The Marathon Continues

How annoying! Thom and I both have come down with some kind of bug – cough, congestion, postnasal drip, temperature fluctuations and all. Bleh. He is worse off than I am and since he so rarely gets sick, is very unhappy about it. Bare minimum watering and housework are getting done. However, I’m still on track for my sewing marathon. I’m not that sick unfortunately!

So where were we? Oh yeah, these two pieces are variations on the same pattern, my TNTee. First the gray Bamboo Tee that I already mentioned:

This style, though simple, is great layered under other clothes if when it actually gets cool enough again. I lengthened this a bit and lowered the neckline slightly from my usual version. Also 3/4 length sleeves which are my very favourite length. The neckline finish is a little wonky. It should have been stretched a little more when I applied it. But the binding method does have some possibilities with more practice:

And this top I finished yesterday, the Snakeskin Tee:

I only had enough fabric left to make short sleeves but this beast is quite warm. And a little tight in the middle because the novelty poly knit doesn’t stretch that much. You can’t see them in the photo but I made small side slits and also used the interesting fuzzy selvedge as the sleeve and neckline finish:

Today I hope to sew the other top that I’m making from this fabric, Katherine Tilton’s B6101. That’s the plan anyway.

Yup, it’s a veritable Katherine Tilton Festival around here! Monday’s project was her B6064 View A vest:

My fabric is a crinkly slightly iridescent poly which hopefully is at least a little water resistant for wearing in damp weather. I’m really happy with how this one turned out! I made a straight-up medium, no mods.

The pattern is deceptively simple but with subtle shaping and the instructions were excellent for once! It’s very easy to wear and every seam is completely finished inside. I particularly like the back stay which keeps it on my shoulders. It was a perfect place for a tag made from a scrap of the damselfly fabric:

I also used my Czech glass damselfly button that I bought at Diva Yarn in Port Townsend to close the neck on the outside:

There’s a random coat button from the stash on the inside opposite shoulder. I certainly won’t have to worry that this vest will get wrinkled when I pack it for the trip! I was more worried that I’d end up ironing all the wrinkles out while pressing all the hems. Didn’t happen thankfully! They’re in there to stay. Super-successful and I may make this pattern again if I find the right fabric.

One last thing, I thought you might like to see the progress on the Blackberry Amiga sweater:

That big gap in the front gets filled in with the collar/band that is picked up and knitted outward all the way around both the fronts and neck. I don’t think I’m going to make the sleeves more than a row or two longer before binding them off for cap sleeves. This shows the yarn a little brighter than it really is but it wouldn’t photograph any more accurately. Think actual blackberries. Like the ones I could be picking off my back fence right now! Instead I’m off to the studio for yet more sewing. At least 4 more garments to go. The marathon continues…oh, wait! I said that already, didn’t I?

Slowly Roasting

But I’m trying hard not to complain too bitterly about it. It’s not like I could shift that big blob of HOT that’s stuck just off the BC coast! It is what it is. It also was 32C (90F) yesterday and heading for that again today. At least my hot weather veggies are enjoying it – as long as I can keep them from drying out too much. I picked my first cucumber of the season, the beans are flowering and the spaghetti squashes are bigger than softballs. The dye garden isn’t doing too badly either. So far I have a Ziploc full of nicely dried dyer’s chamomile. The Sauce Hollandaise variety looks like every other daisy-type flower you’ve ever seen:

 

Their little faces are about an inch or so across. After I picked them they dried very quickly to crisp little buttons:

(Luckily you can’t see the dried aphids!) I picked a bunch more last evening so hopefully now I’ll have enough for at least one test dyebath. As soon as I around to getting some yarn mordanted, that is.

There’s not nearly as much of the dried grandiflora coreopsis:

That is all I’ve got so far. There’s only 2 young plants so I’m not surprised at the lack of volume. Collection is ongoing. 

What’s next? I’ve been avoiding the studio as too hot even with the big swamp cooler/fan on. I’ve managed to cut out 2 dresses though not even begun to sew them yet. There’s the Mizono dress/jumper/tunic/bubble-thingy, V1410:

You can see it better in the line drawing:

The 2 views are the same dress but it has buttons underneath so you can adjust the drape to tunic length. I cut a size 12 (again, not remotely my pattern measurements!) and also re-drew the shoulders and armscyes to fit me better. I raised the neckline quite a bit too. You can see it gapping badly on the model! I figure I can cut it down if it’s too high but not add to it if I cut too low. I cut some self bias binding for the armholes and neckline instead of just turning under a hem and cut some big square patch pockets. (Because I love pockets!) Lastly I shortened it at the lower lengthen/shorten line by 2”. It’s still going to be pretty long on my 5’3-1/2” (and shrinking) body but I didn’t want to lose too much of the bubbled side seams. The fabric is a black slightly-crinkled rayon with lovely drape. I’ve had it in the stash for ages and it has changed its mind about what it wanted to become at least 5 or 6 times. Ha-ha! It’s committed now!

The second dress I cut out is Marcy Tilton’s Vintage French House Dress V8813:

Here’s the line drawing, View A:

Mine is going to look very much like the photo because I’m using a red-orange stretch linen blend. This fabric tried to change its mind about what it wanted to be a couple of times but I didn’t allow it since I actually bought it specifically for this pattern! Heh. I cut a Medium and raised the neckline an inch. Again I can cut it down if I think it would look better as drafted but I’d rather have the extra fabric there in case. I think I might have to adjust the gathers in front down a little to compensate for my low bust, though I’ll judge that when I get there. Other sewists don’t seem to have messed with the gather height at all though I may also use a different technique to gather them than the instructions say.

Interestingly the Mizono dress is only 2 large pattern pieces but it still took more than 2.5 metres of my 56” wide fabric. (Like the way I slip from metric to imperial in the same sentence? I’m bi-measuremental!) The Tilton dress has her usual odd pattern pieces but this time not asymmetrical ones. I cut the pocket facings out vertically with the stretch running up-and-down thinking that that would stabilise them a little. They are rather voluminous! And Marcy does that with her knit version View C. I’m hoping to finish this dress in time to wear it to a family wedding next week.

Which brings me to a dress that my DIL bought from a thrift shop that fits her perfectly except for where it flares right under the arms. I thought it would be a quick repair but the odd way the lining has been stitched in as necessitated lots of unpicking and possible hand-stitching. I’ve been putting it off but since she’s planning to wear it to the same wedding, I’d best get my rear in gear. Today.

