It's the Little Things

Life is still unsettled, and concentration needed for larger, more complex projects still eludes me. Instead of feeling guilty for not getting more done I've decided to just go with the flow -- can't pull it together for larger things? -- then smaller projects it is. 

I've been crocheting for a few years now, and working with beads almost as long, but one thing I haven't done is combine the two. So, why not now? I've long admired the work of Ann Benson (Leopardskin Pillbox hat anyone?) so when I found myself on her Etsy site I decided to give bead crochet a try. This bracelet, in fact: 

I didn't have any steel crochet hooks small enough for the project, so had to wait a bit for my order to come in.  I'm a bit worried about my ability to manipulate such small hooks (the pattern recommends 1.15mm or 1mm sizes) but the real test will probably be whether or not I can thread the beads on the working thread in the correct order. Stay tuned.  Here's a peek at the tiny (to my eyes) hooks: 

At least the handles are padded!

The Hitchhiker scarf mentioned previously is now off the needles, and I am still loving the rich red color.  Taking it's place on the needles is a cowl - Every Bit Cowl, which seems to be a nice combination of cowl/shawlette. I'm using some deep stash Fleece Artist SeaWool (now discontinued) in an unknown colorway.  The pinks and greens are giving me a springtime vibe, and that's just what's needed at the moment.  This pic shows progress almost to the point where the work is joined and worked in the round:

It's been a fun knit so far, with just enough pattern changing to keep it interesting, but still simple enough for TV knitting -- perfect!

Knitting for the Long Haul

It's a topsy-turvy world we're living in right now, and I am finding that it helps to have a long-term project to work on each day as a temporary replacement for the usual schedule of my retirement era life.  Something other than sewing face masks, or constantly updating grocery lists in search of that elusive delivery slot, or other activities that are necessary, but are also an ever present reminder of the mess we're in.

For me that project is a knitted cardigan -- Simple Yoke Cardigan, by Purl Soho. It's a fairly plain, easy knit, but it becomes a long-term project due to yarn weight and needle size. I'm using Dream in Color Smooshy with cashmere in color Brilliant and size 1 US needles (2.5mm).

Not much to look at so far, as it's pretty scrunched up on the needle, but I am happy to be cruising along with only 300+ stitches instead of the 500+ I had before putting the sleeve stitches on holders to work later. I'm only a little over an inch beyond the sleeve divide -- at this rate it may turn out to be a lifetime project instead of a pandemic one. 

To mix things up a bit I also have a backup -- also thin yarn, but much smaller.

The Hitchhiker Scarf by Martina Behm. This one is being worked in Rohrspatz & Wollmeise "Fluffy" in color Rosenrot (which I think translates to Rose Red). The color is so rich and vibrant that it makes me smile every time I pick it up. 

I don't have too much more to knit on this one, although the rows do get longer with each set of repeats.  I'll miss it when it's completed and put away for cooler weather.

Other than face masks, sewing has been on hold for a while. I suspect that warmer weather will find me wishing I had done a little garment sewing, but I'm finding it hard to concentrate on that these days.  I've made various mask styles -- most with ties or cords as my thin elastic has all been used -- and family seem to prefer the shaped masks to the pleated versions that most hospitals are asking for.  I never expected that my first Marfy would be a face mask, but there you go.  I've also tried the pattern from Craft Passion as pictured below.

 It uses a long tie (or in this case a shoe string) that loops around the back of the head, through the sides and then is tied in the back.  I found it slightly trickier to get a tight fit on my first try, but was able to adjust it to suit eventually.  It will be interesting to see how various family members rate the wearability of the different styles.  So far only the Marfy version has been road tested.

Stay healthy, keep busy, and stay indoors everyone!

Dyepot Redux

Still talking about dyeing fabric/garments, and this is the project that started it all for me. Last year I was browsing various style blogs and came across a photo of a linen duster. I can't remember which blog now, but the photo showed a white duster, in a sheer linen fabric, in a boxy style reminiscent of Eileen Fisher (which it might have actually been). I believe the blogger mentioned that it was from a sample sale, so the picture was the only guideline I had. It seemed like a potentially useful garment for my life -- a little extra coverage for summer sleeveless, but light and airy to not add (much) extra summer heat. And to add to its appeal -- I had a pattern that closely mimicked its style lines -- Kwik Sew 3732.

Finding a sheer, see-through 100% linen was the first challenge (more on that later) but once sourced it was an easy process to adapt the pattern -- which was mostly lengthening the bodice and the sleeves -- and sew it up.  Once finished and on the hanger it looked like the perfect summer accessory. And then I put it on.  I'd sewn the pattern before, so fit was not a problem, but there was something about it that just didn't work for me.  At first I thought it was too plain -- too minimalist -- too lab coat. Maybe if I introduced some decorative hemstitching to the seamlines? In the end though I simply hung it up in my closet, where it stayed until my recent clear out.

