with several things I already own - another wardrobe win! This skirt is gonna get the heck worn out of it this Summer! My only regret is that I didn't throw in some side seam pockets but I'm not sure if it's worth the headache of ripping seams to try and afterthought those in.

OAL 2014: The Knitting Portion

Remember last week when I wrote about the awesome Outfit-along I decided to take part in? I somehow forgot that I mentioned I'd talk about yarn choices for the cardigan I'll be knitting as part of the OAL. Oops! Seriously though, my sister was visiting from out of town and it was my last few days of quiet before Little A came back from her Nana's house in California - I had relaxin' to do y'all! 

Now, I'll not say that I don't have yarn, cause I do (see above)! But when I went to my stash to look at worsted weight yarn in sweater quantities there was...like...a hole. The pattern for the KAL is Myrna and the gauge is 4.5 st/inch on a US #8. Since the idea is to knit something to go with my dress, I want to choose a coordinating color from my fabric. 

I think red might read a little too Christmasy with the big red flowers in the print and the pink is out because it's ME here. What's left is orange, orangey-red, and a couple of shades of green and maybe yellow. I'm inclined toward the green side of things since I don't have a green cardigan in rotation right now.

My go-to yarn is Cascade 220. I know absolutely that I can get 4.5 sts/inch on a US #7 with that yarn and it comes in an amazing array of colors.

Second up is Quince & Co Lark. I haven't knit with Lark before but I really do like the yarns I have knit with from that line. I have a few skeins of the Cypress color in my stash that I'm going to dig out for a color comparison and take another look at the color cards I borrowed from a friend. 

My third choice is Malabrigo - I love Worsted since it's so buttery soft but a sweater knit out of it would pill after one wearing and I'm just not up for that kind defuzzing on a handknit. Rios is a good option and I think lettuce or sunset might be colors that work with my fabric.

I'll be making a trip to my LYS with my fabric this weekend to see what works in real life and as soon as I get it I'll be swatching for Myrna.

Are you participating in the Outfit-along? What knitting pattern and yarn are you using?

Sewing FO: Crazy Cat Top

 I made another top!

 I used the same pattern as my other leopard print top but changed it up quite a bit. The pattern calls for woven fabrics but I was curious to see how it would translate into a knit fabric. Just to be clear here, I've never sewn with knit fabrics so this was a total crapshoot. I saw this super crazy rainbow vomit pseudo-leopard print at Joann's and  picked it up for about $8 (about what I would pay for a generic on-sale t-shirt at a big box store).

Instead of cutting two back pieces and seaming them, I cut the back on the fold, removing the seam allowances and cut the front as usual. I gleaned some awesome information about sewing with knits from this post and made a second trip to Joann's for ball point needles, a twin needle, and some double-sided steam a seam and then I got to work. About an hour later I had this crazy top which I totally lurve. There are still some issues I need to work out - I still get some bagginess at the neckline, I have a slightly wavy hem, and I could take the seams in a tad more, but overall I'm pleased with it. I wore it to work on Tuesday with my black pencil skirt and tealy-blue cardigan - the good thing about the crazy print is that it works with a ton of colors. Now my interest in sewing with knits is piqued and I want to try sewing a pattern actually designed for knits - like Renfrew!

Do any of you home sewists have tips for me for working with knits? How about favorite patterns?

Sew Crazy

I have a confession to make. I'm a bit obsessed with sewing lately thanks to everyone's posts about Me Made May and the bug hit hard Friday after learning about Andi and Lauren hosting a SAL/KAL in June and July. The idea is to make a coordinated outfit using sewing and knitting and I've decided to join in! Saturday afternoon I decided to snag the pattern at Joann's and take a look at fabric. The pattern for the sewing portion of the Sew-along is Simplicity 1803 which is a simple fit and flare dress with princess seams and a gathered skirt. Lauren will be posting step-by-step instructions on her blog. I found a great linen blend floral print that will be perfect for this Summer (40% off didn't hurt either).

 While I was shopping for the dress fabric I picked up Simplicity 1364 and fabric for it as well. Now, I have to tell you that I haven't sewn a garment for myself in ages - probably since I started knitting about seven or eight years ago. This pattern is super simple with three pieces and a lapped zipper in back and it felt like a good fit for getting my feet wet with sewing garments again. It's not 100% perfect but not too bad after such a long sewing hiatus.

My fabric is a cotton blend in an awesome leopard print and it was the last of the bolt. I barely eked out the pieces with the fabric I purchased. There are two long deep bust darts for shaping and that's about it. Since I don't have a very narrow waist that's not a problem for me but I wouldn't say it's the most figure-flattering silhouette. I totally want to make this again in a slightly lighter weight fabric or something with just a smidge of stretch and take out about an inch or two of fabric at the neckline where the fabric has a tendency to tent. I can throw on a black cardigan and a skirt or pants and wear this to work without any problem!

If you're interested in joining the Outfit Along you can find information on Andi's blog or Lauren's blog and Andi started a thread on Ravelry in her group for the knitting side of things. I'll be knitting and sewing the suggested patterns but it's definitely not a requirement that you do so! If you've been interested in trying your hand at sewing or knitting garments this is a great way to get started since both hostesses will be on hand to answer questions and guide you through the process. I hope to see you join!

Since I mainly talked about the sewing portion of the Outfit along in this post I'll be writing another post about my sweater and yarn choices this week.

Finishing Frenzy

Today is my due date. I'm ready to go however the baby is not cooperating and nothing much is happening except a little dropping so I can actually breathe now. It makes sleeping much easier.

To keep my mind off of what isn't going on I've been finishing things like a fiend. My socks are to the left. They're the Little Child's Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks which I ran out of yarn while knitting the second toe. The sock to the left is the one with the different color toe - I like that my camera funks up the color so you can't really tell. :) They're fairly tall socks and I think that's why I ran out of yarn. If I removed the stockinette below the ribbing or just did a couple of rows everything would be dandy. I do like the 'flat toe' on these socks though - they fit my tootsies well.


I cast on the Geordie Stripe Yoke Jacket with leftover yarn from a couple of different projects. I think it turned out fairly well and I had almost enough o-wool to knit the whole hat but ran out right at the crown. I finished it up in the gray. I just have to block it and sew some buttons on. I am officially out of Cranberry O-wool. Yay. The patterns are from Natural Knits for Babies & Moms and this one is going to charity.

Finally, I picked up some fabric last Friday and sewed it up on Saturday as a cover for our nursery chair. It took a couple of hours and was pretty easy to do without a pattern. The top is all the same fabric and I used some lightweight natural denim for the back of the seat since it'll get a lot of wear. My in-laws got this for us from Ikea - it's the poang chair. I was weary about getting a rocker or a glider since they're perfect for crushing little fingers and kitty tales alike. This one has a nice bouncy motion and is super comfortable. We'll see what else I can bust out before the baby makes her arrival, I hope it's soon.