In other news, we took down the display at the Roundhouse Community Centre yesterday. Thom happily got his guitar back and he serenaded us while we packed up the rest of the items. We have re-submitted the cigar box guitar to the Crafts Council of BC for a show in Crafthouse in November. We’ll find out in a couple of weeks if Thom has to give up his guitar for awhile again! Meanwhile, he’s enjoying playing it again while he can. Who knew it would be so popular? On the way home from the Roundhouse yesterday (uphill in 30C heat) we stopped at a shady bench at City Hall to cool for a few minutes and a guy walking by asked about the guitar. Thom let him try it for a bit. (Upside down! It’s a lefty!) He wanted Thom to show him how to build one! LOL!!! Sure thing, bub. Five minutes, tops. Right? Ummm…no. Do your research. Take a class. Put in the time to learn. Just like I’m going to casually teach a total random stranger how to spin and knit a sweater? Just like that.

Anyway, to all my Canadian buddies, hope you and yours have a Happy Canada Day tomorrow! True North strong and free! (Free of Harper would be good too, but I’m not holding my breath.)

Adaptation

Do you know it was only about 2 months ago that I was frying my eyeballs in Death Valley at 114F (45.5C)? How things change! Recently we’ve been experiencing the Polar Vortex here so it’s been sunny but quite cold (for us) at about –2C (28F) at night. Yes, I’m having a little trouble adapting. Instead of shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt, I’m wearing at least 3 or 4 layers and still feeling a bit chilly. I put the flannelette sheets and another wool blanket on the bed. I’ve been refilling Blodgie, my hot water bottle, every night. Even Thom has been snuggling his cold feet on the Blodge. OK, we’re wimps. We live in the temperate rainforest not the Arctic. Not even as cold as the rest of Canada.

Remember my lovely coleus from August? One frosty night and it looked like this:

He’s dead, Jim. Compost. Guess we’re done for the winter now. And I just tried to plant some new fall rye seed as a cover crop for some of the empty spaces in my garden. Hah. Wishful thinking perhaps? Or bird food. We shall see if it gets a chance to grow later.

Meanwhile, what have I been up to? On Wednesday we walked downtown to good old Dressew to get a zipper and to hunt for some more fabric for a warm sweater for Thom. I was very controlled for once and just bought exactly what I went for. More about that in a bit.

Then we continued on to the Circle Craft Christmas Market. Many years ago (over 20!) I used to work part-time at Circle Craft, a popular craft coop shop on Granville Island in Vancouver. So whenever I can, I love to see what the craftspeople are creating. This year had lots of interesting stuff: pottery (we bought 2 new octagonal plates to go with last year’s square ones by Mud, Sweat & Tears), clothing, glass, jewelry, wood products, decorations, and lots of specialty food items (we got some yummy smoked and canned local salmon and tuna). We visited with a few old friends with sales booths and then walked home. It was a lovely day but we were pretty tired after being on our feet for such a long time. Good exercise though.

Back to the fabric. I bought Thread Theory’s Finlayson Sweater as soon as it came out. That’s the type of sweater that Thom wears all the time. I was going to rub off one of his current commercial versions (which I may still do) but why not support an indie pattern designer especially one who is almost local and designs for men. That needs encouraging! Anyway at Dressew we found this brown squooshy poly fleece, smooth on one side and deliciously fuzzy on the other:

It’s exactly like my super-toasty dressing gown (aka the giant floor length sweatshirt) that I made a number of years ago. It’s heavy weight and very warm but the smooth side pills immediately so the fuzzy side is definitely the good side to wear outside. The price was right too at only $6.99 per metre. However, after we got home I realised that it’s too thick to sew the Finlayson’s shawl collar where there would be 5 layers together. Boo. I’m still going to make him a sweater from it but it will be a simpler style. There’s that rub-off that I have to make now! And if I’m really lucky there’ll be enough left for a warm vest for me-me-me.

So back to the first fabric that I bought for this project when we passed through Portland in August:

A gray poly ponte. I’m now thinking it’s more perfect than I first thought, though it will be considerably lighter-weight and not nearly as warm. I’ve printed out the PDF pattern and assembled the pieces:

I actually like that job! Thread Theory have got their pattern PDFs down to a fine science these days. It printed out without a hitch even on my old inkjet, all lines correct and accounted for. I love the little half-scissors that marks the sides to cut off before assembling and the big easy-to-see triangles that you have to match with number/letter codes. So clear. I use glue stick instead of tape which I think makes a more secure and easy join. It didn’t take very long to finish. I’m trying to decide whether to leave these pieces intact and trace off the correct size or just throw caution to the winds and cut them out directly. If for some odd reason I need a different size later, I can always print out the PDF again. But chances are I won’t.

The only problem is I really wanted a pair of pants out of that gray fabric. Sniff. So maybe I can squeeze both in since there’s 3 yards and it’s nearly 70 inches wide? The pattern is Sandra Betzina’s V1411 and has multiple leg seams which might help it fit in the spaces. I’ll have to get the pants pattern ready and then play tetris games with all the pieces before I’ll know for sure. Wish me luck.

So I have more but that’s it for now. We need to go vote in our municipal election today. If ya don’t vote then ya can’t complain later!

Attempting To Make Up Lost Time

I haven’t managed to get back up to my studio yet. Yesterday, since I was feeling so much better, ended up becoming a gardening day instead of a sewing day. I got the pea nets replaced with Thom’s help (he wielded the staple gun!) and some bird netting over the emerging pea seedlings. Yes, the birds tend to munch them off if they aren’t protected at least until they are bigger and tougher. Birds like their fresh salads too you know! Years ago I didn’t really believe it was birds that were decimating my peas. I thought it might be slugs, the bane of Wet Coast gardens, until I saw the triangular bites in the leaves. Bird-beak shaped bites. Grrr…

I also got a lot more of my seedlings transplanted into larger flats. Though I still haven’t gotten the first bunch of transplants into the garden yet! At least they are fine in the greenhouse at night and out on the deck in the daytime. The newest transplants still have to come back into the house each night since it’s a little too chilly for them yet. Surprisingly I had such good germination with my Japanese indigo seeds from last October that I ended up with too many seedlings! I figure 24 plants is plenty for this year’s dyeing plus the 7 or 8 woad plants. That should be plenty of blue to play with! I also transplanted my coreopsis (yellows, golds and rusty oranges), lobelias (both trailing and not) and some cabbages. Next I need to deal with the tomatoes, coleus, red alyssum and sunflowers. And finally plant the cucumbers and squashes seeds. I keep forgetting them, poor things, but there’s still time. When the weather was so warm the other day (18C) I thought I was getting behind but it’s much cooler today. I’m just rushing the season a little I think. Relax, damselfly.

