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  • Ribbing Continued

    I started the front of the Phildar ribbed shell last night at knitting group.  I had wanted to cast on at group because I had promised to show the technique I used for the 2×2 ribbed cast-on, not that I am all that competent since this was only the second time I did it.

    It took me a while to do the cast on, it is not the fastest method but I still really like the way it looks, and then managed to knit 13 rows of ribbing.  I only have to 20 rows on the front before I can start the front pattern and the knitting will get more interesting.

    Phildar6

    Even so, it went fast.  Even after just knitting neck and armhole bands for Antea, the roughly 5 stitches I am getting per inch (in stockinette) on the Phildar Shell seems VERY FAST compared to the 8.5 stitches per inch of Antea.

    Meanwhile the little bit of poison ivy I got digging up iris bulbs on Monday has turned into a full blown oozy burning red and inflammed mess that keeps soaking through my clothes and contaminating any other part of my body that gets touched.  I really haven’t been scratching, believe me it is the last thing on my mind!  I want to be wrapped up like a mummy and put in deep freeze somewhere. What a mess! Using my hands hurts but I could put up with that.  I desperately do not want to ooze contagion onto my beautiful sweater though — how horrible would that be?

    I have been sorting through the projects-in-waiting, deciding what to do next even though I know I still have all those ends to weave in on Wine&Roses.  Knitting monogamy is really not my strong suit.  I am thinking of finally starting that pair of socks and so I pulled the double points out of their storage box.  I am not sure how small I will need, I usually go down a couple of sizes as I am a loosey-goosey knitter.  Perhaps I can wind the yarn up today, although I have to be careful not to ooze on it either.

  • Pick Up 400 stitches

    Well, not all in one piece anyway. 

    I finished the shell I knit last summer from Filatura diCrosa’s Antea and Sesia Baby Cottton.   The pattern was in the Spring 2004 Filatura di Crosa book with slightly different solid colors.  I used a different yarn and made up my own chart.  The pattern came with a tiny sketch of a chart, but no real chart for the design, so I plotted it out as best I could.

    By the time I finsihed the sweater it was well into fall and I did not relish picking up those stitches.  I had a brief urge to finish it earlier this spring, but had lent out my short 2 mm circular needle, so I managed to suppress the urge.  It has been waiting for me to finish it ever since. 

    I do want to wear it this summer and, given that it so hot, there is plenty of time left. 

    I am actually pretty pleased with how it turned out.  It is fitted enough to wear with a suit or tailored separates and it is light enough to wear under a jacket without being too bulky.  I tend to knit more airy shells, but I think I will become quite fond of this.

    Antea4

    I simply found it hard to motivate myself to pick up all those tiny stitches on size 2 needles. 

    I actually do like the rolled stockingette edging, which was called for in the pattern, but find that I always get annoyed when the edging doesn’t roll consistenty and stay in place neatly.  After I finished all the knitting, I went back and hand tacked the rolled edge in place, forming a nice even, pleasing roll.  I did not tack the bottom into a roll and just left it to lie flat or rolled as it will.  This may not last, depends on my patience level this summer. 

    The flat pictures that follow are possibly redundant, you can get a pretty good view of the front of the sweater from Matilda above.  But I still think the geometrics are better appreciated in two dimensions.

    Antea2Antea3

  • Well, the linen swatches I ordered from Denver Fabrics finally arrived, through no real fault of theirs — I always have trouble with those website order forms.  My mail comes to a PO Box, but deliveries come to the house.  The post office tells me that I should be able to put my street address on the first line of the address and the PO Box on the second and that way both UPS and the Postal Service know where the mail goes.  That may be the case (Dave, the local UPS driver tells me this is so), however whoever designs web order forms does not know this because every time I try it I get a message back that UPS cannot deliver to PO Boxes.  It would seem simple enough, most forms only require an address in the first line of the address field, so they should just ignore whatever is printed on the second line.  Somehow, life is never that simple.

    To make a long story short, my delivery address is my home address and my billing address is at the PO.  However the swatches were mailed, not sent UPS — hence a mix-up occurred.  They finally came Saturday, by mail.

