In case of fire . . .

Last night the fire alarm went off in our building. My husband (Mr. Shark, let's call him) could smell smoke in our bedroom, so we made haste to exit the building. I thought of stuff to grab quickly before we left, and came up with the following list, in this order:

1) Our pet cockatiel
2) My laptop
3) Keys, wallet, cell phone
4) My new extra special knitting project.

I figured, heck, if the building's going to burn down, I might as well have something to do while we watch, yes? Shows you where my priorities are.

It might be easier to understand just why it occurred to me to bring grab my knitting while we were evacuating if I show you a little teaser of what I'm currently working on.



This little beauty is knit up from Manos silk blend (the yellow, 70% wool, 30% silk) and Malabrigo silky wool (the purple, 50/50 wool/silk). It is absolutely scrumptious. Stay tuned for more pictures and details . . .

p.s. - our building did not burn down. yay! the culprit was a dumpster fire (!) next to our building.

Resurfacing

Gosh, it's been a while. School, um, got a little busy, and I neglected the blog (and many other things). On the plus side, I did get a lot of work done while I was gone!



I also got some knitting done in the meanwhile. An online friend of mine had a baby girl two weeks ago, and I made Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket for the little one. I looooove it, and I don't even like pink all that much! The pattern, the yarn, the buttons, everything is just perfect.

Notes on the project:
This is an Elizabeth Zimmerman (EZ) pattern, probably her most famous pattern - at least as far as I know. The construction is absolutely ingenious; I keep on wondering how on earth she came up with something so nifty. Anyway, you can find the pattern in The Opinionated Knitter, or as a single pattern at your local yarn store.

Yarn: Mirasol Hacho, 4 skeins (548 yards)
Needles: Size 5, 24"
Notions: 5 buttons

I followed the pattern, with some minor exceptions:

• I only put buttonholes on the right side since I know this is for a girl.
• I made sure I picked up all of my stitches with what I decided was the “right” side facing me
• I did an applied i-cord edging for the body of the sweater.
• I added a hood usingthe directions for the hood on EZ’s Tomten Jacket from The Opinionated Knitter.
• I added a single crochet border to the hood.

BWOF 10-2007-115

I'm still planning on making the BWOF dress I mentioned in my last post (BWOF 09-2007-117), but I decided to get my feet wet with some other patterns first. This jersey top from the 10-2007 issue of BWOF seemed like the perfect pattern to start with. It turned out really well!

I did a little research on what to use for tracing paper. There are lots of different options out there. Ideally I would have liked tracing material that could be sewn, for test fitting purposes. But ultimately I ended up going with the cheapest and most easily accessible option: wax paper. It's mostly transparent and permanent marker doesn't leak through it, so it's great for tracing. Plus it's super cheap and easy to find at most stores, so . . . I figure once I'm out of school and have a real job, I can buy the more expensive stuff :p

Anyway, tracing was a lot easier than I anticipated. I actually liked it so much I think I'm going to start tracing all of my patterns, not just the BWOF ones. It makes so much more sense to be able to keep intact patterns in case you shrink or grow in size - after all, it happens all the time!

Some comments on the pattern:

Pattern Description: This jersey top is easy to make, very versatile and looks great! Fine tucks on the plunging v-neckline add a witty detail.

Pattern Sizing: 38-46 (European sizing). I graded the pattern down to a 34.

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

Were the instructions easy to follow? This is a pretty easy pattern. The instructions for creating the gathers in the front can be a little confusing. I used the great pictures Christina posted on her review as a guide. Apart from the instructions for the front piece, I actually didn't look the rest of the instructions.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? It's a very simple and quick pattern with elegant results.

