I'm So Magical I'm a Freaking Unicorn

A couple weeks ago I started listening to a new to me podcast, the Prairie Girls Knit and Spin, which I highly recommend - Danie and Susie are great together and I've thoroughly enjoyed the episodes I've listened to so far.  Anyway, in the first episode I caught, Danie was talking about spinning a sweater's quantity of yarn and then knitting a sweater from it.  The comment that she was so magical she was a freaking unicorn popped up and I've decided to adopt it because it is just so perfect for so very many situations that pop up in life.

Need that gearbox right now?  Here it is... I'm magical.  I'm a freaking unicorn.  You enjoyed that roast beef dinner with the impeccably puffed up Yorkshire puddings...  I'm magical.  I'm a freaking unicorn.  Spin some yarn and make something with it?  HELL YESSSSSS!  I'm most definitely a magical freaking unicorn.  See?  So perfectly fitting for so many things.

So, as you all know I started spinning in July of 2016 when my husband surprised me for my birthday with a day long private lesson with a master spinner and my choice of spinning wheel.  Over the course of time, I've spun a decent amount of yarn, but I'd not actually knit with any of it.  I wasn't sure what to knit or where to start.  Every now and again I'd take all the skeins out and admire my handy work, but that was as far as I got with them.

Then a couple of weekends ago I suddenly realized I had the perfect pattern in my queue to use up some of my early handspun.  In fact one of the yarns was my very first "on my own without an instructor sitting with me" yarn that I spun in the days after I brought my Ashford Kiwi 2 home with me.   The other yarn I spun and plied a few months later over the Christmas holidays, just before I started back to work.

The difference in the two yarns is amazing.  I can really see my progression, although both are pretty wonky.  Uneven, overspun, thin and corkscrewey in some places and underspun and thick as your thumb in others.  But they are mine, made with my own two hands and I love them.

The pattern I picked was a simple pair of fingerless gloves that I thought would be perfect for this time of year.  I had to fiddle with the pattern because my yarn definitely knit up at a much, much larger gauge than the Breton Mitts pattern called for.  I increased the needle size and then decreased my cast on considerably and adjusted the rows to fit my hands.

My mitts are thick and cozy and a bit bullet proof, the fabric is so dense, but I didn't want to go up yet another needle size from the three or four sizes I'd already gone up by, because then the thin bits got too thin.  Regardless of their wonkiness and bullet proofness, I adore these mitts and I wear them every morning while I'm waiting for the truck and more importantly the steering wheel to warm up when I'm driving to work.

And I can tell you that knitting something from yarn I made myself is pretty darn magical.  I'm a freaking unicorn.

#SMYLY2018

I wasn't going to participate in this "Sewing Makes You Love Yourself" challenge figuring I had nothing to say really, but as it turns out, I do have something to say.  Perhaps more for myself than anyone, but it's something I often think about, so here goes.  It's going to be a long one, so you may want to grab a cup of tea and a snack before you start reading...

When I was about five my Dad helped me thread a needle while my Mom was busy at the sewing machine and then helped me as I haphazardly sewed a sleeping bag for my barbie doll.  A few years later my mom helped me sew a stuffed creature of my own design on her sewing machine. A few more years after that I took home-ec in grade nine and made possibly the most hideous pair of stirrup pants ever to grace a body.  Too short, the zipper poked out funny, the stirrups themselves were wonky and uncomfortable.  As much as I'd loved my few little sewing projects that fell in between the barbie sleeping bag and the stirrup pants I HATED that home-ec class with a fiery heat of a thousand burning suns.  I also hated everything about grade nine.  Especially the school, that on the first day of grade nine, the guidance counsellor gave an uplifting (note extremely heavy sarcasm here) speech on how more than half of us wouldn't make it to grade 12.  I needed out and I had a plan.

To go to a different school I needed to take something not offered in my school division.  Dad taught Metals and Aerospace, so that was my first request.  No go.  Dad wasn't having any part of that suggestion.  Next I suggested Power Mechanics.  That was a flat out no as well.  I moved onto the next available option, Woodworking.  Nope, nope and nope.  Now don't get too upset about me being denied these courses.  Dad had some pretty valid reasons.  I was a complete disaster when it came to shops class in junior high.  It was amazing that I got out with all my limbs and digits in tact.  There was absolutely no way Dad was going to be comfortable with me using machinery that could possibly maim me.  So out of sheer desperation I tossed out the one last option I had at my disposal. Could I please take Fashion Technology and Pattern Design?  Yes.  It was a go.  (My poor Dad.  After all his trying to protect me from harm, a few months into my first year in the program I managed to sew right through my finger on an industrial sewing machine and needed to be taken to the local clinic by the school secretary in case I needed a tetanus shot.  So much for his theory that I'd be safe!  ha ha!). So really sewing at the beginning was simply just a means to an end.  A last ditch effort in a desperate plea to get out of going to the school I was in.  I had no idea it would become what it is today to me.

Right out of high school I didn't do a whole lot of sewing, just the odd thing here or there, until my daughter was born in '92.  Suddenly the sewing bug bit hard and I was obsessed with sewing all the clothes for the kids.  Then in '97 I suddenly found myself as a single mom of three young kids, stressed out, struggling to make ends meet, no self confidence and feeling lost.  I got a second part time job at the fabric store to supplement my part time bakery job and found my sanity along with it.  I kept the demons at bay by shopping the clearance section and using my staff discount and then sitting down in my sewing room after the kids went to sleep, into the wee hours of the night, stitching my troubles away for a few hours at a time.  I took in sewing as a third job, making dance costumes and mending along with whatever else came my way.  Then a few years later I moved to the city, tried to make my marriage work and sewing went back to being a passing hobby only done on the odd occasion until word got out that I sewed and suddenly I was making dance costumes again.  It was my gateway back.