I'd been thinking a lot about what colors suited me now that my hair was no longer dark, and it finally came to me just what was wrong with my duster.  It wasn't too plain, it was just too white -- I now needed more contrast.  

So, dye to the rescue.  I wanted color, but still nothing too dark in order to keep things light and summery, so I went with aquamarine.

It was just enough to leave the lab coat vibes behind, and it was a color that looked good with the many navy garments already in the closet. Now, it can join the working garments instead of hanging uselessly in the closet.

I didn't have a lot of luck finding the fabric I wanted to use in my sources for apparel fabric, but on a lark I looked at the offerings in home dec fabrics -- bingo! -- sheer woven linen. Most likely meant for sheer curtains (which might also be a good source of fabric) but it worked up just fine for a duster.  Granted, not many of us would want to end up looking like Granny's sofa, but there are often lots of fabrics which can slide easily between apparel and home dec, so it is worth checking out what's available. One of my favorite jean jackets was made from a rustic cotton from the home dec line of Tommy Bahama -- now I'm wondering how that might look with a cooler toned color over dyed?

Changing It Up

Just trying for some normalcy in these crazy times...

Like a lot of other sew-ers I have a stash of fabric. Some of it is newer, some of it is gently aged. All of it was purchased because I liked it and saw a need for it in my wardrobe, and all of it was bought with the idea that it suited me in terms of color. And then -- I decided to stop covering the gray in my hair and let Mother Nature have her way. And suddenly all those warm, earthy colors that suited my dark rusty brown hair looked really bad with the silver that framed my face. Arghh! 

The nicer fabrics may find new homes, or perhaps be suitable for non-wardrobe uses, but I've been using some of the more ordinary fabric to make 'practice' garments in new patterns in order to work out fit issues.  Useful, but still -- I felt bad that I was not using them for their intended purpose.  What to do? Well, in my case -- get out the dyepot!

The first fabric shown was sold as a cotton shirting.  It is (in natural daylight) a pale golden yellow on white background with thin black stripes.

Better with an aquamarine over-dye, but still not exactly what I wanted.

Let's try something darker -- indigo (the color name, not the dye plant!)

That's what I want -- a deeper color without any warm overtones. In real life the blue is more evident -- this pic is much grayer than it is. By the way, the aquamarine overdye shown in the original pic was only done on a swatch -- not the full yardage. So, the indigo was not on top of the original color and an aquamarine overdye.  The top, which you're only seeing a small portion of -- is Courtney by StyleArc.

I also threw in some seersucker yardage. This was a medium brown stripe on a white background.

Now we're talkin'!  This fabric took up the dye exactly as I'd hoped.  The brown stripes are now a darker shade of indigo and the white stripes a lighter shade.

I did the dyeing in my top loader washing machine and used regular old Rit dye (liquid). Followed the instructions on their website, with one exception -- I did not put the dye solution down the dispenser. Instead I put that (and the salt solution) into the tub after filling it with water, then let it agitate for a couple of minutes to insure proper mixing before adding my fabric. There are specialty dyes out there for different types of fibers and I'm sure they do their job well.  In my case, I went with what was readily available and relatively inexpensive since it wasn't critical that I get a precise result. As always -- YMMV. 

Going small...

Sewing has slowed to a snail's pace, but craftiness continues with small projects. It's a great morale boost to actually plan, start and finish something. 

I like to keep small tools handy and close by my machines, but after knocking my thread snips off the counter (and point down into my bare foot) I knew I needed to keep them safely corralled. I could have searched out a small container from around the house - but sew-ers gotta sew - so I used some scraps to make a small basket.

It's simply some fabric, some PelTex double-sided ultra firm stabilizer and some Kam snaps. There are tutorials online for making folding baskets (usually labeled as bread baskets) but I've made a couple of substitutions to the usual supply list based on what I have on hand and my own preferences. For instance - the PelTex product was left over from a previous project, but it is also more rigid than the usual interfacing or batting.  Instead of ribbons or bias tape I like to use plastic snaps -- it's a more streamlined look, plus I have a nice assortment of them.

Here's the materials I used: PelTex double-sided ultra firm stabilizer - 5 pieces cut as follows - 2 pieces 7.25" x 2.5", 2 pieces 3.25" x 2.5" and one piece 7" x 3.25"

Fabric: quilting type cotton - 2 pieces 13" x 10"

Snaps: Kam plastic snaps - 4 complete sets (4 male/4 female plus corresponding caps)

And here's how it was laid out:  

My method was to fold over and press the outer edges of the fabric rectangles by 1/2" on all sides. Then I carefully laid out the Peltex pieces as per the above diagram - note that there is a space, or channel, between the pieces - they do not butt up against each other. They are placed on the wrong (non-public) side of the fabric as you are sandwiching them between the 2 fabric pieces. Next, carefully place the remaining fabric (right side up) over the PelTex layer being sure to have the bottom and top fabric layer lining up accurately. I lay everything out on my ironing board, as the next step is pressing the sandwich as per the PelTex instructions. This will bond the stabilizer to both sides of the fabric.

