Monday, April 29, 2013

Blech

Woke up with a migraine this morning that will not go away with 2 ibuprofens. In my world, that’s a bad one. Can’t have another one for a few hours more either. I haven’t had any migraines in ages and I don’t know what brought this one on. Maybe the weather – it’s gusty windy today with a cold front coming down. The barometer hasn’t moved much though. Who knows? Migraines appear whenever they damn well feel like it. Evil things.

Yeah, I still haven’t blogged my last 2 3 sewing projects. And this post isn’t it either! Sorry about that. So far in the last week I’ve made a denim skirt, a linen tunic and a pair of stretch skinny boot-cut pants. And there’s yet another pair of capri-length pants possible from the remaining French terry. I was going to do those today, but so far it’s not happening. Neither is the laundry. Or pretty much anything else.

OK, damselfly. Quit with the whining already.

I was quite happy that the pattern I used for the stretch pants worked out so well. I did a “rub-off” of my favourite yoga pants and this was the wearable test muslin. Although I can’t wear them without a top that covers the belly fluff (so what else is new?) the pants are otherwise quite flattering on me. I especially like that the wider bottoms will go over my Blundstones comfortably. It’s a nice change from leggings. There will definitely be more pants from this pattern. And more “rub-offs” of favourite garments that are wearing out too. We don’t need no stinkin’ Big Four patterns.

Though naturally that fact didn’t stop me from ordering a few more from the recent sale at BMV. Hey, they offered me a $5 gift certificate as well as the lowest sale prices so how could I refuse? More Tiltons mostly, in case you were wondering. Flushed with that success I went over to the competition just to see what Simplicity and New Look had available. The way they handle their sales is not in the same ballpark as BMV. Simplicity makes it as difficult and expensive as possible for those of us not in the USA. To add insult to injury, I signed up for their newsletter (just because) and got a welcome email with a 15% discount that is only good in the US! Nasty teases. I’m already envious that American sewers can get $.99 sales in national chain stores. BMV may have slow delivery times but at least they charge a reasonable postage rate. Probably because they mail them in tissue-thin envelopes that barely survive post office handling – though to be fair I haven’t lost anything yet. So truthfully, does anyone ever buy these patterns at full price? Why? Since I still have to do so much changes for fitting anyhow there’s no way I’d pay $32 for a single Vogue designer dress pattern. I don’t care how fabulous it is. Not even a Tilton!

Switching gears (before I need to bring out the soapbox to stand on and my head isn’t up for that) my Orange Aeolian shawl is nearly finished. However there has been a slight glitch. I was trying to fix a nupp that had several loose loops (how does that happen?) a number of rows below and, erm…made a bit of a mess. I’m pretty confident that I can sort it out but I need to have my full faculties first. The only other alternative is to take out about 5 rows with a gajillion stitches each and re-knit them. Yikes. Hopefully not. And I had better not have messed up any other nupps either. Or they will get the sewn-in fix because I’m not dropping down any more stitches in this fuzzy alpaca yarn and complex lace. With beads and nupps and centred double-decreases. That was definitely a mistake.

Yeah, I know you want photos, details, the whole scoop. Someday soon, I promise. When my eyes can focus again.

On a happier note, we had lots of fun yesterday afternoon with the Littlest Grandbeastie. Her parents were celebrating their anniversary so we got Ms Rosebud, in full fairy princess regalia: wings, tiara, sparkly purple shoes and all. So cute! She had just come from a Princess Party which is a great idea. We should throw one of those for grownups, doncha think? I need to get a tiara as nice as hers first though. Or better yet, make one. And wings too of course. Are we on?

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/33100000/Fairies-fantasy-33182708-430-500.gif

I want to look like this, OK?

Saturday, April 27, 2013

My Eyes Are Dim. I Cannot See.