My crafting - be it sewing or knitting (and now spinning) has always been my coping mechanism when things are rough.  It took me as a desperate 14 year old to a new school. It saw me through the first and then second and final ugly breakdown of my first marriage.  It gave me a way to help put food on the table and pay the bills.  When my last pregnancy ended in a miscarriage that left my heart and hopes shattered I sat hand stitching the binding on a quilt, each tiny stitch easing a tiny bit of the pain and sadness away.

Its been a huge part of happiness in my life too.  Stitching my first ever quilt when I was expecting Little Man, sewing a Teletubby "Po" for N when he was three because he dearly loved Po and I couldn't afford to buy him one, sewing so many clothes for the little boys and all the sewing I did for the older ones when they were young, making gifts and quilts for my loved ones and more recently over the last few years, sewing my wedding dress and the explosion of sewing for myself that has led to having an almost completely self sewn wardrobe except for my jeans that I wear to work every day. (No way I'm putting the effort into making jeans that might get grease on them!).  My husband gets it.  He also enables the purchase of patterns and fabric and never complains when the dishes sit unwashed in the sink or the laundry is threatening to take over the basement because I've been down in the sewing room.

But there's more to it than just that.  Sewing, and the community that goes along with it has given me the confidence to feel good about myself.  I think the change of tide all started a few years ago with the whole "Cake with Cashmerette" experience, although to be brutally honest I was more than a bit hypocritical.  I couldn't stand the thought of society daring to try to make someone feel less worthy or beautiful based on their size and more so to have the absolute gall to think they had any right to comment, yet I would catch myself looking in the mirror and berating myself for how I looked. Then feeling like crap because I certainly wouldn't tolerate anyone else treating another human being like that and yet I was doing it to myself.   So it didn't really take complete hold until last spring when I sewed the Penny Dress and had the "it's the pants, change the damn pants" idea from Stasia Savasuk hit home full bore.

I have the ability to change the damn pants.  I can make whatever I want and have it fit however I want.  It also means I can say to hell with society's notion of sizing.  So what if my measurements fall into a size 20, an x-large, a 2XL or a large?  Am I comfortable in what I'm wearing?  Do I feel good about it when I look in the mirror?  Is the important thing the sense of pride and happiness I feel when I put on a dress or top or whatever I made that fits me? Absolutely.

I can't tell you how much I used to hate shopping for clothes.  Nothing could put me feeling lower faster than a shirt that didn't fit, was too tight or too short.  Or dresses that I either couldn't get out of without the jaws of life because they were fitted in all the wrong places or tent like because the next size up was graded up comically huge.  Wondering what the hell was wrong with my lumpy bumpy self that I couldn't look good in anything I tried on.  All that is in the past.  Sure I still have my "Ugh.  Why are my jeans so damn tight today?" moments. But it's just a moment.  It's not a continuous stream of negative self talk going through my head.


For my project I was planning to sew a new dress this past weekend, but then I made the Halla Patterns Cozy Wrap Sweater last week.  It's totally out of my comfort zone as of late.  I seem to be more about greys, and muted colours, blending in rather than standing out.  Even my florals tend to be on the monochromatic side of things.  Don't get me wrong.  I do love a good bright floral for a summer dress, but was totally unsure and self conscious about a top.

So I posted a picture of myself on the Halla Patterns Facebook group.  I had hard hat hair, I was tired, it had been a very long day, but it proved the whole supportive sewing community point so well that I decided this had to be my SMYLY project.  I received so many encouraging and supportive comments from group members (and found out there happens to be a lot of Halla Pattern enthusiasts that are also spinning enthusiasts!!!!  These ARE definitely my people!!!).  Instead of feeling self conscious about my bright floral print, I am going to wear it with pride and if those little nigglingly self doubts creep into my head, I'm going to squash them and remember all the kind words of the group members.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading! I'd also like to end with a big thank you to Athina Kakou, Hattie van der Krohn, and Lisa Kisch for hosting #SMYLY2018 as well as a huge thanks to all those that shared their stories throughout the last few months. There have been so many heartfelt reasons why we sew and it's been incredibly touching and inspiring to hear them.

It's All About Comfort

It's been cold a lot here lately.  Even when we have a ridiculously warm temperature in the forecast it'll go something like this, "Thursday's high -3C... with a windchill making it feel like -35C"  What?!?!  Why can't we have anything nice??? Quit playing with us, Mother Nature.  At this point it's just rude.

So along with cold comes a great need for cozy, comfortable clothes.  I'm all about jerseys and pontes these days!  I had some quilted jersey from Blended Threads that I wanted to use for possibly another Grainline Linden, but then one of the Facebook groups I belong too was planning a sew along for the Hey June Halifax Hoodie.  Since I have a Linden already, I thought I'd branch out.  I made view E of the Halifax, but lengthened it significantly (too much maybe?), because while I really loved the cowl neckline and the interest of the front diagonal seams there is no way that I'm doing a hi-low hem.  I really can't stand them at all on me.  It just always feels weird, so I spend all day tugging at the front of my top and feeling awkward.  LOL

I'm pretty happy with my Halifax although I've discovered that the quilted jersey collects lint like a beast (as does the ponte that I used along with it) and it also seems like it's going to have a tendency to pill a bit.  I also feel that the black is a bit strong (does that even make sense?) and wish I'd gone with a charcoal instead, but I was using up stash so, whatever.  It's cozy and comfy and so I'm perfectly fine with its couple of downsides.

After all was said and done, I still had a bit of Ponte left in the stash and a hankering for another Linden, because I absolutely adore the striped floral one I made at new years.  I went hunting through my stash of leftover bits and bobs for the sleeves and settled on quilted jersey left over from my last year's Jasper Hoodie.

