Spartan Pullover Turned Vest Finally Finished

It has been a few weeks since my last post but I have been very busy. I have quite a few things to post about but haven't had the time to do the actual posting.

I finished this project for my hubby little bit ago. He has actually worn it a couple of times already AND liked it. The pattern had sleeves but as you may remember (from a post quite a while ago) that I ran out of yarn and couldn't finish the sleeves. I had the entire sweater finished-shoulders seamed neck edge completed--when I tried it on my hubby. It was awful! The dropped shoulders just would not work to finish for a vest. So, I had to unseam (Is that a word?) the shoulders and then rip the whole thing out to the armholes. Then, I proceeded to bind off 20 stitches for each armhole and reknit the front and back following the pattern. To Finish I just did garter stitch edge for the neck and armholes.

The final product:And on my hubby:

Someday I'll get it right!

I just cannot settle on a blog style that I like. I would love to have something custom made but that is fairly expensive. Oh well! I guess that I will just change it every so often. Maybe by chance I will come across something that I like one day.

Have a great day!

Until next time...

Back to School U-Neck Vest

Well, I finished and I think that it looks great. I am very pleased with how this turned out. It actually fits. This pattern comes from Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel. This was a fun project. It was very easy except for figuring out the basket weave pattern. The pattern is easy up to the armhole split. After the split and some shaping you lose stitches and I had a hard time figuring which to pearl and knit to make the weave. There was a lot of ripping out while trying to get the hang of it. The nice thing is that you really can't see the mistakes so I didn't feel that I had to go back and correct EVERYTHING.

Yarn: Lana D'Oro Paints by Cascade Yarns

Color: Blue/Green/Purple--I was hesitant about using a variegated yarn at first because I usually do not like them. I was assured that this variegated yarn was very subtle. I LOVE it. The color variation is beautiful.

Fiber content: 50% alpaca 50% wool

Gauge: 5 stitches per inch on size 7 needles

This picture of the back shows a bit of the rib and basket weave texture.


Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day.

Until next time...

Ottobre Kaiku Cross Front Tunic

My first attempt at an Ottobre pattern was this tunic. It is from the Fall 2008 issue (4/2008). Tracing out the pattern was not as crazy as I thought it would be. The lines were fairly easy to follow. The instructions were good too. I picked this because I thought it would be fairly simple to put together and didn't have too many pieces. Remembering to add seam allowance was a little challenging and I had to catch myself a couple of times. But all in all it was a great project and I am excited to try another pattern. I have so many planned.

My review:

Pattern Description: Long sleeve cross front tunic for girls with contrast neckline binding, waistband and cuffs.

Pattern Sizing: 116cm-152cm: My daughter is tall and thin so her measurements were not even close to fitting into one size. I made the size 122 width with size 134 body length and size 140 sleeve length. The finished garment fit her perfectly. Their pattern sizing seems to be very accurate.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes. I picked this to be my 1st ottobre pattern because I thought it would be fairly straightforward. The directions were clear and easy to follow. I liked the detailed directions when to use a sewing machine straight stitch and when to use the surger. I might not have done it their way originally but I am glad that I followed their directions because I liked the finished product.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked the clear instructions and the method of gathering with the elastic at the edges of the bodice.

Fabric Used: A very slippery knit that I purchased in a remnant box so I do not know the fiber content. The black binding was a cotton poly blend from Joanns that did not have as much stretch as the main fabric. Due to the different stretch fabrics I had some challenges.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: None yet. I think that I will stitch the front piece to the back piece of the bodice from where they cross to the side seam. This seems to sag a bit on my daughter.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Definitely. My daughter loves the shirt even though is is a bit wonky.

Conclusion: Next time I make this I will make sure that I have two fabrics that have similar amount of stretch or if not I will add length to the neckline binding, and waistline. On this shirt the contrast had to be stretched to fit too much. This caused a bit of puckering. It works but not as nicely as it could it the fabrics were more similar.

Oh yes, a picture. My daughter is being a goof and so the shirt does not look its best but oh well, you get the idea.
I love this fabric. It is so fun but it was a huge challenge for me to work with. I have never sewn with something so slippery. My surger had quite a time keeping it under the presser foot. I used my coverstitch machine for the hem and boy did I have trouble keeping it straight. In fact, the hem is quite hilarious. You can't really tell because it is such a drapey fabric.

I bought this in LA from Michael Levine's remnant store across the street from the regular store. Shopping there was quite an experience. I only had a few fabric shopping hours in the LA garment district so I want to make sure that I spent time in good ones (Christina blogged about the fabric stores they went to after the LA PR weekend which gave me good direction). My mouth dropped as I walked in the door to the upstairs store. It was a large room and the floor was covered with large boxes FILLED with fabric remnants. The was barely room to walk between the rows of boxes. I was like a kid in a candy store. It was all $2/lb. It took me a bit to get over my shock of all that fabric. After about a half hour of casual digging I really got into it. I found quite a few fabrics (some great knits which was what I really wanted to find) and only paid $25. I wanted to go back so bad later in the trip but unfortunately I ran out of time. I will be back though. I don't know when but I WILL BE BACK!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a great day!!