Finally we sew - edgestitch around the entire border to close everything up. Then stitch around the base (the larger piece of PelTex in the center of the sandwich) in the channel between the stabilizer pieces. You could also stitch around the other pieces, but I didn't on this project - the pieces are well bonded to the fabric, plus I don't think I'll need the extra security of stitching as I don't intend to wash this (famous last words!).

I eyeballed the placement of the snaps by folding up the corner edges of the box - they ended up approx. 5/8" in from the outer edge of the box and 2.5" from each corner point. Since you need to poke a small hole in the fabric to install each snap, I simply marked them by making a hole with my stiletto awl. And done - maybe not the usual method of making these boxes, but it worked for me.  Dimensions given are, of course, for the size basket I wanted to make, but it is a fairly easy math problem to change it up. I will say that the 2.5" height worked very well to make a basket deep enough to keep everything in place, but not so deep that you had to go digging for your tools.

And lastly - another small project - "Crooked Trail Cap", a slouchy cap from KnitSpot knit in Green Mountain Spinnery Ragg Time.

One thing leads to another

Have you ever freshened up a room with a new coat of paint and found that suddenly the bedspread, or pillows, or curtains look dowdy -- or the wrong color, or just somehow not right? 

Well, it happens with planning a new capsule for spring sewing -- how can you complete your plan when you know your closet is overfull with clothes that just don't work for you anymore?  So, after figuring out the pants/skirts I wanted to sew I decided it was time to do a little closet organization. DH was away for a few days, so timing was perfect. I could pull out/try on/make piles to my heart's content. And make piles I did -- such a huge pile of things that just weren't right anymore.  No photos, because it was an embarassment of poor choices and over-consumption. Hopefully I've learned an important lesson and will be more mindful of future fabric purchases and garments sewn. 

One thing I will show though are the little tags I bought to label different 'areas' of my closet. They're called "blank clothing rack size dividers" (mine came via Amazon) and they've been so useful in bringing order to my slacks and leggings -- now I know when I reach for something that it is exactly what I want. No more cropped length when I want full length, or navy when I need black -- such happiness from a little piece of plastic!

I'm hoping that now that the closet is sorted that I can get back to choosing which tops/blouses will be made to go along with the skirts/pants I have already picked out.

Another goal I've set myself this year is to use up more of the stash -- not only fabric, but also yarn, beads, etc.  To that end I pulled some ribbon yarn (Berroco Zen, now discontinued) to make a spring/summer light coverup. Since letting my hair go grey it's no longer one of my best colors, but I think I can get away with it since it pairs well with navy -- which is one of my basic neutrals.  Here's hoping next year I won't be going through the closet and saying "what was I thinking?".

Pattern is a variation of Soft Serve by Doris Chan from her book "Everyday Crochet". 

Planning and Plotting

Still no actual sewing going on, but planning for Spring proceeds. First up: what to make for a bottom layer.  So far I have decided on (and purchased) two pant patterns and one skirt pattern.  

For warmer days - a culotte pattern from Itch To Stitch

And for a little more coverage -- the Clare pant from Style Arc 

For days when a skirt is wanted -- Ravinia Skirt from Love Notions

Probably the midi length, but I'd love to swan about in the longer length too. Love that it has pockets!

I'd really like to make a casual dress too, similar in style to this one except with shorter sleeves and a little more fullness to the skirt --basically I just want the small shawl collar! Haven't yet found a pattern that I could adapt, although the dress itself is fairly simple I suspect the collar would need to be self drafted. I've done a passable job of doing that in the past, so within the realm of possibility.

And plotting? Well, all of these patterns are PDF purchases and need to be printed out. In the past I've taped, trimmed and sworn, but recently I heard about a printing service that was reasonably priced and had fairly quick turn-around. I'm probably the last sewist alive to hear about it, but if not -- they are PDFPlotting in the Richmond area (VA, USA). Ordered my copies on a Monday morning and had them delivered by mail on Wednesday -- not too bad at all. Price varies by pages needed (and there is a reasonable shipping fee) but it was worth it to me for the total lack of pattern piecing aggravation.  As an example, the Gobi culottes were printed on one large sheet and cost $1.39 as opposed to printing 21 pages at home (just the pattern - instructions are separate). I'm sure my cost at home (paper, printer ink) probably works out to be cheaper, but sanity -- priceless!