3 Loved Ones, 2 Cats and a Birdbrain

Wanna see something funny?

I love stripes.  In a thousand different ways and iterations.  I like them horizontal.  I like them vertical.  I like them off-kilter.  I like them straight on.  I just love 'em. 

But stripes do have their limitations.  Especially when it comes to fitting a curvy body. 

Behold Exhibit A:

I believe that is what is known as a "wow" around the girls there.  Note to self:  while stripes are lovely in all their guises, they may not be appropriate for a princess-seamed shirt.  Too funny.  The pattern (which fits pretty well everywhere else) is Butterick 5678 :

It comes with different cup sizes.  I used the pieces for the D cup (my size) but had to take an inch or so out of each underarm, making the armholes smaller, but the sleeves still fit in, no problem.  Which would lead one to wonder about the armhole/sleeve drafting.  But I digress.  The first, and most pressing issue, would be the wow, which is the result of the shaping in the princess seams. 

There are a couple of ways to fix it.  I could take the whole thing apart, and recut the side panels on the bias, so the lines are on the diagonal, and the shaping isn't as obvious.  Or I could take it apart and recut the side panels, taking some of the shaping out.  Or I could take the easy way out, which I think I will:

Put a pocket on each boob, over the worst of the distortion.  Looking at this picture, I think I will center the pocket on the seam line (like they have in the pattern ; )), and it will continue the up and down lines, thereby minimizing the wow. 

Wow.  Isn't it great to learn new things?

Note to self #2:  Make this shirt out of a solid colour next time. 

Okay, lesson over. 

P.S.  Isn't my ginormous hair also hilarious?  I decided to let it grow out, since I liked how it felt, and it's just getting bigger and bigger.  I'm beginning to feel like soon I will look like this woman:

She's from the Christmas Toast catalogue and I think she's fabulous since she is not 12, is gorgeous and she has big hair.  And because that's how we all look halfway through Christmas. 

Have some fun today. 

Gifting

Gifting can be a dodgy thing - especially for those of us who love to make stuff.  I love making things for people.  And sometimes those people appreciate it.  And sometimes they don't.  That's okay.  Sometimes I appreciate gifts from stores, and sometimes I don't. 

I didn't do much gifty sewing for my immediate family this year - just pj pants for my daughter and husband.  My son is at the age where we never see him in his pjs except for Christmas morning, so putting the effort into making something he's going to wear once seems a little much.  I was contemplating making him a pair of flannel pants that were black and looked just like his favorite jeans, but then I came across a pair of pj pants that were tie-dyed with pictures of  Animal from the Muppets on them, for less than $20.  Done!  He liked them and I gained another 30 minutes or so on Christmas Eve. 

My brother, on the other hand, loves shirts that I make him.  I made him one a year or so ago, and he's been asking me to make another ever since.  And then the rest of his family ended up with some new clothes, cause it's fun to make things for other people when you have creative control.  The only hitch is that it's taken me until now to get everything together and mailed off, so they are more February presents than Christmas presents.  But I don't think that's a bad thing.  Everyone gets so much at Christmas.  It's nice to spread it out a bit. 

Project #6 - Patrick's Shirt #1

Pattern - Burda Magazine from a couple of years ago.

Fabric - Navy cotton/linen from the stash

Now, luckily, my brother is built somewhat differently from my dressform.  His shoulders are broader and his chest is flatter!  But you get the idea.  I love this shirt.  The topstitching is all in grey, and it reminds me of a blueprint.  My brother used to build cabinets, and is now a shop teacher, so it's kind of appropriate.  The fabric is a little on the lighter side, but it's going to fade beautifully.  By summer it's going to look like your favorite denim shirt that you've had for a million years. 

Project #7 - Patrick's Shirt #2

Pattern - same as above

Fabric - from Fabricland a couple of months ago. 

My husband has very conservative taste when it comes to work shirts.  In fact, I was ironing last weekend, and my daughter was sitting watching me, and she asked me why men's shirts only came in blue and grey.  Apparently it's time for him to branch out a bit.  Anyway, my brother's taste is a little hipper.  And it totally sent me for a loop when it came to picking fabrics for him.  He told me that most of his shirts look like tablecloths.  So I was wandering through the fabric store thinking "tablecloth, tablecloth, tablecloth".  I came up with this, and hopefully he'll like it. 

Project #8 - Sarah's Shirt

Pattern: Altered Simplicity 2059

Fabric: from  Anna Maria Horner's LouLouthi Line purchased from Out of Hand

This picture doesn't make it look superflattering, but I-LOVE-THIS-SHIRT.  This pattern has gone through something of an evolution.  The first version I made was rather unimpressive, but then there was a second, and this is the third.  There's a fourth one cut out and ready to go as well.  I love the buttons on this version:

They are also from Out of Hand.  I love that store, but things do often end up getting out of hand when I walk in the door.    My favourite part of this shirt, by far, is the back.

