Adventures in Hemstitching

Like a lot of people around the world, I woke up this morning and was pretty surprised to see that citizens of the UK voted to leave the EU. All I can say is that the people have spoken and I hope this ends up turning out well for all.

On to less political/hot topics ... hemstitching! A few years ago, I purchased Fine Machine Sewing by Carol Ahles at a local sewing shop. To be honest, I bought it because of the pictures, not because I had a burning interest in heirloom sewing, which I associate with christening outfits and dresses for young girls.

But lately I've been thinking about how to give my sewing projects a little more oomph. I briefly investigated an embroidery machine, but I think if I were to embroider it would be in small doses i.e. by hand and very discreet. Plus, it's another machine that requires specialty threads and stabilizers, meaning a whole new line item of cost.

I started researching embellishment techniques I could do by hand or with one of my sewing machines, everything from smocking to sashiko. And then I remembered Ahles book in my sewing library...et voila!

As I reintroduced myself to the text and pictures, I noticed many of the photos were of store-bought plain linen blouses that had been embellished by the author. I enjoy making blouses, but did I want to practice machine hemstitching on something I'd spent hours creating, only to ruin it with a poorly executed pivot? After all, hemstitching creates holes in a garment, holes you cannot hide or fix. The holes are created with a specialty needle called a wing needle, which has "wings" on either side of the tip that push fibers to the side and create a very visible opening. I decided the best course of action was to do a bit of practice on some linen in my stash and then follow-up with some practice on a store-bought garment.

I scored this week at our (semi) local Savers: an ecru Liz Claiborne linen blouse, size medium.



My original plan was to dye the blouse navy blue as there's a grease stain on the back shirt-tail and I thought the ecru color would wash me out, but I guess ecru is one of my "colors" -- it really flattered my complexion more than I thought it would. So plan B was to keep it undyed and remove the stain with my Dawn dish detergent and a sturdy brush, which never lets me down. If Dawn can take crude oil off sea birds,  it can handle oil on clothing, I say. The other benefit to plan B was that mistakes would be harder to see on an ecru blouse hemstitched with white thread than a navy blue blouse stitched in white.

I decided to use a Parisian hemstitch, which is commonly used on linen napkins and table cloths, as well as clothing. It's elegant and subdued, and it was easier getting a good result pivoting around the very visible collar point. I did quite a bit of practice on scrap linen before I attempted the cuffs:



I would have liked to stitch around the whole cuff but I would have cut into the buttonholes. I noticed halfway through the first cuff that I'd inadvertently reset the stitch length and width I planned to use to the machine's preset stitch length/widths. Grr. But I was committed at this juncture, so I carried on.

Next, the collar:



Here, I noticed that the holes were less pronounced and the thread was thicker on the inside row of stitching than they were on the cuffs. It was okay though; I liked the result and I managed to pivot around those collar points like a pro. ;-)

Emboldened by my success with the collar, I decided to add hemstitching down the sides of the front plackets:



I was very happy with how this turned out. The holes were visible and the thread wasn't bunched up as much as it was on the collar and cuffs. It looked like true hemstitching.

Here's a picture of the "refashioned" blouse:



(You'll have to click on the photo to zoom it; the stitching isn't very visible at this resolution.)

I'm very happy with how this turned out. I don't think anyone will walk up to me and say, "Wow, what fantastic hemstitching! Where did you get that blouse?" but it really gives a very simple blouse a much more elegant look that *I* will appreciate.

My plan now is to continue sleuthing thrift shops for linen blouses that I can play with before I attempt sewing my dream blouse: white linen hemstitched in delft blue thread. I would also like a French blue blouse hemstitched in white ... and gray one, too.

I also scored in a different area at Saver's this week ... I found a copy of Connie Long's Easy Guide to Sewing Linings, which is out of print and can be expensive on Amazon. I got it for $2.99. :)

McCalls M6885 Shirtdress

Over the past few months I've been buying an awful lot of shirtdress patterns, so when McCall's put the word out they were doing a sewalong this spring, I was all in. I don't wear a lot of dresses in general, but shirtdresses are a different matter. I like their tailored look and they're an empty canvas to dress up or down. On top of this, I love sewing tailored shirts so it was the perfect project for me to fill in a hole in my wardrobe.

Here are the details:

Pattern: McCall's M6885, a semi-fitted, pullover shirtdress with a pointed collar, collar/front bands, button-up placket, front pleat and narrow hem. I sewed view D with patch pockets, tie ends, long sleeves with button tab, and a shaped hemline.

Size: I cut a 14 at the bust and graded out to a 16 at the waist and hips.

Fabric: A blue chambray-like cotton fabric from my stash. It may be a blend of cotton and linen. Nice and lightweight, perfect for summer. Washes and presses beautifully. Where did I buy this? No idea, but my guess is That $1.99 Fabric Store in Auburn, MA. In the pictures above, the blue IRL is more of the darker blue than the lighter blue in some of the shots.

Notions: Gutermann thread, Pro-Weft Supreme Light fusible interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply, metal buttons from Joann Fabrics.

Sewing Details: I created my own order of construction with this project. I wrote out every step and broke the project down over five days, starting with cutting out the pattern and washing my fabric and ending with sewing on the last button. I made a few changes to the suggested order of construction that the pattern sheet provided; for instance, I worked on all the smallest pieces first, like the sleeve tabs, pockets, and collars. Having my own order of construction really helped keep me focused and kept me from making dumb mistakes because when I was done with that day's tasks, I was DONE. No late night sewing mishaps for me!

