Mini Wardrobe

I've been vicariously sewing through the blogs because too busy with work (a good thing!)

Another blogger's plan to coordinate with an orange jacket reminded me of this jacket, the top part of a suit that came with black pants. I wore the pants out so I'll be replacing them and making a skirt both black.

I'll make two blouses and be done with it, three pieces of fabric used and now I can use this jacket. All fabrics from the stash but don't think I didn't get online and …almost…click…that…button!

Sweater Spin 2011

Don't know what possessed me but I joined a new Ravelry group, well that's probably not true, I do know what possessed me. Because while I've been working, dog-like, there is very little time to indulge any of my fiberly pursuits, I signed up for Sweater-Spin 2011. This gave me something to think about. In no time, my mind was turning it over like all of the other assignments I have going. I had some Blue Faced Leicester languishing in here, plain white, un-dyed. It took a few weeks to settle on a color scheme, and I spent awhile pouring over pattern possibilities. For this sweater, I'd considered some dark jewel toned colors at first but noting that a few group members were challenging themselves to produce two sweaters, I got the idea that the first sweater should feature SPRING colors since it ought to be done by then and no winter month is colder than April in my opinion. I'm not even sure whether two sweaters are not a requirement of the challenge but if they are, the second sweater in the dark palette ought to debut at the end of the year.

So I dyed my fiber: lime green, blue, orange and red-violet. According to Deb Menz (Color Works: the Crafter's Guide to Color) this is a square tetrad, another way of saying two sets of complementary colors: lime & red-violet, blue & orange. Now when it comes to spinning, I am not so smart I can do any more than spin this up randomly but I did divide the 16 oz. of top into roughly four chunks and then dyed each chunk so that about half a given piece was left a pale shade or white. I got exactly what I expected and figured the yarn would have to spin up in the mid to light range, what I was looking for.

For the design of the sweater itself, my first thought is a simple v-neck with bracelet length sleeves so I can wash my hands without getting my sleeves wet. I'm trying to spin a sport weight yarn because I haven't much use for a big heavy sweater and can't get one under my winter coat. There are plans for a less effective winter coat that will require a sweater underneath--- (which seems nutty even to me) but the winter coat I have now is too warm to put more than one layer underneath it. I am grateful for that puppy this winter, I hear tomorrow it will be 18°F here in New York.

Here's how the yarn is coming out so far. It's awfully like the last yarn I dyed and spun but I'm not bothered. That sweater didn't look so hot on me so I gave it to my son. My latest notion is to use short rows in this simple v-neck silhouette to get some interesting stripe action out of this yarn. We'll see.

Dead of winter feels like time for a funny hat. I went for "Vortex" with extreme an point. The boy took one look at it, laughed and was eager when I suggested this pattern instead. I finished it, he put it on and wore it the entire day and then to bed at night. I learned today though that he has no intention of wearing it to school unless I devise the kind of buckled strap for it used to cinch cargo onto a semi's flat bed. That's grade school jargon for "never." He has not forgotten the Pre-K incident, where a little ruffian snatched the hat his mama made off his head and played keep-away with it.

It was fun to knit and very easy, essentially being a straight sided sack. the fins are added at the end. I didn't like the instructions for knitting the tail. Following them, it didn't seem the tail was coming out like the tails shown with the instructions. I'm helped when I think of knitting as drawing so I made up my own (double thick) tail from what I though the tail in the pictures was doing. The fins are k1p1 rib. By the time you get to this point in the pattern you realize stitch counts and what all don't mean a thing. I made the dorsal fin longer and used short rows to make it taller toward the front. The eyes are made from that fake chamois stuff for mopping up spills. I offered eyes dead or eyes alive, he chose dead. Great, four minutes at the sewing machine. I used bits of Brown Sheep lambs pride worsted as well as my own hand-spun wool.

A small thing but…

I got to sit on the couch and finish this little shawl on Christmas day. I've wanted to be able to just relax like that for a long time. It turned out to be the best gift of all. I started out going in another direction with this yarn, it's from Knit Picks, "bare" sock yarn. I dyed it in these autumn colors then forgot about it; must have been before I decided I wasn't knitting socks anymore (they wear out too fast). After I rediscovered it I thought about working up a straight rectangle stole in an openwork squares, modular knit pattern by Iris Schreier.

The fabric is more dense than what I did finally and I knit a piece about 15" long and just as wide before I realized I didn't have enough yarn for a stole. So I frogged it. I like the openwork pattern and will maybe incorporate it as an edging for a sweater; something with bigger yarn. Something like the Sweater Spin 2011 group on Ravelry maybe?? I think I have enough fiber in here to dye and spin, and have been mulling over my requirements since I joined the group.

So far I know:

• Must have an open or V-neck.
• Must have three quarter length sleeves.
• Yarn should be no more than sport weight if I intend to wear it at all.
• Soft, no scratchy- scratchy.

Other aspects like color and design haven't come into focus yet, also whether to dye the fiber first or after it has been spun. More, later.

Into the Vortex… nice!

This is my version of "Vortex", a Knitty pattern. I am down with the silly hat, though this hat is stepping all over full bore crazy. I pulled some leftover hand spun wool from the stash for this one. Looking forward to making one for my dear boy, whose dignity will not brook the over the top "poink!" Sweet child has no idea what becomes of dignity after awhile.

Got tired of looking at that wadder green blouse below. I can't believe I haven't updated this in over a year. I have been busy though, doing some of the stuff I started this blog to highlight, and working like a dog. There's a lot I'd like to show & tell but for now, because I simply could not look at that blouse one minute longer, I'll post some Christmas cheer. We can't be called materially wealthy in most categories you could name but we can hold our own when it comes to Christmas ornaments. The accumulated treasures of at least 3 families means we have some very old stuff. Stuff with that tarnished patina the lifestyle stores are selling at a premium. These elves were part of my husbands dowry. The green elf's costume got terribly faded though, so a few years ago I knit him another one. This is a nice sort of treasure to manage, we can pretty much, do whatever we want with it, the ornaments only have sentimental value in our minds so we don't have to get all precious with them. My husband regularly GLUES old favorites back together, and that becomes part of their charm.

The old glass balls are known to crumble in your hands. We like to express alarm when it happens but even the eleven year old is onto it now, he delivers the shattered ornament to his Dad and they assess its condition and how it could be repaired, then he fetches the appropriate glue. It's part of our Christmas Ritual.

Slow SWAP

Here's the first piece for the 2009 wardrobe SWAP.

hmmmmmm____.

I suppose it's OK but I think that collar is trying to back out of the picture. It might not be missed if I open that seam and let it run off into the woods.

I'll consider.

I must press on however, 31 days or no, October will be over before I know it. Back to the grindstone.