Eleven Stitches

Cherry Cardigan and a Patchwork Skirt

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to all of my American readers!  I was planning to blog over my break, but obviously I did not.  David and were in San Francisco to visit his family, and we had a great time. 

I have a finished sweater to show you today! 

Pattern: Cherry by Anna Bell
Yarn: Foxhill Farm Millspun Cormo Cross, 2 skeins 
Needles: US 6
Modifications: I didn't make the belt that is strung through the eyelet rows.

This was a fun knit.  The knitting of it went pretty quickly, and the cable pattern was easy enough to memorize.  It was a little difficult figuring out how to start the cable pattern, but the designer has since updated the pattern to make that easier.

I bought another skein of this yarn at Rhinebeck this year because I thought I was going to run out on the button bands and collar.  It turned out that I had just enough!  I'll have to figure out something else to do with the extra skein.

I used a mismatched set of vegetable ivory buttons I got from the button lady.  They might be a little bit too small-- they sometimes pop out of their buttonholes. 

I also wanted to show you my patchwork corduroy skirt.

I had originally bought this corduroy for a quilt many years ago.  I've lost interest in the quilt, but I thought it would be fun to use some of it for a skirt.  I got out my crayons and make a sketch of how I wanted it to work, and then I used the Simplicity 2411 pattern (again) to make it. I pieced the fabric for each pattern piece before I cut it out.

I think it's especially fun to wear this skirt with the brown and purple shirt I made last year.  It's a patchwork outfit! 

This is the last of the photos from the big photoshoot that I asked David to help me with several weeks ago.  Now I have another big list of things to photograph, and David has promised to help me today.  More soon!

Two Separates

I have to admit that making a complete outfit out of separates makes me feel really proud.  I've found that people I run into (who know that I sew and knit) will ask if I've made part of it, but they assume the rest is store bought.  I just think that's really fun :)

Here are two things I've made!  The shirt is once again Vogue 8634.  It's such a great pattern, and I sewed it up so quickly the second time around.  If you're looking for a pattern to experiment with sewing knits for the first time, this would be a good candidate.  The fabric I used is an interlock knit from JoAnn Fabric.  I'm temped to make more, but I'm a little nervous that my wardrobe would get too predictable with so many big collars :)  Please note how the collar is artfully arranged.  David's helpfulness is not only limited to photography, but also includes collar prepping.

The skirt is Simplicty 2411.  It's a pretty straightforward skirt.  I made most of it in the spring and then lost interest when the weather got warm, so all I needed to really do this fall was put in the lining and finish it up. 

I've been trying to blog frequently, but I STILL have a huge backlog of things to show you!   I'll be back soon.   Have a happy Monday :)

Some Hats

Late this summer, a woman who works in the office at my school was diagnosed with cancer.  She's been going through chemo this fall, and I'm so impressed with how the staff has rallied around her.  I really work in a great place!  There's been casserole deliveries and other such things, but I decided that the best way I could help was to make her some hats.

Pattern: Side Slip Cloche from Botique Knits
Yarn: Stonehedge Fiber Mills Shepherd's Wool

I wanted to make hats that were feminine and warm, and I knew this hat fit the bill.  I've made it 3 times already, and I still love it.  The yarn was absoutely scrumptious, soft and strong.  And I knew that this was the recipient's favorite color, so it was a total win.

I thought I'd also try out a new hat.

Pattern: Mulberry Hat from Modern Top-Down Knitting
Yarn: Araucania Toconao

I liked this hat OK, but I think it seemed slouchier in the book?  Next time I might try it on larger needles, even though I had gauge with these.  The construction for this was fun, although I did have some issues with the brim curling a little bit.

I got a lovely e-mail from my co-worker thanking me for the hats.  Here is part of what she wrote:

Ironically, with all the pain, I have felt most down about the loss of my hair.

I have not felt like the same person.

That may sound superficial, which it is, but the beautiful hats make me feel feminine and good about myself again.

This is exactly what I was hoping for.  In fact, I had considered knitting Shedir because it was written to be for someone with cancer, but I decided it wasn't girly enough.  I'm so glad that I was able to help.  If you knit and know someone who is going through the treatment of cancer, consider knitting them a hat.  It's worth it!

