Next!

 I'll be brief.

 OOP Vogue 2690 and a remnant of grey denim.

 Take one. Poufy at the upper hip.

Seam straightened to remove same.

 Pulls strangely at the derrière.

 Curve replaced.

 Wacky pulling on the legs. Consulted Palmer and Pletsch.

Seam released at inner thigh.

SIde seam curve taken in again.

 This isn't any better.

After a couple of weeks of tweaking, I'm done with these. They are now in the 'to be donated' pile. I found a pair of mens woolen trousers at the MCC on Saturday. I took in the waist by about three inches and they fit much better than this pair without nearly all the futzing around. I may try another pair, or I may just stick to skirts. Gah!

A Windproof Toque

I went to visit my parents this weekend; the break from the DEEP FREEZE made it an opportune time to be on the highway, not hiding at home.

I took along the fabric for N4's puppy since my mother's kitchen table is so nice to use to cut things out. My cutting table is great, but I can only access it from one side, whereas I can go all the way around the kitchen table at the farm.

I cut out the dog, and I will blog about it when I have sewed it up.

I still had a about 40 cm of polar fleece fabric left and thought I should make my dad a warm toque. My parents farm and my dad spends quite a bit of time outside. It doesn't matter how cold it is, you still have to feed the cattle.

I used a basic toque pattern from OOP McCalls 9551. I cut two layers of the polar fleece and then a third layer from a felted wool sweater I had taken along. Originally I had planned to use just the sweater, but thought it might be a little scratchy, so the idea came to line it in the fleece. Then I thought the wool would be a little hard to clean if it was covered in hay and dust, so I figured I'd put some polar fleece on the outside as well. A felted wool sandwich, if you prefer.

I managed to cut the hat pieces out of the sleeves leaving the body for another future project. The sleeves on these sweaters are always hard to use up, so I'm glad I could use them first.


The rest of the left over piece polar fleece was used for neck tubes.

This pictures shows the three pieces sandwiched together, and interestingly enough, the real colour of the fleece. It is gray, not blue.


The three layers were very hard to sew through and became an utter gong show when when I tried to attach the band. I couldn't lower the presser foot, but there was enough pressure to keep things together anyway.

The final product is not pretty and looks like a helmet -and actually feels kind of like one too - but at least my dad should be warmer in the thing.

 

Since I'm trying to use up stash, this counts at 0.4 m used.

Sewing With The 'Good' Fabric and Some Scraps

It was so cold New Years Eve day that once I got home from work, I felt no need to go out again. So New Years Day was spent inside sewing.

I've made three cowl neck sweaters from Sewaholic's Renfrew pattern. The cowl necks have turned out much better than the summer band-necked ones. I can apparently manage the cowl but not the neckband.

This is version number 2, a rayon/wool blend from Hart's Fabrics. It isn't as fluid as version 1 and I didn't quite get my swayback adjustment right, but I am still happy with how it turned out.

This is version number 1. A very drapey merino from the Fabric Store USA. They don't have an online shop, but they will happily mail you swatches and fabric. I dealt with Allison and she was great. I feel kind of guilty ordering from the States, but I can't find any local wool knit. Sorry, Mitchell's Fabrics carries brown, but I need colour even more in the winter than in the summer. Gala Fabrics in BC is also rumoured to carry wool knit, but they don't have an online shop yet, and I haven't gotten around to telephoning to see if they'll do mail order.

laundry wrinkles

 And version 3 of the same rayon/wool from Harts.

 I made the cowl and neck opening a little smaller and it pulls slightly above the arms because of this but the sway back adjustment is better and I am happy with it as well.

And I think I may have figured out how to work with the Renfrew top neckline. Barbara has this link in today's post. I like the wrap collar so I may try that next.

In other news, The Geek spent New Years Day creating things too. Her hand would get cold while using her computer in the sunroom so she made a mouse pogie. You can see it hanging on the door knob in the pictures of tops 1 and 2.