Meanwhile back in the studio, I forgot show you the patterns I got from the last time I hiccupped and I fell for a BMV sale.

That’s 2 more Tiltons (Katherine this time), a Sandra Betzina, a DKNY and my very first Kwik-Sew ever. I liked the pockets on the first Katherine top and the colour blocking and tunic shape on the second one. They are a little older and I was afraid they’d go out of print soon so snatched them while I could. The Today’s Fit shirt/jacket has a great pleated collar and raglan sleeves which I’d love to learn how to fit on me. I like some of Sandra’s designs but haven’t actually sewn any of them yet. The DKNY dress has a really nice low cowl but I’m not sure if the pleats will look too maternal on my fluffy middle. I’ll have to test it with cheaper fabric just in case. It also needs sleeves, at least cap sleeves. I’m dying to test the fit of the leggings in the Kwik-Sew. (Does that cutesy spelling make you cringe as much as it does me?) This will probably be the first thing that gets sewn out of this pile. Also the leotard, particularly the view with the racer back, has some potential as bathing suit/camisole fodder. You know I never sew anything straight up! That’s why it’s so much fun.

Well obviously nothing crafty is going to be happening while I’m sitting here typing this, is it? Best get a move on. More soonest.

December Already

The year is slipping away so very quickly! Tomorrow is the littlest grandbeastie Rosebud’s third birthday. Already! She is a happy little darling with a great sense of humour and such fun to play with. We’re heading over to her house today for her party since tomorrow is a work day. Just a small family gathering while they can still avoid the crazy child-filled ones that will be demanded once she’s old enough to know the difference. Yes, we broke down and bought a toy. Which reminds me – I have to wrap it still.

Mostly I’ve been spending quality time in the studio playing with patterns and cutting out fabrics. So far I’ve cut out 3 garments and finished tracing and adjusting the pattern for a 4th one. The piles are building up ready to sew:

The one on the right, the vest version of the V8876 Marcy Tilton dress didn’t go off without a small hitch as you can see by the visible seam showing on the top of the pile. I forgot to cut the front pattern pieces out twice to create facings. Oops. Because I only had small scraps left I had to piece the facings making sure not to have seams anywhere that interferes with the buttons and buttonholes. At least they will be hidden on the inside. One crisis averted.

The pile on the left is the B5891 Katherine Tilton View C/D (which are identical as far as I can tell so why the double view numbers?). The pattern calls it a top but in my heavy but very soft and drapey brushed cotton twill it will definitely be more like an unlined jacket. I was more careful when doing my fit adjustments and figured out that the shoulders weren’t quite as oversized as I had first thought. I shaved off a 5/8” off the size 8 armscye at the shoulder and raised the armhole 1/2”, sloped the front shoulder 1/4” and morphed the size 8 out to the 14 at the underarm. Of course the sleeve had to be adjusted similarly. I also lengthened the body pieces by 1” though it’s actually much longer on me than the model on the envelope. (I so wish they would use more normally-proportioned models!) I like that there’s pretty much no ease in the sleeve cap which you don’t need with a slightly dropped shoulder. This fitting process sounds complicated but it really is getting much easier now that I’ve had more practice! I had plenty of fabric to cut it out but this time I nearly forgot to cut the second set of pockets. Sheesh.

While I had my home-printed pattern sheets out and flat I decided to carry on and trace the pieces for View A/B (which differ only in the use of contrasting fabrics for View A). There are an amazing 15 pattern pieces for this top! Ya gotta love the asymmetry, doncha? Took ages to trace but the fit adjustments were similar to the other view. Of course I had the fabrics all picked out already so I started cutting this one out too even though it probably isn’t seasonally appropriate. For the main body of the top I used the indigo batik left over from my Minoru Jacket lining:

I had plenty and there are still pieces left over (leftover-leftovers) for something home-dec-y. The contrast pieces (I chose the peplums and the collar for the contrast) were originally planned for a warm red quilt fabric scrap but I realised that the reverse side was not attractive and that it would probably show too much. So I scouted the stash and came up with a vintage blue-black tablecloth (gifted to me years ago by T’s very elderly auntie) for my contrast. I think it’s cotton and it has a very nice well-washed texture. It’ll probably be a more wearable colour as well as a better weight and drape for the peplum. Like several others who’ve made this top, I cut out the collar pieces double to self-line them.

I was hoping to get this skirt from the book Shape Shape 2 out of the remainder of the tablecloth:

It’s convertible from a skirt to harem pants with buttons and I think it’s very cute in that Japanese minimalist sort of way. I’ve traced off the pattern and had to grade up from size L slightly to be able to get it over my hips. However, I sadly don’t think it’s going to work on the tablecloth fabric and I’ll have to hunt for something else appropriate for this pattern. I already suspect that any of my Marcy Tilton pants will also take up too much fabric. In which case I’ll try instead to create something Tilton-esque: a pair of loose pants with either tucks or pleating at the cuffs. I’m thinking of using the perfect easy pattern that I’ve already used for my Pettipants (aka bifurcated slip) from the Simple Modern Sewing book. This will be perhaps the 4th garment out of this book which is a definite keeper!

So I’ve got plenty more in the pipeline. I started to look at yet another Tilton, this one the now-out-of-print V8752:

I got as far as ironing and separating all the gazillion pattern pieces for this thing. Maybe you can see it all better in the line drawing:

Everything is asymmetrical and pieced. I think I have the 3 different fabrics: main, contrast (for hood lining and front facings) and lining – though it might be a squeeze to cut them out. There are 4 huge pockets, 3 of them with gussets, and a hood. And I will need to do all my usual fitting adjustments: narrow sloping shoulders, narrow upper chest and wider body, and short arms. Right about there I kind of blanked out and put the pieces aside. Perhaps I should actually sew something together first?

More anon. Must go wrap present…

Return of the Sewjo

I knew that all it would take is a resorting of my patterns and fabrics to get me back in the mood. My sewing space ended up looking like this for a couple of days:

So many possibilities; so little time.

