One month later…

 

…a new cardigan. This was not one of my favorite makes, more on that later, and I was glad to finish it up just in time for another round of snow. We don’t seem to be getting the worst of the current nor’easter here (knock wood), but it’s disruptive nonetheless. Why is it the shortest month of the year feels like it drags on forever  with such wretched weather?

The pattern is  Port Jacket by Ozetta (Hailey Smedley). The yarn suggested (and used) is Lettlopi by Istex, 100% Icelandic wool, 50 g/100 m. I wasn’t expecting softness from Icelandic wool, but this lot seemed really harsh and tended to stick together, making the knitting process not so pleasant. The hand did improve with a nice warm bath and the stitches settled down too. I kind of wondered if the stickiness I noticed in the yarn might have been due to it’s having been sitting around for a bit - could natural oils in the yarn have dried and perhaps hardened a bit? In any case, the moisture and gentle wool wash (Soak brand) gave it a much nicer feel when completed. 

As this is a new to me designer, I didn’t want to stray too far from her vision. So, in choosing which size to make I went with my actual bust measurement (40”) which was a size L. The pattern indicated that sizes XS - L had 12 inches of positive ease added. This seemed like more than I would want, but I went ahead and kept to size L. I think I would have been happier with one size down, as the stiffness of the yarn coupled with so much ease is more bulk than I really like. I did veer from the pattern in a couple of things. I have tried to get with the German short row love that a lot of younger designers seem to have, but nope. I’m always willing to learn a new trick for a better result, but I’m fine with my standard wraps (or the YO method used in a lot of Falkenberg makes). I also balked at using the Italian bind off for the main body - there was no way I was going to use a strand of this unplied, slightly kinked, sticky yarn in a length of 150 + inches to do a sewn bind off -I shudder to even think of it! The Italian bind off does look lovely on the sleeve cuffs though. I also chose to use handcrafted buttons instead of the recommended toggles. These were long term (25 years?) residents of my button stash, and they help to elevate the look. I don’t think the artist (Arel) is still making buttons, but they were from The Hands Work, Pecos, New Mexico.

2026 - and so it begins

 “Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Invite one to stay”.

Maya Angelou

No sewing going on lately. There comes a time when you have enough for the current season and aren’t ready to start planning for the needs of the next. I have a feeling that there will be more alterations or re-dos rather than new makes for Spring anyway. It’s not really my strong suit, but needs must.

There has been knitting though, and I’ve started spinning again. I haven’t spun much since moving here and I wasn’t much beyond a beginner then, so it’s been like re-learning. It has been good for learning patience though - always a necessary trait, but in short supply these days. I also found some skeins of hand spun that may be good enough to turn into a small project or two - currently working on swatching. 

I do have a finished knitting project though - a simple pullover for DH knit from a yarn I’ve been eager to try - Fleece Bluefaced Leicester DK by West Yorkshire Spinners - 100% Bluefaced  Leicester wool available in 100 g. 244 yard skeins. It’s a lovely yarn, very pleasant to knit. DH is fairly hard on his knitwear, so I hope it holds up well. I’m especially hoping it pills a bit less than merino - so soft and comfortable, but seems to pill with the slightest touch.

The only change made to the pattern (Wade by WYS) was a small amount of short row shaping in the upper back. I’ve noticed the back rising up a bit on previous makes, which seems to be due to a slightly rounded upper back, and this small tweak seems to help. The sleeves could have been a bit shorter probably, but obviously not enough to bother him as he hasn’t fussed about them.

Next big project? A cardigan by Ozetta (Port Jacket) in Lettlopi, crimson red. Can’t wait for the yarn to arrive!

Preston Knit Sweater

 When I see wool sweater knit yardage on offer I tend to grab it — especially if it’s a color I like and I have a birthday discount offer. This particular fabric is from Stylemaker Fabrics (sold out now) and was listed as a wool/silk blend. 

It’s been made up in one of my TNT patterns from Style Arc the Preston Knit Sweater. I like the raglan sleeves, with shoulder darts for a bit of shaping, and it’s nice to have pockets - although they won’t fit much more than a hand or a hanky. My only change was to raise the neckline a bit and cut the neckband just a smidge taller. Because I’m always chilly I’ll wear it over a merino turtleneck.

Next up I’m pulling a fabric from deep stash — so deep I don’t remember how long ago, or what I had in mind to make with it. It’s a short piece though, so I suspect it was going to be exactly what I’m planning to use it for now - a vest. Specifically Butterick 6901, a Lisette pattern for a lined vest, shorts and slacks. It needs to be completely interfaced, so I’m going to try using sewn in silk organza as I doubt this metallic fabric would respond well to being fused. We’ll see how that goes.