I love the little gathered panel.  It gives it a little interest and makes it look a little different.  I asked my daughter if it would be okay if I put in a little note saying that if she doesn't like it to please send it back to me.  Kyra told me that was rude.  Honestly.  Kids these days.

Project #9 - Sophie's Tunic

Pattern: Burda magazine 12/2011

Fabric: blue knit from the stash

Transfer: L'il Blue Boo

Again, full of love for this thing.  It was super quick and simple to make, and with the transfer (in the free download section of the website) it's pretty cool too.  I bought a pair of black leggings to go with it, so it's a whole lot of awesome. 

So that's what my brother's family is getting, just in time for February, at this rate.  There are a couple of other little crafty things for my niece, and that's that. 

In case you are wondering about the project numbering system, I have decided that a ball of yarn counts as a project, so the three new skeins from last week count.  Hah!

Have a lovely and lazy Sunday.

 

 

Hey Beautiful!

Hey you!  The one in the pajamas!  You're looking lovely today!  Just thought I would let you know.

 

I am having a hard time getting pictures taken this week.  I have a mountain of sewing to take pictures of (including the Christmas presents for my brother's family - if they are being mailed in the middle of January, are they still Christmas presents?), but this week seems to be getting away on me already.  Yesterday was particularly crazy, ending with having to scrap the planned dinner and start over at 6:50 pm, with three hungry people looking over my shoulder to find out what they might eat.  I started getting snappy, then realized that I hadn't had a moment to myself since 7 a.m..  Makes for a cranky cook.  I was sitting with my family watching tv after dinner, and realized that I couldn't stand the sound of anyone talking - slightly overstimulated!!

So today shall be better!  I'm going to get some pictures of things taken, and I have a plan for a winter capsule wardrobe brewing.  Yeah! 

Just so I don't leave you with out a picture, how about this one?

This is the weather station that's on my husband's side of the bed (is the weather knowledge obsession a guy thing, or a prairie thing?  Maybe it's a prairie guy thing?).  In the upper left corner is the temperature listing.  Yup.  It's -32 degrees celsius today.  And that's before the windchill adjustment.  What's the windchill?  That's a measurement used in the winter that lets you know what it feels like outside when the wind blows your already frozen self around.  With the windchill?  It's -40 degrees outside.  If you are ever outside for longer than running from the house to the car.  Which I try not to be.  Although I do stand outside for a second after I close the front door.  And utter expletives.  It's really the only way to deal with this.  Unless you're a cat:

Then you wisely sit underneath a lamp.

Or curl up in front of the heat vent, only to be disturbed by the paparazzi. 

Then you curl up together on a wool blanket to conserve body heat. 

Enough said. 

 

The Spinning Is Out Of Control!

In  a good way though. 

I love the knitting and the sewing.  That's not up for dispute.  But I am also a spinner.  I haven't done any for awhile.  Like over a year.  There are a lot of things that I love about spinning yarn, but it just hasn't grabbed me for the last while.  Until Tuesday. 

January, which is usually one of my favourite months, is a bit different this year.  My son is now in high school and has most of the month off.  He has been in school for this week, then he has two exams next week and then he is done until February 1.  Crazy.  So this is the only week that the cave dweller (me) has to herself.  So I have been giving myself license to do whatever I want, since I will be riding herd on a teenager for the rest of the month.  On Tuesday that involved reading an entire book (it wasn't a good book, since I could read it in four hours) and then pulling out the spinning wheel.

Tuesdays used to be for spinning (a la Yarn Harlot) and I think they might be again.  And apparently most of Wednesdays too.  Seriously fixated.  But I think it might be over now.  I'm typing and not spinning, so that is the first indication.  Here's what I did:

Fairly anti-climactic, hmm?  Actually, what you see here is two skeins of two-ply worsted-ish weight yarn, and another skein of worsted-ish yarn that is chain-plied (the one in the middle).  Given that I haven't done this in over a year, I'm pretty happy with that.  They are all over-spun (a little too ambitious) but they'll settle down.  All the fibre is un-identified stuff from the stash and it's small batches - perfect for testing and getting re-acquainted with the wheel. 

One of the things that I absolutely love about spinning is watching how the colours change as you go through the spinning process.  Hand-painted roving starts off looking like a little knot of stuff:

Then you undo it, split it (if you want) and open up the fibres to get them ready for spinning (or at least that's what I did with these knots), ending up with this:

 

A big, fluffy pile of fibre, where the colours are softer and transition into each other a little more smoothly. 

Then you spin the fibre into a long thread or two, changing the colours into this:

where everything is blended but more intense.  After this, what you end up with depends on how you ply your thread.  For this particular batch, I chose to make it a two-ply, so made two bobbins (that thing the thread is on) full of this colour, then spun them together:

Ending up with this.  Things change again when you knit with the yarn.  It's pretty fun.  Okay, I find it intriguing.  Someone else in this house does too:

Or rather, she finds the basket full of wool to be a perfect napping spot.  She's helping!?!