Am I the only one who takes so long to sew up the fabric stash that the plans for any particular piece might change several times before actually being sewn up? I’ve got stuff that goes back decades! Literally. Luckily most fabric doesn’t go bad. And obviously I have enough storage spaces for it all. Enough spaces that I can actually misplace things. Having an inventory list doesn’t help either. I have to feel the fabric to know what it wants to be. And then by the time I get around to it – it wants to be something else instead! I guess in the scheme of things it doesn’t really matter as long as it finally becomes something that I’ll actually wear, right?

Of course clothing styles are always shifting and even though I don’t really follow trends they do influence my eye to a certain extent. Plus being a certain age and body type along with living a pretty casual lifestyle means that some things are just not appropriate or useful for me. On the other hand, what I wear is not being dictated by anyone else but me. Believe me, I so appreciate that fact! I find most business attire as hideous and restrictive as my old Catholic school uniforms.

So, after ploughing my way happily through those piles I’ve already cut out a new version of Marcy Tilton’s Vogue 8876:

This pattern looks fabulous in every version I’ve seen and on every body shape and age! And it’s just off the fashion trend path far enough that it shouldn’t look out of style any time soon. The one I’m making this time is going to be more of a vest inspired after seeing a version on Pattern Review where someone had left off the lower band and sleeves. I have some gorgeous stretch wool fabric (purchased at one of my Portland fabric shopping forays) in a marled taupe. This is one of the pieces I referred to above that has changed its mind several times about what it wants to be. Now it’s permanently committed because I’ve already cut it out! Mwa-ha-haaa! That was quick and easy since the pattern had already been altered and fitted to me when I made my Stormy Dress. Though I will admit it was a little nerve-wracking to chop into $50 worth of cloth!

Now I have probably a hundred spools of sewing thread in my stash but none that remotely matches this taupe shade. Also there aren’t 10 matching buttons that will work either so this project is on hold until I can get to Dressew. In the meanwhile I’ve started to work on another Tilton, this time Katherine Tilton’s Butterick 5891 View C:

I have no idea why I bought this pattern as a download. Doh. That was early last summer when I was in a hurry and hoping to sew up View A before we headed off on the Great Trek. Didn’t happen. Though I did get all the gazillion pages printed out. Yesterday I taped them all together and now I need to trace off my combo of sizes which will probably be an 8 at the neck and shoulders and morphing into somewhere between a 12 and a 14 at the sides. The shoulder width even for the size 8 is huge – over 2” wider than my basic block – but apparently it’s supposed to hang off the shoulder point somewhat. So I’ll take it in about half of the overhang and I might raise the underarm area a little as well, shaving the same amount off the upper sleeve seams. I hope that will work OK. I’m not really in the mood to muslin this beast first. I want it to fit without being too oversized on me. At least it’s much easier to trace a pattern off the thick paper rather than tissue. I’m not going to cut into the paper because I can’t save the files to my own computer and who knows for how long I’ll have access to this pattern and how many times they’ll allow me to print it. I’m keeping it in it’s original condition just in case.

The fabric I plan for this jacket is a thick but very drapey cotton twill in brown/black. Also from one of the Portland fabric outlets. The pattern says it’s not suitable for obvious diagonals but this twill is quite subtle and I hope it will be ok. On such a funky style I’m sure it won’t matter anyhow. My real concern is the thickness especially around the neckline area where many seams converge. And I want to bind that seam somehow because the pattern direction leaves it rather unfinished. We’ll see when I get that far.

There’s lots more in the sewing queue. Some of it was already there but other stuff got bumped over it in line. For obvious reasons I’ve put the summer stuff on the back burner! Right now I’m into layers.

In other news, Princess Silver Fang seems to have lost her sewjo too so her T-shirt is still languishing. She decided she’d rather go down to Grampa’s studio and play with wood and his sharp tools instead of mine. Her brother Stargazer played happily with the Lego. At least when they weren’t tumbling about fighting like puppies! I would have thought they’d be easier to have overnight at their ages but apparently annoying the heck out of each other (and their grandparents) was far more important than listening and behaving. Good thing it was a short stay this time!

Knitting projects are coming along but slowly. More anon.

Sartorial Choices

What does a damselfly do on yet another rainy day whilst attempting to recuperate from The Cold Bug? Sew? Maybe tomorrow. Right now I’m in a musing mood. Peter (of Male Pattern Boldness) posited an interesting question on whether or not we should dress better. I acknowledge that people tend to judge other people by their clothes but that habit can be so superficial and occasionally downright nasty. Your opinion is not required unless specifically requested! Personally I say wear whatever you like…but choose it deliberately. Don’t just pick up the first things you find on the floor. Oh wait. That would currently be me. Vintage fleece sweatshirt, old T-shirt, loose stretchy pants that I’ve been wearing for days and are really overdue for the laundry. My excuse is that I’m lazing about in bed not feeling well. And most importantly, I’m not sharing my outfit with anyone else, apart from T-Man. And he doesn’t much care.

Anyway as you might already know, I grew up in the 1950’s and ‘60’s. This was the era of wearing a dress, a hat and white gloves just to go downtown. I swear, nobody these days believes me but it’s true. Hey, sometimes it’s fun to dress up! I wore a proper uniform to private school and even when I got into public school in grade 10 girls had to wear skirts. The effect of all these strictures on me was to fuel my desire to wear whatever I darn well please! I tend to be somewhat perverse like that. (Must be my Scorpio birth sign.) I also started sewing as a young teenager specifically so I could have unique clothes that you couldn’t buy. Although I’ve always been able to justify buying fabrics! (Also books, magazines, yarns, thread, tools, fibres…)

Which brings me to the other recent hot topic of the sewing blogosphere: pattern companies and their lack of response to what we in the sewing world really desire. A fun discussion and I was directed in one of the comments to a very interesting master’s thesis by Debra Lee McLendon entitled An Investigation of the Sizing, Grading, and Fit of Commercial Sewing Patterns. It’s quite an eye-opener. Do read it if you are at all curious about fitting issues. One good quote:

This information could be used to increase customer satisfaction by producing better fitting patterns that contain more accurate information to aid sewers in achieving improved fit. This insight can also be used to increase sales by developing specialized patterns for new target markets.

Are you listening Big 4, Burda et al? Wakey-wakey, people! Why can’t you at least attempt to cater to actual women’s shapes instead of a size 10 fit model? (The latter is possibly nearly as rare as the unicorn.) Of course even revising their basic blocks and numbering systems likely wouldn’t help me that much with my own fitting. Not only am I not an hourglass body shape (more like a rapidly aging diamond/oval), I also have my own style ideas that do not necessarily follow the trends. However, it would really help the whole home-sewing industry if more people had more immediate success – preferably without having to learn the equivalent of a college degree in Textile Science to get the desired results. I’d put money on the fact that quilting is so popular because quilts don’t have to fit a body! Ditto for home-dec, bags and purses. Yes?

