Cuteness

I still don't have anything to report on the crafty front. Sewing machine is still in hibernation (a topic I may address in more detail in the future). Knitting is going strong, but the only finished objects I have to show off are super secret (for the time being).

However, I did have some photos I wanted to share with you. Last month I visited my hometown for the annual fall fair. I was sad to admit that, for me, it's lost a lot of its charm. It's smaller, the food's not as good, the horse show is nearly abandoned, there's no proper 4H competition (i.e. no showing of chickens and sheep) and there were NO PIGLETS. People, I look forward to seeing those piglets. But anyway.

On the bright side, there was some pretty stuff to see, and some cute stuff as well. For starters... how did I never know that my hometown has a spinning mill?! And right on the fair grounds to boot. A nice man showed us how it all works:

Inside the exhibition hall there was some inspiring knitting to be seen. I loved the texture of this scarf:

Over in the animal barn, while there may not have been piglets, I consoled myself by spending some time with this adorable calf:

Moving into the 4H barn, there were some very cute "kids say the darndest things" moments:

"My hobbies are playing with other rabbits, digging in [our] lawn, and running around."

"She loves grass and I love her."

And, finally... heading out for a walk from my Dad's house to my Grandma's house, only to run into these guys on the way out the driveway:

I really miss country living, folks.

Finally!

The sewing machine came out today, after 6+ weeks in hibernation.

... sadly, this is about as far as I got. (Lonsdale muslin pieces.) But still, it's something!

It's Official!

He's finally, legally Mr. Modiste ;)

Hopefully things will slowly return to normal around here over the next few weeks!

Best Laid Plans

Well, I've signed up for two sewalongs and Gertie's bombshell course, but I'm suddenly looking at my August schedule and realizing that there's no way any of that is going to happen. I have a wedding to finish planning and execute! I was hoping to at least get the Lonsdale done early, but then I got knocked down with that terrible cold and, well, we all know how much gets accomplished when you're sick.

On top of that, my computer bit the dust the other day. Seeing as I'm unemployed, I'm not planning on running out the door and replacing it. The magical trinket called the iPhone will keep me connected, but seeing as I have no way of getting photos from my camera (SLR) to the iPhone, let alone edit them, even if I do manage an FO in the coming weeks, I won't be able to photograph it! The thought of using an iPhone photo to show it to you sort of breaks my heart. (That, and my assistants don't have opposable thumbs and thus can't take the picture, unfortunately.)

I'm actually sort of curious to see what happens to my daily productivity without a computer. Seeing as I have Netflix and wireless on my iPhone, I'm thining plenty of time-wastage is still possible. In fact, it's sort of sad that I'll basically be able to do all the time-wasty things (internet, movies, twitter) but not the productive things (Lightroom, Microsoft Office). However, as someone who has had a fitful relationship with the internet and technology, I'm interested to see if the limitations of the tiny screen/keyboard help me be more discerning with my computer/internet time.

So basically, if my web presence is a little quieter for the month of August, that's why. But, rest assured, I'm still here.

Three Year Cardi

a.k.a. the Asymmetrical Cabled Cardi

Finally finished!

I cast on for this sweater on my birthday, November 24th, 2008. It's a bottom-up design, and it went swimmingly until I reached the raglan decreases. At that point, it became apparent that the pattern has some problems (as further evidenced by the number of project notes on Ravelry which contain complaints about said problems). In the end, I knit this sweater from the armpits up FOUR times over three years. (And the collar one extra time for good measure.)

In summary: I'm so excited to finally be able to wear this freaking thing!

I can't seem to write a concise post about the errors/mods to save my life, so I'll just add those to the Ravelry page instead. Basically, i did it in regular stockinette (rather than reverse), added some width to the left front for coverage and both front edges for smoothness, added both some length and width to the sleeves, and figured out my own method for completing the raglan decreases.

I also went down two needle sizes for the collar after reading that some people had trouble getting theirs to stand up, although in retrospect that may have been overkill as it sucks in toward the neck a little too much and I prefer the way it looks folded down anyway (as above). I also ended up moving the buttons over, resulting in a much slimmer neck, in order to get a little more overlap/coverage on the front pieces.

The funny thing is, I usually get discouraged when having to rip back a project, but I did it so many times with this one that I kind of became immune to it. I'd happily knit away and then discover a problem and just think, "here we go again!" and rip it back. On the bright side, I'm now pretty awesome at picking up rows and figuring out where I am in a cable pattern. (Admittedly, my crazy love for the design and the colour of the yarn kept me going.)