I'm super happy with how it turned out and again, other than the lint collecting factor of the ponte, this was a complete wardrobe win for me.

My final make is a bit of a dud.  I think I mentioned how my husband bought me a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas - best new toy ever - and I wanted to try doing a shirt with a logo on it.  I had bought a light grey tee from Walmart for the purpose, but it was ridiculous on me. First off the fit was weird.  Next problem it was tissue paper thin.  Nope. Nope. Nope.  So $5 worth of poly blend jersey from Fabricland and my "TNT" Molly Top pattern seemed the best route to go.  The saying, "Don't Make Me Use My Hockey Mom Voice" is a reference to the fact that one of the other team moms and myself are sort of a bit ... ahem... infamous for our loud cheering.

Now before you start thinking we're that kind of obnoxious hockey mom, we're definitely not.  We cheer everyone on for pretty much everything. You're skating?  We're going to cheer.  Your stick touched the puck?  Cheer.  Got a goal? We're hooting and hollering like a couple of lunatics.  So we are super encouraging to our little players, but just happen to be a bit loud whilst doing it.  I blame it on my years in cadets as a teenager, calling the squadron out onto the parade square and giving drill commands.  That whole comes from the diaphragm, not the throat thing apparently stuck and I am just loud.  Can't help it.  LOL

The tee is fine.  Except it was like Goldilocks and the freaking bears with that neckband.  The first one was TOOOOOOO big.  The second one was TOOOOOOO small.  The third one?  Well it's ok. Certainly not just right, because in the meantime all the ripping out and re-doing stretched the heck out of the neckline.  Then I actually burnt the fabric a tiny bit right in the front trying to beat the darn thing into submission. (Hello polyester!).  So it's not great, but it'll do.  Then there's the logo.  I think my placement is a touch off.  Maybe a bit lower? Maybe more line spacing? Maybe a bigger font?  I've no hot clue.  I just know it looks off to me.

In amongst the sewing, I've also been knitting, spinning, playing with the cutting machine and generally avoiding dishes, laundry and other sundry housework when I'm not at work or the rink...

Just for Me - A Mystery KAL

Every holiday season for the last four years, one of my favourite designers, Laura Aylor of Fogbound Knits hosts a mystery knit along.  I've only had the opportunity to participate in two of them so far, but both times have thoroughly enjoyed it and this year's was exceptionally good!

I had finished my gift knitting - I'd really scaled back this year because I knew that with working full time now I likely wouldn't have the same time or energy for crafting as I used too.  In previous years it was nothing to be up late Christmas eve frantically trying to finish knitting a gift.  Last year in fact I remember finally going to bed at 4am and setting my alarm for 6am so I could get up and finish G's cowl.  I cast off and snuck it into her stocking as she pulled in the driveway at 7am.  It was madness and I knew that I didn't want that kind of last minute panic this year, so I made a point of finishing up before the Christmas season got under way.

So it left me with plenty of time to work on Laura's mystery KAL that she always dubs "Just for You" until after the whole pattern has been released at which point it gets it's own name.  This holiday's pattern is now named Retrospective.

When Laura sent out the planning sheet early in December I went down to my sewing room and started digging through my bins of yarn for two skeins of DK weight yarn.  I wasn't  happy with any of the choices.  They were ok, but nothing was jumping out at me.  Well nothing except the couple of
couple of skeins of Madeline Tosh yarn in the Composition Book and Lolita colour ways that I've been hoarding for the past several years since winning it in a gift knitting KAL for knitting the most gifts during it.  I kept by-passing the Tosh because it was too precious to use.  It's way beyond my normal budget.  It was special.  I needed the perfect pattern.

And then I said a big ol' TO HECK WITH THAT!  After all, if the whole point of Just for You was to treat yourself then why not use the special, precious yarn?  The worst that could happen was that I'd hate what I knit (not likely with a Fogbound Knits pattern, but one never knows), and then I could rip it out and still have my special yarn.  What good was hoarding it doing?  Sure it was pretty to look at every now and again, but really shouldn't the joy be in actually using it?

So I wound it up and when the first clue was sent out I started knitting.  I LOVED it.  I was so enamoured with the pattern, with the yarn, with the fact I could have a deliciously relaxing time knitting with no deadline.  It was perfect.

I have been desperate to show it off since casting off, but Laura had asked that we keep it somewhat on the down low until all participants had their chance at the mystery.  (She was doing two rounds.  The initial one before Christmas and one starting right afterwards for those who didn't get the chance to knit before hand).  So the pattern has now been released in it's entirety on Ravelry and here I am, finally able to show it off!

I adore this pattern and it was so much fun to knit up - getting a little section to work on each night for twelve days leading up to Christmas was perfect for me!  And I'm so glad I chose to use my precious Mad Tosh.  (except now I'm really coveting more...  those colours.  They're so amazing!!!)  I do have one more full skein of the grey, plus a smidge of both the skeins I used for the cowl left.  Maybe a pair of mitts or gloves would be in order...

 PS: don't judge the Christmas tree.  It's been down since Sunday afternoon - I took these pictures on Boxing day and New Year's Eve day. So well within the acceptable time frame for a Christmas tree! ;) LOL

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A Spur of the Moment Small Sewing Spree

Thanks to the holiday I have a three day weekend to enjoy.  I decided that I was going to use some of my time to do some sewing to celebrate the end of the year!  I've had a few projects that I wanted to get done, but before the holidays I was too busy with holiday prep, work and life in general to actually get to it.  Now was the perfect time!

Late yesterday afternoon I got all the fabric cut out for a top, a sweatshirt and a cardi.  Then took my little stack of fabric down to my sewing room and set to work.  The first one I tackled was the Linden Sweatshirt from Grainline Studios.  This one has been on my to do list for approximately forever.  WHY OH WHY have I not made it before?!?!  Oh! Right!  Probably because I waited until November to actually buy it and then had no time for sewing (see above mentioned excuse).  I did add almost three inches to length to accommodate my longer torso and a bit extra out of personal preference.

