Whew!

That was a lot of knitting, but Lido is finished -- I was hoping to get it done before the end of February and I made it (just barely).

Still too chilly and grey for a modeled shot, but done, done, done.  Actually though, I still am puzzling a bit over the closure.  The pattern calls for I-cord ties affixed to the front edges, but I don't see how they fasten that way in any way except having the front edges meet.  However, the accompanying photo shows it being worn with the fronts overlapped, and that is how I want to be able to wear it -- otherwise it looks boxy and a bit big.  I have a feeling the solution may involve sewing a couple of snaps, so perhaps I am not entirely done, done, done.

Style Arc Stacie

On the sewing front I'm getting ready for spring by trying out a jean jacket pattern from Style Arc -- I'm planning on making it in a nice bright color for spring, but wanted to check the fit before cutting into my lovely orange fabric.  Luckily I had some nice stretch corduroy on hand which will work well in my wardrobe next autumn.

After measuring the pattern, I thought it wise to give myself a little extra room in the bust and the hip area.  The shoulders generally fit well for me in Style Arc patterns, so I left that as it was, and the waist seemed to be good also.  Basically, I felt I needed a FBA (full bust adjustment) and just a scootch more room around the hips.  Adding to the side seams of front and back pieces by tapering out from the waist to about 1/4 inch from the hip gave me a much appreciated extra inch.  The FBA was made by adding slightly to two of the lower front pieces -- again, tapering to nothing at the waist.  The front yoke piece remained the same size.  I think it worked fairly well, and the jacket can be comfortably worn closed should I ever want to. 

Fasteners are from Snap Source -- I used the size 20 (1/2 inch or 13 mm) caps in the antique brass finish.  I really like the ease of applying these snaps, and they come in a wide range of colors. 

This time, the fabric was so 'springy' and thick that I had a little trouble keeping it from shifting while I placed the middle layer of the snap tool on the fabric.  Luckily, I discovered that a pencil could hold the fabric steady while I was doing that, and because the middle layer has a pencil sized hole in it I could keep the fabric held down until everything was securely in place.  Worked a charm.





And here's the jacket being worn, but before I had applied the snaps --

 I think it will be a nice layer for changeable spring weather -- once again, Style Arc comes through!

Anticipating Spring

It's a raw, dreary day, and there's still plenty of winter left I'm sure.  Nonetheless, it's time to put aside the woolen fabric and yarn and look forward to warmer days.

I'm usually caught still finishing up winter projects once the nicer weather rolls around, but this year will be different.  To wit: 

 

 

 

Lido, a light little wrap from Hanne Falkenberg.  I don't expect to wear it quite like the model shown, but I think it will be a handy layer for warmer weather.

 

This is knit in Hanne's own line of yarn, in the same fresh green as the model.  I'm working it on US size 2 needles (2.75 m) at a gauge of 100 stitches to 4 inches -- no, no, that's just some knitting humor -- it's really knit at 28 stitches and 54 rows per 4 inch (10 cm) swatch.  Since I'm not a spectacularly fast knitter I expect it may well be warm enough to wear it by the time I'm done.  Here's where I am now:

 

 

 

Roughly 2 inches or so into the lower eyelet portion of the top -- one sleeve has been picked up and knit, one sleeve still has stitches waiting for pick up.  As you can tell, it's knit seamlessly (mostly) from the top down.  While it was a little discouraging when all 1,000,000 stitches - fronts, sleeves, and back - were on the needle, things are going a bit faster now that I am only working on the fronts/back. 

 

One aspect of it is speeding by though.  It has two 33 cm (roughly 13 inches) I-cord ties called for to fasten the fronts.  Ordinarily working 26 inches of I-cord on such small needles would not be my most favorite thing, but this little gadget made quick work out of it --

 

It's a simple little I-cord machine, The Embellish Knit.  A tiny little 4 stitch circular knitting machine that does only one thing - I-cord - with only a couple of weights of yarn (fingering or sport, basically), but it does that one thing like a champion -- cranking out my 26" of I-cord in about 5 minutes.  In the photo you can see a wee little tail of I-cord coming out of the bottom of the machine.  Normally the weight (it's a clothespin with metal bits inside!) would be attached to the cord itself, but for photographic purposes I removed it.  Does anyone need such a Johnny One Note gadget?  Nope, not at all -- but I sure am glad I had it!

 

I've started Spring sewing too, but that's a story for another day...



Ultrasuede Challenge

Recently, our ASG neighborhood group had a little challenge -- use thrifted Ultrasuede garments to make a purse, or bag.  One of our members had collected garments over the years, and brought some in for us to look through and purchase, if desired.  I picked out an olive green Ultrasuede Facile skirt, and also a heavier weight lime green wrap skirt.  For a grand total of $10 -- who wouldn't snap that up?

I had some scraps of Ultrasuede from another project that I added to it to come up with this small bag --



There was plenty of fabric left over, so I went with a jaunty beret --

 

 

 

Here's a close up of the small bow and button trim:

 

And there's still more left -- but that's for another day.