a little inspiration

Oh, the story of this one... I started the Cottage Cardigan at the end of July and didn't finish until mid-September.  This is a very long time for me.  The pattern is simple and elegantly written.  The yarn was lovely once I got to know it.  It's Brooklyn Tweed Loft.  But my hands! When we got back from Spain my hands and wrists were really bothering me.  But it started much earlier.  In March of this year, I was on a dig site for the weekend and strained my wrists.  I didn't think about it then and just kept knitting... Then weeks went by and they were still sore.  So I took a break.  Not knitting is hard for me.  I do it in class, while watching tv in the evening with the family, waiting for kids in pick-up lines, and at events.  Pretty much always.  But now, my wrists were sore, my pinky and ring finger were often numb.  It's bi-lateral.  A nightmare in the making. It got better.  I tried to avoid holdi...

 Another successful Big Clothes, Small Clothes garment!  I made the muslin for these last summer after looking at the Tessuti blog about them and obsessing.  They weren't quite perfect and I felt unequal to the challenge of adjusting them (the problem was in the bum.  It is hard to see your bum in the garment and make adjustments without twisting and causing more problems.)  This year, I've gained a little weight, and when I finally decided to give it a go, the muslin fit pretty perfectly.   I'd seen them made in different printed fabrics and I felt like that might hide imperfections in the fit.  The volume of these pants is what drew me in, but I already feel self-conscious about having short, round legs.  Our relationships with our bodies are complicated.  While sewing gives us a certain amount of freedom, it also forces us to look at how our bodies don't fit pattern blocks.  Anyway- I digress, but this is a thing I know we are a...

 I made this one over the summer.  When I ordered the pale pink I wasn't sure. Am I a pale pink kind of woman?  Apparently. This pattern calls for the front and back to be the same but lots of makers on Ravelry  mentioned changing it.  I did raise the back neck.  I did not take notes.  I hadn't used Caidree patterns before and found the instructions clear. The silk from Knitting for Olive is a dream.  So delightful to work with and even more wonderful to wear.  It has no bloom and so it is a little sheer.  I like the slightly sexy vibe of a loose silk blouse with the hint of a bra and tattoos underneath.  I don't have much to say about this one.  It speaks for itself.

       I've made a number of garments from the book Big Clothes, Small Clothes  and I have loved each one (okay, except the elastic waist pants, those were a disaster on me.) Lately, I have been obsessed with the shirt dress from Alex Mill but it is outside my budget by about $160.  And I knew I could make something similar enough.      I had already made the "I" pattern and knew I liked it.  The sleeve structure of the I is closer to the sleeve structure on the inspiration but I didn't want the added width for this version.  Going with size 1 of the (little) "i" pattern gave me a better fit at the shoulder.  I added a slash and spread to give me about 7 more inches at the hem (and 4-5 at the hip) and extended it to the length in the description from the inspiration dress. Unfourtunatly, I'm short as hell, so I chopped two inches off the front at the end.  I didn't bother with the pocket or even buttons because I knew I wo...

  Lace, lace, baby!   This was a fun knit, even if it required a lot of attention.  Nothing about it is hard, you just have to focus a bit and you end up with this beautiful lace. I've been trying to stay away from anything too complicated after the Robinia but I had already bought this pattern when it came out and couldn't help it.  The sample was made in white but I had purchased this lovely Noro without a plan and this seemed like just the thing.  The little cap sleeves on this are knitting perfection.  I wore it in Spain to grab some pictures but the silk was too warm the days we were there. Here's my Ravelry link if you want the details on the yarn and pattern.  Last time I was in Spain I was working on a different pattern from this same designer, so maybe it'll be a tradition.

 Becky and I set out to make a couple of Robinia sweaters in mid-March, which took two months to complete.  Just yesterday, I wove in the ends and wore it.  I'm afraid to block it.   Specs: The Robinia has been making the rounds.  I couldn't see buying the tons of yarn it would take to create the three-strand yarn the designer used, but Becky found this chainette cotton blend, Cantata , that seemed perfect. I've recently realized that making the exact color combination that I liked in the first place is not a bad thing.  It means I get the garment I really loved in the first place. Mods: I made a size XS/S even though I could have made the M according to the designer but everything I knit comes out bigger than expected, even when I gauge swatch right on target.  (I think the blocked weight of the garment just is so much more than the swatch is what causes this, but it's just a theory.)  I didn't wrap any of my floats and it remains to b...