Knitting for others

I have been MIA for awhile now, but I have been busy.... knitting.  

My DSIL invited me to her 50th Birthday week-end and I needed to make the perfect gift for her, so I decided to knit a shawl.  I have honestly spent the last few weeks sitting and knitting after imposing this tight deadline on myself.  It is from a pattern called Painted Fern Shawl and this is the link to my Ravelry page if anyone is interested in finding out more about the pattern.  

However I will still show the finished photos here.  I used a silk / baby alpaca mix and it was lovely to work with.  I chose not to bead the scarf.

SIL told me it was the best made gift she had ever received  so I was very happy that I had made the effort.  I have quite fallen for knitting so blogging may be a bit slower at the moment as it takes a lot longer to knit something than to sew it!  Ciao! 

Sewing for others... Burda Young 7811 Men's shirt

I hope everyone has had a happy and relaxed Easter break.  Mine has been quiet and filled with quite a bit of sewing and knitting.  One finished object this week-end was a shirt for my oldest son (which was promised for his birthday in February).  

I used this pattern which I picked up in a sale bin, as it would be OOP...

I love the lime and check, but did not feel my son would wear it!  I was going for a retro-feel smart shirt and made it up in a block cotton broadcloth with Kona Dimensions cotton as an accent. Both were purchased from Fabric.com for this project.

The finished shirt...

It is, of course, difficult to photograph the black shirt and show the details so here is a close-up of the collar...

and a close-up of the side panels (excuse all the fluff on the sleeves, black cotton and my sewing room don't play well) ...

If I were to make this shirt again I might make it a little longer for my tall son.  

I made no alterations to the pattern except I didn't line the sleeves with the contrast fabric as I figured he wouldn't be rolling them as per the pattern cover.  I also left off the pocket and used buttons instead of snaps.  He must have liked it as he wore it home.  I got it finished with half an hour  to spare before he boarded the bus.   Nothing like a deadline to motivate a finished item...

Wardrobe Capsule - item 1 - stripey top

I have sewed two items from my planned wardrobe capsule, however one has ended up in the bin. 

The planned camel ponti skirt was supposed to be a simple tube skirt, but the rayon blend ponti in a light colour showed every lump and bump.  I tried to add a lining but had more problems... was not worth spending any more time on it.

Since then a success - the cream brown stripe boat neck top.  I used my TNT Burda 02-2009-108.  The fabric was a rayon blend (I think) marked as a Japanese fabric from Spotlight.  The quality is lovely, however the fabric has a very strong recovery and it pulls up a little at the sleeve head.  

I am not sure if I made this top again from a strong fabric like this, maybe I should add a bit more width to the shoulders. 

This top has fit right into my current wardrobe.  Love it when that happens.  I also love that it coordinates with my Jalie vest.  The wool jersey vest I made last year and love to wear but it's strong colour has made it a bit of an orphan.  Now I feel it has found a top that can handle the colour.

I have worn this top twice now and just pulled it off the washing line.  I found it had found a friend.  A striped moth thought my top was the perfect camouflage...

Every time I tried to shoo it off, it just flew right back.  Anyway more knitting in my next post and hopefully a shirt for my eldest will be finished soon as well... Ciao!   

Knitting... honey cowl

I have learnt circular knitting my making the honey cowl and my Ravelry entry is here for those who use Ravelry.

I made it in a beautiful Noro yarn that was gifted to me and apart from being a joy to work with those gorgeous colours, the cowl has a beautiful drape.  I am very happy with it and can see it being used a lot this winter... especially when the day needs a shot of happy colour.  Photos are all that is left...

Cowl wrapped twice...

Left long...

A first - circular knitting...

and a close-up of the lovely pattern and yarn...

Ciao!

Playing with yarn...

Since the holiday to Kingfisher Bay Resort my sewing mojo has really flown out the window.  I did get all enthused and made up a little wardrobe capsule plan to move my wardrobe into the cooler weather, but have only managed one piece from it so far (which still requires some work). 

I loved my little capsule of clothes I made for the holiday and loved how everything coordinated so well together, so I do think the capsule idea is worth pursuing.  I will show you my capsule plan here, but please don't expect to see all these pieces turn up any time too soon :)

What have I been doing instead of sewing... playing with yarn.  During our holiday it rained a bit, so I had one afternoon and a ferry boat ride to start crocheting...

This is a Jenny King pattern - the marigold bolero and the pattern is really well written ... up until the last round.  I think JK ran out of steam at the point, but I put a question up on a forum on Ravelry and got a reply the next morning from Jenny herself.  You can't ask for better service than that!

I must have had a brain snap with crocheting on holidays and my motifs came out too small (when I thought I had measured them) so once again my bolero looks a little smaller than the one on the pattern, but after some steam blocking I am happy enough with the fit.

I am on ravelry as quiltsewsewsue so please friend me there if you use this great site.

Since then I have got bitten by the knitting bug.  I have left many comments on people's posts about their knitting, wishing I could knit the great garments they make and have decided that now is the time.  The Internet is a great resource and via YouTube and craftsy's class Knit Lab I am making progress on the knitting front also.  I highly recommend this class if anyone is looking to learn to knit BTW.

Pictures of my knitting next time... Ciao!

Style Arc Suzie top

As part of my resort wear I made the StyleARC Suzie top.  I liked this pattern when it first came out - it is my style.  I am a little surprised I have not seen a review of it yet though.   I made a size 8 which is my top size by bust measurement.  I have made a jacket (the Maggie jacket) in a size 8 and it fit really well.   I am saying this as the fit is snug on this one. 

I let out the tucks at the waist on the back piece.

Otherwise I made no changes to the pattern.  However it is snug at the bust and tends to ride up a bit, so if I were to make this again I need to work out how to add a bit of extra fabric there.  I think that shows in this photo...

If I get around to writing a review, I would have to say that No, it doesn't look like the line drawing.  The shoulders are much more cut in than the pattern shows.  I don't mind the cut-in shoulders, but it does mean you have to choose your underwear carefully.

I am wondering if I need a size up on this pattern or if a fba would be enough.  I like the top and may make another if I can work out how to get it to fit a bit better. Not sure I can be bothered though... 

BTW - I have changed my comments to be moderated now and may also have to stop allowing Anonymous comments.  I don't want to turn on the word verification as I am not fond of that feature, however  I am getting a really large amount of spam comments and it is not a fun part of blogging to have to go through and delete them all...  

Ciao for now kittens! 

Kingfisher Bay Resort... piccies

Photos of my mini-vacation (including some of the resort wear collection)...

Big bad banksia man...

Blue linen shirt over togs...

Crocodile Sung choi bao 

Pandanus roots

Dinner outfit (note shortened top...)

Rain on the way...

Sytelearc top back (to be reviewed)

Style arc top front (to be reviewed)

Sunset on the beach...

I wasn't by myself... :)

Another sunset shot...

the pool...

A review of the stylearc top to follow... Ciao kittens!