The one thing that I didn't catch until the very end was how McCall's wants you to sew the sleeve tab button until the very end of the project. It would have been easier to do this when the sleeve tab was being sewed on the flat sleeve, especially if you use a sewing machine to sew on buttons, as I do. Also sewing the buttonhole at the bottom of the front placket was difficult with all the fabric bunching up at the bottom. If I make this pattern a second time, I'll take my chances by sewing buttonholes on the placket earlier in the process.

Meg Carter at McCall's had a great tutorial that helped me a lot with constructing the front placket.

My goal was to create a garment with a very clean finish on the inside. Shoulder seams are French seamed, then topstitched from the outside ... I guess sort of mock felled seam? The seams down the side are also French seamed. For the armhole seams, I trimmed and overcast them with my sewing machine; I had already clipped into the seam allowance, making a felled seam a little more difficult, so I took a bit of a shortcut here. The dress was finished with a narrow hem.

One major thing I changed was eliminating the side ties. I wanted to have the option of using my own belts, so instead I made thread chains by zig-zagging over pearl cotton from my embroidery box, then sewed the thread chains into the side seams. These loops will keep looser belts from falling down my waist. Over the next couple weeks I'm going to make a few fabric belts in different colors.

So, what about fit? The shoulder/bust fit was perfect. I wish it were a little looser around my bottom, but I am losing weight so by the time we leave for vacation in August, I think it'll fit perfectly down there. The problem is in the arms. I should have done a muslin because then I could have done a bicep adjustment; the fit is just a little too slim-fitting for my tastes. Lesson learned. I think I would also like the dress about 2" longer as the side reveals a bit more leg than I'm used to.

Another lesson learned: do not assume white tailors chalk disappears. It didn't on this dress. I had used wax-based chalk to mark the wrong side of the fabric and was horrified when, after sewing on the pockets, I noticed a big greasy looking "x" on each of them.  I was able to get most of stain out with Dawn Dish Liquid and a toothbrush, but I can still see a faint "x" on both of them. I guess no one will notice except me, or anyone who finds my boobs especially noteworthy.

At any rate, it was a satisfying project and I know I'll get lots of wear out of it later this summer during our trip to Europe. :)

Sewing projects for May

I completed two sewing projects this month, not bad in that it was a super busy month around here.

First up is McCalls 6886, which has been a popular pattern with sewing bloggers over the last few months. It was a fairly straightforward project with the only challenge being keeping those stripes lined up at the seams, which I managed to do fairly well. The only thing I changed about the pattern was binding the neckline with a strip of fabric cut on the cross-grain. I left one shoulder unsewn before I did the binding so I could seam everything up neatly once the binding was attached. I adore hot pink and bright orange together. When I spotted this fabric in the bargain bin at my local Joann's, I bought all they had left. I still have enough left over for a t-shirt.

This is a size 14 at the shoulders/bust, and I graded out to a 16 at the waist and hips. This would have been fine in a heavier ponte knit, but I used a thin pique knit that shows every lump and bump underneath. That said, I'm planning to bring this dress on our trip to Europe later this summer when I'll be at my slimmest/fittest, so I'm not too worried about it. Also: Spanx. ;-)



 

 



Next up for your viewing pleasure is yet another tailored shirt, this one made out of some of-so-soft fine-wale cotton corduroy I had in my stash. The pattern is also McCalls (M6649, a Laura Ashley design now OOP) that was part of the Craftsy class called One Pattern, Many Looks. Again, I cut out a size 14 for the shoulders/bust and graded out to a 16 around the waist/hips. This pattern includes separate pieces for B/C/D cup sizes, so I chose the C cup. 

The pattern directions were not the best on this pattern, but it really wasn't an issue for me because I've developed my own "order of construction" based on Pam Howard's excellent Craftsy class on sewing tailored shirts. I also recently purchased David P. Coffin's class on shirtmaking details and picked up a couple neat tricks for turning collars and cuffs.

I had always wondered how my grandmother's hemostats (she was an RN) ended up in the sewing box I inherited from her. Then I saw Coffin's trick of using them to fold and hold the seam allowances while turning a collar or cuffs. Absolutely brilliant! I've never had sharper points on my collars and cuffs until now. I wonder if this was a trick my grandmother knew, although she was more of a knitter than a sewist.



I'm pretty happy with the shirt. The darts in the front and the back flatter my figure, and the fit in the shoulders is spot-on. The only thing that was surprising was seeing how the C-cup barely contained my bust. The buttons aren't straining or anything like that, but the fabric is a bit too form-fitting for my tastes. Next time I'll use the D-cup piece to give myself more room in this area.

Speaking of buttons, I chose snaps for this garment. I wanted a more casual look with this garment, and I think the pearl snaps help.

I'll probably pack this shirt away for the fall.







I picked up my 2nd Kelly sweater after a long hiatus and it's coming along nicely. I'm still surprised how much I enjoy knitting with two strands of mohair and silk! You'd think it would be fussy and a pain, but it's actually not much of a bother at all. Plus all the fluff hides wonky stitches and it looks beautiful on the needles. I've finished the sleeves (I always knit sleeves first) and am nearly done with armhole shaping on the back piece. Then all that's left are the front pieces plus the finishing details ... I'm hoping to have this done by July. I started this sweater around the same time last year, planning to have it finished for Christmas 2015. So it goes.

