Today - its a midweek post, work has me 'running' with lots to do before I have two weeks leave. I'm not planning any special trip, just 2 weeks at home with the cubs - its school holidays and apparently 12 year olds are a tad old to hang out with 6 and 7 year old's at holiday program. We might head away for a few days to visit my brother in Christchurch, then again we might not. I have plans to see if younger cub has any interest in sewing clothes ...and I've lined up a vintage pattern to tempt her. I've a new project, yarn that is nearly done, and bubbles nears its prototype end.
So - younger cub is nine and a half, yes really. Wasn't it only yesterday I was blogging a wee shrug I made for her forth birthday? Any way - with two weeks at home I was thinking of things that we could do to keep away from the tv and going to town. There will be playdates and a movie, and sleepovers and baking - but I thought she might be old enough to sew something to wear. Until now I've sewn stuff and she has hovered but not really participated. I was at the local upmarket-oppshop and spent some time going thru their box of vintage patterns. This appealed mostly as Younger cub has asked if we could make a dress that goes 'in at the waist and then out'. this seems as shapely as I'm prepared to go for a 9 year old. Construction seems fairly simple, a centre back zip and darts, a gathered skirt, with the neck finished with a binding. I have traced the pattern out in card. This was the fist time I had to make sense of a vintage pattern, which have no printed marks on the paper at all. Appears that in the 'olden days' coded perforations not ink were used to mark important match points- which was kind-of fun to translate to modern pattern making conventions. The pattern also assumes a lot of knowledge on the part of the seamstress, as the instructions are not specific as to how one does things. I'm thinking a pink or lemon gingham for the fit-toile and if it works we will finish it as a wearable dress and let her pick something more fun to make after that. We will be making B or C, as the collar section is missing and I am not prepared to draft one until I know the dress fits her.
I started a new project last night, a sweater for elder cub. This is the shoulder straps, and I've cast on across the back neck. Then there will be some short rows to shape the front neck and raise the back neck. I'm thinking set in seamless sleeves worked as one in the round. I have Barbara Walkers Knitting from the Top in my knitting basket and I'm making decisions as I go but documenting it so I don't get too lost. I sat in on Morags Vintage Purls top down class in Napier which kind of inspired me to put what we explored into practice. Yarn is hand spun 3 ply texel(a kind of sheep), kind of crunchy and light and feels hard wearing.
I did make some progress on the Wabisabi fibre, now it is plied, but not yet blocked. So far loving it .... and with plying quite tightly the yarn has already started to fluff a little with a halo. I'm expecting the angora to fluff into more of a halo and the merino to give this a bit of bounce. Two ply, fine fingering, and no idea of the length yet. I love the grey-blue- white transitions and there did seem to be long runs where the two plies were the same shade. I've been treated two more batches of hand dyed fibre from Wabisabi, truly my fibre cup run-nth over.
The second bubble sock is coming along nicely, turns out that the second is the same size as the first. I tried it on mid way up the heel and it seemed shorter but once the heel was completed the sock was exactly the same. I will knit this one again in a plainer yarn, something that will show the bubble pattern more clearly and if I can figure out how to chart the pattern neatly I will definitely share.
So, two more days at work, another day of meeting, all day meetings just like today. Well I exaggerate - today was a staff development day so the fashion staff set up a workshop and introduced some new ideas and had a bit of an explore. I did a mini lesson on what I learned at the Cutting circle workshop. Tomorrow is more a departmental meeting day - I think I'll take my knitting. Friday is a another day of meetings, and filing results before I'm not there. The weekend can't come soon enough when I think of all that has to be done first.
na Stella
So - younger cub is nine and a half, yes really. Wasn't it only yesterday I was blogging a wee shrug I made for her forth birthday? Any way - with two weeks at home I was thinking of things that we could do to keep away from the tv and going to town. There will be playdates and a movie, and sleepovers and baking - but I thought she might be old enough to sew something to wear. Until now I've sewn stuff and she has hovered but not really participated. I was at the local upmarket-oppshop and spent some time going thru their box of vintage patterns. This appealed mostly as Younger cub has asked if we could make a dress that goes 'in at the waist and then out'. this seems as shapely as I'm prepared to go for a 9 year old. Construction seems fairly simple, a centre back zip and darts, a gathered skirt, with the neck finished with a binding. I have traced the pattern out in card. This was the fist time I had to make sense of a vintage pattern, which have no printed marks on the paper at all. Appears that in the 'olden days' coded perforations not ink were used to mark important match points- which was kind-of fun to translate to modern pattern making conventions. The pattern also assumes a lot of knowledge on the part of the seamstress, as the instructions are not specific as to how one does things. I'm thinking a pink or lemon gingham for the fit-toile and if it works we will finish it as a wearable dress and let her pick something more fun to make after that. We will be making B or C, as the collar section is missing and I am not prepared to draft one until I know the dress fits her.
I started a new project last night, a sweater for elder cub. This is the shoulder straps, and I've cast on across the back neck. Then there will be some short rows to shape the front neck and raise the back neck. I'm thinking set in seamless sleeves worked as one in the round. I have Barbara Walkers Knitting from the Top in my knitting basket and I'm making decisions as I go but documenting it so I don't get too lost. I sat in on Morags Vintage Purls top down class in Napier which kind of inspired me to put what we explored into practice. Yarn is hand spun 3 ply texel(a kind of sheep), kind of crunchy and light and feels hard wearing.
I did make some progress on the Wabisabi fibre, now it is plied, but not yet blocked. So far loving it .... and with plying quite tightly the yarn has already started to fluff a little with a halo. I'm expecting the angora to fluff into more of a halo and the merino to give this a bit of bounce. Two ply, fine fingering, and no idea of the length yet. I love the grey-blue- white transitions and there did seem to be long runs where the two plies were the same shade. I've been treated two more batches of hand dyed fibre from Wabisabi, truly my fibre cup run-nth over.
The second bubble sock is coming along nicely, turns out that the second is the same size as the first. I tried it on mid way up the heel and it seemed shorter but once the heel was completed the sock was exactly the same. I will knit this one again in a plainer yarn, something that will show the bubble pattern more clearly and if I can figure out how to chart the pattern neatly I will definitely share.
So, two more days at work, another day of meeting, all day meetings just like today. Well I exaggerate - today was a staff development day so the fashion staff set up a workshop and introduced some new ideas and had a bit of an explore. I did a mini lesson on what I learned at the Cutting circle workshop. Tomorrow is more a departmental meeting day - I think I'll take my knitting. Friday is a another day of meetings, and filing results before I'm not there. The weekend can't come soon enough when I think of all that has to be done first.
na Stella
3 comments:
I like the dress pattern.. I think I even made a couple of these when I was in college home ec.. and now they're "vintage!" Nice photo of the eye of partridge heel. I'm eager to do that on my next socks.
That's a lot on your plate! I hope you are now enjoying your weekend :)
I'm very impressed with the idea of that dress being "simple" (I can't sew worth a darn) - I bet it'll look great on her. The socks look lovely, and I'm particularly taken with the spinning - what gorgeous fiber!
omg I think I wore that dress as a kid! Thanks for your blog efforts!
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