New Sewing Books

I promised a bit of a review of the new books I bought with my birthday gift certificate. (My birthday is in November so it was well-marinated by the time I got around to using it!) The first one is the second in a series (and yes, of course I own the first one too):

Shape Shape 2: Sewing for Minimalist Style by Natsuno Hiraiwa. This is the English translation of the Japanese book which came out in 2009. In this second book, Natusuno carries on with her collection begun in the first Shape Shape. The designs are quite timeless so nothing looks dated at all. It includes patterns for tops, skirts, scarves, belt and even a brooch. They are either in SML or one-size-fits-all, which of course leaves a lot of gaps in the sizing. At least the designs are simple enough to be fairly easily adjusted if necessary. The patterns are included in an envelope in the back and are the traceable format similar to BurdaStyle but much easier to see. Seam allowances are NOT included. Sewing instructions are in the typical Japanese numbered diagrams with corresponding cryptic instructions. They aren’t really difficult but I’m sure it makes a lot more sense if you have at least some sewing experience. It’s better than BurdaStyle though especially if you are better with illustrations than words.

The styles may be simple but most of them are quite ingenious and able to be worn more than one way. I particularly like at least 3 of the skirt patterns, including one that switches between a skirt and harem pants with a few buttons. Truthfully I don’t know whether or not I really suit the Japanese-style clothes, being somewhat more rounded than the usual small straight-figured woman these were designed by and for, but I love them for their comfortable fit and versatile wearing possibilities.

A lot of the sewing bloggers also like the Drape Drape books by Hisako Sato but they aren’t at all the same as Shape Shape. They are for slinkier knits and are quite challenging, both to make and to wear! Very avant-garde. So cool, but definitely not my style. And neither of these series are for pattern making – they include the patterns for you – so they are different again from the Pattern Magic books. Whew! Clear as mud now?

Because I don’t yet have enough books (!!!) on pattern making, I also received this new title:

The Pattern Making Primer: All You Need to Know About Designing, Adapting, and Customizing Sewing Patterns by Jo Barnfield and Andrew Richards. I’m somewhat on the fence on this one. It has a succinct style with lots of illustrations but it just seems to attempt to cover way too much in too small of a space. Check out this list from the cover:

WITH INFORMATION ON
Tools and equipment
Seams, darts, and notches
Fabric considerations
Measurements, slopers, annotations, and blocks
Combining and dividing
Fitting and adjusting
Rub-off drafting
Adding and suppressing volume
Sleeves, collars, waistbands, and cuffs
Openings and fastenings
Finishings, linings, and facings
Pockets
Going pro and e-tailing

Several of those subjects are books-worthy all by themselves! Also the language is more “industrial” than “home-sewer” which might confuse some, though I personally kind of like it. This book actually is more like a text-book-in-search-of-a-class-with-instructor since so much of the information seems like it needs clarification and expanding to be really meaningful.

If you’re a brave DIYer, you could make a mini-sloper and play with some of the intriguing style changes by slashing and moving darts and opening tucks and pleats. There’s some hopefully clear instructions for sewing plackets, pockets, zippers and collars which could be helpful. There’s one whole section on the drape method for rubbing off a jacket. Tidbits and teasers all through! However I did find the chapter on going pro and e-tailing to be simplistic to the point of laughable. Luckily it’s only a few pages wasted.

I want to like this book but I’m going to give it a Definite Maybe. It’s not expensive. It might be just the place to look up something that’s not completely new to you but you just want a reminder on how something should work. On the other hand, if you really want to be a designer-maker I would skip straight to Kathleen Fasanella and Fashion Incubator for the real deal. Her book is the definitive version that blows The Primer out of the water. And no, I don’t own that one. I have no plans to ever make a business out of sewing.

I’ll save the last book for another time. I still haven’t read it all and I want to do a post on recent spinning publications anyway. Hold that thought.

Meanwhile, yesterday we had a leetle accident with poor Blodgie, the hot water bottle. Yeah, you knew it was coming, didn’t you? He was three years old and used a lot, especially this winter when we needed him nearly every night to warm up our cold bed. Luckily he didn’t spring a leak (and it was a very small one) until we were awake enough to feel it on our toes. The sheets got wet along with the mattress pad but the water didn’t penetrate down to our foam mattress. Whew! We managed to locate a replacement – and a replacement for the replacement (aka The Heir and The Spare) just in case. This one is red and slightly larger. It has a best-before date on it of 2017 so here’s hoping it lasts longer than the rather cheap green one. Now I want to knit a new sweater for it. The old orange one is rather pilled and a little too small though I’ll probably keep it for The Spare after a shave and a wash. I’ll probably use the pattern that I developed for Stargazer’s Blue Blodgie which is the same size. Now I need to locate some suitable yarn in the stash. Surprisingly I need about 250 yards of worsted weight but I don’t think it matters if it’s not superwash wool. It might felt a little but that should just make it cosier.