    TableclothsThe burgundy linen swatch will be a border for the multi-colored blue and burgundy cotton tablecloth.  I will probably also make napkins and napkins out of a green linen which coordinates well, but did not make as nice a statement with the fabric as this burgundy does.

    The slate gray linen will be used with the gray abstract geometric cotton.  I have actually had a hard time finding the perfect gray for this fabric and happy to have finally succeeded.  I already have black linen napkins, but gray ones might be a nice change.

    The fabric might be here by the end of the week, but I will be in NYC over the weekend so the tablecloths will have to wait a little longer.

  • Disaster averted

    It is best that moments of quiet desperation not threaten to break their bounds at one of one’s closest friend’s son’s wedding. Luckily events of the evening conspire to keep emotions under wraps and all is hidden again.

  • Armani Fall Couture

    I hve been thinking about sewing the yellow linen pants.  I know it seems surprising that such as simple thing as drawstring pants could require so much thought, but in my case it does.  I have also been busy and just too tired to sew, especially when I am not yet sure what I am doing.  I know I should just bodly go forward and tackle the project.  Perhaps tommorrow,as I will be out most of the day today, first taking Adam to the airport and then going to the wedding of a friend’s son.

    However, I have started looking at the fall couture show photos on stye.com.  I have really only gotten through Armani so far, but there is lots more looking and dreaming ahead.  I know, this blog seems more about dreaming about sewing than actual sewing…

    Following are a couple of things I liked, all from Armani Prive, all courtesy of style.com .

    Armaniprive2I really really like the shape of this little jacket.  It is, to my mind the nicest of the day clothes shown in the phtoos from style.  Some of the other day jackets are nice but a are a little too overtly feminine and flirty for me.  The dart/tuck shaping around the neck and shoulders is very sleek and flattering here and the jacket looks modern, sleek and feminine.

    I am pretty confident that I have a pattern I could adapt for a variation on this look and it is really making me look forward to fall sewing.

    (Ha!! I wont start fall sewing until the leaves start falling off the trees, I know myself too well.  But I will probably think about it.)

    Armaniprive1

    Armaniprive3

     

    I do like the front shaping on this jacket, but it is far too
    revealing as shown here.  It would be beautiful as an evening look over
    a simple silk or lace shell and a long skirt or drapey pants.

    The second evening look is very clean and simple and I especially like the contrast of the fabric, matt with rich.

  • I finally get into a knitting rhythm with the ribbed back on the Phildar shell and it got much easier.  Fighting with my knitting is not a task I look forward to for relaxation.  Once I reached this state of ribbing zen, there was far less action required of the crochet hook for dropping down and correcting miscast stitches.

    The back is finished.   I mostly finished last night, or early this morning actually, completing the last row of ribbing while we sat for an hour in the parking garage at Yankee Stadium attempting to begin our return journey home following the ball game. I did not cast off and do the shoulder shaping in the dark on the ride home up the Taconic Parkway in the rain, figuring that this was a sure-fire invitation for errors.

    Phildar5

    The experience only served to further remind me that I would much rather take a train into NYC than drive for any reason.  I don’t mind driving on the streets of New York; I hate it when traffic just stops, as it does all too often.  I don’t usually mind driving at night but a trip on the train at 1 AM, with perhaps a little snooze, is far preferable to a windy wet dark road with deer lurking along the fringes.

    Since I have developed a tendency to sleep for almost exactly 6 hours most nights (about once ever 10 days to 2 weeks I crash for 10) I have gotten in the habit of using those few hours in the mornings when no one else is up to wake up gradually with a little knitting or sewing or reading or other relaxing activities that I enjoy in peace and quiet. I assumed that the morning hours would be the perfect time to finish the shoulder shaping.

    I Was Wrong.   I got as far as casting off for the back neck when others started to arise.  They quickly began to bombard me with questions and discussions of how the day should be organized, what should be done, and in what order and by whom.  As the other combatants were not used to 6 hours of sleep (sometimes I wish that I wasn’t) they were tired and crotchety. I don’t really deal strife early in the morning well, part of the reason I treasure my early morning reverie, and especially not before I have had coffee.  I don’t need coffee to wake up, just deal to with other people who have just woken up.  Still, instead of putting my knitting aside and starting the coffee, I insisted in finishing the task at hand and doggedly sat there and finished knitting and casting-off the Phildar cotton shell.  I am nothing if not stubborn.