I seem to be getting behind again because I have Finished Objects that haven’t been blogged. Of course it doesn’t help that I spent 24 hours without my glasses leaving me much more blind than any bat. One of the earpieces fell off and needed to be soldered. That only left me with my sunglasses with just my distance prescription so although I could walk outdoors, I had trouble with everything else. Although I wasn’t able to watch TV at all, I did manage to knit and sew while squinting badly and holding things up to my nose. Just proves how much I need those little plastic windows on the world to function! I’ve long since gotten over any feelings of embarrassment about them and even when I was a teenager used to ignore any taunts of the “four eyes” variety. Hey, I’d rather see than trip over the curb! I’m forever grateful for the invention of lenses. Especially progressives!

Anyway, on Thursday I blindly finished sewing 2 garments: a denim skirt and a balloon tunic. More on these in another post because I haven’t photographed them yet. I also knitted on the Orange Aeolian Shawl and am only 2 rows and the bind-off away from finishing it. Yay me!

I do have one FO for you today:

Not-Ruby Not-Tuesday Sweater

NotRubyNotTuesday sweater

Begun:  April 3, 2013
Completed:  April 22, 2013

Pattern:  Ruby Tuesday cardigan by Ewa Durasiewicz, free pattern from her blog.

Yarn:  DGB Confetti 100 superwash, 75% wool/25% nylon, 100g = 422 metres. Used almost all of 2 balls.

Mods:  Slightly larger needle size gives me 21 sts = 4". I also used the suggestion to add some sts at the end of the yoke by inc at each side of what will be the sleeves as for a raglan every other row x 2 to give me 16 more sts for the body. I also used 2/2 rib instead of 1/1 because I didn't consult the pattern!

Comments:   I ended up with 12 buttonholes and it was fun to go shopping at Dressew for the coordinating red-brown buttons I needed. I didn’t have enough in the stash. I think they make this sweater a little more out-of-the-ordinary. The results are still a little tight for me but it's quite cute anyway.

This was a test to see how much yarn this pattern takes. But unfortunately the yarn that I really wanted to use won’t be enough unless I make it short-sleeved because there’s only 167g available. Sadly it would have been an awesome cardi. Sniff. Oh well. There’s plenty more yarn in the world, right? I like this cardigan shape, though would prefer a little more ease. I’m sure I’ll be trying again with something similar.

It’s raining today so I can’t work in the garden. It needed watering anyway. I spent most of this week getting the veggie beds in shape and planting the little seedlings. I still have space left for the beans to be seeded (soon!) and the tomatoes aren’t in yet. The flats are in the greenhouse but I’m still bringing them inside on colder nights. While I have this break I should get back up to the studio and sew some more.

OK. I’m gone.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Happy Earth Day!

WillowWheel

On Saturday T-Man and I participated in creating a living memorial for our friend who passed away in January. With the invaluable help of Sharon Kallis, an environmental artist who is really skilled at engaging the public in her work, a small group of M’s family and friends wove a slightly-larger-than-life-sized spinning wheel using basketry willow. Some of these stems will take root and leaf out adding greenery to the natural yellow of the willow. It’s not meant to be permanent (the hope is for about 3 years) but we’ll see how long it will remain intact. In the end though, it does remind us that life is wonderful and also fleeting so enjoy it while you can.

Going into this project I couldn’t imagine how it would work. My lack of a 3D imagination doesn’t help. Plus I’m not very good at basketry at the best of times since it usually takes more hand strength than I possess. Luckily there was a lot of help and direction to counter any lack of skill on our part! I really think the results are quite pleasing, if slightly wonky. Which just gives it more character, right? Click on the photo to see more detail. It was hard to get a good picture when the mulch is nearly the same colour. As you might be able to tell, the whole group got a little bit muddy! But at least the willow should be happy here.

Among her many other endeavours, Sharon is also involved in a project to begin a flax and dye plant garden on the site of a former tennis court right near the wheel’s spot. If you are local, do come along to Aberthau/West Point Grey Community Centre over the next few months and check out the progress and view the willow wheel. The area is around back behind the gardens and the wheel is close by among the trees. When summer dries out the damp location, it might be a nice place for a spin-in, don’t you think?