After all that work, I only hope my assistants don't get their claws on it! (I did have to resort to blocking it on the balcony. These guys do love wool!)

The Details:
Pattern: Asymmetrical Cabled Cardi by Yahaira Ferreira
Needles: US9(5.5mm) (and US7(4.5mm) for the collar only)
Yarn: Cascade 220 in colourway 2425
Size: 39
Guage: 4.5spi (the pattern indicated 4spi, so this fits small)
Cast on: November 24, 2008
Bound off: July 24, 2011
Total # of stitches: 31,740 (give or take for fit adjustments)

Sorbetto Love

Yesterday I decided to make this light and summery top, and I went full-steam ahead without a muslin. It's not perfect (as usual!), but I think the beauty of a simple, loose fit like this is that it doesn't have to be perfect. In fact, regardless of the fit dissection I'm about to delve into below, this might be the first piece I've made that could actually make it into regular wearing rotation. (Well, besides the pajamas.)

The fabric is some light-ish weight semi-sheer cotton I picked up at the Fabricana Canada Day sale. (Not sure what kind... heavier than voile, lighter than broadcloth/quilting cotton?) In addition to the fit changes, I added 1.5" to the length of the top and I'm quite glad I did. (I could see that this would be unnecessary if you were the type of person who enjoyed tucking things into high waists. I am not that person, however.)

Based on the measurements I cut the size 10, following Colette's advice to use the larger size if you fall between sizes. This didn't work out as well as it should have. The front was almost exactly the right size, but the back was huge and billowy and just way too large. Rather than pick out any seams, I decided to simply mimic the front by creating a 1" box pleat on the back piece. This ate up 2" of fabric and I'm now very happy with the fit through the body.

The only problem with this quick-fix pleat was that it messed up the fit of the shoulders. In the front, the shoulder straps sit a smidge too wide. In the back, after the pleat was put in, they sit a smidge too narrow. Neither of these problems is really noticeable on their own, but it means that when the straps attach at the shoulders they kind of want to tug each other in the wrong direction. As a result, the straps in the back look a bit like they're pulling (although they're not too tight) and the neckline in the front gapes a bit (from the straps being pulled in). (This isn't really visible in the photos.)

I think the solution on future versions would be simply to cut a smaller size and do an FBA. But ugh - between the loose fit and the fact that Colette cuts for a larger cup size, it seems silly. But I suppose using patterns drafted for a C-cup still isn't a perfect solution when one is an F-cup...

Regarding the bust, the only alteration I had to make was shortening and lowering the bust dart. I shortened it by 1" and lowered it by 0.5" and I think it's just about perfect. I've never made a darted front before, and after all my previous experiences messing around with princess seams and gathers, it seemed almost ridiculously simple. Love darts!

I'm definitely going to make new versions of this top and try to perfect the fit, because it's such a great base for embellishment. I'd love to have a whole collection of them around for summertime.

Featured!

I'm a little under the weather, so it took me a day (and, uh, Tasia kindly pointing it out to me!) to notice that my Comfy Crescent is a featured project on the BurdaStyle homepage!

I have to admit, I'm totally shocked! I'm sure you could tell from the jokingly defensive tone of my post that I really expected everyone to think I was nuts in my fabric choice. But the response has been almost entirely positive :)

Anyway, I'm a little sad that I'm feeling so gross, because I had a few solid days to dedicate to sewing/knitting and instead I'm sort of lying around moaning and sniffling. Well, I am still getting things done, just much slower than normal!

Happily, I received the Lonsdale Dress pattern in the mail yesterday, and picked up the fabric to boot! I've been fretting over the bodice fit, but I finally committed and cut a muslin last night, so we'll see how that goes today. I also brought my old dressform up from storage, which so far has just resulted in a few startled moments in which I catch a glimpse of her in my peripheral vision and think that someone has broken into my apartment. I'm sure I'll get used to her, though.

I also signed up for Gertie's Sew Retro: The Perfect Fit Bombshell Dress course over at Craftsy, and used some of my low-energy sicky time to watch ahead. I've watched about 11 of the 15 videos so far and I have to say, it's worth every penny. If you're the sort of person who learns best by being shown, video learning is pretty much the best thing short of having Gertie in your sewing room with you :) Plus, she seems to be very quick in her responses to questions in the interactive forum. I've bought the fabric for this dress as well (and I'm SO excited about it!), but I'm still missing some supplies and angsting about the boning. But more on that later.

Hopefully, we are embarking on a summer of dresses. Wish me luck!