    When I went back put my knitting away I discovered that I had cast off so tightly that there was no hope that any human head would ever fit through any neckline formed by this sweater edge.  In fact, the ribbing was tightly bound into its  narrow, unstretched width.  Once I got everyone out of the house I was able to pour another cup of coffee, treat myself to a lovely handmade chocolate truffle, sit, relax,  and re-knit the shoulder area of the Phildar shell.

  • Aqua Top

    Well, I finally finished something, the top made from the Nancy Erickson aqua pebble knit. 

    Here is the pattern I used:
    Aquashell6Aquashell7
    The Pattern, vogue 2483,  is OOP.  I originally purchased it for the top with its diagonal dart.  I did not think I liked the shrug but I see how this could be a really cute transitional outfit, post workout perhaps, although I don’t think this is what was originally intended.

    You can click on both photos to enlarge which might especially be helpful with the line drawings.

    The top is self lined and top-stitched all around.  The original design might have been meant for double faced fabric, although Vogue Patterns never tells you this, and I think it would be very nice in a double faced fabric fabric, maybe even a knit, although perhaps a firm knit like this one, not a really stretchy knit.

    The pattern calls for the front pieces to be interfaced with a fusible interfacing, and for a more drapey fabric such a a lightweight flannel or wool crepe this would be necessary.  The cotton pebble knit is pretty firm and I did not think it needed the interfacing.  The top turned out very nicely without it.

    First I sewed and top-stitched the front darts and sewed the fronts together at the center.  Then I sewed the back darts and inserted the zipper.  The pattern calls for a centered zipper but I used an invisible zipper.  I did try a new technique though, at least for me.

    I inserted the invisible zipper in the outside fabric in the standard manner, before sewing the center back seam, lining up the zipper along the fabric edge and sewing in place.  I had previously trimmed by center back seam to 1/2".  I lined the zipper up at the top so that the top of the zipper teeth were just a scant 1/8 inch below the neckline seam-line as I wanted a clean finish at the neck with no hook and eye.    After the zipper was in place I sewed the lower part of the center back seam. 

    Next, I attached the back lining to the zipper seam.  This was new for me.  I had never done it before.  I usually sew the garment and then hand sew the lining to the zipper tape after the garment is constructed, using the opening of the lining around the zipper to turn the garment inside out so I can attach the pieces, but I am never completely happy with the way the finished garment looks.  Oh it looks nice, but I always have a sneaking suspicion that it could look nicer.

    Not long ago I discovered a new blog (for me) by Kathleen Fasanella called Fashion Incubator.  One of Kathleen’s posts was about a centered zipper construction where the facing was sewn to the zipper as part of the construction process.  This made me start thinking that I could do something similar with my invisible zipper as well.  I don’t recall that I have ever read about doing this before, or perhaps my brain was just not ready to absorb the information.  After I sewed the zipper in the outer fabric I took my back lining pieces and sewed them over the zipper tape at the back zipper seam.  I lined up the neck and center back edges exactly and then I sewed just OUTSIDE the original zipper seam-line.  I did this because the invisible zipper seam is very close to the teeth on the outside of the zipper.  But the inside of an invisible zipper is wider  than what you see on the outside and I was afraid that the lining fabric would interfere with the operation of the zipper.  I did not take pictures but perhaps I should have, although you can follow Kathleen’s technique and imagine what I did pretty well.  After attaching the lining to the zipper I sewed the lining center back seam leaving a few inches open below the bottom of the zipper to be used later on in turning the garment.

    Here is the finished garment showing the zipper, first the outside and then the inside of the zipper seam, very neatly finished:
    Aquashell2Aquashell3

    The top of the zipper opening is not quite as perfectly smooth and clean as I would like.  I finally accepted that it did not have to be perfect when I noticed that even Armani had a little bump at the top of his invisible zippers, but his are less noticeable than this one.  Still it is not so bad that I am going to fret  about it too much.  The next one will be better.  (forgive me all you perfectionists out there)  I had a little trouble trimming out the extra bulk from this technique, but not much, and I think this will become my preferred method for the invisible zippers in lined garments.  The opening at the bottom of the zipper was adequate for turning the garment and is far easier to hide with hand stitching.