Until next time...

My First Cable

I finally attempted a cable swatch. It was a lot of fun. My goal is to make a Dickinson Pullover that was featured in Interweave Knits Fall 2007.
























I would like to make it with Cascade 220. I was unsure of the gauge and didn't want to make a big purchase with out knowing if it would work. The gauge in the pattern is give in the cable pattern. At my LYS it was suggested to me to try this yarn out if I already had some. Well, lucky me I do have some at home. My husbands sweater is out of Cascade 220. So I sat down one evening and tried my hand at cables. It was tons of fun. Following the chart was easier than I thought it would be. I am very encouraged. I think that I will be able to make this once I can afford the yarn. :)

Here is a picture of my cable swatch.



I am thinking of making this sweater in a soft lavender.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!

Until next time...

Frog Short Fiasco

Well, we are back from our trip to California. I made a few things before we left and have been crafting since we came back. I thought that I would show you some of the things I have made in the last few months over the next few posts. Some are simple, some are not but I have fun making all of them.

The first garment I will share is certainly not one of the most complicated but it has a long history. I bought some frog cotton fabric at Joann's years ago. My youngest son has been begging me to make him something with this fabric (has been stashed since before he was born) for quite some time. I kept telling him I would. It was going to be a cute Ottobre shirt but a shirt this fabric did not turn out to be. One day before our trip I spotted a really cute frog shirt that I knew was perfect for the frog fabric. My son was very excited about his new frog shirt and soon to be made frog shorts.

Fast forward: We are on our trip and he will not wear the shorts he has been begging for. According to him, they are too long. I am not happy. Finally on my birthday I made him wear the shorts. Here is a picture of him in them while we spent a few hours climbing around Joshua Tree National Park.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day.

Until next time...

Simplicity Tank

I am finally getting to some projects that I would like to have finished before we leave on Wednesday for California. I have hardly any clothing that is appropriate for 90+ degree Palm Springs weather so I am quickly making a tank. So far it is going very well. Here it is in progress. I have the front pinned to the form. I wanted to see how the ribbon would look. I think that I like the effect.

I had to change from the directions a little because I used a ribbon instead of a fabric tie. I will have to see if it works.



I will post a picture of it on me when I finish. Hopefully this evening.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a great day!

Until next time...

History Has Been Made Today!

The 1st Woman Governor from ALASKA could be the 1st Woman Vice President!

Wow! What a day for Alaska (and women too)!

Our Governor Sarah Palin was announced today as the candidate for vice president running with John McCain. This is huge for us and has been on every talk radio show today.

What ever you think of her politics she is quite a woman. Go to the State of Alaska website and read her biography. It is interesting.

What I think is so amazing is that she really is just a regular person from a regular family in Alaska. My dad works with her husband. She truly shows that you can do whatever you want to do in life if you put your mind to it. She is an American success story.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

Until next time...

California Dreamin'

I have been trying to go on a vacation with my husband for the past year or so . The last time we went on a trip together was in '98. Our last overnight together was more than 5 years ago. I thought it was about time to get away together. I have tried time and time again to make this happen with absolutely no luck. I have been pretty discouraged about this because I really need to get out of Alaska for a bit (I need sun and warmth before the snow sets in). I love this place dearly but I NEED to get out at least once a year (usually more).

Finally, out of desperation I decided to try a trip for five instead of just two. This turned out smashingly! Our vacation just fell together. I am so excited to head to California in 3 weeks. Yes, only 3 weeks away and my daughter does not have any shorts and neither do I (we are so going to need them in the HOT, HOT weather of Palm Springs).

We are staying in LA for a couple of days and I am so excited to take in a bit of the garment district. I the last time I was in LA (8 years ago) I attempted a trip to a fabric store but when I got there I was too leary to get out of the car. It was just me and a 9 month old baby and the surroundings looked a bit scarry. This time my husband will be with me (probably waiting in the car) and I am definitely going to do some shopping.

I have so many ideas for things that I could make for me and my daughter that I put off because we didn't have any warm weather. Now it is time to get sewing. Maybe I will have something to show in the near future.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Until next time...

Hello Again!

Well, it has been a few months since my last post. Lots of things have happened this past summer. It was not the best of summers by any means. We had terrible weather (hardly any sunshine) and that seemed to make the time fly by. We kept waiting and waiting for summer to start and it never did and now it is pretty much over. Sorry to be such a downer. Can you tell I am in mourning? So what am I going to do to get some much needed sunshine and warmth? Plan a vacation!!! Sometime in September I think we are going somewhere.

You would think with all that bad weather I would have crafted like crazy. Unfortunately, no. I am working on finishing up a few things--two sweaters, a knit dress for me, and a smocked dress for my daughter. I will post when I have some pictures.

Oh, one big thing we did this summer was to get a dog. Lizzy is a cute little black lab. The picture is when we first got her 5 weeks ago. She has taken over my life for a bit and haven't had much time for other things.

Anyway, hopefully I will get back to regular posting since we are back to a schedule again and life will be relatively normal.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Until next time...