As I mentioned in the last post, we had a nice day yesterday so we went for a Long Walk downtown to Dressew. I wanted some more elastics and I managed to find some bra wires that are ostensibly the right size. They are definitely not as nice as the ones from Bra-maker’s Supply but they’re also only $.99 a pair and good enough for practise bra sewing. The elastic selection is a bit weird (as is all of Dressew really!) and although they have lots of interesting colours in narrow plush-back and fold-over styles there’s not a lot of matching colours nor much of any type of lingerie elastics in either black or white. No wonder all my sewn lingerie has mismatched elastics! Oh well. Nobody really sees it but me and perhaps T-Man who doesn’t care either. I did find a whole bolt of black powernet though and got a yard (only $3.00!) which should last a few projects. And naturally a few bits out of the remnant bins followed me home as well. How do they do that?

New Patterns

Whew! My Vogue patterns finally arrived and in an intact envelope for once. My kind postman rang the doorbell and handed it over because it wouldn’t fit in my mailbox. It was raining and I guess he didn’t want to leave it under the mat. I think he knows someone is usually home.

I know at least one of my Faithful Readers wanted to know what I ordered this time. I know I keep swearing off the pattern sales because I always have to practically reinvent the whole thing in order to get it to fit anyway. However, there have been a few that are too complex to be worth trying to draft from scratch.

BTW, I’m cheating by borrowing the illustrations from the BMV website. Too much trouble to photograph the pattern envelopes. Have I mentioned how much I detest most of the model garments? Nearly everyone who makes these up does a better job at it. I’ve seen some fabulous pieces sewn using some patterns that look totally ho-hum at first glance! Thank goodness for sewing blogs, PatternReview and Pinterest. (No, I’m not on Pinterest myself. I just search it.)

V8709

This is one of Marcy Tilton’s with an interesting swing shape and 2 different collar treatments. They call it a blouse but I’ve seen sleeveless vest and longer jacket versions. I think it might need a little of the front swing removed and some length added. At least it has pockets! I have some linen that I hope is enough for a vest version.

V8876

Another one of Marcy’s, this one a dress. There’s the option of sleeveless, a little sleeve or long sleeves and she shows one with both sleeve options in two different fabrics. A zipper or buttons fasten the front and the collar has a drawstring tie. The model garments are much nicer in this set in my opinion. I especially like this one with the look of hand-painted fabric:

Somewhere in my stash I have some nice rayon/linen that would be fun to dye up for this. I like buttons rather than a zipper.

V1234

This is one of Sandra Betzina’s Today’s Fit patterns. I know it looks like saddlebags but I’ve seen some really nice versions in a really drapey knit that hangs in a more flattering way. However I’m betting it’s going to be very long on stumpy little me and it’s not immediately obvious how it could be shortened. I do like the little cap sleeve better than sleeveless. Someone made one with longer sleeves and it looked great too. I don’t immediately have anything that I think would work for this dress and it’s a real fabric hog. I want silk though the price might be prohibitive.

V1333

This is another Sandra Betzina and another of those patterns that is funky and cool but hardly anyone has made. I think the fabric choice makes it look much more complicated than it is. I don’t much like the top (the sleeves look upside down to me!) but the funky skirt is fairly simple with an overlay that has tucks. It’s kind of a redux of an earlier design that was a little more complicated – lots of tiny tucks on the side opposite to the overlay – and a wider fitted waistband. This one simplifies the idea and there’s comfy elastic in the waist. After my red skirt (the one with the magenta lace hem on the lining), I’m not so enamoured of any waistband without elastic in it. Yes, I AM a granny!

No idea what I would make this thing out of or even whether it might be flattering at all on me. It just intrigues me.

V8854

Quite a few people have made the hoodie version of this with the high-low hem. I like this collar though I’m not so sure about the pocket. Maybe. It’s supposed to be made from a knit although I’m wondering if I can get it out of a soft brushed cotton twill. Perhaps if I don’t fit it too closely? I might have to muslin this one. Darn.