A Grellow Dress

I really love this dress.

The pattern is Butterick 5315, which is sadly out of print, but still available right now on their website.  The fabric I used is a charcoal double-knit.  Since it's an interlock knit, it has horizontial stretch, but not vertical.  The pattern was intended for a woven fabric (like the one I made in 2009), but this knit translated pretty well.  The only mod I had to make was to take it in a couple of inches at the waist, which worked just fine.  Oh, and I eliminated the zipper, becuase this dress stretches enough to not require one.

As you can see here, all of the stitching was done with yellow thread, and the collar was finished with some homemade yellow bias tape.  The pockets are also out of yellow fabric.  The buttons are a mis-matched set that I got from the vintage button lady at the NJ Sheep & Wool festival.  It's nice to start using those buttons and not just collect them! 

Also, do you see the "KRISTY" label?  I finally ordered some personalized labels, and it's been fun sewing them into my garments. 

I got some more practice doing buttonholes on this dress.  Although my sewing machine complelely balked on the bottom button because it was too close to the seam for the skirt.  So I hand stitched something that looks a lot like a buttonhole, and then sewed the button on permanently.  The other ones all are completely functional.

Here is a back view of the dress.  It's got some nice detail with the top and bottom pieces, and the back pleat.  It also makes the dress give comfortably when moving in it.

This is definitely a cool-weather weight dress.  The fabric is heavy (and it swings delightfully when twirling). So realistically I need to wear something with it to cover my arms in the cool weather.   As I was making this dress I saw a cardgian at Banana Republic that seemed ideal.

I could not be happier with this dress.   Yay!

Rainbow Fish Socks

Hey, about about some knitting!  Early this summer I finished up my first pair of colorwork socks. 

Pattern: Swedish Fish Socks by SpillyJane
Yarn: Wollmeise 80/20 Twin (White) and various scraps of other colors
Needles: US 1.5

I have no idea why it took me so long to make a pair of colorwork socks!  But when I first saw this pattern I knew that I wanted to use this color scheme. 

All of the colors except turquoise are leftovers from other projects.  It was fun to put them all together.  I don't think these socks did a good job in making a dent in my leftover stash, but it was fun to showcase them in a new way.

The pattern is pretty simple to memorize, and the knitting for this went really quickly!  

 

Rhinebeck and a Red Jacket

I had a great time at Rhinebeck, which is now several weeks in the past!  I went up there with my friend C, and it was a long weekend of good food, shopping, and yarn, of course.

This is what I picked up.

It was kind of more than I meant to buy, but I think it will all be very useful.

Starting with the green yarn at top left and spiraling clockwise we have:

• Brooks Farm Mas Acero to make another skirt.  I'm not sure which one yet.
• Maple Creek Farm Laredo to make Larch
• Tess Mohair & Merino to make Levenwick, which is currently in progress.
• A skein of Foxhill Farm Cormo to finish up a cardigan in progress because I thought I was going to run out of yarn, but then I didn't end up needing it. 
• Two skeins of Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool to make two hats, one of which is already knit up.
• The yellow and grey yarns are Miss Babs' Northumbria Fingering BFL to make Paulie.
• The pink is Socks that Rock Lightweight-- a birthday gift for my mom.

I also promised a jacket. I wore it at Rhinebeck and got several compliments.

The pattern is Uptown Coat from Favorite Things.  It was a pretty simple pattern.  I had been nervous about sewing a jacket, but this one is not difficult.

I made the pockets out of flannel instead of the jacket lining.  It's nice to feel some warm flannel pockets on a cool afternoon. 

The jacket is fully lined, which makes me feel quite proud.  The pattern has the lining be cut about an inch shorter than the outside of the jacket, but I found that made it difficult for the lining to cover up the hem.  I think next time I would cut it the same size and just hem it a little higher.

And I was pretty insistent that the buttons be turquoise.  You can also see here that the topstitching thread is also turqouise.  This is the project where I started to learn how to use the buttonhole foot on my sewing machine. 

