Here we are at the tail end of February and again I’m running behind. It’s not like I’ve got a gazillion things going on in my life or anything! Just a lack of enthusiasm for typing. Or something. Anyhoo, I’ve finished a number of things since last post so here’s the quick and dirty deets.
I had a couple more knit garments that I had cut out last autumn and hadn’t sewn yet. I finally got to it and made a t-shirt, leggings and a short-sleeved tunic in a lightweight green marl. Not sure of the fibre content (possibly rayon/lycra) but there’s plenty of stretch.
All three layers can be worn together for the full Sherwood Forest effect! Heh. I still have a couple of t-shirts that I cut out back then but haven’t sewn yet. I guess I have to be in the mood for changing all the threads on the serger and coverstitch machines.
Then there’s a couple of jackets completed:
This is the Pona Jacket pattern from Helen’s Closet in the longer version. This plaid denim was a freebee I picked up years ago but never found a use for until now. It’s a bit thick for the Pona but I think it turned out just fine, especially judging by how many times I’ve worn it since I finished it! I used scraps of indigo blue batik cotton for the bias seam finishing:
The cotton was left over from the lining to my Sewaholic Minoru Jacket that I made years ago, a pattern designed by Tasia Pona for whom this Pona pattern is named. Kind of came around in a circle, didn’t it? Anyway, it took many many yards of bias and I only had less than half a metre left when I was done. Is the game of Binding Chicken a thing? Now of course I want another Pona, perhaps the cropped version in some naturally dyed linen canvas which is also too thick but drapier than the denim.
The most complex project this month was the blue Amy Parka from a pattern by Schnittchen Patterns. I had purchased the dry oiled canvas in 2019 for this jacket but got sidetracked, or maybe intimidated by the thought of sewing with fabric that marks so easily? I luckily had just bought a bunch more wonder clips recently because pins are a complete no-go. At least I was actually able to iron it gently. I used some leftover rust cotton batik yardage in a pinecone design for the lining. And Past-Me was smart enough to have already purchased the long double separating zipper so I didn’t have to go shopping.
The hardest part actually turned out to be the pattern fitting. This pattern comes in two size ranges, regular and curvy, but they are sold separately. As a Betweenie, I always have a hard time deciding which way to go with this since I’m right over the dividing line: get the regular sizes and grade up at the waist and hip if necessary or go with the curvy ones and chop the upper bust, sleeves and armhole down? Neither option works particularly well for my body and I usually have to completely rework the armhole and sleeve cap. I ended up printing out a number of pages three times to grade between the size 40 and 46. And I still needed to do more fiddling after that including raising the underarm seam by a full 2 inches.
So just to be sure I got it all right I decided to actually make a muslin which I never normally do but it turned out to be a great solution. I needed several extra changes on the muslin but only had one tiny tweak to make on the real thing, happily taking in since letting anything out shows needle holes. I also added an interior cellphone pocket and a drawstring on the hood. The finished jacket is darn near perfect except for the lack of seam sealant. It’s pretty water repellant though and will work fine in all but a serious downpour. I almost always have an umbrella with me anyhow.
There’s quite a bit of the oiled canvas left since I’d bought enough to make the longer version and instead made the shorter one which is plenty long enough on me. The long one would have been down to my calf! I’ve been thinking I might make a rain hat with the leftovers but we’ll see if that happens.
One last thing, I actually finished a knitting project! This pair of socks took the longest to finish ever. Since June 2019 which is just nuts.
Don’t know what the problem was really. Maybe Covid stress? The Beaded Rib pattern was just that tiny bit more complicated where I couldn’t easily read at the same time. I also started these for Thom originally but ended up thinking that there wouldn’t be enough yarn to finish them. Turned out I could probably have managed especially after I decided to do the foot almost plain. The rib pattern takes up quite a lot more yarn. Oh well. I started another plain pair of socks for him and he’s happy. They are coming along much faster and yes, I can read while knitting on them. I still don’t really have my knitting mojo back though. Very odd.
Spring is coming here in Vancouver despite the couple of days of snow we got. The crocuses are out and I’ve even seen a daffodil or two. My rhubarb and garlic are coming up. I’ve still got lots of work to do out there but it’s too wet for me to feel inspired. Indoors I have seeds and soil ready to go and will be starting the Grow Op in a couple of weeks so hopefully that inspiration will hit before the baby plants need to be transplanted outside! The year continues to go around no matter what.
Damselfly's Delights 