Blogging has definitely taken a back seat lately. Our trip to Europe this summer is taking a lot of coordination as we'll be traveling with my brother and his wife and visiting with my husband's family in various locales. Then my husband is starting a new job in Boston in a couple weeks. Last week we were out to dinner and he mentioned he was thinking about getting some shirts custom made. "I hope you're thinking made by your wife," I said. So yeah, that's on the plate now, along with the sun-blocking drapes I need to make for our bedroom and the clothes I want to make for our travels this summer. My son is now as tall as I am and eats constantly; there are days where I feel like I'm a short-order cook at Denny's flipping burgers, pouring waffle batter, or kneading bread dough. (Wait, I don't think they knead dough at Denny's, but never mind.)

I've been hearing a lot of "blogging is dead." I have to admit, I think about shutting Hail Britannia down, but something stops me. I guess it's that I've been doing this since 2008 and that I do it for my own amusement ... there's no rule that says I have to blog every day or every week. It's okay if I take a break. Still, these days I'm much more apt to post something on Instagram because I can do it in a minute versus this. THIS, what I just wrote, took me over an hour because my computer is crap and it struggles with cutting and pasting links to my Flickr photos. I feel like I have to carve out an hour or two from my schedule to blog, whereas Instagram takes me seconds.

I don't know ... guess I'm rambling here. At any rate, I'm still here and have plans to write more about what I'm making and doing. I hope you'll still be around too. But if you want more frequent updates, or are curious whether or not I'm still living and breathing, Instagram is probably the best place to check. :)

Hope you're enjoying this glorious spring!

Kwik Sew K4032 fleece jacket

 

First, a very happy 90th birthday to HM The Queen. I love the portraits that Annie Leibowitz captured of her with her family, especially the one with Princess Anne. Just lovely!

Yet another sewing project, Kwik Sew 4032, view B. I'm not sure what possessed me to attempt sewing a zippered fleece jacket as good quality ones are fairly priced around here. I think it had something to do with making my son a blanket out of the gray fleece, which was surprisingly good quality--despite it coming from Joann Fabrics of all places--and wondering how it would look with my favorite spring green color. Thus, a fleece jacket was born.

I had nothing but trouble with this project from the beginning, mostly operator error, although for the first time I was baffled by Kwik Sew's instructions i.e. why was I instructed to cut out three pockets instead of the two I needed? and some confusing graphics. The parts I thought would be bearish -- the collar, zipper, and topstitching -- ended up turning out okay, while other parts -- those darn zippered pockets! the hems! -- had me with a seam ripper in hand for hours. Do I need to point out how difficult it is to rip out stitches in fleece, especially stretch/zig-zag?

Despite all the challenges I had here, it turned out well enough to wear on a brisk hike or an early morning bike ride. It is cozy warm and I like how it can be zippered up around my neck to block out wind. My husband gave me the highest compliment by saying it looked store-bought. Before he could ask me to make him one, I said I was retiring from the fleece garment making business. If I sew fleece again, it will be to make blankets, or maybe a simple ski hat or mittens.

Another caution: this is a unisex pattern but duh! I forgot and cut out a size medium. It is HUGE on me. I shortened the sleeve by a good inch on the pattern but still had to take another couple inches off while sewing. I don't mind the extra room around the shoulders and middle as I like room to layer ... just a word of warning if you're looking for a snugger fit.

We're off to Connecticut today to spend some time with my family. Have a good weekend!

 

 

Sewaholic Granville

So! It's finally spring in these parts, but I'm still obsessed with sewing blouses. I mixed things up by using a new (to me) pattern, the Sewaholic Granville. What appeals to me about Sewaholic patterns is they're designed for women who are pear-shaped ... smaller on top, curvier on the bottom. I wouldn't say I'm small on top because I'm full-busted and frequently have to make full bust adjustments on my patterns, but I do have narrow shoulders so to get a good fit with blouses and dresses, I often have to buy a very small size to get the shoulder fit right, then adjust for my fuller bust and hips. My KwikSew blouses fit me well on top, but I've noticed there's a extra fabric pooling at the small of my back and the hem could be looser around the hips. My hope was that the Granville would fit me better straight out of the "envelope."

I put "envelope" in quotes because this was a pdf pattern. I'm just going to say it. I hate PDF patterns. I know some dressmakers love them (instant gratification) but I've recently made a resolution to not use them anymore because printing, taping, cutting, tracing ... yuck, no thanks. That said, putting the Sewaholic pattern together went as well as it could despite my cat "hell-ping" me on the sewing table.

I made a size 12 with no modifications. I measured some key points on the flat pattern, figured the 12 would work, and started cutting. The fabric? Ok, confession. It's quilting cotton. I stopped making clothes out of quilting cotton years ago, but when I saw this print while shopping with my mom this winter, I couldn't resist. Pink and orange (my favorite color combo), and it reminded me of a Liberty print. It was also kind of loud. And my mother hated it. But it was $2.99 and had a nice hand, so all wins for me! (Yes, that my mother hates something usually makes me want it more. We have totally dissimilar tastes.)

I skimmed the directions, which were fine, but I mostly did my own thing based on what I learned in watching Pam Howard's Craftsy class on shirtmaking. However, I did not flat-fell the seams ... instead, I overlocked the seam allowance, then caught them with topstitching on the other side. Not the finest shirtmaking technique, but I figured if I sewed the pattern again, I'd do it with a higher quality fabric and do it right.