Unfortunately they’re still working with really old and inaccurate data. Big 4 pattern sizing hasn’t changed in over 40 years! I know human bodies are as diverse as snowflakes – only even more 3-dimensional - but they’ve had accurate digital body mapping for at least a decade or more. It should be relatively easy to come up with more representative sizing system. So you’d think things would be improving by now, both in patterns and in RTW. Just where exactly is the block located? Or are there more than one?

Oh, and while I’m at it – how about the problem of pattern sewing instructions? Why do they continue to have those awful fold-out newsprint sheets with really bad drawings? Why??? They over-explain something basic and gloss over the tricky stuff too. In contrast, I recently downloaded a digital pattern from a brand-new indie company, Thread Theory, the Newcastle Cardigan. (More on the company itself in a moment.) The pattern came in an email as a link to a download for a zip file. Included in the file were a PDF for the usual pages to be printed and stuck together and a separate PDF of the pattern instructions. These are fabulous! Lots of information, two-columns with written instructions on one side and colour illustrations and photographs on the other. Eleven pages of good-sized type, nicely presented. I have to admit I can’t read it with the eyes of a total newbie because I’m not one, but it seems pretty thorough. I’m starting to become very fond of the independents. They are free to innovate.

So what about Thread Theory? They are a husband and wife team based across the Salish Sea in beautiful Victoria, BC. And like the even-more-local Sewaholic, the pattern names are so evocative for me. Newcastle is a small island and provincial marine park just off the Vancouver Island city of Nanaimo where T’s grandfather once hauled coal and where we sailed years ago when we had our little boat and hiked around the whole island. I’ll let you go check out the above link for their whole story but the very cool thing is they have decided to focus on men’s garment patterns! Nice functional ones that a guy might actually want to wear. How novel is that? T-Man saw the first release, the cardigan, and immediately was intrigued. They will be releasing the rest of the 4-piece collection this year and are already planning a second year’s collection. The price is very reasonable and I don’t really mind printing my own pattern. I kind of like the immediate gratification of not having to wait for the post. We have to go fabric shopping now though since there’s currently nothing in the stash that’s appropriate. Awww…

But first I have to shake this bug. It’s cramping my style.

New Patterns

Whew! My Vogue patterns finally arrived and in an intact envelope for once. My kind postman rang the doorbell and handed it over because it wouldn’t fit in my mailbox. It was raining and I guess he didn’t want to leave it under the mat. I think he knows someone is usually home.

I know at least one of my Faithful Readers wanted to know what I ordered this time. I know I keep swearing off the pattern sales because I always have to practically reinvent the whole thing in order to get it to fit anyway. However, there have been a few that are too complex to be worth trying to draft from scratch.

BTW, I’m cheating by borrowing the illustrations from the BMV website. Too much trouble to photograph the pattern envelopes. Have I mentioned how much I detest most of the model garments? Nearly everyone who makes these up does a better job at it. I’ve seen some fabulous pieces sewn using some patterns that look totally ho-hum at first glance! Thank goodness for sewing blogs, PatternReview and Pinterest. (No, I’m not on Pinterest myself. I just search it.)

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This is one of Marcy Tilton’s with an interesting swing shape and 2 different collar treatments. They call it a blouse but I’ve seen sleeveless vest and longer jacket versions. I think it might need a little of the front swing removed and some length added. At least it has pockets! I have some linen that I hope is enough for a vest version.

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Another one of Marcy’s, this one a dress. There’s the option of sleeveless, a little sleeve or long sleeves and she shows one with both sleeve options in two different fabrics. A zipper or buttons fasten the front and the collar has a drawstring tie. The model garments are much nicer in this set in my opinion. I especially like this one with the look of hand-painted fabric:

Somewhere in my stash I have some nice rayon/linen that would be fun to dye up for this. I like buttons rather than a zipper.

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This is one of Sandra Betzina’s Today’s Fit patterns. I know it looks like saddlebags but I’ve seen some really nice versions in a really drapey knit that hangs in a more flattering way. However I’m betting it’s going to be very long on stumpy little me and it’s not immediately obvious how it could be shortened. I do like the little cap sleeve better than sleeveless. Someone made one with longer sleeves and it looked great too. I don’t immediately have anything that I think would work for this dress and it’s a real fabric hog. I want silk though the price might be prohibitive.

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This is another Sandra Betzina and another of those patterns that is funky and cool but hardly anyone has made. I think the fabric choice makes it look much more complicated than it is. I don’t much like the top (the sleeves look upside down to me!) but the funky skirt is fairly simple with an overlay that has tucks. It’s kind of a redux of an earlier design that was a little more complicated – lots of tiny tucks on the side opposite to the overlay – and a wider fitted waistband. This one simplifies the idea and there’s comfy elastic in the waist. After my red skirt (the one with the magenta lace hem on the lining), I’m not so enamoured of any waistband without elastic in it. Yes, I AM a granny!

No idea what I would make this thing out of or even whether it might be flattering at all on me. It just intrigues me.

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Quite a few people have made the hoodie version of this with the high-low hem. I like this collar though I’m not so sure about the pocket. Maybe. It’s supposed to be made from a knit although I’m wondering if I can get it out of a soft brushed cotton twill. Perhaps if I don’t fit it too closely? I might have to muslin this one. Darn.

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I liked the simple lines of this dress or tunic. Even the colour-blocked version is nice and has possibilities to use up smaller pieces of fabric. Though it does have a back zipper which often is a waste of sewing unless it is quite tightly fitted. I’d have to test by basting up the back and seeing if I can still get it on. I’m debating on whether dress or tunic would get more wear. The pants are included but they have a fitted waist. Not going there.

So. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! I still haven’t told you about my new books but instead now I need to get outside on this sunny February day. My garlic is up a couple of inches now and the crocuses are blooming. Sorry if there’s still snow where you are. Spring will come sometime regardless. It always does.

Class Assignments

So here we are nearly at the end of January and I haven’t really accomplished what I was hoping to this month. Oh well. It’s not like I’m getting marked on my work or anything! I certainly haven’t earned too many gold sticker stars. I think I’ve learned a lot anyhow. I have been studying. The future will tell how much that will affect my projects. Knowledge isn’t much good sitting around in my head. I need to apply it to the real world.