This is the pattern. She used a 3-d modeling softward to turn a 2-d image into something you can draw flat (sorry about the crappy explanation. I don't understand it, which is why she is the Geek and I am not.) She plans to post the instructions on Instructables so you may want to watch for it there if you are curious. She goes by the name 'berserk' on that site.

This is the paper mock-up. I think it looks kind of like a horseshoe crab.

And her is the fabric prototype. She used a two-sided scrap of fleece I had in the stash.

I think it looks more like a mouse house, so that is what I call it.

I have no idea how well it works since she managed add water to the boiler (there is a problem with one of the auto-flow valves) and bleed the radiators so the house is actually quite warm in here at the moment. Yay!!!

I also made a dog boot for a friends dog from another fleece scrap. He had lost one of his red-with-black-trim mittens, and since my red fleece bits did not match the originals, I decided to make it out of fake leopard.

This may be my only contribution to Jungle January as I am trying to sew from my stash, and it's still too cold to venture out of the house on any frivilous ventures.

This is a rather dry post, but I am a little under the weather and all the snow shovelling is getting me down.
Keep warm!!

2013 - A Year in Review

2013 was a much more productive year than the last two . Not that topping 2011 and 2012 would be hard. I think I sewed only two tops one year, and even less the other.

I'm enjoying reading everyone's Top Fives, but I don't quite have that much to compare, so I will just do a little summary of this better year.

Skirts: I sewed nine this year. I love Sewaholic's Hollyburn skirt. I have made three, pictured here, and here. The shape is lovely, they are quick to sew, and they are highly bikeable -a requirement for any skirt I wear during the spring, summer, and fall. A hit to be sure.
I also sewed two Vogue 1247 skirts with a third cut out. The yellow one was a huge step for me -I haven't sewed anything yellow since I was nine and made an apron for 4-H.
The version below is rust-coloured corduroy and the one-to-be-sewn is black denim.

Vogue 1247

I did Jungle January a few months late, and then went into corduroy with a brown-striped Schnitt Vision pattern, and another straight skirt in rust. The accidental hybrid has been thrifted; I guess you'd call that a miss.

Tops: Not as many as the skirts, but again, I really liked Sewaholic patterns Renfrew top. Issues with the neckband were strictly due to wetware problems. I made two lightweight ones for the summer. One I wear a lot, the other has been thrifted. I also made one from a wonderful Merino wool -but again, the neckband vexed me.

I steamed it to no end, and it still looked crumpled. I exchanged the neckband for the cowl version and now I like it. I have two more cut out in a wool/rayon blend, one orange and one green.
I also made a New Look 6301 top (OOP) from a stretch woven.

It looks better in real life than it does in picture -I hope. I made it at the end of the summer and have only worn it once.

Trousers: Three pair joined the stable; one wool blend, one linen/cotton blend (that has since been made into shorts), and one corduroy pair. I also an OOP Vogue pair in grey denim cut out.

These trousers are a simple straight-legged affair. But because I am now cutting stuff out in the living room again, the Geek asked what I was making. When I told her it was the long vest, her eyes almost popped out of her head. The Geek is a very conservative dresser. I'm always surprised she elected to keep the pair of Fluevog boots I found at the thrift store; I guess they are just quirky enough without being too flamboyant.

Dresses: I made two, I like them both even if one needs major surgery to rescue it from Wadderville byremoving the non-standard-issue pockets and taking in the sides a bit.

I just don't know when. I want to make more dresses -I don't know why I haven't done so before now - and I'm definitely going to make Simplicity 2444 again.

Other stuff: two pairs of mittens, one superhero cape (and a partridge in a pear tree) and some baby stuff for a friend.
I tried the Thurlow shorts, and will do so again. I even have the fabric ready to go. and the Tania culottes (unblogged).