What else? I’ve been sorting my patterns and fabrics to get an idea of what I want to sew in the next while. Not surprisingly there’s a queue of about 25 garments ready to go! Yikes. Obviously I’ve been collecting up for quite some time, huh? Then yesterday I scrunch-dyed some linen/rayon fabric for Marcy Tilton’s Vogue 8876 dress. I used black Procion MX but the colours I got on the natural oatmeal fabric were really interesting murky blues, blue-greens and greys. I’ll try to get a photo before I cut into it. I’m always surprised by the LWI (low water immersion) technique which is why I use it so often. There is so little control over what you get!

Off to go try to plant some of my seedlings in the rather soggy garden. The weather is nice and the forecast is for sunshine mostly continuing for the next while. Gotta spend Earth Day with my hands in the dirt. That’s why it’s called “earth” day, isn’t it? Heh.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Woad & Japanese Indigo Procedures

Yes, I know it’s not the right time of year for dyeing with fresh woad but I did my talk on Backyard Dyes for my guild today and there were requests for the whole story on how to use woad. I’ll include the addendum as to how to alter the procedure for Japanese indigo as well. A Two-Fer! Instead of linking to an old post, I’m reprinting it all here with a new link in the sidebar. And I couldn’t resist the following photo which is the darkest blue we ever got with woad on wool.

Woad2

Damselfly’s Detailed Woad Procedure

Just as a reminder we’re going from leaves straight off the living plants to dyeing fibres (yarn, cloth, what-have-you) all in one single day. It usually takes about 4 – 5 hours total, depending on how much gets dipped and/or how long the dye content holds out.

  • Put large stainless dyepot filled about 1/3 full with water on to boil, maybe 6 litres in my pot.
  • Harvest a large bucket of woad leaves (around 700g). I pull off the good mid-sized leaves from the rosette, not the new babies nor ancient bug-chomped ones.
  • Wash leaves under cold water to remove any dirt or animal life. Slugs, sowbugs, earwigs etc. do not add to the colour!
  • No need to chop the leaves. Whole is fine.
  • Add vinegar or acetic acid to the water in the dyepot to get a pH of between 4 and 5. I do verify with pH test strips. Another step you can perhaps skip but it works for me.
  • When it’s at a full boil, add the leaves to the pot. Stir and bring up to at least where you see bubbles coming up between the leaves and they are starting to turn from bright green to a more “cooked” tan-green. This should take only a minute or two.
  • Immediately cool the pot. I put a couple of frozen 2-litre pop bottles of ice in the pot which is also standing in cold water in the sink. You want to lower to 50C as fast as possible (preferably under 15 minutes).
  • Strain out the woad leaves (which can be saved for a more conventional mordant dyebath or composted) and squeeze to get all the juice.
  • Add soda ash to the liquid to bring the pH up to between 9 and 10. For my pot it took about 15ml (3 tsps) to make the vat turn from sherry-coloured to greenish.
  • Beat, whisk or pour from one bucket to another until the froth turns from green to blue and back to green again. This should take between 5 and 15 minutes. Of course it doesn’t always follow that sequence and there’s no need to go beyond 15 minutes max. Sometimes there is lots of froth and sometimes not so much. Give the pot a few minutes to let the froth subside. If it’s really bad you might have to scoop some off. Save for blue pigment for fabric paint or something.
  • Check the temp and raise again to 50C if necessary. The vat should be murky blue-green with floating blue particles.
  • Add thiourea dioxide to remove the oxygen and “reduce” the vat. For my pot it usually takes about 10ml (2 tsps). Don’t use more thiox than necessary or the vat will strip the blue out as fast as it puts it in. (Ask me how I know!) Stir in gently and leave to rest for 40 minutes to an hour.
  • After that time the vat should have a purplish bloom or flower on the surface and be clear greenish-yellow underneath. If that’s not the case (still murky), add a teeny-tiny bit more thiox and let rest a little longer. If necessary warm it up to 50C again. If it’s already clear yellow-green but no metallic sheen don’t add more thiox. There’s probably just somewhat less indigo in this vat so the sheen doesn’t form.
  • When the vat is fully reduced, gently introduce your wetted-out fibre, cloth or whatever without disturbing things as much as possible. Poke anything under that pops up. Allow to remain in the vat about 20 minutes.
  • Remove fibre carefully without dripping back into the vat. Try to squeeze out under the surface with gloved hands. Place dyed fibre immediately into a bucket of water (either cold or warm if desired to prevent shocking wool). Swish around a little, squeeze out and hang fibre to oxidise for at least 10 minutes before redipping.
  • Dips can be repeated as many times as wanted for deeper shades. The first dip can be splotchy and uneven but the second evens things out. Any more dips and it seems to start stripping colour instead so I usually don’t go past 2 or 3 at most. If you want, you could leave the last one in overnight. It won’t hurt.
  • Finally, allow the fibre to oxidise for at least a couple of days before washing and rinsing to remove any unfixed dye.