V8755

I liked the simple lines of this dress or tunic. Even the colour-blocked version is nice and has possibilities to use up smaller pieces of fabric. Though it does have a back zipper which often is a waste of sewing unless it is quite tightly fitted. I’d have to test by basting up the back and seeing if I can still get it on. I’m debating on whether dress or tunic would get more wear. The pants are included but they have a fitted waist. Not going there.

So. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! I still haven’t told you about my new books but instead now I need to get outside on this sunny February day. My garlic is up a couple of inches now and the crocuses are blooming. Sorry if there’s still snow where you are. Spring will come sometime regardless. It always does.

Playing Catch-Up

Reifel Bird Sanctuary, a week ago. This is a favourite place for family outings especially in winter when the weather cooperates. This cute little northern saw-whet owl sleeps unconcernedly right by the path:

We were joking that it’s really a stuffed toy! There’s also many other birds to see including trumpeter swans, many kinds of ducks, herons, sandhill cranes, chickadees that will eat sunflower seeds out of your hand, redwing blackbirds (their calls play havoc with my hearing aids!) and a group of very rare black-crowned night herons. I got pictures of the latter but they were unfortunately rather fuzzy.

On Valentine’s Day we babysat the Littlest Grandbeastie for the full day. It was really a lot of fun! At two she is so darned cute but won’t hold still for a second in order for us to get a half-decent photo. But since she was wearing the blue dress that I knitted for her I was determined to show it off. This was the best I could do:

It actually fits her quite well and it doesn’t seem to get in her way while she plays. I’d call that a win! As you might be able to tell the pockets are especially appreciated. We had to search ’em for stray toys before she left. We held up pretty well over a full day but of course both grandparents slept like the proverbial logs that night! Whew.

Next I have to show off the latest finished sewing project:

The Flashy Dress

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Completed:  February 16, 2013

Fabric:  heavy cotton/lycra interlock, 54” wide, 1.75yds, magenta pink, dyed with golden yellow, emerald and navy Procion MX in low water immersion technique. (Note emerald dye washed out.) Fabric was from my ex-neighbour’s free box.

Notions:  sewing and serger threads, 4mm twin needle, stay tape, Steam-a-Seam 2 1/4” fusible hem tape.

Pattern:  Butterick 5246 View A.

Mods: Fitted to my narrow sloping neck, shoulders and sleeves. Dropped the front yoke line by 1” for my low bust. Left off the back ties and added a back seam with a little shaping. Attempted to add inseam pockets but ended up with patch pockets instead.

Comments:  This is as close to a pink dress as you will ever see me wear! Very spring-like, don’t you think? The modifications I made fit me quite well but the inseam pockets didn’t hang right. The fabric is just too heavy. I cut them off and with the little bit of remaining fabric added patch pockets. I set them a little on a slant to match the line of the yoke. They change the look of this dress somewhat but I am willing to sacrifice style for function. Must have pockets!

I had a little trouble with this interlock stretching as I sewed it especially on the cross-grain. I was smart enough to use stay tape on the shoulders but didn’t on the yoke and the twin-needle topstitching didn’t help much. I should have used clear elastic in that seam instead. I also needed to use the serger’s differential feed on the hem and only figured that out near the end. A setting of 1.5 made it lie much flatter. I hope I will remember these tricks in future because I still have 3 more pieces of this fabric left. You can bet I will dye them as well.

In Knitting Knews, I’m nearly done the Rosa Grey Tunic and because it’s knitted top-down, I was able to try it on after adding a longer cord to the circular needle. I quite like how it’s coming out and it just needs to be about 6” or 8” longer now. Lots of yarn left still. I’m also finding the Orange Aeolian Shawl quite fun to do so I’m knitting on it every day. I changed its name from “shawlette” to “shawl” because I think it’s going to be a little larger than the smaller version though perhaps not nearly as big as the full-sized one. The madder dye is a perfect colour for my wardrobe and the suri alpaca is a little fuzzy and surprisingly soft. Who would have thought that pink beads would coordinate so well with orange? That’s 2 recent pink things for the damselfly who doesn’t really like pink. Hmmmm….