I picked up the fabric on my way home from work on Friday when I popped into the local Fabricland for something else I needed.  It's ponte de roma and from the clearance bin that I thought was a bargain at regular price for clearance.  I was exceptionally pleased to find it was 50% and my sweatshirt fabric cost me a whopping total of $7.70!

Having finished my Linden (which there will be many more of I'm pretty sure!!!!) I decided to make the top next.  It's a... Molly Top.  Of course it's a Molly!  Do I make any other tops these days?  No.  I didn't think so! Ha ha!  I loved my v-neck version so much that I decided this one should have a vee as well!  This super soft, drapey fabric was from an independent shop out in Western Manitoba, The Fabric Snob.  I don't think she has this particular colour in stock right now - or at least I didn't see it at quick glance - but she's got loads of other gorgeous florals and her 10 oz solids are my go to for solid knits now, I love them so much!

I didn't get this one done last night but had set it at side when I got to the point of needing to do the neckline and the hems, so it didn't take me very long this morning to zip through finishing up this one and moving along to my third make of the weekend, a Blackwood Cardi.  I've been wanting to make another since I made my first Blackwood.  I even have another cardi that I'd sewed up about a month ago from a different pattern that's waiting to be taken apart and fixed up using the Blackwood because it couldn't even come remotely close to comparing with fit of Helen's pattern and I know that until I fix it there is no way it'll ever get worn.  I sewed up a long Blackwood for my daughter for Christmas and had some serious envy.  Good thing she wears a vastly different size than I do or she might not have actually got her Christmas present.  I was going to do a long one for myself, but alas when I bought the lightweight melange knit from Fabricland I was thinking short version and bought fabric accordingly.  Oh well.  Next one!

The other thing I did was to print off some fun labels for my newest makes!  Santa brought me a new toy for Christmas - a Silhouette Cameo 3 and it is SO MUCH FUN!!!!! It's like a label maker on steroids and then some.  I've been walking around speculatively eyeballing everything in sight for potential decals, labels and fancy cut paper.  During the holidays Patterns for Pirates put out a free file for clothing labels and I knew I had to use them.  I'm particularly fond of Size Sassy and Size Unique!  Take that society!  I refuse to conform to your ridiculous notions of sizing.

So not bad for a spur of the moment small sewing spree!  It felt great to be getting sewing done.  It also felt great to reduce the pile of fabric by three - goodness knows I've a long way to go before I make a slight dent in the stash, but it's a start.  (It turns out when I don't have time to sew, I just start amassing fabric at a pre-apocolyptic preparation worthy level instead.)

Well, it smells like my now traditional New Year's Eve roast beef is going to need some attention soon - it's been cooking for two and a half hours now and it's making me sooooo hungry!  Time to get the Yorkshire puddings prepped and start peeling potatoes I think!

I'd like to wish you all a very happy (and safe) New Year's Eve.  I hope that tomorrow's start of 2018 brings with it a year of happiness and peace for you and yours.

Wrapping Up One Week One Pattern

I'm not even going to bother with making excuses for not blogging or pretend that I might get back on some semblance of schedule with it.  But I'm here for the time being and I wanted to do a wrap up of sorts of my first experience participating in the One Week, One Pattern challenge, which is just as it sounds.  You choose one pattern for one week and either wear different versions of it, or style it differently or a mix of both.

The challenge was hosted by Sheona of Sewisfaction this year and if anyone can persuade someone to want to take part in something Sheona, with her bubbly, cheerful personality is just the person to do it.  I love her vlog posts and instagram stories and feeds.  She is down to earth and so easy to relate too.  So when she announced she was hosting this year, I couldn't help but join in.

I had a hard time deciding which pattern I was going to use at first, because there's a few I love.  I thought of making six more Blackwood cardi's, or maybe a few new Idyllwild Tees.  Maybe a couple more Anna dresses (but how would that work with jeans and steel toes five days out of the week?).  Finally I settled on the Sew Over It Molly Top.  I had five of them already, so I figured I could just double up.  Then I ended up making a Molly Dress the week the challenge was starting, and then another Molly top the evening of the second last day.  I already have two more planned.  Molly is definitely proven to be my go to tried and true pattern. It's such a simple make and I can whip one up in a little over an hour from cutting out to hemming.  The fit is spot on with just an inch and a half added for length, so it's a no brainer for me.  It makes me feel great being able to finish something easily these days when sewing time is so limited and I love wearing them.  It's definitely my number one "TNT" pattern.

I've been on the fence about the Molly Dress since the City Break E-book came out to be honest.  I have definitely wanted to make one, but worried that it would look like a nightgown, or just too shapeless on my figure.  I have some gorgeous Ponte that I'd ordered from Stitchy Bee a while back that I wanted to make a dress with, but no way wanted to waste it if the dress was a disaster.  So I bought some fabric from the local Fabricland on my way home from work one day.  Unfortunately I misread the price and it ended up hella expensive, especially for a potential dud.  Ooops!  I decided to forge ahead with it though with the intention that if it was a nightmare I could chop off the bottom and have a really soft and cozy Molly top.  I LOVE the dress.  It gets all the heart eyes from me.  I have no clue what the fabric is - it's soft and feels like a cross between a really fine sweater knit and a brushed poly.

I documented my week on Instagram - most photos taken with my tripod and remote on my phone, and the weekday ones were taken at 5:30 in the morning, so photo quality is a bit dodgy, but hopefully you won't mind my less than glorious photography skills.  Here's how my week went:

Day One - the brand new Molly Dress

 Day Two - a Molly tee - this one is probably my least favourite Molly.  It's a fairly recent make, and it's ok, but there's very little drape to the organic cotton jersey and it turns out it's not as great a colour as I thought it was when I bought the fabric three years ago, but it's great for kicking around in.