Damselfly’s Japanese Indigo Procedure

This is exactly the same as for woad except:

  • Leave out the vinegar. I’m not sure if it’s necessary here but I haven’t done a more scientific experiment to prove my theory.
  • Begin with a pot of cool water, add the leaves and bring to a bare simmer, stir just until the leaves are “cooked”.
  • Carry on with the rest of the steps. The bubbles should show blue fairly quickly but continue to aerate for 5 minutes or so.
  • There’s somewhat more indigo than with woad. That lovely purple metallic sheen should definitely form on the surface.

So there ya go!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

I’m Supposed To Be Doing Something…

…but I’m doing something else instead. Yeah, does that problem ever haunt you? It does me. I start feeling anxious because I’m not forcing myself to do what needs to be done. Instead I’m lollygagging around doing exactly what I want to do! You’d think I’d either quit with the guilt already or do something about it. But no. Anyway, I’m sure I’ll get to it eventually. Hopefully before it’s too late.

Gee, that confession was rather generic, wasn’t it? Likely because it fits far too many situations for me lately. I did manage to get my guild talk slides all done. This here Bluet, the naughty netbook computer, connected to the digital projector ok and hopefully won’t forget how to do it on Thursday. I have samples and examples but I still have to sort out a few seeds to share. I also have a couple of baby weld plants I can pot up. There’s two madder pots and 3 groupings of 4 Japanese indigo plants ready to go as well. I’m hoping somebody will adopt my spares especially since these plants aren’t that easy to source.

If anyone has been following this blog for a number of years, you’ve already seen most of the info that will be in my talk on Backyard Dyes. I’ve just consolidated the photos and added the important points which I hope I can fill out off the cuff. Can’t say I’m any kind of master gardener or anything but I do know my eensy plot of land and my climate pretty well. Some things do very well and other things struggle with the acid clay soil and the lack of consistent sunshine. I’m sure urban farming is as much a crapshoot as commercial farming can be but on a much smaller scale. Luckily I don’t have my livelihood on the line, eh? Anyhoo, I don’t think I’m going to be able to concentrate on much else until after Thursday’s guild meeting.

That said, I also finished my jacket-vest-thing! And I’m quite pleased with it too.

Marcy Tilton Vogue 8709 Vest

Completed:  April 15, 2013

Pattern:  Vogue 8709, View B, without sleeves.

Materials:  Cotton/linen blend, medium indigo blue, 2 yards (41” wide). Used it all, only tiny bits left. Scraps of lightweight vintage cotton print for Hong Kong bias binding. 4 tagua nut buttons, dyed (by me) in indigo.

Mods:  Added 3” to the length of the peplum, moved the bust dart down 1” (should have been more), adjusted for sloped shoulders, added bias binding to armholes instead of sleeves, finished interior seams with Hong Kong binding, fringed one piece of the collar instead of using selvedge.

Comments:  The fabrics for this vest were dug out of deep stash. The red cotton print is probably 40 years old! The blue cotton/linen is a little faded in some areas and I tried to leave most of that on the inside. I don’t really mind though. It’s nice to finally use it up!

