Greetings and salutations, Sorry for the radio silence my dear readers. Life has been a bit crazy recently. On the work side, we went from having a GM ( + sales), and two sales staff for Australia, NZ, and the Pacific Islands. Down to no GM, and just me doing sales of Australia, NZ and Pacific Islands.... So there's been that. Working stupid hours with crazy pressure. It's been stressful. I was working long hours and then going home to work some more to just get through the workload. Not much time for fun or blogging. I am now training another sales staff member, and we are looking to have a new GM in October. There is a dim and distant light at the end of the tunnel. But it feels a long way away. On the personal side, I've started doing the choreography for a community theatre group's show of The Producers. It's a lot of fun but absorbing most of my time. I do love meeting new people and and creating dance. It opens in late August. Should be a blast! The other day, I did get around to finishing my Jan Sweater (version. II) and a thick black corduroy Simplicity 3688 (lost count of how many I've made - perhaps 4 or 5? As I type this now, I am wearing a new grey wool version). It's a great winter skirt. Hope to blog about that one soon. Black cord is basically impossible to photograph. Simplicity 3688 is a 6 gored skirt with a side zip. I should put one pocket in the side but I never do. The edges are zigzagged which is my usual go-to seam finish. The look of seam binding is gorgeous but most of the time it's too much effort. Perpetually lazy sewist - that's me! This Jan is made in the next size up from my first one. I wanted it to be a little more 30s blousey. It's not as loose as I thought it would be, but I like it nonetheless. The purple colour is so vibrant, just like the last few pictures of it on my body form. The yarn is Luxury 4ply from Bendigo Woollen Mills. The colour is 'Lavender'. It's gorgeous yarn to knit with. Nice and smooth, not splity, soft to touch, easy care. 200g balls with 720m / ball! This top used one and a smidge balls. By smidge I mean, the neckline ribbing on the back and yarn to sew the seams came from the second ball.
My little 'made by m' labels give me such joy. I was only using them on items I had gifted to people. Then I started stitching them into slash neck tops to easily identify the front and back. And now I stitch them onto everything! They make me so happy. Yay!
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Hello to week 3 of Me Made May! Hitting my stride this week. Only a week and a bit to go and I still have several items I've not worn yet. Surely I can find a way to winterise my summer dresses. Monday: Chuck Sweater by And Satterlund. Made in Cascade 220 yarn 'pumpkin spice'. It's a wonderfully warm and rich brown colour. I have a long torso so this pattern in super cropped on me. If I made it again (I don't plan to) I would probably add extra couple of the 3x3 cable twists. It's deliciously warm though. Tuesday: A full outfit today! The Gable Top by Jennifer Lauren Handmade and The Ultimate Pencil Skirt by Sew Over It London. The plaid is a blue and red, lightly woven mystery poly. It's underlined in the sneaky vintage way where a short piece is stitched to the standard pattern piece, then treated as one. It's brilliant and easy to do. Check out By Gum By Golly's little tutorial. Love it. I used a lapped zipper rather than an invisible one. I don't like invisible zips, I can't make them sleek enough. And there is something I like about the vintage style lapped zip. I stitched it in by hand. Seams by What Katie Did. Wednesday: An old faithful, my peppermint ice cream sweater, officially called #26 Striped Jumper by Debbie Bliss. It is easy to wash in the washing machine, quick to dry, easy to wear. It was matched with cool wine coloured wide legged pants from Hell Bunny. I would probably make this jumper again, maybe in cotton, and with one or two more repeats to make it a smidge longer. Thursday: Jan Sweater Version 1. I am currently working on Version 2 (see my Ravelry notes here). It's a super pretty light pink yarn that was a gift from mum and dad. :) It feels lovely to wear. It was matched with some Retrospect'd pants. Friday: McCalls 6706 was the skirt for the day in a cotton sateen from Spotlight. It might still be available? Please keep in mind this was pretty late in the evening when I got home from work. Lighting is terrible, I was exhausted. Straight to bed! A Friday honourable mention is this adorable kid in a cardi. Gosh, so much cute! She is the daughter of my "sister in law". I'm the "Auntie M". It's the Fern Lace Cardigan by Patons. Pretty easy to knit once I learned the pattern. Knitting baby stuff is great - it's so small! Finished in a flash. The purple is so vibrant and really suits her. Saturday: I had a successful making day. I cut out, made and completed the Cowl Dress/Top pattern. Clearly, I made the top version. The jersey was tricky to negotiate, it kept getting stuck on the carpet, and stretching weirdly when I was sewing. But eh, it's cute. I also made the little black earrings. Sunday: I find casual weekends pretty hard to wear me made. I tend to make outside clothes, not cruising at home stuff. I do have plans for a pair of super warm pj pants/trackies. Fleecy lined fleece pants. With pockets. Of course. Today I threw on my mint cowl to do the groceries. I've also been working on a couple of knitting projects. The colours looked gorgeous when I threw them together on the couch. It's a blanket for the other "sister in law"'s baby, and a chunky mustard cowl for myself. Me Made May is progressing well so far. There is only a week and a couple of days left in May, I hope to try some winterising of my summer