Day Three - one of my early Molly's.  I think this was the second one I made last year.  Unfortunately I forgot to add any length and it's shrunk so it's on the verge of too short for me to wear comfortably.  But it has silver threads along the edges of the stripes which makes me ridiculously happy, so I still wear it more often than I should and then spend the day tugging it down.

Day Four - My first Molly.  Oh how I love this top!  It's so cozy and soft.  It's made from a sweater knit and it's only issue is that somehow a mad case of static cling has got it's clutches on it and no matter how I wash or dry it I can not get rid of the cling from hell.  I've tried everything I can think of so if you have any great solutions, please let me know!

Day Five - A recent Molly.  I totally meant to make a cardi with this fabric.  But then I felt like I was in the doldrums with my sewing and had nothing to wear, so it became a Molly instead.  I may or may not live in this top.

Day Six - this was my third Molly.  At first I thought this jersey from Minerva Crafts was way to drapey and that the top looked way too flowy, but it took mere moments of wearing it for it to become one of my favourites.  It's such a great top for work.  Not too heavy, and a great layering piece.  It gets a lot of wear!  (let's just ignore the wrinkles - it probably should have had a date with an iron before I took a photo in it.)

Day Seven - last but not least my newest Molly top.  This is a short sleeved version.  I thought I'd mix things up and make a v-neck on this and now I'm obsessing about a long sleeve v-neck Molly.  I could live in this top every day if it wasn't weird to do so.  

In retrospect, I suppose choosing the Molly Top wasn't the most challenging thing given I really do wear them all the time, especially during the work week.  It felt almost like cheating it was such an easy choice! As I mentioned I'm planning a Molly Dress with the Ponte from Stitchy Bee and I have a great monochromatic grey floral jersey that I just ordered on a black friday sale from The Fabric Snob that is pretty much screaming at me to become a v-neck long sleeve Molly, so clearly I'm not done with the pattern just yet!   

I have some other projects I'd love to tell you about in the near future, but not sure when I'll get the chance to be back to blogging, so who knows when it'll happen or if it'll happen.  I sometimes feel like so much time has past that there's not much point in writing about it anymore.  So I guess I'll just play it by ear and see you when I see you.  In the meantime, I hope this finds you all happy, healthy and enjoying life to it's fullest!

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Brasov Wrap Top

Just stopping in with a quick post tonight!

No school for the boys + no sitter + plus the fact that they need my hubby at work way more than they need me (although it does hurt the ego a bit to admit that! LOL) meant that I had a day off of work today! I had fabric at the ready and the brand new, just released Itch to Stitch pattern, the Brasov Wrap Top* printed off and assembled!

The crossover top pattern features figure flattering pleats and a nice modest neckline. I do prefer v-neck tops, and absolutely love a wrap top, but am always conscious of how my tops fit and making sure the neckline isn't too low or too revealing.   Throughout my day I'm up ladders, or bending down to get things and I also work closely with the maintenance team and often meet with vendors. The last thing I want to be worried about is if I'm at risk for an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction. Brasov is the perfect solution! I was so excited when I saw the first pattern photos for it and snapped up the pattern the minute I got the email from Kennis yesterday morning advertising that it was available!

I'm really happy with how my top turned out! I used 10oz cotton/spandex from The Fabric Snob that I had bought a few weeks ago. It was my first time ordering from there and I'll definitely be making future fabric orders!  Their jersey is top notch - super soft, great weight and fantastic recovery!!  Unfortunately between the fact I started out with less yardage than called for, and that my fabric had  shrunk a bit when I prewashed it meant I had to get a bit fancy in my cutting out the pattern. I ended up having to have a centre back seam and 3/4 sleeves, but that wasn't too big of a deal. Certainly not enough to deter me from using the fabric!  I did add 1 1/2" in length instead of my usual inch I add to Itch to Stitch patterns because I wanted a bit of extra insurance in the event that it shrinks more when I wash it again.

If you act quickly you can grab a copy of the pattern for yourself with a 20% discount! I highly recommend it as a great wardrobe staple for fall and winter! (I'm also dreaming of doing a sleeveless version for spring next year too!)

Leo The Lion, King of the Prairies

I mentioned my other road knitting project in my last post and thought I'd share a bit about it today with you.

Baby Boy - I really should think of a new name for him, he's hardly a baby now that he's in grade two and about to turn seven years old - made the discovery recently that everyone in the world (or at least all his siblings) have a sock monkey and he does not.  He had found my Paton's booklet, "Monkey Business" in the basement a week or so before we were to leave on holidays and he put two and two together and realized all those sock monkeys he's seen in his sibling's possession had to have been mama made.

He desperately wanted me to knit him something.  But not a monkey.  What he wanted was the last pattern in the book.  A cheerful looking lion named Leo.  I told him that as soon as I was finished knitting his sweater I would start Leo.  Every time he saw me knitting on his sweater he make a comment as to the fact that it was good I was knitting his sweater because then I could start his Leo.

He was actually playing with his lion in his head all the time and had so many imaginary adventures with the yet un-knit Leo.  Oh the stories he made up about their adventures.  It was unimaginably sweet.

Before leaving on the trip I let him go through my stash of worsted weight yarns and he picked out the colours he wanted.  I put together a kit of everything I would need to complete Leo from yarn, to needles, to fibrefill and popped it in my bag for in the front of the truck.  As soon as I cast off his sweater I cast on the lion.

I only knit on long driving stretches but slowly and surely all the pieces started coming together.  Lots and lots of pieces.  I am not overly fond of knitting toys.  Especially toys that have a billion fiddly pieces to sew together in the end, but it was a labour of love so I bit the bullet.