I forget now on whose blog I read the recommendation (sorry!) but I recently picked up a digital copy of a book from 1998:

Easy Guide to Sewing Linings by Connie Long might be an oldie but it’s a goodie! (This link takes you right to the page on Taunton’s website. For less than $12 you can download the complete but otherwise OOP book.) If you were ever confused about lining vs underling or full vs partial linings or wondered how to make a pattern for a lining when yours doesn’t include one, this answers every question. I’m still savouring it a chapter at a time.

Another learning opportunity came recently when I finally succumbed to a class on Craftsy. I think the idea of well-produced and filmed lessons with the ability to message the instructor with questions is a good one particularly when the price includes permanent access. I never like being forced to show up to this kind of thing at a certain time or it all goes away. Of course you have to be realistic that as time goes on and the instructor goes on to other things, you might not get timely responses. So be it. I’ve heard that there have been issues with unanswered questions eventually disappearing from the site which I think is a little unfair. They need to date messages and possibly leave them up indefinitely. Perhaps they have server limitations. Who knows? The video lessons are still there and I haven’t had any difficulty watching them, even on my little netbook computer.

Anyhoo, I succumbed to Sew the Perfect Fit with Lynda Maynard and so far it’s quite good. There are several models with different body shapes to work with. Lynda doesn’t use a lot of measurements to start, just high bust, waist and hip and picks the pattern size from there. All the rest is done directly on the muslin. She has an interesting method where she blithely slashes with scissors along a line over the bust to add more room there – while the model is wearing the muslin. Yikes! Later the muslin changes are transferred back to pattern paper. The class is supposed to come with a Vogue pattern which of course I haven’t yet received even though it’s been about 3 weeks. Patience is a virtue, right? I don’t really care since I probably won’t get to this for at least another week or two.

Speaking of Vogue, I know I said that I wasn’t going to buy any more patterns since they take so much work to fit, but… I slipped and fell for the current sale on $3.99 Vogues at BMV. Oops. In my defence, I tried to pick things that would be difficult or impossible to draft myself. Ones where I admired what others have done with them and looked at over and over with covetous thoughts. Some Marcy Tilton, Sandra Betzina and a few others. More on this when the postman knocks.

I really enjoyed the bra sew-along over at Cloth Habit. Between blogger Amy and Norma of Orange Lingerie there was a lot of great information on fitting and customising. I joined the private Flickr group as well – even though I never made anything to upload – and diligently read all the comments on everyone’s fitting issues. I now have both books by Beverly Johnson (on DVD in PDF format) and have read every word. It’s lovely that she doesn’t overlap information – the second book adds to the first. Beverly has written these books for professional bra-makers so you might not need every tiny detail but I found it all quite fascinating. There are no other publications that go into this kind of depth on the single subject of making custom bras.

However even with all that studying I’ve been pretty much stymied by the bra-making experience. Again. Here’s where I’m at currently: I think I have a bra wire size that will fit. It in turn fits into a bra size pattern where the cups are absolutely gigantic on me! (I told you I had footballs – ones where half the air has been let out too. Heh.) So now I have to do one of two things: make a tester bra in the gigantic size and pin out all the extra fabric or use the information in Beverly’s second book and draft a pattern from measurements. I may have better success with the second method so I might just try it first. Eventually I’d like to get a basic pattern that fits so that I can experiment with different cup designs, particularly adding a “power bar”. My favourite unwired bra has that feature and it helps a lot to hoist things in at the sides and project them out front where they belong! I’m trying not to despair that I’ll ever get there.

I have really been procrastinating on the bra stuff though. I guess because I feel so frustrated with it! I know it’s just this blobby old body that’s giving me the usual fitting issues. However I am nothing if not stubborn and persistent, so I keep pegging away at it but in short bursts so I don’t get too cranky. Meanwhile, I’ve been pattern fitting for another knit dress:

This is Butterick 5246, View A. I also liked View B with the cowl but although I adore cowls, I find that they limit the wearability somewhat. I can’t wear my usual scarves and they don’t always fit under outerwear comfortably. So instead I decided to go with the regular neckline and hope for more wearing options. I also decided to leave off the twee back ties and plan to turn under the neckline instead of completely lining the bodice. The fabric I want to use is a beefy cotton/lycra double-knit, one of four pieces of this that I got in the free box when my across-the-street neighbour moved out. The only drawback is that it’s all screaming hot fuchsia pink! Not my most favourite colour. The fun exercise will be trying to overdye such an intense colour to get something I’m happier with. Since I have 4 lengths of just under 2 yards each and it didn’t cost me anything, I can go crazy without fear of ruining it. I’m planning to do a low-water immersion dye for the first try and use navy and emerald over it which should tone things down some. It’ll be like a print only not actually printed, if you get what I mean! Judging by the results of this first overdye will help me decide what to do with the other 3 pieces.

So I’ve already got the pattern adjusted. (Must have been feeling somewhat better, huh?) I used my basic stretch blocks for the bodice’s neck and shoulders and the sleeves. My sleeve is inches narrower than the smallest size at the cap! I also had to lower the yoke line an inch since it was about to cut across right at the bust. Then I added inseam pockets while I was at it. I discovered that if I cut the back with a seam, I can fit this pattern on much less yardage plus I can shape the back a little to prevent gapping at the neck and waist. Just to give you an idea how much fabric my pattern changes saved, the original View A calls for 2.4m of 150cm wide. I fit it on about 1.5m of slightly narrower width thus saving nearly a whole metre. To be fair, I would probably have used the bodice facings if I was making this out of a flimsier knit. BTW, interestingly nobody on PatternReview managed to make the overlay View C work for them and only one person actually kept the ties.

Now off to dye!

Dark Days of December

Now that we’re into the darkest days of the year we’ve been brightening up the house with lots of lights, both inside and out. I especially love the multicoloured ones in the dining room on the wrought-iron railing of the staircase that leads upstairs. I love them so much that they usually stay up all the way to February if I can talk T-Man into leaving them alone.

It’s not that I suffer from the winter blah’s or anything. Actually as long as I can get light on my work so I can see what I’m doing, I enjoy winter. An excuse to stay indoors and play in my studio? Without hearing all the outdoor stuff calling me? What’s not to love? Of course we do get out when the weather cooperates. On Saturday we took a long walk to Granville Island along the seawall. We bought lunch and ate our taco salads on the wharf, carefully protecting it from large marauding seagulls and tap-dancing starlings. We also stopped for tea on the way home at our favourite tea spot, Pekoe. I finally bought a bigger tin of Royal Earl Grey because I got tired of refilling my little one every couple of months. It’s a particularly aromatic blend with both bergamot and jasmine. I don’t drink this one all the time but like a cuppa every now and then and I can’t get it at my usual Murchie’s. Gotta spread the love around, you know. Tea is my beverage of choice. I hate coffee and soft drinks. Bleh. And since I can’t have any wine right now, I’m drinking even more tea than usual.