    After finishing the zipper I sewed the outer layer together at the side seams and the lining together at the side seams, leaving the shoulder seams open on both pieces**.  Then attached the lining to the outer fabric at the neck and armhole openings.  At that point it is easy to attach the lining to the outer fabric at the shoulder using the same technique I used for the lilac blocks  shell.  (oh how weird is that, linking to my own blog??).  Because of the zipper I had to turn each shoulder separately, rather than doing it at one time, but that really is no additional hardship. 

    Next I sewed the lining to the outer layer at the bottom hems, turning the garment through the opening I left in the center back lining to do this.  Once the seams were turned and pressed, the neckline, armhole and lower edges continuing into side seams were top-stitched.  It is really hard to see the top-stitching as I did not use a different thread (intentionally) but it does make the garment look more finished.  I hope you can see something in this photo:

    Aquashell4Aquashell1

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    I really like the way this top turned out.  It is going to become a favorite, sleek and modern and comfortable too.  I suppose there will be more of them in my future.

    ** oh yeah, don’t believe that really went as simply as it sounds.  I really don’t need "real life" to distract me from what I am doing, I am more than capable of distracting myself.  I actually did baste the shoulders together to check the fit of the garment on me, then I forgot about it (duh!!).  I sewed the shoulders together late  at night and got up early yesterday morning to finish.  What with being freshly awakened, getting breakfast ready and getting my DH out the door, I forgot that I sewed the shoulders together even though they were looking right at me.  I sewed the neckline and armholes together and then couldn’t figure out how to turn the garment.  I got one weird-looking tangled mess which I kept turning and pulling and generally cursing and panicking.  Imagine a human being at a sewing table acting something like a cat that has gotten something sticky on her tail which is attached to a long piece of string.  She keeps turning around and getting herself more and more tangled and panicked….  well, you have the picture.

    I finally realized that I had to unsew the armhole seams and unbaste the shoulders.  That done, everything proceeded correctly.  I am sometimes amazed at my own capacity for making stupid mistakes.  Well, Sandra Betzina always says that sewing just offers more opportunities to do something wrong.  I guess you know you are becoming a good seamstress when you can get yourself out of the messes you get yourself into. At least I hope that is what it means, otherwise there is no hope for me.

  • Birthday P2

    Another birthday gift did materialize, not that I am totally selfish and vain or anything, but I am tickled pink (or blue?).
    Aquashell5_1

    I also got some sewing time in.  I finished the top I was making from the aqua Nancy Erickson cotton knit.  It turned out very nicely and I wore it to dinner tonight. 

    I am too busy digesting a wonderful dinner and great wine to write now but I will fill you in on the details tomorrow.

  • Happy Birthday

    It’s my birthday and I’ll sew if I want to.

  • Driving v. Knitting

    We are back from Boston.   We had a lovely time; it was a wonderful day for a party and a wonderful day for a drive. 

    I had eagerly anticipated the drive to Boston even though my darling spouse wanted to do it all in one day and not stay over.  I don’t mind, 4 hours each way is very drivable, and I looked forward to 8 hours of knitting time and the possibility that I would finish the back of the Phildar shell.

    Unfortunately I did most of the driving and there was only about 2 hours of knitting time.

    When we were first married George would always assume he would drive, I suppose it is the manly thing to do, and I would always ask  if he would like me to drive and get turned down.  Well, I love driving and this used to chafe, besides I am not the most scintillating of passengers, the motion of the car lulls me to sleep. 

    Then I took up knitting, and as I became more and more addicted to this pastime, I became less and less eager to drive.  I still love to drive, but I love knitting more.  Selfish of me I know.

    As George gets older he does not always want to do all the driving, and there are times when I don’t want him to do all the driving either, although knitting distracts me sufficiently to keep me from harping on things best left unsaid.  And I find myself in a bind because I really would rather have knitting time, but at the same time I think I should drive more.

    So I had a wonderful drive on a perfect driving day.  I got a little knitting done as well.
    Phildar4

    As I am sure you will notice there are a couple of mistakes, further down, made a couple of nights ago, late, when I should not have been knitting.  The crochet hook will get its exercise today.