I worked on the head between Swift Current, SK and Medicine Hat, AB.  Then continued on two days later from Drumheller, AB to Calgary, AB and bit from Calgary, AB to Jasper, AB.  The muzzle was done while driving to the "Enchanted Forest" outside Revelstoke, BC and back into town again, and the body started somewhere around Rogers Pass, BC and finished somewhere between Calgary, AB and Moosomin, SK.  Seaming, his face, mane and feet (I ran out of yarn for the legs) were finished for the most part between Moosomin, SK and home here in South Eastern MB.  Last Wednesday evening I put the stitches onto the needles and got the four legs done and sewed them on and then added a few more strands in left over orange Berroco Vintage to add a little depth to his mane and fill in the bare spots that were left because I'd run out of the dark brown.  Since most of the knitting was done throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta I've dubbed him "King of the Prairies".

I had Leo already by Baby Boy's bedtime and he was thrilled.  And not just him.  Little Man was equally excited for his little brother to have a "sock toy".  It was such a gratifying moment as a mom and as a crafter.

SSKAL 2017

What a busy summer it's been!  I can't quite fathom how it's already September and the little boys are already back to school!  We finished off summer holidays with a bang and took an amazing ten day trip out West making it as far as Revelstoke, BC.  It was fantastic and we did so many amazing things on our trip!  One of the things that I did on the trip was knit.  Did you know that driving across Manitoba and Saskatchewan leaves a whole lot of time for knitting when you're not actually the driver?  A WHOLE LOT.

Thanks to the trip and hours upon hours of knitting time, I was able to finish my project for the Very Shannon Summer Sweater Knit Along.  The KAL ends today and I think this may be one of the few times I wasn't hoping for a deadline extension.  (Good thing too - Shannon mentioned recently that there wasn't going to be a vote for an extension this time!)

When the SSKAL was announced, since the rules allow for finishing up WIPs, I decided that I was going to take the opportunity of motivation of the KAL to finish up a project that had been languishing in my knitting bag for a few months and hopefully knit another project.  The project in question was Little Man's new Greyson sweater.  I had started it in March when I realized that there was no way he could squeeze himself into his original Greyson anymore.  Of course I shouldn't have been surprised.  He'd been wearing it since he was four years old.  No wonder it was too short and too tight!

I let him pick out yarn from Webs and he'd chose red and black James C. Brett Aztec - an acrylic, alpaca blend that I think will prove to be soft and very cozy.  He also chose how he wanted the stripe pattern to be. The sweater knit up fairly quickly given the very little I worked on it and within a month or so I was done.  Except the neckline was horrendous.  I should have taken a before shot to show how bad it was because it defies description.  I'm not sure what I did, but all my centered double decreases were not centered. Nor were they even in line with each other.  It was a hot mess.  So I was frustrated and left the sweater laying in my knitting bag until about a week into the SSKAL.  Then I ripped that offending neckline out, picked up the stitches and had it done and looking good by the end of the evening.  It was perfect timing, because the next morning Little Man woke up feverish and miserable.  Shivering and cold he curled up in his brand new sweater claiming it made him feel much better.

A few days later I had the chance to wind the wool for Baby Boy's sweater, because his second Greyson had also long since been outgrown.  He had also chose the black Aztec yarn and then had picked out some Estelle Chunky - an acrylic, wool, nylon blend - from the lys in the city and planned his stripe pattern.  I was determined to get his sweater done in time for wearing in the mountains, so knit like the wind, working on it every spare moment I had, which unfortunately with work and other mundane things like taking care of the house and yard wasn't a whole lot.  Thank goodness the sweater is small!  I started it on August 14th and by the time we headed out on the  highway August 26th I had just put the sleeve stitches back on the needle.

By the time I put my knitting down just outside of Moose Jaw, SK. because it was too dark in the truck to see anymore I had one sleeve done and 18 rounds plus a cuff left to do on sleeve two.  That was a LONG drive!   The next morning I picked it up again and had the second sleeve and ends woven in about a half hour or so west of Swift Current, SK.   Good thing too.  The next morning when the boys crawled out of the tent in Drumheller, AB it was quite chilly.  Baby Boy was thrilled to have his new sweater to put on and stay cozy until the sun warmed everything up.

I had high hopes of getting the perfect finished object photo in the mountains, but trying to get photos of these two little goofballs when they're excited proves to be difficult, so I had to settle for this next one atop Whistler's Mountain in the Rockies.  You can sort of see the town of Jasper below through the smokey haze.  (No worries - there was quite a bit of land behind that rock they're standing on, it is just the angle that makes it look like they were perched on the very edge of the mountain!)

Finishing Baby Boy's sweater so quickly gave me loads more road knitting time, but I'll tell you about that project next time!  I've got to catch up on some housework and then get the boys out to their power skate workshop this afternoon, plus I'm sure if you've read this long, you probably have other things you need to be doing too! LOL

Just one other quick "housekeeping" thing before I leave off.  I want to apologize for how some things are looking on the blog lately.  As you may be aware, Photobucket, which is what I used for a few years for photos on the blog, suddenly changed their policies without any warning in the spring.  In order to keep the photos showing up from them on the blog, they want a fee of $399/year.  Not going to happen!  So I need to clean things up and re-upload photos, but unfortunately I've had no time to do so yet, so please bare with me while things are in a bit of a messy state.

Walking on Sunshine

I'm back!

It's been a busy few weeks for me between work, birthday parties and the usual day to day things that keep me hopping.  But I have had some time for craftiness!  Today I'm going to wax poetic about the Patterns for Pirates Sunshine Dress* that I sewed up for this year's Maxi dress sew along.  The Sunshine Dress hadn't even been on my radar at all despite being released a year ago and suddenly I was completely smitten and had to make it.