clothes. There is also some knitwear I've not explored yet.... I must say that wearing knitwear is great. But the hand washing, not so much. I did a bunch today and I doubt it will dry anytime soon... Hope your Me Made May is going well! :) Welcome to Week 2 of Me Made May! This was a much more stationary week with no travelling. Fantastic. I was in my own bed, and eating good home made food. I found this week easier to do in me-made clothes due to the lack of travel. Monday: Enmore cowl (again) with my vintage Simplicity 3733. These pockets are fantastic. The fabrics is some sort of mystery polyester from Darn Cheap Fabrics. Thought it was going to be more of a sandstone colour, but it's grey. The argyle top is a Tommy Hilfiger from USA. It's made from cotton so pretty useless in winter. Tuesday: 1940s vintage cardigan, knitted by me and sewn by mum. That was before I could seam things by myself. Pants and red top by Retrospect'd. They have really been winning for me lately. Wednesday: Simplicity 1609. I was ready to hate this 60s dress pattern. But I don't. I love it. I made it quite short and I have no regrets. The bow is on a brooch so I can remove it for washing, or perhaps pop it onto one of my pillbox hats. Wine Hetty strikes again. Making solid sleeves was one of my best decisions. Heat tech tights are from Uniqlo. Thursday: My red Princess Twinset Jumper. This pattern is lovely and pretty quick to knit. It is a cotton yarn, so I've got a heat tech top on underneath. Retrospect'd pants make another appearance. Friday: Sew Over It Cowl Neck Dress. I have a top of with the same pattern in the pipeline. This green dress made from a really heavy ponte double knit which is probably a little too thick to drape nicely at the cowl. But it can be 'pleated' to sit well. It's comfortable and easy to throw on. Definitely needs the belt. Saturday: Travelled to mum and dads place for an early Mother's Day. As I was in the car for a lot of the day, a simple throw on cowl is what I needed. See the Enmore cowl again! It was about midnight when I took this photo. You can tell... Sunday: Rounding out the week with the in-laws with my Tilly and The Buttons Coco Top. The 60s funnel neck and cuffs rocks my world. Again, it was late, I was tired. I haven't made Coco as a dress yet. I like the top better than the dress. Don't know why. Can't put my finger on it. In my head, I'll be paring the Coco top with some cigarette pants for the ultimate Audrey style. That's a wrap for week 2 of Me Made May. Pretty equal with sewing and knitting. Happy M! Week 1 of Me Made May has actually been tricky. I was travelling all over Aus meeting people. I am really enjoying wearing my made stuff though. Gives a little more spring to my step. Monday: 5am up for Sydney to Perth. Overnight in Perth. Tuesday: 3am up in Perth to Melbourne for lunch. Then 8pm flight out of Melbourne to Sydney. Wednesday: 6am start to get into Sydney CBD for meetings all day. Back to office. Then a show in the CBD. Thursday: 5am start for a day trip to Queensland. Friday: Into the office for a few hours, then into Sydney CBD for more meetings, then back to the office. Then.... sleep. It's lucky that I have started to make clothes from comfy and non-wrinkle knit fabric. That allowed me to take the me made stuff around the country. Tuesday: Handknit top with German wool bought in NZ and knit from a 1952 pattern. It was 3.30am when I took these photos. I was barely alive at that hour... Paired with the same Retrospec'd pants and a gorgeous vintage jet necklace I got for Christmas. Wednesday: Simple Enmore Cowl - pattern from Morris & Sons in York Street. It's so cosy. I love it. Thursday: A long sleeve Gable Top again, this time for travelling to QLD for a day trip. Friday: A pretty relaxed day in my New Look 6000. This pattern is becoming a fantastic go-to for me. I have made three versions of it. I have a plan for one with the collar and cuffs in white and the body in navy. Oh so sailor chic. Saturday: Wore my black ascot scarf knit. Fantastic for using up "scraps" of yarn. More like that spare skien after a project. I also cut out my Simplicity 4606. I'm using view 3 (the orange one on the top left). Sunday: Rounded out the week with my blue scarf I made years ago. It's got a vintage doily style placemat (!!) joined in to create a little interest. Hopefully, the rest of Me Made May will be a little easier to do as I'll just be at work and won't need to plan for travelling.
Hope you're enjoying Me Made May! :) It's finished! It's been gifted! Now I can post about it. The above photo is an accurate representation of the colour. The rest of the pictures are way too pink. P.S: Love my 'made by m' tags. It's a 3-month-old size, just in time for the winter. It does look super adorable. The 4 ply merino dreamtime yarn by Patons is an absolutely delight. So soft and squishy. Just like babies. It's a slashneck sweater with a button fastening. The sleeves are apparently long, but how long are the arms of a baby? I don't know. The lace pattern matches up perfectly when sewn with mattress stitch. If you haven't got into seaming with mattress stitch, you don't know what you're missing. I must admit, it's much easier after you can 'read' your knitting and know exactly what stitch you are working on. This was made to the pattern, no changes or additions.
The pattern is from a Patons book Patons #1271, Modern Classic Baby Knits. It a really cute little book. I've made both the fern lace patterns (see the first one on Ravelry here). If I have to make yet another baby thing, it might be the bolero... Check out my Ravelry notes here. |
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April 2023
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