I definitely should have added at the back for high rounded shoulders which would have made the armholes fit better. Also the bias strips for the bindings should have been wider than 3/4”. Why do I always cheat myself on this? I do like how the interior is completely finished off with a hit of red floral. I only had 4 buttons but that looks just fine.

This garment was really not that easy to sew. It took quite a lot of concentration and fiddling to make the odd pieces fit together. The results were worth it though: a fun and funky vest that’s very comfortable to wear and looks great with quite a few other pieces in my wardrobe. I think it’s going to be worn a lot, especially before the weather warms up too much. I may make another version some time with sleeves and the alternate collar (View A).

Sorry for the photos on Debbie Double. The colour is actually a somewhat darker blue that the camera couldn’t catch. It looks better on me but I am too lazy to get the spouse to take modeled photos for me. So, I guess I’ll never be That Kind of Blogger. You know, the ones with the fabulous photo shoots where they look amazing and the backgrounds are perfectly coordinated? That’s not me at all. You’ll have to live with it. I do. Heh.

In other crafty news, whenever I have a few moments and the light is right in my study I’ve been plugging away on the Orange Aeolian Shawl. I’m getting there – only part of the last chart to go – but of course the rows keep getting longer. And longer. And longer. Slow but pleasant going. The suri alpaca yarn is quite fuzzy and gets more so with handling. It’s very soft though, like baby mohair. Since I’m going to have nearly half of it left when I’m done this shawl, I’m going to have to think of something else for the other half.

Well, the weather is lovely and sunny today but not particularly warm. I really should be out in the garden getting the veggie beds ready to transplant the babies currently in the greenhouse. Quick, run, before a new item wants to get sewn or knitted or something.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Not Just Chilling

Yeesh! It’s been awhile, huh? I got bogged down in sorting out photographs and preparing my slides for my guild talk next Thursday. It took days. I still have to dig out some fibres, yarns and finished pieces as examples. Then hopefully I’ll finally be ready to blather on about Backyard Dyes.

I’ve also been transplanting teensy little plants into bigger pots. Of course the minute I ran out of room under the lights in the basement, it got too cold outside to leave the extra flats in the greenhouse overnight. So it’s back to the Daily Schlep (in.out.in.out) that happens every spring. It was actually sleeting on me yesterday evening when I brought them in. That’s the chilliest it’s been in weeks! I could see my breath out there. Timing is everything, no?

So what else? I’ve been beavering away on my vest. Here’s the photo of Marcy Tilton’s jacket V8709 from Vogue Patterns:

V8709

I own several of her patterns but this is actually the first one I’ve tried to make. My changes were to make it 3” longer and to leave off the sleeves. I moved the bust darts down an inch but they are still somewhat north of where they should be. (What’s with that anyway?) I did not alter the shoulders on the pattern but I definitely should have. See how gappy they are:

MTJacket gap1

This second photo shows the drag lines on the back:

MTJacket gap2

I spent an hour picking out the binding’s stitches, taking a 1/2” more out of the shoulder seam (tapering to nothing at the neck edge) and re-stitching the bias binding back on. I also used some of my new bias iron-on stabiliser tape underneath. The results are improved but sadly not perfect, especially on my more-sloping right shoulder which is obvious on Debbie Double. Oh well. It’ll do. I was getting spoiled for finally having shoulders that fit me though.

None of the reviews for this pattern mention how complex it really is to sew! The peplum and the bottom of the bodice don’t line up exactly which makes it tricksy, particularly at the edges of the pockets. Of course all my careful markings wore off before I got to that point. I should have used Marcy’s advice and used dressmaker’s carbon instead of chalk and wax crayon markers. Next time. Anyhoo, I fiddled for quite some time before it came together but it finally did. Next I have to sew the collar pieces. Here’s a close-up from Vogue:

V8709 collar

There are 4 different pieces with tucks and gathers and then patchworked together. Coming up with these things spontaneously is one thing but trying to follow it exactly is hard! I’m needing to create a fringe for that one piece because my selvedge isn’t attractive. And I’m not sure this linen/cotton blend fabric has enough body to stand on its own so I have to make the inside look good too. Perhaps I should have gone for the simpler doubled collar but I like this funky one. We’ll see. I don’t have any more fabric to try again so I’ll have to make it work.