It has pockets, just as any good dress should have! :)

The reason it suddenly popped onto my radar was that I have a slight obsession with the custom fabric shops that are all over Facebook these days.  I joined one group, Blended Threads, which somehow led me to another group, True North Fabrics, that led me to Kiss My Stash, which led me to Elevated Fashion Fabrics which led me to Sew Sew English.  (I clearly need help.  Send some sort of intervention now!!!!)

The common things I kept noticing throughout all the groups was mention of DBP.  Now what the heck is DBP???  Double Brushed Poly, or as I've seen it referred to as "Unicorn fur" or something along those mythical lines.  I was skeptical.  Polyester?  Brushed?  Twice?  It made me think of the old nighties and pjs from the seventies and early eighties that were definitely polyester - sort of scratchy on the inside, but kind of soft and fuzzy on the outside.  Everyone was raving about it though.  And the prints that I was seeing coming up in the various groups were stunning.  So finally I bit the bullet.  I am so absolutely and easily led.  I bought a couple of yards on a pre-order from Blended Threads.  I'd bought a few different fabrics this spring from her already and been really impressed with the quality and the customer service.  Plus she's practically local being in Saskatchewan, so I felt like she wouldn't lead me astray at all.

(PS: I'm walking here, not practicing standing like a flamingo...)

The fabric came and it is glorious.  Soft and luxurious.  Nothing like those old pjs and nighties at all. But then I wasn't sure what to make with it.  It seemed too special to make just anything.  I was flummoxed as to what would be suitable. Then a sew along showed up for the P4P Sunshine dress in the Sew Sew English Facebook group and I kept looking at all the gorgeous finished dresses.  The cut seemed to flatter so many different figures and everyone seemed to be on the DBP bandwagon, so I hopped on too.   The more the merrier!

And boy am I glad I did.  First off, the pattern is fabulous.  No adjustments nor muslin for that matter were made, I went on blind faith alone.  Oh!  I did cut a smaller skirt size just because of fabric constraints and well, quite frankly I didn't feel my hips needed quite as much width of fabric as the pattern called for.  But that's more a size blending thing than an actual pattern adjustment in my books.  So fit is spot on out of the package (Ok, off the printer, if we're going to quibble), and now lets talk about ease of sewing.  Nothing challenging about it at all.  Instructions were top notch. Everything lined up beautifully.  The end result looks like it is a lot harder to acheive than it actually is.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy as my little boys would say.

And Double Brushed Poly?  Well, it's safe to say I've drunk the Koolaid.  Not only does it feel luxurious, but it sews like a dream.  It doesn't shift or slip and slide while sewing like other drapey knits would!  So I'm in.  I've got a couple more yards headed my way from Sew Sew English and just received a couple from Elevated Fashion Fabrics.

After sewing up my dress I can definitely say I'm thoroughly impressed with Patterns for Pirates and am really looking forward to sewing up the other patterns I have  since bought from them!  But first? I think I might have to make another DBP Sunshine Dress or two...

The Solution to I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!!!

Recently I quickly realized as the temperatures warmed up that I had pretty much nothing to wear that was suitable for work.  In the past in my life as a stay at home come spring it was pretty much the "season of no pants" until the temps dropped again in fall.  So I have a closet that is positively jam packed full of dresses and not much else save for a few blouses that are, ahem, a bit too snug and/or short on me.  Only now that I'm working in an environment that requires pants I noticed a pretty huge deficit in my warm weather wardrobe so over the last several weeks I've been slowly plugging away at filling that hole.  The sewist's solution to "I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!!!!"? Obviously grab some fabric, a pattern and head to the sewing machine!

You'll have seen pictures of these "solutions" on my Instagram already possibly, but I thought I'd share them here too with a bit more detail.

First I made Kymy's Dolman Top from Everything Your Mama Made.  I LIVE in this top.  The jersey was an inexpensive fabric from Fabricland and it's light weight and perfect.  I made the banded version so that it's more tunic length than tee shirt length because there is nothing more annoying than feeling like my shirt is too short when I'm reaching up to put a motor back on a shelf.  Kind of hard to pull a shirt down when your hands are full and you're on a ladder.  LOL!  I think the only change I made to this one from the pattern was the neckline.  I made it a touch narrower and scooped it a touch lower than the pattern (good thing too or it would've been way to high even for a boat neck!).  Then instead of turning and topstitching I cut a strip of fabric and bound the neckline.  I feel it gives it a cleaner, neater finish.

Next up was Sew Over It's Lulu top.  This pattern came out earlier in the spring.  I chose a gauzy cotton for it and then decided I really didn't like the fabric a whole lot and wished I stuck with my initial choice which was a bit more structured lightweight denim-y polka dot print.  I was feeling like I was overheating at the time in the fabric store and after standing at the cutting table for what felt like forever waiting my turn I suddenly changed my mind and grabbed the gauzy fabric that was right beside the table and set my first choice aside.  Buyers remorse set in pretty quickly, but I decided to sew it up anyways.  I need to do a bit of an alteration with the pattern for next time but I'm not sure what.  I think it may need a tiny broad back adjustment.  Also I'm still not sure how I feel about the fabric itself, but it is definitely comfy and cool so that is a big bonus!

Then since two short sleeve shirts don't quite cut it - they have to go in the laundry once in a while - I just made another tee last week.  This one was made using a print jersey I picked up last fall on sale from Craftsy.  It's a really nice quality and so soft.  It's a bit thicker than maybe optimal for summer, but not too bad, plus birdies!!  I love them!  I still have almost three metres of it left to make a shirt of some sort for fall/winter too!  The pattern I used was the Cowl Neck from Patterns by Moo oops! Apparently now called Sewing Geek.  I think I've had this pattern on my computer since the very early days of PDF patterns.  I've had it for several years anyways and just never bothered to do anything with it.  Not sure why because I sewed this one exactly as designed just blending between sizes at the hip and I'm pretty darn pleased with it.