I also got several books in the post recently which merit a review: two on sewing and one on spinning. I finally spent my birthday gift certificate from T’s mom. Plus a little more of course because obviously I can’t just order one or two books at a time! More later. Right now I have to go figure out what’s next up for sewing. Bra? Panties? Something else entirely?

Casting Off and Casting On

Moving right along here, at least with the knitting. The sewing – not so much. I’m hoping to start on the dress this afternoon though. Maybe.

First up here’s my latest FO:

Winter’s Dark Socks For Me

Begun: February 1, 2013
Completed: February 11, 2013

Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Line Steps Color, 75% wool/25% nylon, colourway 5371 (nearly black with light blue-grey stripes and dots), 230 yds = 50g. Used most of 2 balls.

Needles: Clover Takumi bamboo dpns, 2mm

Pattern: Damselfly’s Plain Socks, 64 sts, 8” to heel flap, 6.75” before toe dec, to 24 sts, dog-ear reduction.

Comments: There were 2 balls left after making T a pair and I’ve never had a nearly-black pair of socks. They work with a lot of my wardrobe. I’ve noticed that I’ve been tending to make the legs longer on my socks recently. They come above my boots better.

Gee, I hope I’m done with knitting in black for the foreseeable future! Most of my knitting happens in the evening dinner after while we’re watching TV. There’s not enough light for dark-coloured yarn and I’ve made quite a few projects like that recently! Instead I decided to use some bright orange-red suri alpaca lace yarn and pink silver-lined seed beads to cast on this:

That’s the very beginning of the Aeolian Shawlette by Elizabeth Freeman, from Knitty’s Spring 2009 issue. Unlike the Annis scarf I finished recently, this one is going to be challenge to knit! It includes both beads and nupps and some of the beads go on decrease stitches for extra fun. The stitch patterns are of the always-exciting Estonian variety too. I’m only 4 years late to this party. Over 3500 people have knit it already! Unfortunately this is NOT evening-in-front-of-the-TV knitting so it’ll probably be ongoing for quite awhile.

So for an easier (but dark-coloured!) project I also cast on for Rosa’s Sleeveless Cardi-Jumper by Emma Fassio, a free Ravelry download. Calling it a cardi was obviously an English-as-a-second-language issue because it’s really much more like a tunic. I’m sure Emma added the “Jumper” to it’s name to help avoid a little confusion. Anyway, the style is right up my alley with the pointy hems. (Yes, I still love them!) And since I have to adjust the numbers because my gauge is quite different with a finer yarn, it’s an easy top-down shape to fiddle with. I used some really ancient linen/cotton slub yarn in a dark grey that’s been in my stash forever:

It’s already been knit into several things that didn’t work out so I’m hoping for Third Time’s The Charm with this one. I have lots of yarn so I’ll be deciding whether or not to add sleeves as I go. So far it’s coming out well.

BTW we had a lovely time at Nana’s 85th Birthday party on Sunday! It was a big family turn-out at Reifel Bird Sanctuary and even more showed up for the party itself – 22 in total. Nana had a fabulous time and kept saying that it was the best birthday ever. Thanks to T’s baby brother and his dear wife for organising things, supplying food for both the birds and the people, and to everyone for managing to come on short notice. I have a few pictures but they’re still in the camera. Mostly of birds, it turns out! Typical…

How Can A Spiral Year Have A Corner?

No matter. It’s turned anyway. Spring seems like it’s on its way and I’m much more of a healthy human these days. We even walked a Long Walk down and along the water to Granville Island and then back up all the hills carrying veggies and other rather weighty groceries the other day. It felt good to be out in the nearly-spring air even though I was pretty tired by the time we got almost home. Somewhere around 8 kilometres is near my limit after so long lazing about this winter. It will get easier as we hoof it out more often now that we’re both feeling better. As long as it’s not actively raining we can get outside. I missed our almost-daily walks.

Thanks again to everyone who commented positively on my Bra Wars success! (Sorry you didn’t jump into the fray as well, pao. Don’t blame you at all for your reticence though.) I’ve converted the pattern into what I hope will be my next version but I won’t know if it worked until I try it. It’s always tempting to tweak the darn thing every time I sew it but sometimes even very subtle changes render the thing unwearable. Or perfect. You can never predict which. I find it all fascinating – if somewhat frustrating at the same time.

