FOs – Page 2 – Damselfly's Delights

Carrying On

March 27, 2020March 27, 2020 damselflysdelights2 Comments

How is everyone holding up? Out in cyberspace I see lots of calming videos and images and lots of jokes and laughter too. Keep it up! We can get through this together even if we have to all stay apart. Best line I saw somewhere that stuck with me is this:

Introverts, put down your book and go check in on the poor extroverts now. They’re suffering!

I know. It’s not so funny if you’re truly lonely and isolated. But society is usually so dominated by the extroverts among us that it’s kind of interesting that we introverts actually have an advantage during the current situation. I can be alone for awhile without becoming lonely. I don’t need (or even want) constant stimulation and conversation. Plus I have lots of solo activities that I enjoy. On the other hand if this goes on too long, I’m kind of glad I’m sharing my isolation space with my spouse! Who is also an introvert.

You know, everyone talks about COVID-19 but do you personally know anyone who has it? My son picked up what we think is the dreaded virus at his shop thanks to an inconsiderate customer. It’s unconfirmed. He can’t get tested because they’re saving that for the serious cases but in consultation with the BC Health med-line and his doctor by phone, they’re pretty sure. Luckily he’s not too ill and is on the mend now. His family (wife and two teenagers) haven’t shown signs of coming down with it. Yet. Though the kids might kill each other first! They’re self-isolating in their small apartment with the golden retriever while building comes to a halt (by government order) on their new one. It’s already a year behind schedule. Are we having fun yet? Kind of happy we haven’t seen any of our kids in person for nearly a month! But I worry about them all.

So I finished a thing. When I discovered that I cut this jacket out back in November, I was amazed that it took me so long! Of course I was distracted by the Make Space Project. Even I am not that slow of a sewist. I had it half finished and hanging out on Debbie Double for months so I finally got it together and got it done. It’s dark and rainy today so I settled for a hanger shot with supplementary lighting.

It turned out a little more oversized than I prefer but it’s not really any worse than my Issey Miyake jacket. I actually used the same size as my vest version that I made last year but the jacket has more ease with that wide back pleat and drop shoulders. I did get the sleeves the right length exactly though so I don’t have to turn up the cuffs unless I want to. There was a little trouble with the drapey linen crepe fabric stretching out on the seams. They’re a little wavy especially down the front edges. I probably really should have used my walking foot but didn’t. I was too busy switching back and forth from the regular foot to the stitch-in-the-ditch foot to sew the binding. I love that foot! I never had one with my old sewing machine and it just makes getting really close to the seam so easy. Also happiness for snap-on feet too. On the other hand, the walking foot is a lot more involved to install than my old Pfaff’s IDT foot which was built in. Ya wins some; ya loses some.

I’ve been out in my garden and for plenty of walks while the sun was shining. I got my peas planted a week early this year! My wee seedlings are going to need transplanting into bigger pots very soon (like starting tomorrow). And then begins the Daily Schlep – taking them out to the greenhouse every morning and back inside every evening until they are ready to go in the garden. There’s not enough room under the lights for them all and I need space to plant the tomatoes very soon. I was realizing that it’s a very good thing that I was able to buy my seeds before all the shops shut or I would have had to resort to mail ordering them. Not sure if we’re going to get our scheduled manure order delivered in a couple of weeks or not. We’re all in a waiting game here, aren’t we?

Sending virtual hugs to everyone! Stay well and stay occupied as best you can. As my auld Scots mum used to say: “This too shall pass”.

Interlude

June 23, 2019 damselflysdelights1 Comment

We took a few days to escape the city for camping at Lightning Lake in beautiful E.C. Manning Provincial Park. The weather was most definitely chilly and changeable. We had sun, rain, cloud and wind – often all in the same hour! Luckily we’re quite used to the mountains and brought appropriate clothing and footwear along with our little propane heater for the evening. Thom’s brother and sister-in-law were kind enough to share their site with us so we had two blue VW Westfalias parked together. Theirs is a lighter blue and ours is a navy blue and they were purchased within a few months of each other over 30 years ago. Much camping has ensued ever since!