I was mostly happy with the results. The sleeve needs more ease, so I made a new pattern piece that includes a full-bicep adjustment, which should give me some extra wiggle room without changing anything else about the fit, which was perfect. I plan to make a couple more Granvilles with this adjusted sleeve. Stay tuned. Some other areas I need to work on include smoothing out the join of the collar band to the shirt and taking more care with the tower placket on the cuff. This was my first tower placket, and because the fabric wasn't that tightly woven -- quilting cotton, remember? -- it didn't come out that hot. 

I finished another sewing project last night, which I'll post about later this week or next. My next sewing adventure is something easy ... a pink and orange striped knit dress with the super-popular McCall's M6886 pattern. This I plan to wear during our trip to Germany this summer. :)



In other news ... I've been working flat-out on our start-up business, Renegade Writer Press. Earlier this week, we released our first official title. More on this later, but reviews are coming in and they're great. My business partner (and friend, let's be honest) did a fantastic job getting this book done in record time. 

I hope you're having a wonderful spring, too!

Well hello there!

It has been awhile, hasn't it? I've been wanting to post again, but then when I think about how to start, it fills me with this vague anxiousness. So I'm just gonna jump back in and start talking. :)

A lot going on in my corner of the world right now. Some of it isn't great--my mother is ill so I've been spending two days a week down in CT caring for her--but most of it's pretty good and holding steady. The highlights:

• My long-time writing partner and I started a publishing company on January 1, which is keeping me (us) super busy. I enjoy using the left side of my brain to run the business instead of focusing strictly on writing, which I don't particularly enjoy on its own.


• Since my work hours are more regular, I use the weekends to work on my sewing. I really enjoy sewing blouses, and that blue one above is the best I've made so far.


• Knitting I mostly do at night while watching my TV programs or during a lunch break, which means I'm not knitting as much as I used to. The hat above is one of my favorite knits of the winter, the Mortice Lock Hat. I've also been working on a Isabell Kraemer cardigan ("Dexter"), which is coming along nicely but slowly. I'm using some Drops alpaca in a silvery gray...it's going to look great against the blue of my new blouse! More on this knit later. I'm also trying to catch up on gift knitting...a few babies born this winter are in need of my craft. ;-)


• I completed the Whole 30 diet in January, which is why I included that slice of pizza above. I don't think I lost weight, but one thing I did learn the hard way is that my body does not like wheat. I've suspected this for awhile, but it is good to know for sure that wheat causes me such problems. I was also able to kick my sugar habit, woo hoo!


• My son is heading to high school this fall, which has sent me into a tizzy because I swear, he just graduated from kindergarten. This week was spent choosing classes, and I'm pleased he'll be taking Latin as his foreign language (he has taken Spanish since grade school). I met with one of the Latin teachers a few weeks ago, and she seemed really passionate about her class...my fingers are crossed she'll be his teacher!


• And the big news is that we're heading to Europe this summer for two weeks! I'm very excited about this because we'll be spending time with my husband's family in Munich, as well as traveling to Berlin with my brother and his wife. I've never been to Berlin and am looking forward to exploring the museums and historical sites.

Spring seems to have arrived early here in Massachusetts. Bulbs started popping up through the earth mid-February, and today it was in the low 70s! The rest of the week will be cooler, but definitely spring-y.

I'm glad to be back and will post more detail about some of the projects I've been working on. What are you up to?

Kwik Sew 3614 shorts ... and September!

Way back in July I noticed a dearth of shorts in my wardrobe. I'm not a big fan of shorts ... specifically, I'm not a big fan of how shorts look on me. Mostly because I don't tan at all and my white legs scare people, but also because I don't like wearing anything higher than just above my knee. Since I have a spiffy new sewing machine, I decided to make some shorts that met my requirements and I feel comfortable wearing on the hotter days of summer.

Enter Kwik Sew 3614, a pattern I first read about on Sewn. Elizabeth had mentioned how members of Pattern Review raved about the fly construction instruction on these shorts, and after making a couple pairs, I have to agree -- fly fronts can be tricky, but it's smooth sailing with this pattern.

My first pair was constructed out of lavender-colored cotton twill I purchased a few years ago from Fabric Place. I traced and cut a size L and followed the directions for view A (the longest version) exactly, making no modifications. The shorts came out well and I've worn them a lot this summer. My only dislikes were having hook and eye closures on the closure tab. I decided with my next pair I'd use a button and buttonhole.

My second pair are the ones I'm wearing in the photos above. I can't remember where I got the fabric, a navy blue cotton twill ... either Joann's or Sewfisticated Fabrics in Framingham. The button/buttonhole closure works much better. For future shorts I plan to use a contrasting facing on the waistband, as well as softer pocket fabric. I used matching twill to make pockets for both pairs of shorts. They're fine, but maybe a little bulkier than I'd like.

This is a great pattern and I will definitely get my money's worth from it as I have plans for olive, white, and red shorts for next summer.

Since I took a bit of a blog break for the last six weeks, here's what else is going on. My mother and I took a week-long trip to central Maine in August and had a wonderful time. I didn't take any pictures (bah!) except for a shot of my yarn haul from Halcyon Yarn in Bath.  I'll do a run down of what I purchased in a separate post.

I've been a bit down because my father and stepmother are going through a painful divorce. It's not a bitter one, just very sad because of the circumstances. I'm hoping that once the smoke clears, things will get better.

Then my husband's car died. We were down to one car for the last few years, so it has been necessary to do some car shopping. It looks like I'll be getting a new VW Jetta by the end of the week. It's funny because VW was not on my "car-buying radar" until I rented one a couple weeks ago and fell in love. Even better, my son loves it and my husband, while not a fan of practical four-door sedans, admits that it's a smooth, responsive ride.