Fabric Used: Wonderful (and inexpensive!) jersey remnant I picked up at Sew-Lo fabrics. I would guess it's a polyester/rayon/spandex blend. It's so soft - it feels like a thin suede.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
- Graded the pattern down to a size 34. I was really nervous about how this would turn out; I've never graded a pattern before and I couldn't find any instructions online as to how to do it. I was particularly worried that the sleeve cap wouldn't fit properly in the armhole. I found that I got a better fit with the sleeve (no tucks or gathers on the seam line) if I stretched the sleeve as I set it into the armhole, rather than ease stitching and gathering to fit the sleeve cap to the armhole.
- I raised the neckline by an inch. I like a little more coverage, and I wanted to wear this top in casual work settings.
- I raised the waistline by an inch since I'm petite.
- I didn't interface the neckline and armhole edges as the pattern instructed. It didn't seem necessary.
- I did add a seam binding at the shoulders to prevent stretching and added 1/8" elastic just inside the neckline seam allowance so that the top wouldn't gap.
- I don't have a serger, so I hand-stitched an invisible hem instead. I fused a 1" wide strip of fusible knit interfacing on top of the stitching line and then used a catch stitch to hem the sleeves and bottom edge.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I would definitely sew this again and recommend this pattern. It's quick and easy.

Conclusion This was my first BWOF pattern, and my first time grading down a pattern. I'm pleased with the results and rather proud of myself!

I'm going to try to update the blog a little more frequently. I'm in school and have a lot of stuff on my plate, so we'll see how that goes. Once a month may be all I can manage for now.

It's MINE, all mine!

I've seen a lot of Burda World of Fashion (BWOF) patterns floating around on Pattern Review, but I never put much thought actually buying one of the magazines . . . that is, until I saw BWOF 09-2007-117 made up by these very talented ladies:

Cidell

Christina

NiceGirl512, aka The Slapdash Sewist

They're all stunning, yes? So then I got to thinking, maybe I should look into this Burda business after all. Yes, I'm still a beginner and the whole idea of tracing patterns sounds awfully scary to me, but for a dress that cute I think I might take the plunge. Anyway, I found a copy for sale on eBay, but hesitated over the price ($22 or $24 with shipping, I can't remember exactly). By the time I finally decided the price was worth it, someone else had snapped it up.

Cue sadness, despair, wailing and gnashing of teeth. I've been looking for the magazine for the past couple days now, without much luck. But thanks to this thread on Pattern Review, I found a company that sells Burda magazines directly, and, luckily, they had a copy of the September issue. Best of all, it was only $9 with shipping. Can't beat that!

The issue should be in my hot little hands sometime this weekend or next Monday. I'm so excited! I'm considering a few different options for which fabric I'll use, but right now this chocolate wool crepe from Fabric Mark is leading the pack. Isn't it lovely?

Proof that I haven't been slacking . . .

Both of these projects are now (more or less) complete, but I don't have pictures of them as FOs yet.
Pattern: Hiker's Waistcoat, by The Fibre Company
Size: Small
Yarn: Highlander from Alpaca With a Twist, Blackthorn colorway, 4 skeins
Gauge: 4 st./in in stockinette
Needles: Sz. 6 and 7, 24" bamboo circulars

Both the pattern and the yarn are great. More detailed reviews to come later.




Pattern: Estonian Garden Scarf/Wrap
Size: Scarf
Yarn: Frog Tree Alpaca Fingering, red, 3 skeins
I can't remember what needle size I used :p

I'm alive!

Between going on yet another trip, getting ready for school to start, and the first couple weeks of school, I've been swamped!

There's not much sewing to report. I've been "almost done" with Simplicity 3678 for weeks now, but it's just not getting done. Oh well.

However, what I haven't done in sewing I have made up for in knitting. I don't have any FO pictures at the moment, but I've been working on a lace shawl and I just finished a vest. I will try to get pictures up soon.

New Look 6674

This is my most recently completed dress. It's New Look pattern 6674. My review of the pattern can be found here.

I've made two New Look patterns so far, and I think I like them. They're fairly straightforward, and they are very inexpensive. I particularly like that last part. I don't quite understand why sewing patterns are so expensive nowadays.