In crafty news I finished the socks for T-Man:

Winter’s Dark Socks

Begun:  November 12, 2012
Completed:  December 5, 2012

Yarn:  Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Line Steps Color, colourway 5371 (black with stripes and dots of white), 50g = 210m, 2 balls.

Needles:  Blackthorn carbon fibre dpns, 2mm.

Pattern:  Damselfly’s Plain Socks on 68sts, 9” before heel flap, foot 8.75” before toe.

Comments:  I shouldn’t try to knit black socks this time of year! I dropped stitches a couple of times and didn’t notice for awhile. Ended up frogging back an inch to the gusset pick-up. I also managed to knit one toe too short and had to frog it back, join on new yarn and finish again. Oh well. He likes ’em and that’s all that matters, eh?

What else? Oh yeah. Spectrum Study Group has been making wool felt decorations to exchange. I got a lovely beaded brooch from Cathie of which I unfortunately don’t have a photo for you right now. However, here’s the heart that went to live with Kirsten:

Her adorable angel bunny was also made by me, knit completely out of handspun yarns and won at a guild gift exchange quite a few years ago. I was so glad she went to such an appreciative friend! The mother-of-pearl button on this heart is an antique one from Granny’s Button Box that I inherited from T’s granny. I also made two more hearts:

I’m keeping the little yellow and red one and the bigger blue and rust one is for the next swap. These were fun to make. I haven’t done any embroidery in donkey’s years so the first one is a little wobbly but I finally found my skills returning. I’ll need them because I plan to make a stocking for the Littlest Grandbeastie and incorporating some blanket stitches. I like the look a lot. Best get on that one asap.

However, first I want to finish up the project on my table. I’ve been trying to draft this pattern from “I Am Cute Dresses”:

You can’t really see from the photo that it’s a little shift with an interesting asymmetrical yoke that is buttoned on the left. The buttons are stitched lower than the buttonholes so the yoke fabric falls in folds. Japanese patterns often don’t fit me well without some serious adjustments since I have a lot more fluff on me than the average Japanese lady! Even though the simple garments in this book don’t have actual patterns but are made by drafting your own following the given measurements and your bust size including ease, they don’t quite work for someone who isn’t quite as angular. I needed more room for my bust so I added some length at the centre front of the skirt piece. I also made the skirt a little wider to accommodate my middle and added inseam pockets. I got confused by the shoulder measurements in the diagram, whether using the cm or inches made no difference. So I winged it and then made a muslin which showed me that the front shoulders still needed to be adjusted for my sloped/rounded/forward shoulders. There still seems to be a little extra fabric at the bottom of the back yoke but I’m hoping the skirt will pull that down somewhat. The muslin results looked somewhat like the photo but with a little less ease and more of my shoulders showing. The armholes aren’t shaped but just a straight line from underarm to shoulder and they fit better when they end closer to my neck anyway.

I’ve cut this pattern out in some freebee lightweight stretch denim stripe fabric that I picked up when my neighbour moved out. There was just enough to work around a few flaws and since it was free I’m counting this as a learning experience. If it works I’ll have a cute casual tunic/jumper (needs a t-shirt underneath to hide bra straps). If it doesn’t, only my time was wasted. And that doesn’t count, does it?

Sticky Subject

In the interest of keeping this 7-year-old blog going whilst being distracted by the garden and Someone who wants to walk my feet off daily, here’s another post on a random sewing subject: downloadable patterns. Yeah, I know I’ve supposedly been on a pattern-buying moratorium lately. But that won’t stop me entirely! Besides, I only meant to avoid the Big 4 and anyway some downloading happened before I decided to hold off. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

So anyhow, I’ve tried quite a few of these downloadable patterns over the last while with mixed results. For starters this isn’t really a very cost-effective way to obtain a sewing pattern. It takes your personal time, paper, printer ink and glue or tape. On the plus side, you don’t have to go to the store to get it, find it’s not available in your size or wait for the mail to deliver it. The jury is still out on whether or not these opposing factors balance out in the long run. Especially when it can take as many as 50 sheets of paper to print the darn things. Oy.

However, that hasn’t stopped me from downloading a fair number of digital patterns. There’s nothing like immediate gratification! Even if it means more work at least I’m doing something. I don’t have a convenient fabric store that carries the common pattern lines. My go-to store, Dressew, doesn’t carry any patterns any more. And the other fabric stores are a much longer transit ride away. (Though I must visit Fabricana in Richmond some day soon.) OK, so where does one find downloadable patterns?

The first place I tried, quite awhile back, was BurdaStyle. They have select patterns from the magazine and a lot of self-drafted contributions from members. The quality of the former is great; the latter varies, as you might expect. If you purchase a digital pattern you can download the PDF to your own computer plus a link stays in your account if you need to download it again for whatever reason. This is good. Navigation is a bit awkward on this site but you can see what others have made from the pattern which is a nice feature. Some garments look totally different than the photo in the magazine! I probably wouldn’t have bothered with them if I hadn’t seen the alternatives.

Then there is sewingpatterns.com. I’ve been a little annoyed with purchasing downloads from here. You can get a selection of patterns from the Big 4 and other independent companies but sometimes the download is more expensive than the paper pattern. Why? Plus the download interface at Printsew (where they send you) is crap. You can’t save the PDF to your computer, though you can save the instruction sheets. You have to print directly from the site and supposedly there is a limit on how many times you can do that. My printer doesn’t play nice with it at all and though I can get a printout in spite of the error messages, I can’t adjust the options to use the black cartridge or draft mode. Wasteful. Grrr…

There are other places to get downloadable sewing patterns of course. As well as the established companies, there are lots of individual designers publishing pattern PDFs. Some are even free. As always, the quality of the production varies because I’m sure, depending on one’s software and abilities, there’s quite a learning curve to producing an excellent PDF. Though that doesn’t effect whether or not it’s a great garment pattern. That’s another whole skill set. The advantage for the indie designer is not having to produce and ship paper patterns or find and pay someone else to do it. This is a big one and it increases the cost of the pattern astronomically. I am more likely to buy a digital version than pay for shipping from, say, Australia. I made an exception for my Sewaholic Minoru Jacket but then I was able to pick it up from a local shop. Helps that Tasia herself lives locally too!