And oh, that cat you see above? That's Winston. I'l write more about him in another post, but we decided after a year of having no cats it was time to welcome a new cat into our home ... and hearts. We adore Winston ... he is a sweet, lovable, friendly guy. And even better,  he doesn't chase my yarn.

What have you been up to this summer? Are you glad it's September?

Close to nature

Where do I begin? I suppose where I left off. Camp pickup two weekends ago was uneventful. I was one of the first parents there, and O was standing at the door of his cabin waiting for me. :) Hugs all around. He had a great time and really liked his counselors; his only complaint was "too much swimming." My boy is not fond of being in water, never has been. Most of his local friends were on vacation by the time he returned home, which actually worked out as it gave him some time to decompress from camp. Most of them are coming home this weekend, so this week Mom's Taxi Service will be at full gear until O leaves for Texas next week.

Summer has been pretty quiet, which I like. Lots of slow, hot days filled with nothing but time. O thinks it's going by too quickly, and now that I look at the calendar and realize that August is this weekend, I suppose he's right.

OK, so moving on to the exciting bits. This week I went to make muffins and when I pulled the tin out of stove drawer, I noticed mouse droppings. Ewwww. Before you think I'm a terrible housekeeper, please note that our house is older and has lots of nooks, crannies, and holes that critters just love. I'm not frightened of mice--they're kind of cute, actually--but I don't want them around my food, so I had to put out a trap. The next morning, I found the little guy behind the stove. No more have been caught so I'm hoping we had one errant mouse in the house. The rest of the week I spent decontaminating our stove and the areas around it.

Then late last night I was sitting on the sofa when I noticed a noise coming from the living room coat closet. The door was cracked, and boom -- out flew a BAT!!!! I feel much differently about bats than I do mice ... you should have seen me bolt upstairs, screaming for my husband who was already in bed. Poor guy was sound asleep, but he knows how freaked out I am around bats due to some unfortunate childhood bat experiences while living in an old house in Vermont. He and O did some research on the computers upstairs to figure out the best way to get the bat outside, then they ventured downstairs to find the unwanted guest lurking behind the living room drapes. When they tried to scoop the bat into a box, he flew across the room and landed at the top of a bookshelf. By then the bat (and the boys) was tired enough that the second scoop went more smoothly and the errant visitor was released into the night. Shudder. We've had a long-standing wildlife removal appointment scheduled for this Tuesday, and I cannot WAIT to have these bats gone from our attic. And while last night's bat visitation terrified me, I'm glad I saw from where it emerged because now we know where we have an exit hole into the house.

Yes, I'm a total wimp when it comes to certain species of wildlife in my house. I own my wimpiness. ;-)

Crafting

Lots of sewing going on this summer in my studio. I now feel very comfortable with my new sewing machine, the Baby Lock Melody. A couple of weeks ago I ordered a flat felling presser foot for it through my local dealer and just about keeled over when I got the bill for it, almost $25. Ouch! So I decided to order one of those 32-piece presser foot collections from Amazon, along with a ruffler attachment. I paid a little over what I paid for the one foot through my dealer, so I figured if a few of the presser feet worked, I'd be ahead of the game, esp. the ruffler, which is pricey.

We have Amazon Prime, so everything got here quickly. The ruffler was easy to install and worked beautifully. The 32 presser feet came in a sturdy cardboard box and every foot was labeled on the front so I knew what each one would do. The feet are all metal with a few understandable exceptions, such as the teflon foot for sewing leather and vinyl. Last night I used the piping/welting foot to install piping around a mixer stand cover I made for out kitchen:



 

I was very happy with how the piping came out especially as it was my first try. I used instructions from About.com to put this together, but ended up using my own measurements for the pattern. I added an outer pocket (which I tried to pattern match and you can see in the bottom photo) to hold the flat beater attachments, and created a lining with fabric from an old cotton Jacquard drape. All in all, I'm quite happy with it although I may make another just to improve on my design. :)

I finished the Pebble Beach shawl, which is blocked and ready to go. It has been so hot, though, that the thought of posing with a merino wool shawl draped over my shoulders ... ugh. I'll do a separate post on the shawl when it cools off.

What are you working on this summer?

 

One more day

Yesterday during our walk to pick up the car at the repair garage, I spotted this hawk fluttering around the ground. We couldn't figure out if it was injured or hunting ... we could also hear some angry birdsong coming from the firs. I wanted to get a little closer, but those talons!

So yes, one more day! Tomorrow I'm picking O up from camp. I miss him so much and can't wait to hear of his experiences. I did get a letter from him on Wednesday, and I was surprised by how long it was. It looks like he kept adding to it each day. He's a very good and entertaining writer. It sounds like he's had a good time, except for the swimming. Although the weather has been warm here in New England, lakes and ocean water really don't get warm until August ... and even then, I wouldn't call them "warm" ... more like comfortable. Plus, O is not the most enthusiastic swimmer. He said the two weeks at camp would have been the best two weeks of his year ... except for the twice daily swims, which he says ruin everything for him.

I would feel sorry for him, but I took swimming lessons as a child in the cold Atlantic Ocean. No pity party here. ;-)

Camp pickup is between 9 and 11, so I'll leave Boston around 6ish, which should give me time for some coffee and exercise breaks (need to stretch out my back frequently). I'll be giving O's local friend a ride home, too, so we'll make a brief stop at my father's house on the lake to say hi and pick up Aunt Pam's yarn :-), then be back on our way home.