Playing with ChatGPT

 Once upon a time I had photos of finished projects worn by their recipients - mostly me, sometimes DH, a cute dog and even a couple of headless shots of daughters. We were living in the country, with neighbors not very close by, and more of a chance a ‘photo shoot’ would be interrupted by wild turkeys cutting through the back field than a neighbor passing by to check out what you’re up to. Fast forward to now: urban setting, close by neighbors literally a few feet away, small and shady yard, and an introvert’s desire not to be noticed and you end up with sewing room hanger shots - sigh.

So, after seeing some pics of clothing on imaginary models created with ChatGPT I wondered if I could show something of mine that way - not as a regular practice (‘cause it feels kind of like cheating) but as a one off. Here’s how it played out —

I started out with a shot of my finished Lyon sweater by PetiteKnit. I was hoping it could be shown on a person who had a passing resemblance to me, so I included several features (hair color, hair style, complexion, age range - even style of earrings) that might skew the end result to a more ‘me’ look. I assumed (most likely incorrectly) that the actual sweater proportions would dictate body size so I just concentrated on the face. I asked for it to be worn with jeans (how I will wear it) and also requested a casual pose. And this is what I ended up with —

My twin? Not quite. Obviously AI must think women in the age range I gave all have incredible skin routines (or have had work done) because just look at that firm jaw and non-sagging neck. There are a few crinkles around the eyes - that’s something I guess. Totally got the hair though! 

Body size appears in range, if ever so slightly aspirational.

Casual pose was interpreted as pushed up sleeves and a hand in pocket, so that seems on track.

While I love the idea of showing projects on a human-ish form instead of boring hanger shots, I don’t think it’s necessarily always an accurate presentation of the item. This sweater pic is pretty close to how it looks on me, however other photos I played with were sometimes changed in small ways - a different collar, different sleeve length - things like that. As for getting a reasonable facsimile of a person’s appearance, I suspect you’d need paragraphs of precise physical description to even get close to a passing resemblance.

All in all it was fun to play with, even if imaginary me never returns. At the moment, a free version is available, so yet another rabbit hole to fall down instead of getting actual chores done!

Bit by bit…

 …heading to the finish line. Still one sleeve to do, a few ends to run in, and of course, blocking, but it’s far enough along to be recognizable. 

The Lyon pullover by PetiteKnit - 

I am using Cascade Yarns Cascade 220 fingering weight, which is a non-superwash wool in skeins of 50 g. 250 m (273 yds) per skein. Yarn is held double throughout. Colors used are 8010 (natural) and 2401 (burgundy). I thought using natural, instead of white would give me a slightly vintage look, and that seems to be the case when seen in person.  Although I enjoyed working with Sandnes Garn Sunday (one of the recommended yarns) previously, I wanted a less expensive yarn for this project. I have found Cascade 220 yarns to be of decent quality, and certainly at an attractive price point (for a US buyer) - $5.50US versus 13.50US for the Sandnes Garn Sunday. It also brought the cost down to use 2 strands of the same yarn instead of adding a strand of silk/mohair - that decision was because I wanted nice crisp stripes instead of blurry, fuzzy ones.

Once this is done I hope to get back to sewing. I have a Style Arc Preston top that is waiting patiently for a bit more work and some RTW tops that I hope I can take in due to a weight loss. Fingers crossed, as I like the fabric (wool knit) but I’m a little leery of botching it up.

 

Scrabble shirt

 So, I wanted a long sleeved shirt to wear under my new PetiteKnit Stockholm vest. I had some ideas, but in the end I chose to go with simply changing the sleeves and keeping the neckband only look of the summer shirt originally pictured with the completed vest. 

I used Butterick 6026 once again, but this time grafted the sleeve from New Look 6010 onto the sleeve head of the Butterick pattern to give me the longer (and fuller) sleeve that I wanted.  I gave some thought to a neckband with small ruffle, or a rounded Peter Pan style collar, but ultimately decided to go with a simpler look. For some reason the whimsical print told me it didn’t want to compete with any fussy details.

The fabric is cotton with a bit of Lycra - wasn’t looking for stretch, but I really liked the print so went with it. Fabric is from Mood Fabrics.

Now, all I need is for the weather to cool down just a bit and I’ll be enjoying my new shirt and vest. 

Interesting (to me) side note: I mostly write this as a record of my projects - don’t really promote it or try to build up a following - so my readership numbers are quite modest (and always appreciated). Until, that is, I made mention of PetiteKnits projects I was working on - whoa! I had realized from Ravelry that this is a very popular designer, but had no idea that my small mention would bring so many eyes to my little world. So now, do I dare mention just starting yet another PetiteKnits pattern - Lyon - or does that make me some hits hungry fame seeker? 😀