(Good idea, wonky fabric; look how it puckers when you spray water on it. )

The back zipper puckered terribly after the first wash, even tho' I pre-shrunk the fabric. I have no idea if it will steam out.)

Ok, that puckering is not as bad as I remember. Maybe it has to do with the fabric's crazy reaction to water. The zipper looked awful when I hung these culottes up to dry. Maybe they aren't a total right-off after all.

My plans for 2014? I plan to move where the spirit takes me. It seems f I have decided to sew a certain thing, I feel guilty if I abandon it for something else, and then nothing gets done. So? no more (sewing) monogamy.
I also want to finish de-fragging my sewing room. During the two years of non-sewing it became a catch all for all sorts of things. It is much better now, but I still have a couple of odds-and-ends to tie down. I plan to post the before and after shots, if only in the future to keep me on the straight and narrow and prevent it from deteriorating to an un-usable state.


And I want to make N4 a big stuffed animal. His mother actually asked me if I was going to, so full speed ahead.

I made his cousin, N1, an elephant 12 years ago, and N2 a puppy nine years ago. I couldn't find N3's leopard when I was visiting at Christmas and I didn't think it was polite to go rummaging thru' the closets for a photo op. N4's sister, Miss S, has a 10 year old lamb. N4 is getting a puppy too, only with shorter ears.

So, other than finishing the four things I have cut out, not much is planned. There may be tons o' sewing tomorrow. It is brutally cold out right now and I have no reason to go outside. It was -37 this morning with a windchill of -41. That's cold whether you measure in either Celcius or Farenheit and I walked to work today, so I've had my fresh air.

All the best to everyone in 2014. I hope you find it a fulfilling year. I've enjoyed reading all your blogs and learned so much from your wonderful posts. I hope I have the opportunity to meet some of you in person this year. Cheers!

Is It 'Learning' When You Don't Know What You've Done?

I knit this toque last winter to try to add some colour to my world and thought I would wear this hat with my purple jacket, purchased for the same reason.
I don't suffer from SAD, but I swear have CMS*.

You can see how the toque originally looked on my Ravelry page but because it turned out much too big, I didn't wear it much. It was still too big, even after I felted it a few times, and kept falling off if I turned my head too quickly, not optimal in our frigid weather.

I pulled it out again a few weeks ago intending to give it another go, having totally forgotten it is too large. Today I threw it in the wash again with the thought that if it didn't shrink, it was going be donated.
I did not intentionally do anything differently than the last two (or three) times I tried to shrink it, but today, it came out much smaller, almost the size I was hoping for in the first place. The only possible difference? There were many more things with which it rolled around in the dryer. I know friction pays a part in the felting process, but can that be the crucial part?

*CMS is my self-diagnosed disorder and means Colour Missing Syndrome. Here, in the winter, all is dirty snow; snow contaminated with sand and other dirt so it is just an dull, dingy affair. If the sun shines, they sky is blue but that is the only relief from the dun-coloured monotony. At least where I grew up the snow is white. By late January, I crave colour -grass, flowers, -anything but white, grey, and brown!

Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings

From all of us to all of you, the very best in the New Year!

A Pirate's Honeycrisp Mittens -They're Arrrrr-gyle

Yes, a huge groaner. But the mitts are great.

Winter has arrived and it seems even colder this year. Or else I'm becoming a wimp.

I have made mittens before by tracing around my hands, but they were less than stellar in their fit. The Honeycrisp looked very close-fitting around the wrist, the better to keep old cold winter drafts.

I used two thrifted sweaters I felted.

The grey sweater is much heavier than the argyle pair and could have been a size bigger, and they have a funny shape (they look like scuba mitts to me), but they will be fine as liners in leather mitts. The argyle pair, being thinner will go in in a smaller pair of leather mitts.

It may seem odd to have several different mitten combinations, but hands that are too hot and sweaty from too heavy a combination get just as cold as hands in too light a combo.
Yes, I spend far too much time thinking about this.