Crafting

I finished sewing a pair of shorts yesterday, waa-hoo. They came out great! When my head photographer returns home, I'll get some good photos for my review. I am not a big shorts-wearer, but on especially warm days they're necessary. I love these shorts because they completely cover my thighs but don't make my legs look like sausages. Flush with success, I dug out some olive green twill from my stash for a second pair. But first, I want to finish a gift project (silk pillowcases). This is a wedding gift for a friend who is now pregnant, which gives you an idea how behind I am in sewing!

Knitting ... not much to report here. I spent a couple hours yesterday tinking three rows (over 400 stitches each row) of my Pebble Beach shawl as I had two extra stitches. The problem was a wrong increase stitch. Sigh. When will I learn? Anyway, all is well, though I will probably not finish the shawl this weekend.

I discovered a new-blog-for-me this week, Ikatbag. This mother of three has craft skills that are a-m-a-z-i-n-g -- she's a whiz with cardboard and all sorts of crafts, but also sews without commercial patterns. In fact, she has never used a commercial pattern to draft her clothing! Oh, and she studied physics in college and does all sorts of cool science projects with her kids and creates the most stupendous birthday parties for her daughters ... seriously, I would get palpitations doing half as much as she does in a day!

I'll leave you with a video of me trying to get a hawk's attention by talking to it as I would a cat. D'oh.



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Hydrangea season

I told my dentist last week that I see hearts everywhere. :)

The hydrangeas in the front of the house are spectacular this year, such a vibrant blue. Two years ago I had cut them back too severely so that last summer we only got a couple blooms.

I have not heard a peep (i.e. received any mail) from O since we dropped him off at camp. He had told me not to expect anything because he doesn't like handwriting letters (the camp doesn't allow computers/e-mail), but his counselor assured me I'd get a couple letters anyway. I'm trying not to get antsy about it ... as long as he's having a good time, that's all that really matters. Plus the camp does a great job updating their blog every night to let parents know what's going on. I can tell from the activities they describe that O is most definitely enjoying himself. He's not super athletic but he's "sporty" and loves to run around and participate in physical activities/games. They had a "marathon" the other night where kids could run a course through the woods, and I can guarantee he was ALL over that.

I'm picking him up this Saturday. I can't wait to see him and hear all about his adventures!

Crafting

Melody and I are becoming fast friends, maybe even BFFs! Last week I took one of those "get to know your new sewing machine" classes at the dealership where I bought her. A lot of the class was fairly basic--how to thread the machine, how to wind a bobbin, etc.--but I did learn a few tricks and became comfortable with some of the advanced functions on the machine. Like buttonholes...as I said to my husband last night, I will never get sick of watching Melody sew a buttonhole!!! What used to be an exercise in frustration is now a matter of letting her do 90% of the job...my only task is to move the fabric around and press buttons. It couldn't be easier.



This week I finished the Roman shade for the dormer window in our bedroom and a pair of swimming trunks (Kwik Sew 3421) for my husband. I'll talk about the Roman shades in my next post as I need to take photos. Both were straightforward projects, except for sewing the power mesh lining on the trunks. So slippery and fiddly and tricky to work with, especially when joining elastic around the leg holes. Luckily that part of the suit isn't public. I used a medium-weight cotton twill I bought on sale at JoAnn's for the outer fabric; my husband does not like synthetics, so cotton it is. Today's job is to purchase a navy cotton drawstring to finish them off. The pattern, like all Kwik Sew patterns, is easy to follow. The only thing I would do differently is use my own way of inserting elastic in the waistband casing (sewing up the casing except for a 2" gap, threading the elastic through as one long piece, sewing the ends, then sewing up the gap). The KS way is to sew the elastic into a circle then wrap the casing around it to sew it into place. Too fiddly for me!

Now it's time for some selfish sewing. Today's project is preparing fabric (lavender twill) for a my own pair of shorts.

I'm just over 80% done on the Pebble Beach shawl, which should be finished over the weekend at the rate I'm going. Each row is over 400 stitches long, and there's a picot bind-off.

At last week's knitting group I got my yarn to knit a 12" x 12" block for a blanket we're making for an ailing group member. We get our choice of stitch patterns and I'm pretty happy with the one I chose. As soon as the block looks like a block, I'll snap a photo. My goal is to have the block complete by next Thursday's meeting.

Sequence Knitting got an excellent review at Knitter's Review. Now I am tempted by Susan Crawford's vintage Shetland knitting project/book, which is being crowdfunded. She has reached her goal, but is still accepting funding. I could have the book in my hands before the holidays, but honestly, will I really get around to knitting Fair Isle before then? I don't think so.

I missed our Forrest family reunion and my Aunt Pam's interment up in Vermont this weekend--my back was giving me trouble, then the car started making funny noises--but I did get to talk to my cousin Sherry at some length Saturday night. She said she sent an enormous amount of Aunt Pam's yarn home with my father for me to have. Wow, I was so touched! I'll probably pick it up on Saturday when I get O from camp...she says there's a lot of it, so maybe I'll have to make two trips. My Aunt Pam was a spectacular craftswoman; not only a first-rate knitter, but she painted, did cross-stitch and crewel embroidery, and quilted ... and other crafts/art endeavors, I'm sure! At some point I will show you some of the projects she did. They are truly beautiful.