Meanwhile, for my “palate cleanser” I’ve cut out my next sewing project – Butterick 5246 – from the dyed cotton/lycra interlock. Just to remind you it looks like this:

I was a little disappointed that the back (which was cut out with a centre seam to save fabric) doesn’t match on the two halves very well. It’s the curse of using my own hand-dye job which turned out a little funky due to the one emerald dye being old and not taking. It washed out leaving a rather murky area which ended up on one half of the back. I should have been a bit more careful when laying out the pattern pieces – although I only had about 6” left out of the 1-3/4 yards of 54” fabric when I was done and I’m not really sure I could have avoided the issue even if I had noticed it beforehand. Oh well. I decided that I’m not going to be concerned and just go with it. The front looks ok. It’s all cut out now and ready to sew up. When I actually get time to sew.

I finished another knitting project which I haven’t told you about yet:

Midnight Annis Scarf

Begun:  January 17, 2013
Completed:  February 1, 2013

Yarn:  S.R. Kertzer On Your Toes Bamboo, 75% bamboo/25% nylon, KOB.0300 Black, 328yd/300m = 100g, used about 275yds.

Pattern:  Annis by Susanna IC, free pattern from Knitty Spring-Summer 2010. Ravelry link, Knitty link.

Mods:  Tried again with this yarn after frogging the Black Bamboo Cowl. (I didn’t like the way it fell around my neck.) In hopes of getting a whole scarf I reduced the pattern by 4 repeats (CO 315) and used beads (4/0 black metallic AB seed beads) instead of nupps which use a lot of yarn.

Like the first Annis I knit, I’m using the Estonian knit-on cast-on with doubled yarn followed by knitting 2 rows before beginning chart. It makes a really pretty and non-rolling beginning. Then I shortened the short-row section by knitting 4 extra stitches before each turn instead of 3 which makes a shallower crescent. I finished with knitting instead of purling the last purl row, k last row and bind off with the Estonian ktog bind-off on the wrong side. Actually I think I purled them tog. Oops.

Comments:  I’m glad I did all of the mods that reduced the amount of yarn I used because I ended up with about 2 yards left! Yikes! There are also a couple of spots where the yarn was damaged (I used some Fray-Check on them) so this is not exactly a perfect make. But it’s pretty and functional and more wearable for me than the original cowl.

I’m also nearly finished the Winter’s Dark Socks for me and am swatching for my next sweater. That will have to wait for another post.

Today is my dear mother-in-law’s 85th birthday. We’re celebrating with the whole family as we all converge on Reifel Bird Sanctuary where lots of slogging on semi-frozen mucky trails and much feeding of ducks will ensue. Then we will repair to T-Man’s brother’s house for food and, I’m sure, delicious cake. More anon.

The Bra Wars Major Campaign

I know you’ve all been waiting impatiently to hear how it went. Yes, I won – at least the first battle. Yay! I now have a basic pattern and a finished bra that fits better than any store-bought bra I’ve ever had before and is comfortable. But not without receiving a war wound:

A little nick below the knuckle of my thumb from the rotary cutter. Those beasts are sharp! I only just accidently tapped my skin lightly while cutting out the pattern pieces. Oops. Usually I’m very careful but I guess I got tired.

So, disappointingly none of the Pin-Up Girl pattern sizes would fit at all, even though I have two full ranges to choose from. I ended up having to draft the pattern myself from scratch using the instructions in Beverly Johnson’s second Bra-making Manual and then doing some intensive fitting. Scary stuff! Definitely not for the faint of heart. But I’m really proud of me for sticking to it until I finally got the results I was looking for. In the end it was kind of fun. (Yes, I know I have an odd notion of “fun”!) Here’s what the pattern looks like:

Terrifically exciting, no? OK, it is exciting to me! It has a straight-across seam which is not the most flattering but that can be changed for future versions. You can see the split lower cup which supports much better than one piece and the wide shallow shape. I had to make a couple of muslin versions and that helped a lot to get it right. I seem to recall a lot of picking out of basting stitches…

I used a lot of resources for the final construction but the best sewing details are in the Pin-Up Girls Classic bra pattern from Bra-makers Supply. Materials used were many and varied. The fabric is an ivory polyester sport mesh and I doubled it for the cradle, lower cups and straps. To make it easy I just used Wonder-Under to block-fuse the two layers together before cutting out the pieces. The upper cups are a single layer and the back band is nylon power net. Unfortunately the elastics don’t all match in style or colour and the sliders and rings and hook-and-eye set are all plain white. I don’t really care since nobody will actually see it!

