Preparing for Me-Made-May

My sailor pants, based on the Ruby pattern from Burdastyle, are nearing completion! The inspiration for these came from this post by Zoe at 'So Zo...' but it looks like quite a few people have tried pants with this pattern. The fabric I used was super ravely, so I've been binding all the seams. I doubt I will ever do this for another garment, especially once I get my serger back from storage, but the practice on all those seams has been great. All that's left are pockets and button holes. And hemming. And likely some other things I've forgotten about.

Vogue 1120 is traced out and ready to be cut. I'm a little apprehensive about the slippery rayon, so I think I'm going to tackle something simpler first. I got a wild 90s patterned Ports skirt made out of cotton lawn at Goodwill yesterday, and I think it's going to be the perfect start for a Sencha blouse. The skirt buttons up the front with big mother of pearl buttons that are amazingly high quality. They're on par with some vintage ones I got in a lot a while ago, very thick and milky. I'm going to cut the back of the blouse out of the front of the skirt and the front from the back. It should work, and then I don't have to do all the finicky buttons and such. Which means I might actually get this done for May.

Also under consideration is the bwof 02-2009-124 dress in a crazy pink 80s print I inherited from my mother. The dress has a deep v back and needs something casual to keep it from being too dressy. That and I possibly have an obsession with wacky 80s and 90s prints. Just saying. It also only goes up to a 46, so I'll have to draft it up a size. The 46 fits me just fine in Burdastyle patterns though, so maybe I'll have to recruit a measuring tape and see. I got three issues of Burda Plus in the mail on Monday (my last big purchase until the fall. Accursed student budget!), and I'm thinking of whipping up this simple top (Spring/Summer 2009 top 405) in some leftover navy cotton shirting from the Ruby pants. Once again, inherited from my mom's stash. Same with the corduroy the pants are made from. Actually, pretty much all of my fabric is from my mom or Goodwill. My only fabric purchases from a proper store of late have been remnants, interfacing and 3.5 yards of gorgeous leaf green cotton sateen. The sateen is for Simplicity 6194, a 1965 shirtdress I got from Gremly Girl. I haven't worked up to it yet - soon though!

I had a bunch of photos of the handwarmer pattern I've been working on, but the computer at work won't read my camera (okay, phone). The first draft of the pattern came out way too big in the hand, so I'm working up another smaller one to see if it's better. I'm also changing the thumb around a bit to minimize holes. I meant to have this done a week ago, but it takes way longer than I expected to write out a non-hat pattern. Should be up in the next couple days.

I'll also be updating my etsy shop in the next few days with some great 50s and 60s patterns, as well as some 80s knitwear books. Lots to do, so I better get cracking!

Altered Book Project

As my only studio course this semester I took an artists' books class with one of my favourite teachers, George Walker. If you're at OCAD, I highly recommend his classes, as he's one of the most enthusiastic and inspiring people I've ever had the chance to learn from.

The first of our two major projects was to create an altered book using discarded ones from the Reference Library, which is a massive library in downtown Toronto. I was lucky enough to snag a book of Sylvia Plath's poetry. My basic idea for the piece was to visualize the way a book exists differently wherever (and of course by whoever) it is read. In this case, I placed her text within the Canadian landscape, as played by Toronto and a map.


The photos were taken by our lovely and talented class assistant, Amanda, who's work you really need to check out.


The book now has a permanent home at the Reference Library, and you can even take it out like a regular library book! It's official title is Their Shadows must Cover Canada, which is a line from "Crossing the Water." The full poem is pasted to small photos tied to a little envelope, and you can see it in the second picture.

I've got a ton of photos of all the little details of the book, and its other pages, but I still miss the little guy. Sometimes it's hard to let a piece go.

Something New?

The sailor pants I'm working on are currently driving me a bit crazy, so I was thinking of trying out this dress pattern (Vogue 1120) just to get something finished. It's a super cute, easy shift with no zipper and an attached waist tie. The pattern's on sale for $5.99 until the end of today if you have the inclination. I got a little over 6 yards of soft black silky rayon for $2/yard a few days ago, and I'm thinking it might be the perfect fabric for this. I'm just wondering if a black dress might be a bit much for spring. It's a very soft black, kind of looks like sand washed silk. Any thoughts?

The technical diagram shows how simple it is:

I like the pleats a lot, and the pull on construction works with my lack of zipper knowledge at the moment. And I've got gathers down. This dress also supports my total need for pockets.

I definitely need more dresses, since I signed up for Me-Made-May-Lite (or memamali as my boyfriend insists on calling it). This means I will be wearing at least something made by me every day in May. I have a feeling this will result in many out of season knit scarves. Better get sewing!

Better Late Than Never

This was supposed to be my project for the knitting Olympics, but I didn't end up finishing it for another week or so. Considering my first finished lace project ended up taking somewhere in the realm of three years, and I still have another half finished scarf from at least that long ago, I'm moving up in the world of FO lace. The pattern is Ysolda's Ishbel and the yarn is Fleece Artist Classic Merino Sock. The yarn is super soft, and I've been wearing it non-stop in the weeks since I finished and it shows no signs of pilling. Hurrah!