 

Away at camp

 

O was safely delivered to camp on Sunday. My father had a clever idea. When I asked if we could borrow his SUV to bring O's trunk to camp, my father said, "Why not let him take the boat over?" (The camp is on the same lake my parents' house is on.) O loved the idea, so he piloted us over there. His arrival definitely attracted attention on shore. The only trouble was, the dock's gate was locked, so one of the parents had to find the camp director so we could get in. She's known my dad for years, so I don't think she was too annoyed. ;-) The only thing my father asked of O was that he ask the camp director, "Permission to come ashore, ma'am." It was pretty clear she knew this was one of my father's antics. ;-)

I brought O to his cabin, met his counselor, then helped him get settled. I didn't want to hang out and embarrass him, so I said, "I think I'll get going back to the boat now," and the boys in the cabin perked up. One said, "Hey, you're the ones that came on the boat? Cool!" I guess he made a memorable entrance. O's cabin is visible from the water, so my father and stepmother will know where to look for him when they boat over at night. (They like to come over and see if they can see him...grandparents!!!)

The night before my father took us out on the lake and we watched fireworks. July 4th during the day had been drizzly, but by nightfall, the skies were clear, the air was cool, and was the perfect evening for fireworks. Once they were over, we sat offshore and listened to the Grateful Dead's "Franklin's Tower" play at a house party. The perfect tune for Independence Day! (BTW, it was also my father's 76th birthday. I can hardly believe he's that old. He was complaining about a pulled muscle he'd gotten from, get this, running laps around the track! He's a former marathoner, still in great shape.)

Today (Monday) the house feels empty. I already missed O on the drive home, but I know he'll be having fun these next two weeks.

Crafting

Not much knitting got done since I last posted, though I did work a couple of rows of Pebble Beach last night before bed. Each row is now over 300 stitches and I'm not even halfway through the pattern.

On the way back home from CT I stopped at That $2.99 Fabric Store in Auburn. They had some great denim there, but I have plenty of denim in my stash so I controlled myself. I bought a couple of yards of midnight blue lace to use as an inset on a dress I want to make and two yards of cream-colored polyester charmeuse for slips/bodice lining.

It looks like this week's sewing project will be creating a Roman shade for one of our bedroom windows. Since I finished the drapes for our northern-facing window, my husband has become quite spoiled and wants the eastern-facing window to have a similar covering. I can't blame him--the light shines right in his eyes at dawn.

The Yowza Weigh-it Shawl

 

I finished knitting this beautiful shawl by Susan B. Anderson last month during a week where it was cold and rainy and I'd already shut off the heat for the season. It was a pure delight to knit--it wasn't completely mindless because every couple seconds there was a new color change to ooo and ahh over. While knitting, I listened to the Serial podcast put out by PBS. Can't wait for the next "season" to begin!

I'm a huge fan of Susan B. Anderson's blog (and vlog, too!), and when she introduced this pattern in May, I dropped what I was doing, ordered the pattern, and promptly broke my yarn diet by ordering the exact color yarn she'd used in her sample (Miss Babs Yowza! Whatta Skein! in the colorway "Perfectly Wreckless.") I made a mistake and ordered the colorway "Berlin" (which is very pretty, too), but the people at Miss Babs were nice enough to correct my order ... that's what I get for ordering yarn late at night.

Speaking of nice...that's one of the main reasons why I love Anderson's blog and vlog. She seems so darn nice, not to mention talented. While I don't mind reading snark, I can only take it in small doses. I much prefer blogs, podcasts, and vlogs where the hosts leave me feeling a little happier after having read or watched them.  Anderson's blog is definitely a cheerer-upper for me. :)

OK, back to the shawl. Yes, the colors are as vibrant IRL as they are on your screen. The shawl appears to have a woven appearance because of the garter stitch, yet it's soft and squishy around my neck. I was going to wash it and pack it away for the summer, but discovered last week that it was perfect to wrap around my shoulders on a cold and rainy day ... plus, those lively colors cheered me up. I even got a couple compliments on it when I wore it out shopping at Whole Foods. The reason why it's called "the Weigh It Shawl" is because rather than count rows, you weigh your yarn as you go along and start wrapping things up when you are down to a certain number of grams. I still had quite a bit of yarn left over, but that's okay because I like having odd balls for my blanket knitting.

Ravelry details here.

I'm off for the holiday weekend. Happy July 4th to my American blog readers, and to everyone else, have a wonderful weekend. :)

p.s. Forgot to mention, but I also made the pink cotton lawn blouse underneath the shawl. It's a bit wrinkly as it had been freshly washed but not ironed. I thought the shawl would look better styled with a blouse.

 

Stormy weather

Rolling thunder woke me up Wednesday a.m. Welcome July!

My sugar fast continues and I'm feeling well, a little better each day. I didn't need a nap on Tuesday, and on top of this, two nights in a row I stayed up long past my regular bedtime of 11 to read. I do still have sugar cravings in the early evenings, but nothing like the ones I had the first day.

We continue to get O ready for camp ... yesterday he got his hair cut and today his camp sheets should be arriving, which will need to be washed and folded for his trunk. This morning I woke up and realized how much I'm going to miss him while he's away. This will be the longest O's ever been away from me, and there's no phone calls, no e-mailing allowed ... handwritten letters only. Which I don't mind--being the loving mom, I will write every day!--but I'm not so sure I'll hear anything from a 13-year-old boy in return.

Was sad to read that the rumors of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's divorce were true. They seemed like a nice couple, very family oriented. Marriage is tough business, for sure, especially it seems in Hollywood.