I’m really sorry but for obvious reasons I’m not going to publicly post the photos of the bra on me and it doesn’t fit the non-squishy Debbie Double at all. You’ll have to make do with these rather awful flat pics. Completed bra on the outside:

And inside:

You can see how nicely finished it all is inside. I love the crossed front elastics! This shape fits me so much better than going straight across. Sewing a bra together is really not hard even though there are a lot of steps. It’s great practice in sewing lingerie elastics and topstitching accurately! Obviously sewing several ultimately non-fitting bras last year was good practice. At least I can recycle the hardware off the rejects. And I currently have one other set of wires which I plan to use to make a second bra before I order more supplies from BMS. I eventually want to have at least 5 or 6 new bras.

But first I need a palate cleanser! A rest from all that intensity. So I guess I should just make my Splashy Dress which has been patiently waiting for me to get over my Bra Obsession. But I can’t wait too long before making the second bra so I can really solidify everything I’ve learned in my brain and hands. Also to make sure the first success wasn’t just a fluke!

P.S. Anybody want to buy 2 virtually unused bra patterns from me? Pin-Up Girls Classic bra, pink (sizes 30-38 AAA-D) and yellow (sizes 30-38 E-H), retail $20 Canadian each. One or the other or both. Lots of people have had great success with this pattern right out of the envelope, just not me sadly. The sewing instructions are really clear (especially in the newly-purchased and probably-updated yellow pattern). PM me and we’ll negotiate.

Trivia Train

So are you tired of the Saga of the Bra yet? I haven’t gotten back into the fray today yet. But, in the spirit of attempting to psyche myself up (or perhaps it’s just an avoidance technique), I thought I would wing this quick post by you.

Have you seen the Canadian period drama “Bomb Girls”? I don’t know if it’s available to view in other countries. If it was, I would have thought there would be a lot of buzz on the sewing blogs because not only is it a really good TV show but, hey, wonderful 1940’s clothing styles! Hair, hats, shoes, coats, dresses. And lingerie! Lots and lots of period-perfect bras and panties and slips and pettipants. It’s a treasure trove that IMHO outshines Mad Men! (Admittedly I never watched the latter show.) The premise involves the ladies who work in a munitions factory during WWII in the Toronto area and is one of the most-watches series in Canada. Most of the main actors though are from the Vancouver area. Local peeps! Did I mention the clothes?

Another item that came to my attention today is the new Norah Gaughan collection from Berroco. (Flip-book is here if you wanna see.) Nice knit styles as always from Norah but what I really noticed is the photography: two different models, one thin and one definitely not-so-thin, and no distracting backgrounds or poses, no hair or props in the way. You see the garments and some of their details up close and without all the drama and excess of so many publications. It’s perfect. I love it! I so wish more pattern publishers would get the hint. Vogue, both Knitting and Patterns are pretty bad. But, BurdaStyle. I’m especially looking at you! Maybe you could all save money on your photo shoots and allow us to actually see your stinkin’ garments. Win-win. Unless of course someone actually enjoys all the extraneous stuff besides the stylists and maybe the editors?

So I realised that I hadn’t blogged my last FO:

Fitted Mitts Again

For: me

Begun: January 17, 2013

Completed: February 1, 2013

Yarn: Newton's Yarn Country Happy Feet, colourway green multi, 1800 per lb. Used . 2 of the big skein. Got this yarn at ANWG conference in Spokane, WA.

Pattern: Fitted Mitts by Nina Hyland, free pattern on Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fitted-mitts

Mods: As written except picked up one extra stitch in the crotch of the thumb and dec it away again on the next round. Saves having holes at the join that need to be stitched up later.

Comments: I obviously like these mitts! For some reason even though this is the third time I’ve knit them, I had a lot of trouble knitting one of the thumbs. I dropped a stitch and didn’t notice until I finished knitting the whole thumb, frogged it down, knitting up again and realised I still hadn’t picked up the dropped stitch! Must have been knitting in the dark.

Now I have a whole wardrobe of green items: sweater, hat, scarf and mitts. And no yarn left.

OK, it’s actually nice out today and relatively warm at 8C. Spring is coming! The snow drops and witch hazels are starting to bloom and the catkins are huge on my hazelnut tree. We need to get out for a long walk before I <gulp!> get back to the Bra Wars. I also need to cast on for a new knitting project because <gasp!> I have nothing on the needles right now. Probably another pair of socks.

Later!