So where does that leave me and my current projects? Somewhere in limbo I think! Here’s the state of my BurdaStyle Pleat-Shoulder Blouse:

That would be it all cut out and sitting forlornly on my sewing table. Waiting. And what am I doing instead? Playing with more patterns:

This one was a freebee by DixieDIY. She unfortunately discontinued it for whatever reason, I guess to sub another (paid) pattern instead. The original page is here if you want to see what you missed. Sorry, because I actually like this version better, a loose swing t-shirt with little cuff sleeves. Her patterns are meticulously designed with Adobe Illustrator and I like how she leaves the pattern lines to overlap the edges and uses both numbers and letters to differentiate the notches for easier joining. I use my paper cutter to slice off the extra on the left and top of the pieces to be joined and then I use a glue stick to paste them together:

Unlike some whom I will not name, Dixie’s lined up perfectly. (Those rainbow light effects are not my camera but reflections from a crystal in my sunny – yay! – window.)

Now I can’t decide what fabric to use to try this pattern out! Maybe I should go back to the already cut-out blouse, huh? Or not. Perhaps I’ll just head out to the garden now. My plants are calling for some fish fertiliser.

Adult Ribby Socks

They finally dried from their washing/blocking, so without further ado, I present:

Style: Top-down, flap heel, wedge toe.
Yarn: Two 50g balls sock yarn (Confetti, Regia 4ply, Sisu etc.) For a longer foot with Sisu you might need more than 2 balls. (I used hand dyed Sisu for mine.)
Needles: 2mm dpns (set of 5) or whatever you need to get gauge.
Gauge: 8 sts per inch over stockinette. Sock is 8 3/4 inches long but quite stretchy. Will fit average woman’s foot. Foot can be knit longer for larger size.

Pattern:
Cast on 70 stitches. Arrange 15 on needle 1, 20 on each of needles 2 and 3, and 15 on needle 4. Join in tube and work knit 3, purl 2 rib for 7 inches or desired cuff height.

Begin heel flap:
Shift last stitch on needle 3 to needle 4. Continue to knit rib pattern on needle 1 to just before the last st. Sl last st onto needle 2. Turn. (This leaves a symmetrical rib pattern for the instep on needles 2 and 3. The heel is worked on the 30 sts now on needles 1 and 4.)
Row 1: Sl first st as if to purl with yarn in front, purl across needle 1 and continue across needle 4. Turn.
Row 2: Sl first st as if to purl with yarn in back, k 1, (sl 1, k1) repeat to end of row. Turn.
Repeat these two rows until there are 15 sl sts at the edges. End after the last purl row. Turn.

With RS facing begin heel cup:
Sl 1, k 16, ssk, k1, turn.
Sl 1, p 5, p2tog, p1, turn.
Sl 1, k across to “gap” where work was turned, ssk using one st before gap and one st after thus closing gap, k 1, turn.
Sl 1, p to gap, p2tog across gap, p 1, turn.
Continue as established until there are no sts left unworked. (18 sts on needle.)
Sl 1, k 8 (centre of needle).

Begin gusset:
With spare needle, knit across last 9 sts. and with same needle pick up and knit edge sts on flap, picking up 15 plus one extra stitch in corner of gusset. (25 sts.) Using spare needle, knit across needle 2 in rib pattern and repeat for needle 3. Using last spare needle, pick up and knit one st in corner of gusset and 15 sts from side of heel flap. Continue to knit across the last 9 st to centre of heel. End of round.

Continue with gusset:
Knit across needle 1 to 3 sts before end, k2tog, p 1. Knit across needles 2 and 3 in pattern. On needle 4, p 1, ssk, knit to end. Next round knit without decreases, keeping knits and purls as established. Instep will be in rib and sole of foot in stockinette. Repeat these two rounds until needles 1 and 4 have 15 sts each. Continue even as established until sock foot is 6 3/4 inches long from back of heel. (Adjust foot length here.)

Since there’s more stitches on the instep than the sole of the foot, adjust before beginning toe as follows:
On last round of foot, purl last st of needle 1 together with first st of needle 2, k 1 more st from needle 2. (Now needle 1 has 16 sts.) Continuing on needle 2, k 2, p2tog, k 3, p2, k3, p2tog, k3, p1. Shift last p st on needle 2 to needle 3. (Leaving 16 sts on needle 2.) On needle 3, p 1, k 3, p2tog, k3, p2, k3, p2tog, k2. Shift last 3 unworked sts to needle 4. (Leaving 16 st on needle 3.) On needle 4, k 1, p2tog, k to end. (All 4 needles now have 16 sts each.)

Decrease for toe:
Knit across needle 1 to last 3 sts, k2tog, k 1. On needle 2, k 1, ssk, knit across. On needle 3, knit across to last 3 sts, k2tog, k 1. On needle 4, k 1, ssk, knit across. Knit next round plain.
Continue to alternate decrease and plain rounds until there are 6 sts on each needle. End with a plain round. Continue to knit across needle 1 to end at right edge of toe. Break off yarn, leaving a tail for grafting.

“Ear Reduction”:
Arrange top of toe on one needle. Bottom should already be on one needle. Lift the last st over the second-last st at each end of both needles. (10 sts on each needle.) Graft the remaining sts together with Kitchener stitch. Darn in ends. Wash socks, block, dry, and you’re done!

Further crafty news:
I didn’t have a dye day with my friend today because she wasn’t feeling well. We’ve postponed until Monday. But I finished the Peapod Sweater and am madly working on the hat. I decided that I didn’t want the lace bit on the hat so after doing the leafy rib, I’m just knitting stockinette. I have to figure out where to start the decreases and I may do my own version with the i-cord knot at the top. Or if I can, maybe a curly bit like a pea tendril. Photos when I’m done, though they may have to wait if it starts raining again. Yesterday, just after I posted that it was raining it cleared up and stayed that way all day today. Perverse bloody weather! However, the clouds are moving in again with more ridiculous amounts of rain predicted by Friday. Fun. At least the house hasn’t sprung any leaks since T-Man cleaned out the eaves troughs. Some people have had a really bad time of it with flooding and leaks, fallen trees and dead salmon that were trying to spawn ending up in their yards. Just plant ’em I say. They’re great fertilizer! A new twist on the “if life gives you lemons, make lemonade” theme.