I took a bit of a break for  a couple of hours yesterday and watched Revolutionary Road and started the scarf with my first batch of yarn (movie: very good but gut-wrenching) just to temper things a bit. 

In the middle, there.  So that's what I did yesterday and the day before.  It was splendid.  And today, I think there is some more shirt-making in my future, after I exercise a bit to blow out the cobwebs.  There's been lots of that going on here, and some of it may even make it into the world of blogging.  Crazy, no? 

I leave you with a question - does a skein of finished yarn count as a project, or does it have to wait to be made up into something before it counts?  I'm trying to keep track of what I've done this year, and it's up for debate.  Care to wade in?

Happy Feet!

Good morning!  How's the New Year treating you?  I was going to have this post be a rather earnest documenting of my hopes for the New Year, since I have made a couple of New Year's resolutions, but frankly, it's all a little too boring over here.  This is supposed to be where I explore my sewing and knitting projects, not where I spew all the other stuff.  So while I will talk about my resolutions later, now it's time for some fun!

Happy Feet!

I love shoes.  I don't buy a ton of them, or rather I try not to.  I'm much better these days about choosing one or two pairs a season and leaving it at that.  So this fall I was looking around for a new pair of boots.  I have been coveting a pair of really good red boots for a couple of years.  I even bought a pair a couple of years ago that weren't my perfect red boots, but they were pretty good.  They were red.  They were too slouchy though.  I didn't realize that until I got home.  And wore them a couple of times.  Back to this fall.  My husband and I were out for a walk in a shopping area one Saturday morning, and we went into a shoe store that I hadn't been in for a couple of years.  There they were.  Beautiful red pebbled leather boots that were flat, so you could beetle around in them all day long, and just the right height.  But they were way out of my price range.  So I showed them to my husband, sighed and went home.  Then I spent a couple of months looking around for something comparable but finding nothing.  Cut to Christmas shopping with my best friend in December, where we go in to another branch of the same shoe store and I show her the boots, and explain that I'll just wait for them to go on sale at the end of the season.  And Sigh.  So I drop her off at her house and drive home.  The minute she gets in the door, she calls my house while I am still in transit and tells my husband about the boot love.  So guess what he gets me for my birthday on December 19th?

My lovely red boots!  They are fantastic, and they are all I'm wearing for the most parts these days.  I love them because they are red and perfect, but I also love them even more because two people who love me surprised me with them. 

My birthday was very good to my feet this year.  I also got a pair of moccasins from my mom:

I don't know if moccasins are a Canadian thing primarily, but they are fantastic.  They come in a myriad of shapes and sizes and types.  The ones that you see most often around here are cow hide with fleece lining and rabbit fur around the ankle.  My feet get too hot in them though.  So about 10 years ago, my husband got some for me that were straight deer hide, no fleecy lining and no rabbit fur.  But they weren't cozy enough (I'm feeling a bit like Goldilocks here).  These ones are perfect.  They're made of deer hide and they are lined with a layer of wool fabric so they are cozy, and they keep their shape, but they aren't too hot.   Awesome. 

But this is supposed to be about the knitting and the sewing, right? 

Fear not!  Behold the first two projects of the New Year!

Project 1 - Polar Fleece Socks

Pattern: Apparently discontinued Jalie long underwear and socks.

Fleece: From Stash - bought when my daughter was younger, thinking she would love it - but she didn't. 

Cost: free since both were in the stash. 

Thoughts: I have never been a big fan of fleece socks, but other people in my life have been.  I always found them too loose - falling down in your boots and making you feel like a five year old.  But I like these ones.  They are a tight fit and they don't budge.  Plus they are bright and sunny.  The only negative thing I have to say about the pattern is that the sizes are all off (perhaps why it was discontinued).  I started out making a pair for a friend in a size 8.  It turned out that she was a size 9, so I started over, cutting out four pairs which used up almost all the fabric.  I sewed up the first one, and it was still way too small.  Then I left the sewing room.  When my head was no longer pulsing, I cut out three new sets of soles, adding an inch to the length.  These ones worked, and now I love them.  So I have two pairs and my friend has a pair, and her daughter has a pair (the initial ones which turned out to be roughly a size 6).  Which leaves one pair that are about 8.25" long on the sole.  If that might fit you, let me know and I'll send them on. 

Project #2

Wool Socks in a Dodgy Picture

Pattern: Generic Toe up socks

Yarn:On Your Toes DK by S.R. Kertzer

Cost: Yarn from stash, so free.

These are nothing to write home about, but they are serviceable and they will keep me warm.  Just not rocking my world today when there are paisley polar fleece socks about!

So my feet are happy and well dressed.  I hope yours are too!