Not sure what's next for me.  As per usual I've got eleventy billion different projects in the wings and just slightly less on the go.  I've got a Corriedale batt I'm in the midst of spinning, I have a stack of patterns and fabric waiting for something to happen to them, I'm partway through my Untangling Knots Anaheim Cardi and need to make my dress for the annual Outfit Along.  So, you know, its pretty much same old, same old here.  LOL

#sewtogetherforsummer

So it's been awhile but I'm back with a new project!  I've actually done some other sewing too, but I'll tell you about that another day.  Today I want to talk about my #sewtogetherforsummer shirtdress!

#sewtogetherforsummer just finished yesterday, but for the past three months sewists around the globe have been sewing up shirtdresses as a part of the Instagram based sew along hosted by Sarah @sewsarahsmith, Susy @sewing_in_spain and Monika @rocco.sienna.  It's been an inspiring and motivating three months of seeing all the different patterns and variations being made up.

For my part I was consumed with indecision on which pattern to choose.  It was a toss up between either Sew Over It's Vintage Shirtdress or Cashmerette's Harrison Shirtdress.  I got as far as printing each pattern off and assembling the PDF sheets together, but that was it.  I just couldn't make up my mind, couldn't find fabric that spoke to me and honestly figured it was going to just be another case of good intentions gone astray for me.

Then the Penny Dress was released to the Sew Over It PDF Pattern Club at the end of the first week of June. I've never bought a pattern, printed it off, assembled it and bought fabric so quickly in my life.  It was THE PERFECT PATTERN.  I love the way it looks on Lisa Comfort in the official photos!

I whipped home from work, fabric in hand, threw it in the washer and dryer then set to work cutting it out.  I started by cutting the bodice, then quickly realized something had gone terribly, terribly wrong and I didn't have enough fabric for the skirt.  I was so incredibly frustrated.  I had no way of getting to the fabric store until Monday at the earliest and there went my weekend plans of making a new dress.  URGH...  whilst I was busy berating myself for obviously not following the lay out plans as carefully as I should have an email came out with the errata for the fabric requirements.  So that Monday I was like a woman possessed.  Zipped over to the fabric store after work, grabbed another 2.5 metres of fabric for the skirt, got home and did the whole pre-wash and dry thing and got the skirt cut out. I wasn't about to be deterred by something like insufficient yardage.  I even made self-covered buttons for it.

Of course life being busy life I didn't get a chance to sew again until Sunday, but I knew it was going to go together easily and be such a great make.  Except it wasn't.  Don't get me wrong.  It sewed together like a dream.   All I had left after a short couple hours of work was hems and buttons. (Remember those buttons?  Turns out they were about twice as big as they needed to be for the button placket.  Arggghhh.) So I tried the dress on and pinned the bodice shut.  OH. MY. EVER-LOVING WORD.  It was possibly the most unflattering make I've ever made.

I looked nothing like I envisioned in it.  I felt miserable and a whole lot of bitter negative self talk was going on in my head for the rest of the day and into the next.  I was so distraught and discouraged. And then at some point I remembered something I'd heard Stasia Savasuk say on a podcast interview a few months back.  It was something a long the lines of "It's not you.  It's the pants.  Change the damn pants."  And that thought kept running through my head, slowly silencing all the negativity.  It isn't me the problem.  Technically it's not even the dress that's the problem.  It's the style of the dress that was the problem for my figure.

I'm not happy about it, but like it or not I no longer have the small waisted hour glass figure I once had.  My hip/waist ratio is pretty indistinguishable and the dress cut right across the widest part of my apple shaped body.  The elasticated waist only served to emphasize it making me look much larger than I am.  I needed to selvage what looked like a frumpy old lady dress and make it into something I'd be happy with.  While I pondered things I made a new set of covered buttons.

Then I continued my mission by taking the elastic out and tried it on again.  It was like a tent, but taking the elastic out brought the waistline down to a much better spot on my body (it's amazing how much a little bit will fix things!).  I could already see there was potential for the dress after all so I went ahead the other morning and before work I took the bodice off the skirt and cut off fabric from the sides of the bodice tapering down from the armhole to waist.  I then took the one piece skirt and carefully cut down the sides of the skirt.  I basted the bodice and tried it on and it was already 100 times better.  I took close to eight inches off the total circumference of the waistline and it made a world of difference.

Yesterday morning I set to work stitching.  Because I had side seams now I figured I might as well add pockets while I was at it!  I only had about fifteen minutes to work on it, so I chose to do button holes first.  After work I attached bodice to skirt and did the hem.  With much trepidation I tried it on again and fell in love.  The fit is now exactly how I like it, it skims over curves instead of cutting across them and I think it's new modified version is the perfect shirt dress for what I wanted!  I'm so happy with it and want to make another of my version right away! I wish I'd taken photos of the initial dress so that I could show you the before and after, but I didn't take them because at the time I felt so awful I didn't want to be seen by anyone in it.

I've seen loads of gorgeous Penny dresses made as designed by loads of different women of different shapes and that's great.  It is a lovely pattern done with the quality that I've come to expect from Sew Over It and I'm still really happy that I bought the pattern and made it.  I can even see the benefit of having made it the way it was designed in the first place.  It may not have been the silhouette for me but it taught me a thing or two about acceptance of my self and as silly as it may sound I feel somewhat empowered by coming out on the other side of it all feeling fantastic about my self and about my skills as a seamstress.  To top it all off I snuck in just under the wire for the #sewtogetherforsummer sew along finishing at 6:20pm of yesterday's deadline!