Lightning Lake, EC Manning Provincial Park

We saw some wildlife including loons, a momma merganser with 10 babies, a pika (in the rockfall you can see in the upper photo), a pileated woodpecker, deer and a bear on the side of the road on the way home. Trout were caught, trails were hiked and flowers were photographed.

I collaged a few of them for you! There’s too many more and although I can identify many of them, I don’t know all their names.

I also managed to finish those socks that have been on the needles forever.

The yarn is the no-longer-made DGB Confetti from a no-longer-in-business shop. What does that tell you about working from Deepest Stash? Love the colours obviously! The pattern is my usual top-down heel-flap basic socks on 64 stitches. No need to mess with something that works just perfect for my feet, eh? And then I started a new pair, this one’s for Thom.

The rib pattern is from Charlene Schurch’s Sensational Knitted Socks book. It’s only 2 rounds and easy to follow so these shouldn’t take too long. Notice that I’ve gone back to my Knitter’s Pride cubic needles? These are still my favourite way to knit socks. Even though my wee ChiaoGoo Minis are rather adorable. I will use them again soon anyway. Oh and the yarn is Trekking XXL and I quite like all the subtle colours that add up to brown. Almost made a pair for me with it but Thom won out. These are on 70 stitches since that’s what divided into the pattern’s 5-stitch repeat. I usually make his plain socks on 68 stitches.

So. Must run. My fishies need to be fried up in butter for supper now!

Sweatshop

June 14, 2019 damselflysdelights2 Comments

Been awhile, hasn’t it? We’ve had some major family drama over the past month or so with Thom’s very elderly but very independent mom (aka Nana). She had some health issues after her knee replacement surgery (the knee is just fine though) and she’s finally back in her own home with as much care assistance as she’ll tolerate. Whew! Hopefully back to life as we know it.

So meanwhile I’ve been working on a new pile of sewing projects: prepping/fitting patterns, cutting out garments and actually sewing up one of them. But first I needed a new wrist pincushion since the old Biscornu one allowed the pins to go right through it and into my wrist! Ouch. The elastic wristband was stretched and stained too and I decided a replacement wouldn’t take long to make.

Above: perky new pincushion. Below: sad old one.

This time I got Thom to drill a 1/4″ hole in the centre of a small canning lid which I embedded in the wool stuffing. The hole allowed me to stitch the wrapping threads through the “flower” and to attach the Czech glass button and then attach the whole thing to the wrist band. But now the very sharp pins can’t go through the lid and in to me! Yay. I also covered the elastic with fabric and used Velcro to fasten it to my wrist. Much easier and more adjustable. Not too fancy but functional. I can’t sew without it!

Of course then I had to start sewing something to try it out, right? This is kind of the wrong season for a heavy jacket, even a sleeveless one, but that didn’t stop me from making one anyway. The new In The Folds Flynn Jacket called to me as a great way to use up some 20+ year old heavyweight brushed cotton twill that’s been waiting to find the right garment. I almost made yet another York Pinafore with it but I have several of those so far. The sleeveless and more fitted version of the Flynn (View B) was just the ticket and it used up almost every bit of the narrow yardage. Don’t those curved facings with hidden pockets make you just swoon?

For the bias binding I used some of a badly dyed and stamped muslin sample swatch that definitely looked much better cut into narrow 1.5″ strips. I even managed to use my 18mm bias tape maker and it actually worked well for this fabric. I often don’t bother to pre-fold bias because it’s such a hassle to get right.

This is such a beautifully drafted pattern although it took me about 3 days to get the fitting right. I ended up taking 1″ out of the upper body and another 1″ out of the lower body at the lengthen/shorten line. The pattern is based on a person 4″ taller than I am so I couldn’t reach the pockets! I also narrowed and sloped the shoulder (though I could have taken a bit more out of the front armhole). I had to completely re-draft the armhole facings because the originals no longer worked with my adjusted armholes. The results worked out pretty well.

I enjoyed the special attention to detail in the instructions too. For once I actually followed them to the letter! The jacket ends up completely finished inside.