Crafting

Lessons learned while working on the Pebble Beach shawl:

• A lifeline is a must once I get past 100 row stitches of lace.


• Save lace knitting for the mornings when my mind is fresh.


• Point protectors are my friends.

I spent an hour+ on Tuesday night tinking back two rows (250+ stitches per row) to fix a massive mistake. Then I carelessly left my knitting on the couch, and when I came back found that some stitches had slipped off the needles and created a mess I couldn't figure out without ripping back. Another hour later all was fixed but I made zero progress on the shawl as a result. On Wednesday, I put in a dental floss lifeline ... took me all of five minutes.

I cut out the contrast fabrics for O's board shorts on Tuesday night and then cut out the main fabric on Wednesday a.m. I'm normally not a big fan of using rotary cutters and weights to cut out pattern pieces, but because the microfiber was unstable, the rotary cutter made short work of the job. Later that night I got the fronts and backs of the shorts sewn up. I'm not completely happy with my topstitching, but I doubt any of the boys at camp will be scrutinizing it.

When I was catching up on my blog reading Tuesday night, I noticed that Ann at Gorgeous Fabrics gave a terrific review of Sewaholic's Thurlow shorts/pants. As she said, "...the Thurlow’s welt pocket instructions and draft take something that other pattern companies butcher, and make it crystal clear." I am in desperate need of some nice trousers, as well as shorts, so I promptly ordered the pattern, esp. since I'm pear-shaped and Sewaholic patterns are built for my shape. (Bonus: there was a Canada Day sale going on and I got a discount!) The shorts look a little too short for me, but I suppose I can lengthen them a bit. Once I finish O's camp sewing, I'll give the Thurlows a go.

By the way, I'm getting more and more comfortable with Melody the more time I spend with her. She is so quiet! And little things like speed control, automatic threading/thread cutting, needle down, and the knee life make my sewing so much more accurate and enjoyable. Every time I finish up a sewing session, I tell my husband, "I have to say it again ... I LOVE MELODY." (Half of his office in my sewing studio. Lucky him!)

Sugar blues

O's face looks completely normal now, not even a rash. The only itchy bits are on his arms and legs. We're hoping everything will be healed up by the time he leaves for camp on Sunday.

Yesterday we went out to Target and bought what he needed to get him through two weeks at camp -- mostly underwear and socks. We figure he can double up a couple days on stuff like shorts and sweatshirts, but not so much on underwear and socks. I also found some swimming trunks in his size for $6.50, so into the basket they went ... saves me some time at the sewing machine this week. He was rather grumpy during our shopping expedition, as was I (sugar withdrawal), and we forgot to buy a couple extra beach towels. Otherwise we're all set to pack him up ... except for the stuff I have to sew.  Oh, and he needs a haircut. Hopefully we can squeeze in an appointment before the end of the week.

I survived Monday without eating any sugar. My sugar cravings hit mostly in the evening, so the last couple hours before bedtime were misery. As I was driving past Bedford Farms on the way back from the gym, it took every ounce of self control not to drive in there and order a cup of Muddy River ice cream ... I would have dived in with gusto! I stuck with it, though, bypassing my evening cup of warm chocolate malt Ovaltine with more than a little regret. My thinking was definitely foggier yesterday ... I'm hoping after a few days, I'll be able to think a little more clearly. Just happy I'm not teaching this week; I'm not sure my students would appreciate my incoherent thinking!

A couple days ago when I was waiting for a prescription to be filled at the grocery store, I spent some time looking through the paperback books and actually bought one. I usually take books like this out of the library or buy them used, but I was so in the mood for a summer read. It's a James Patterson bio/thriller called Zoo, and as usual with his novels, it's fast paced and just what i need intellectually right now ... meaning I don't have to think too hard as I read a couple chapters before bed each night. The only problem is, I've been having disturbing dreams. The other night I dreamed a rabid bat attacked me, so I fed it to a flying skunk. (Yes, you read that right.) And last night marauding bears and tigers made their appearances ... so I'm not sure this is the best reading before bed. Maybe I'll have to finish it up by reading in the morning. (Just learned this book as been made into a tv miniseries, which I think I'll skip.)

Crafting

Not much to report on the sewing front. Taped the pdf pattern for O's board shorts together. Today I'll be cutting out the fabric. I also signed up for a free sewing class in early July at my local dealer. She told me I probably won't learn that much, but I figure if I learn a couple tips or two, it'll be worth my time.



Because of my sugar withdrawal yesterday, I had to rip back on my Pebble Beach shawl a couple times. (Missed a couple yarnovers, grrr.) It stinks when I have to rip back a row because now each row is over 200 stitches. Yes, I know I should use a lifeline, but weirdly enough I don't mind tinking, especially when the yarn is easy to work with as this yarn is. It's hard to see but the color of the yarn is starting to change from cream to pale mint. Lace is so not pretty before it has been blocked. ;-)

One of the pattern books I ordered off eBay showed up yesterday. It's from the 1960s, a collection of cabled cardigans put out by Reynolds yarn under the name "Mary of Holland." I did a bit of poking around to find out who, exactly, Mary of Holland is, since the pattern book doesn't say. The only thing Dutch about these sweaters are their names: Rotterdam, Utrecht, Dordrecht, even The Hague.











The model on the cover looks a lot like my college friend Staycee. :)

I thought the cabled designs were really pretty. I'm sure my brother will deem them "Denchy." ;-)