In other news, I'm on my last two weeks of term, and am floored with the worst head cold ever... I'll be back in mid-April when everything calms down a bit.

Happy Easter!

I Made a Dress! With Sewing!

Well, this has been a bit of a long break. Why don’t I just pick things up from here?

I finished this dress on Saturday and wore it to work on Sunday (note my photo-shoot locale). I love it. It’s my first major sewing project that I get to wear. I also just finished Ysolda’s Ishbel scarf in Fleece Artist Merino Sock in bright reds, oranges and pinks. I also love it. They look both awesome and intense together.

I used some thrift store find fabric. It’s a medium/large floral print in turquoise, purple and black with overprinted black leopard spots. I think it must be a misprint, since it really doesn’t look on purpose, but it's completely me fabric. The pattern is Anna Maria Horner’s Socialite Dress, and I found it was a good beginner project. I made the dress over a couple of weeks, just doing one thing at a time and not rushing, which I think was important. I tend to rush through projects just to see what I’m going to end up with. Not so great when you’re learning a new skill. The instructions that came with the dress, and which I have lost twice now, are very well written and detailed. The only thing I would change is to finish the side seams before sewing down the arm facing or hem. I also added 4” to the bottom of the dress, but about an inch of that got eaten up by my larger hem. I can’t wait until my serger gets back from Brian’s house, so I can super finish my edges.

You may be wondering why I have a serger and am just beginning to sew. The answer is that I am just beginning to sew woven fabrics. I spent a bunch of time in high school and right after making wacky things out of old sweaters, mostly prompted by a love of Preloved and a lack of cash. My dad was kind enough to buy me one for a birthday present a few years ago, and it made the whole process easier. It needed some tweaking the last time I used it, so I think this may be downloading the manual time. I’m looking forward to using it on the pants I have planned next…

October Projects, and Still Wandering...

These are the booties I knit to go along with the hat for Judy's baby. They're getting a dip in some Eucalan, then off in the mail this week. They may even beat the recipient's arrival! The colour's a little more vibrant than in this picture. This is gonna be one funky baby...

Some other things in the works:



Knitting excessively (is it ever really excessive?), plus baking too many brownies, is what I've been up to instead of homework. It's weird, but I just can't seem to get into it this year. All I want to do is play with fibre. Who knows, if I hadn't reacted so badly to the first teacher in MAAD I met, maybe I would have stayed and been a lot happier? I do love printmaking, and I find crit and curatorial fascinating, but textiles are what I care about the most. I dream about knitting. I read knitting books for fun, just to see how things are put together. I constantly try to figure out how to translate architectural elements into fabric. I'm trying to find a way to fit a loom into our apartment, and to learn to use said loom....

Everything I'm doing now, I can use for whatever I decide to do after school. That's not the problem so much. My problem is getting through what I'm doing now. I have such a hard time not wanting to get to the next thing, start the new thing. I had to stop myself from obsessing over grad schools already. If you don't know the system, most schools require you to be out of school and working for two years before they consider you for a MFA program. That means I'm three to four years away from even applying to anything.

I think I need to chill a bit. Yes?

Bean-Baby Hat! (With Pattern)

I made this hat for my cousin's baby-to-be, affectionately referred to as the Bean. This is my first time writing up a pattern and it hasn't been test-knitted yet. If you find any errors or anything is unclear, feel free to contact me! I'd appreciate any feedback.

Materials:
1 ball Rowan RYC Cashsoft Baby DK
US#3, 3.25 mm set of DPNs (or size to get gauge)
Tapestry needle
Pompom maker (optional)

Gauge:
28sts and 36rows = 4"/10cm

Using long-tail method, cast on 88sts.
Place marker and join in the round.
Knit 10 rows k1 p1 rib.
Switch to pattern.
Row 1: k to end
Row 2: k to end
Row 3: * k3 p1 * to end
Row 4: k to end
Row 5: k to end
Row 6: * k1 p1 k2 * to end
Repeat rows 1-6, 4 times
Knit rows 1-3
Decrease row1: *p2tog, k3, p1, k2* to end
Dec row 2: k to end
Dec row 3: *k3, k2tog, k2* to end
Dec row 4: *k2, p1* to end
Dec row 5: *k4, k2tog* to end
Dec row 6: k to end
Dec row 7: *k3, k2tog* to end
Dec row 8: k to end
Dec row 9: *k2, k2tog* to end
Dec row 10: *k1, k2tog* to end
Dec row 11: *k2tog* to end
Dec row 12: *k2tog* to one stitch from end, k1
Break yarn and pull through remaining loops. I like to run it through twice for stability.

Pick up 3sts from the bottom edge of the hat.
Knit an i-cord for about 6.5" or desired length.
Break yarn and pull through stitches on needle.

Pick up 3sts from the opposite side of the hat.
Knit an i-cord for about 6.5" or desired length.
Break yarn and pull through stitches on needle.

Make a giant pompom and sew onto the top of the hat. Mine is made with the size large Clover pompom maker, which I love. But I make a lot of pompoms...

Weave in ends.