Unfortunately I only have 4 buttons but they are nice tagua nut ones that I dyed in an indigo vat years ago so very special to me. The fabric itself is somewhat darker than the pics show but I can’t get it to photograph like real life. Nearly done.

Guess I should be getting a move on here. As always, more anon.

Monday, April 08, 2013

Flattened By A Freight Train

Actually more like Grandbeasties, but the train metaphor is quite apt. A whole weekend’s worth of the two bigger ones and yesterday a large dash of the smaller one too. They had a blast: eating pizza and chocolate (not necessarily at the same time), watching Shaun the Sheep and Doctor Who, and running rampant around the house and at the playground. Blood was only shed once but no tears or major arguments. We’re exhausted. Parenting is a muscle that you have to keep in shape. Obviously one loses some of one’s stamina as a grandparent. Either that or it’s just age-related. We’re only 40 years older than we were when we had the first batch. Perhaps that could be the reason? Dunno, but it was fun! Once in awhile…

Amazingly the Thundering Hordes still managed to let me cut out the fabric for a vest version of Marcy Tilton’s Vogue 8709 View B. I lowered the bust darts an inch and lengthened the peplum skirt part by 3”. I didn’t quite like where it fell in front right at the crotch line, at least on the envelope model (who’s probably 5” taller than me). I need my tops a little longer than that anyway. I won’t hem it though until I try it on and see where it actually falls. I can’t really tell by measuring.

This vest is another one of my wearable muslins. I only had 2 yards of the fabric that I wanted to use: a narrow (41”) linen/cotton blend in a soft indigo blue. It’s been in my stash so long that it has slight fading on the folds and the store where I bought it no longer exists. Ahem. Anyway, I was proud of myself for managing to get all the pattern pieces on this narrow width including the ginormous peplum piece – except for sleeves – so it’s going to be a vest version. If I like it enough I’ll make another jacket version.

I’ve done absolutely no fiddling with the neck and shoulders areas except to cut them out in a size 12 and from the underarm down in a size 14. I may need to adjust the shoulder slope and width but I plan to baste and try it on first before I mess with that. This was such an asymmetrical design with lots of odd pattern shapes that the adjustments I did to the bust dart and the hem were plenty for me to bend my head around. For the first time I used instructions in the new book I recently got, Fitting & Pattern Alteration: A Multi-Method Approach. I like that they explain 3 different approaches to each alteration: seam manipulation, pivot and slide, and slash. I’ve used the slash and spread or lap method before but the pivot/slide one doesn’t resonate in my brain very well. So of course this time I tried the seam method and I quite liked it. It’s a little fiddly since you have to carefully shave off the seam allowance and cut up the dart legs, move the little pieces around and stick them back down. I tried tape first. Hate it! Then on the other front piece (there are separate left and right front pattern pieces) I tried my usual glue stick which although not repositionable (better get it in the right spot the first time!) and a little sticky if you’re not really careful where you paste, gives a nice flat result that you can press with an iron without it wrinkling and curling. Just my personal opinion though. Even the professionals seem to use tape.

