Is it still March? May I pretend that it is?
No?
All right, then. April it is.
There has been knitting, and I did, in fact, have photos and everything. For all that March is a long month, it sure slipped away quickly.
I knitted up a truly delightful little jumper/sun dress as a store model. The design is Honey Pie, from Lisa Chemery I used Juniper Moon Farms Cumulus and 5.0m needles.
Cumulus is a worsted weight brushed cotton, and it is delightfully soft. This jumper has a hem, which I did not do as nicely as I would have liked. It is slightly skewed. I hope the munchkin that wears this is one of those always-in-motion ones and no one will notice. Also, do you see those box pleats? They turned out amazingly well. I had never done them before and was confused by the written directions, until I got there and could see everything in person. Piece of cake!
This is the back:
The cables on the straps are just over the top. You probably have noted that there are stitch markers in various positions. That is where buttons will go, as soon as I find the perfect button. More on this later.
I also knit up a nice sample from
Ella Rae Eco Organic Cotton. This, as the name implies, is cotton, and a sport weight. The design is
Gauzy Tee by Amy Gunderson. I found the design in an older Knitscene magazine. The original wool suggestion was for a lace weight so the design would be gauzy. In the summer, I am not a fan of wearing lots of layers, and wanted to use a slightly thicker yarn; hence the choice I made. I did knit several gauge swatches, in the round. My friend Liz can vouch for that since she not only saw me doing so, she commented on it.
It turned out quite nice … except it was too short. I should remember that Knitscene was really into the whole cropped top look, which is great when you are 20 and skinny as a rail. I am neither. In blocking, I tried to stretch it ... with the end result being that the finished gauge was out. I could wear it … if I didn’t mind looking like an overstuffed chair. Maybe a daughter or daughter-in-law will like it.
The lace edging at the bottom was knit on after-the-fact. It turned out really well, and I had the exact correct number of stitches and rows. I have to say, I do admire the designers that achieve that successfully. It seems I am always having to make adjustments.
And, as a final blog note. Yesterday, Sunday, I ventured out to a fabric store. Doug needs a new housecoat. Our last two efforts to procure him one have not ended well. So I thought I would sew him one. It has been a few years since I ventured into a fabric store. Pattern prices have risen astronomically. Fabric prices are even worse. He would like terrycloth, and what little we found was chintzy looking and feeling, and $35 a metre. Yikes! Now I am casting about to find another place to acquire good quality terrycloth.
Since I was not standing in line to buy a pattern, or fabric, I opted to not stand in line for buttons. Even though I have two garments worth of buttons to purchase. I figure if I am standing in line, it should be a substantial purchase. I guess.
As always, there is more knitting. I will try to get back here before the end of the month to tell myself all about it!