There’s lots of extra little techniques included: under-stitching, stitch-in-the-ditch, trimming the facings for smooth turn-of-cloth, 2 different bias applications. Lovely. I got great use out of my stitch-in-the-ditch foot too which really helped to do the job nicely. All-in-all this was a very satisfying project. Now I’m hoping to find the right fabric in the stash for View A, the more loosely-fitting jacket with drop-shoulders, sleeves and a box pleat in the back. I’ve already done the fitting changes on the pattern. I think it will need a lighter weight than this heavy-duty twill. The hunt is on.

Meanwhile I still have four more garments cut out and ready to sew. Yes, I’m quite the factory sweatshop here! Going with the enthusiasm while it lasts. It was even literally a sweatshop for a couple of days though now the temps have gone back down to normal. The Swamp Cooler is already in the studio for the summer and ready to go back to work when it heats up again. Moving right along…

Garden vs Studio

May 8, 2019May 8, 2019 damselflysdelights2 Comments

Hope you’re having a lovely May wherever you are! Yes, I realise our Southern Hemisphere folks are heading for colder weather. But they were complaining of the heat when we were freezing up here so it’s only fair to turn the tables, right? Heh. Anyway, I’ve written a dozen delightful posts in the last few weeks – but unfortunately they were only in my head! My hands were very busy.

I’ve been trying to get the garden, especially the vegetable garden, into some kind of shape now that the weather has actually warmed up enough. I’m forced to dig the beds deeply twice in order to eliminate as many of the walnut roots as possible. English (aka Persian) walnut trees don’t produce as much juglone, a toxin that inhibits nearby competition, as black walnut does but I do see a difference in some plants not being as vigorous near our monster tree.

Walnut tree just getting its baby leaves. It’s always this late!

The ancient beast is over 50 feet tall and wide and the roots extend even farther out than the canopy does! The greenhouse is now partially under said canopy and this year the root situation is ridiculous. I needed Thom’s help to dig the tomato beds in there and after only clearing half of it we dumped five (5!) buckets of roots into the city’s green bin.

I think those walnut roots were way too happy to grow in the dry and slightly warmer (at least in the daytime) soil in there all winter. Yeesh. I managed to only (only!) get less than two buckets of roots from what will be the squash and bean bed, even after going over it twice. But then it’s a little farther away from the walnut tree too.

After we finish the greenhouse there’s only a bit of tidying to do around the edges and I can call the veggie garden prep done. Still have to plant the beans and cucumbers and transplant tomato and squash seedlings yet though. Gardening is kind of like housework. It’s never really done! Although this is definitely the busiest time of the whole year out there. Once everything is planted it’s down to watering and weeding. And harvesting.

When I got too tired to mess about in the garden I switched to my studio. I’ve mostly been working on my patterns, assembling PDF printouts and doing fit adjustments. Once they’re all ready to be used I can just grab whichever one I need to cut out without having to stop and prep the next pattern. I’ve also cut out a total of 8 projects already (all knits) but haven’t started sewing them together yet.
What can I say? I was on a roll! I’m going to have to sew them soon though because at least 3 of these are test garments, aka “wearable muslins” (or toiles, depending on your country of origin). I need to see how they work out before cutting any more using those patterns. Just in case any adjustments need to be made.

In other crafty news, my hands are too tired to do anything else! I did finish my Blue Dragon socks (pattern is “Shur’tugal” from Alice Yu’s book Socktopus) if you missed it on Insta.

The yarn is from Black Cat Custom Yarn, colourway “In the Navy” and for once I pretty much followed the pattern except that I made the leg longer so the socks come up above the top of my Blundstones. Other than this though, I have barely touched needles or spinning wheel for ages. I did do a wee bit of dyeing however, but I’ll save that for another post.

Oh, you might be interested in this last tidbit: I finally got three separate offers for my bead de-stash, all within 24 hours of each other! Talk about synchronicity, eh? A whole month after I put them up for sale. Unfortunately I had to tell everyone that they were already gone home with my sister. You snooze, you lose. Might have actually made a few bucks (sigh) but at least my sis is happy!