I’m still working my way through the beginning chapters of this thick textbook. It’s more than you would ever want to know but so full of good stuff amongst the obvious! I need to do a more formal review one of these days. Oh, and somebody mentioned somewhere that the binding doesn’t hold up well, which is unacceptable especially in a book that costs in excess of $100. They are correct unfortunately. There are several pages in the first chapter that are working their way loose already. Bad binding. It’s called “perfect” in the printing trade but if it’s not done right it sucks! I may have to re-bind it at some point. I know how and I have the proper PVC glue. It’s just a lot of work that I Shouldn’t Have To Do! Grumble…

And speaking of fitting, well-known knit designer Norah Gaughan had a great post today on making sweaters that fit and flatter. The information also works with sewn garments as well as knitted ones. Although she is a few inches shorter than me, her observations about what looks good on her work as well for my body shape. I need some shoulder definition and not too much fullness in the sleeves especially at the top. Like Norah, I also love 3/4 length sleeves. I also need the skimming effect of a few inches of ease at waist and hip. The length of tops, cardigans, jackets and vests have to be just right and a lot depends on the width of the hem as well. So complicated! Yet I love having the freedom to choose all these options for myself. Yeah, sometimes I push the bounds of fashion…OK, always! Allow me my aged eccentricities, alright?

Off to do a little transplanting of baby plants and then up to the studio to sew. Apologies for a picture-free post. It was either that or no post at all. You get what I voted for.

Friday, April 05, 2013

Write That One Off

I just deleted a whole whiny post which included the stress that was induced by a combination of Ruby-the-iTouch who had a hiccup (which was resolved) and the Spectrum Study Group meeting that didn’t happen. Combine that with grumping about not being able to sew because any pattern needs days of fitting fun first and there’s not enough of the right fabric for the proposed garments or just something was not right. Blech. I have no right to kvetch when other people I know and love are having it much tougher right now. I’m blaming it all on a temporary case of the Whim-Whams. Done. Moving on now.

I have a Finished Object:

Spring Sky Socks

SpringSkySocks

Begun:  March 23, 2013
Completed:  April 1, 2013

For: a friend (I hope)

Yarn:  Knit Picks Bare superwash/nylon/Donegal fingering, dyed by me, 100g = 462yds. Used about 60g.

Pattern:  Elongated Corded Rib by Charlene Schurch, from Sensational Knitted Socks. I only used the stitch pattern, not the sock pattern. The socks are knitted using my own methods: 5” leg, modified eye-of-partridge stitch heel flaps (with 2-st purl edges), foot to 7” before toe dec.

Comments:  After knitting most of the legs in all-over rib pattern, I decided that I didn’t really like it and started over. I used the rib for the cuff and carried one repeat down each side to the heel. The 2-st purls kept going down the foot. I’m not especially happy with the way the pattern divided at the heel but it’s ok. I’m not really sure how I would do it differently.

I haven’t actually gifted these yet. Hopefully next week. As my great-uncle Tam would say: time’s a-wasting!

Meanwhile the Orange Aeolian Shawl looks like a sack of orange fuzz with beady sparkles:

OrangeAeolian_prog2

The rows are getting longer and longer and it takes great concentration not to make a mistake or drop stitches – which I’ve been doing with some regularity. It’s going to be spectacular though so I’m plugging away.

For lighter fare, I’ve started the Not-Ruby Not-Tuesday Cardi:

NRubyNTuesday_prog

Yeah, it looks a bit rough right now but I’m pretty sure it’ll block out ok. The yarn is Confetti sock and hopefully with 2-100g balls I’ll have enough. The pattern is Ruby Tuesday by Ewa Durasiewicz and this is kind of a practise piece for the yarn I really wanted to use but was afraid I wouldn’t have enough. I like the straw yellow with green and dull red flashes. Reminds me of sun-bleached summer grass fields. The needles (size 3.75mm) are a bit large for thin sock yarn giving a rather loose hand to the knit but I was trying to size up from the fairly small one-size original pattern. And I wanted a stretchy drapey result anyway. We’ll see. If it doesn’t work I can always frog the thing.

If sewing is frustrating me, I can always knit, right? Or perhaps work on the slide show for my upcoming guild talk. I’ve barely started it yet. Time’s a-wasting!

Monday, April 01, 2013

April Spools!

AprilSpools

Yeah, I know this is intended for weavers to show off their bobbins and pirns and whatnot. But these are spools too and that’s what I’ve been mostly using lately! I didn’t even tidy up first – just opened the drawer and snapped a pic. Much more fun than that other version of April 1st anyhow.