Overall, yay, I'm so pleased with this jacket. 

I asked my long-suffering husband to take blog photos for a lot of the backlog of projects I've finished and not blogged.  I figure that the end of Daylight Savings Time will make it even more difficult to get blog photos on a regular day.  I've got lots more to show you coming up soon!

Made by Me

I'm very proud of this particular outfit, because it was entirely made by me. 

(OK, not the boots.  I would be in trouble if I could also make shoes!)  I started by making the Running Stitch Skirt.

 

Pattern: Running Stitch Skirt by Yumiko Sakurai from Interweave Knits Fall 2010
Yarn: Brooks Farm Mas Acero, 2 skeins
Needles: US 8
Modifications: I added an elastic waistband instead of a drawstring one. I grafted the skirt together instead of seaming it, and I did the top of the skirt in the round.

This skirt was a quick knit and I love the result.  The contrast lines are flattering.  The skirt fits closely, but not *too* closely.  If I end up wearing this skirt a lot (and I think I will) I would even consider making a second one!

When I finished the skirt, I found that I didn't have any shirts that I really wanted to wear with it, so I decided to make one.

This is Vogue 8634.  I love this pattern!  The only modification I did was to seam the top front piece because I ran out of fabric.  This pattern was so easy and fast-- I cut out the pieces in the morning and sewed it up in the evening.  I've already got some fabric to make another one. 

So yay, I have a new outfit made by me!

Maybe we'll see each other at Rhinebeck?  If it's too cold to wear just this, I'll also be sporting a bright red jacket, which I will show you here on the blog very soon.  Have a great weekend!

 

 

Summer Has Gone

I didn't want to admit it for awhile, because I had such a great summer this year.  But the school year has started anew, and the cool fall weather is (finally) here. 

This summer I was lucky enough to go on two trips.  First of all, I went to England, where I got to see Stonehenge.  There are some more pictures in my Flickr set.

I also picked up some yarn while I was there, which has so far resulted in two first socks.  The second green one is next in my "purse knitting" queue.

David and I also took a road trip to New England and Canada in August.  We had never taken a road trip together before, and it was great.  We had to hurry home a day early, though, so we could prepare for Hurricane Irene.  (We were fine, just lost power for 2 days.)

Sadly, I have not made a set of photos for this trip, but here is a picture of me in Nova Scotia.

As the summer was winding down, I finished a last "summer dress", but I think with some boots and a cardigan it might well last me into fall.

This is Vogue 8728, which is written for woven fabric, but I used a knit instead.  This mostly worked out, although the back was way too big and I took two large tucks on either side to fix it.  I also cut 5 inches off the length of the skirt to make it come to my knees. 

And since I don't want the above photo to be the last one in this post, here's a picture of some pretty handspun yarn I picked up from the New Jersey Sheep & Wool festival. 

Giant Granny Square Afghan

I finally finished up a project that I started on the first day of 2010. 

This afghan is a giant granny square!  Instead of seaming a bunch of smaller squares together, I just kept going around and around the original square.  I bought a couple of balls of yarn to use in this project, but the majority of the yarn was leftover from other projects.  Well, also there was yarn that I had bought previously and no longer had something that I wanted to make with it. 

I have to admit that before I started this project, I didn't really like afghans.  I didn't like how I always wanted to stick my toes out of the holes when I was was sitting under one.  I don't think I appreciated the way they looked.  But I wanted a project to use up my yarn and I was interested in trying out some crochet.  And now I reallly love the way they look, and I'm trying to resist doing the toe thing.

It was so satisfying to use up all of my odd balls of worsted weight yarn.  And to get something so beautiful out of it!

I kept going around until I felt like it was big enough and until I had used up my longer lengths of yarn.  Then I experimented with an edging until I found something I liked.  I ended up doing two double crochets in each stitch.  It ruffles a little bit, which I like a lot.

I'm so happy with this afghan, and I'm sure it will be so welcome next fall and winter.  In the meantime, it will look pretty on the chair while we enjoy the spring and summer!

Happy

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This little nest of bunnies hopes that you have a happy Sunday.