BTW, how can it actually be April already? We even got to sit outside yesterday and have lunch on the deck in shirtsleeves! I moved Lazy Rosey outside of the greenhouse and into its usual spot in the garden. My rosemarys (yes, there are 2 in the pot: a recumbent and an upright) happily survived this winter nearly intact. I only lost a couple of sprigs off the upright one. I was diligent in rushing out to cover with a flannelette sheet if the overnight temps were going down below –5C and I think it helped a lot. The recumbent Lazy is blooming so prettily right now and is covered with these lovely little blue flowers:

RosemaryCloseup

I think it’s the most I’ve ever seen! The upright Rosey right next to it isn’t blooming at all. Go figure.

In other news, I finally finished my latest bra! I’m calling it the Ivory Zebra Bra and I’m very happy with how it turned out. Best one yet!

IvoryZebraBra

Since Debbie Double can’t wear it and I’m certainly not going to model it for you on the interwebs, my tailor’s ham Miss Piggy offered to stand in. Literally. Isn’t it bee-oo-tee-ful? Fits perfectly and is very comfy. Pretty much all the info is in the last post so I won’t reiterate again. I have full supplies for one more bra, a brown one, before I have to order more bits and bobs from Bra-makers Supply. However, I’m kind of bra-d out at the moment and really want to get on to other sewing.

Which brings me to the advent of spring and whether that should change the crafty agenda. Or not. Do you only make winter-ish items in winter or summery items in summer? Makes no difference to me really. I’ll knit a wool sweater in July if I’m inspired, even if I don’t wear it until October. I figure that I get years of wear out of my garments so when I actually finish them is kind of irrelevant. Of course it helps that the climate here is mild and changeable. We rarely have many weeks of really hot weather in summer and our winters are mostly just cold and wet rather than heaps of snow. One might wear the same jacket in any season. My Minoru in particular has been getting a workout ever since I sewed it just over a year ago. It’s lightweight, water resistant, blocks the wind, is just loose enough to get another warm layer underneath, has a cotton lining for comfort over a lighter layer and looks stylish on. What’s not to love? However it probably wouldn’t be as useful if I lived where it gets much colder or much hotter or dryer. Anyway I’m very tempted to make a version in wool.

I think climate makes a difference in crafty desires. I have actually been too hot to knit but that was while camping in the desert. I’ve also been too cold to knit! Admittedly that was outdoors in a different location but on the same vacation. Heh. My upstairs studio can get rather toasty in midsummer heat. It has actually caused my sewing machine’s foot pedal to overheat and malfunction. It works fine the rest of the year. My big swamp-cooler fan works great but not when attempting to lay out pattern pieces. (Ask me how I know that!) We don’t have air conditioning in our house. Not worth it for the few days a year it might be needed. I know there are places where folks try not to leave air conditioned areas or risk melting into a blob of goo on the sidewalk, right? See what I mean about climate making a difference?

One thing I like to do in the warmer weather is to wash and re-block the woollies. I try to do as many shawls, scarves, sweaters, gloves and hats as possible every year. I have a lot of shawls though and they take the most work to block with wires and pins. I can only pin out a couple of them at a time on my blocking mats. Gloves are really important to wash too because they get pretty dirty touching everything. Then they can rest up all clean and nice-smelling until it gets cool enough to wear woollies again. I still wear scarves a lot in warmer weather but switch to airy cotton ones. Wool socks are the one thing I wear all year around when I’m out walking – no matter how hot it is. No wonder I need to knit socks constantly!

Speaking of which, I never showed you my last Online sock yarn that I got at Fibres West:

Supersocke 1485 Supersocke 1487

Can’t wait to see what they knit up like. I know these printed yarns are kind of passé now but I find them endlessly fascinating for plain socks. Plus they are much more durable than some of the other options. I would love to find a source of it in white for dyeing. The Canadian online shop I used to buy basic sock yarns from has sadly disappeared.