Beginnings of a Gray Dress (Simplicity 2497)

It might be summer break, but I didn't get much of a break this year. I had two weeks in between the end of spring semester and the beginning of my summer course to relax a little bit, and I spent a good chunk of those two weeks sewing. I did manage to finish my Beignet skirt but don't yet have any photos to share. I was still feeling the sewing mojo, so next up was a very wearable gray dress.

I picked up supplies for this project back in the fall when I was doing some crafting in preparation for a dance festival. The farthest I got at the time was pre shrinking the fabric and cutting out the pattern tissue, so I was ready to get cutting last week. The fabric is a really stable knit that I'm essentially treating like a woven, and I'm using the wrong side because I liked the slight variation in color better.

So far, this dress is going well aside from a minor incident with the pinking shears which I may or may not share at a later date. The neckline is all figured out, the pockets are in place, and the dress is mostly assembled. The hard part–for me at least–is coming up next. I have to put in an invisible zipper, which I have only done a couple of times before. Zippers used to come fairly easily to me, but I seem to have become nervous about them in my sewing lull.

I'm so happy I had this project ready and waiting for me. As a native Minnesotan, I have no clue how to dress myself professionally in the summertime–when it's only hot for a little while, you can sort of fake it. Not that summer is longer and hotter, I'm taking a good look at my wardrobe and trying to find ways to fill in gaps in ways that span multiple seasons.

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Tadpoles in a Koi Pond

Moving from Minnesota to Pennsylvania last summer was pretty scary. Sweetie and I left our families, friends, jobs, and apartment behind, all in the pursuit of higher education. One of the times when this really hit home for me was my first night alone in Pittsburgh. My family, who was right there with us for the move, had made their way back home, and Sweetie had to head back to his campus for orientation. I suddenly realized that the only person I knew in the entire city was my landlord, and that was a pretty lonely thought.

My orientation started soon after, and I quickly met some people with whom I've become quite close over the past year. The most wonderful of them during this transitional time for me was J, a second year MA student in my department. We quickly became friends, and she offered me a ride home after knowing me for only an hour or two because she wanted to help me avoid the bus when she could.

J is one of those people who's simply good to be around, and she's been there for me when I've been upset, stressed out, or just needed a Target shopping buddy. When I first met J, she was planning on applying to our PhD program, and I was selfishly hoping to keep her around for another several years. Her plans changed over the course of the year, and while I'll still see her often, I won't get to chat with her in the office or on the way home after class like I used to.

A friend like this deserves a heartfelt graduation gift, especially for something as big as completing a Master's degree. I knew I wanted to make her some cozy socks to keep her toes warm in winter, and this colorway, which is called Koi Pond, is perfectly suited to her. I stuck with the theme, as well as a pattern that would show off the colorway, by knitting the Tadpoles sock pattern.

I topped them off with a custom tag–I've been meaning to make one of these for a while. They're just a small token of my appreciation, but I hope she likes them.

Pattern: Tadpoles by Jenna Swanson

Yarn: Abstract Fiber Supersock in “Koi Pond,” less than one skein

Needles: US 0 bamboo dpns

Made for: J

Timeline: 21 February – 12 April 2013

Modifications: none. Notice that the faux cable is only on the front of the leg.

Worst part: can't think of one

Best part: the colorway and knitting these during a conference

I hope I'm not being too boring with these finished project posts–I have a bit of a backlog from the academic year, and I'm hoping to post about some WIPs soon.

 

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Pleased for Once

The semester is over, and it’s summer! For me, summer always feels like the perfect time to catch up on my sewing. Lucky for me, I have a newly organized sewing room (which I really should show off sometime) and enough projects and materials to keep me crafting until fall (and beyond…ahem…).

I’ve got several projects that are in progress and really don’t need much work to be done, but I decided to kick off summer with something quick, easy, and satisfying.

You might remember that I cut out this Renfrew top back in January so it would be ready to go when I wanted to put it together. That day came on Tuesday: after a wonderful weekend with friends visiting from Minnesota, I felt like a quiet day at home. I started sewing in the afternoon and was finished long before bedtime. This project went together with hardly a hitch, and I’m really pleased with my construction for once. There are so many sewing projects that I like from the outside but would never show off the inside–I’m too critical from all those years competing. This project, however, makes me proud, and hopefully indicates a turn in the right direction.

When I originally shared this project, I mentioned that it was intended to be a wearable muslin to get the fit right so I can make a bunch more Renfrew tops. I’m pretty happy with the fit overall, but looking at this back view makes me think it’s time to figure out that swayback adjustment I’ve heard so much about–there’s a little too much excess fabric in the small of my back. Any favorite resources for this alteration?

I’m not really sure what’s next for my trusty “Anna” sewing machine and me. I’d like to say it will be the Beignet skirt, but I’m so frustrated with the fabric quality (amongst other issues) right now that I’m just as likely to throw it out as I am to finish it. Hopefully I can salvage the project–it would be a great skirt for summer.

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Looks Like Magic

When I packed for my long weekend at Penn State, I tucked in as many finished handknits as I could so that I could force Sweetie into being my camera slave have Sweetie take a few photos. Upon arriving on campus, I saw Sweetie's colleague's art installation-in-progress and told her “it looks like magic”! She loved the compliment and agreed to let us shoot some photos in the gallery space.

This is my look of surprise and delight.

This is my Composition Book Cowl, which has been patiently awaiting photos for much too long (just like a lot of projects in my pile). It's a really wonderful cowl for spring: it's made out of fingering weight yarn, so it offers a little extra warmth without too much bulk.

Pattern: Summer Wind by Irish Girlie Knits

Yarn: Madelinetosh Merino Light in Composition Book Grey
Needles: US 4
Made for: Me
Timeline: 7 – 30 September 2012
Modifications: none
Worst Part: can't remember one
Best Part: the colorway of this yarn–love it!

Today was a wonderfully lazy day with a little productivity mixed in in the evening and some dancing coming up tonight. Exactly what I was hoping break would be.

 

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Royal Ruffles

I kind of love Princess Catherine. Really, what's not to like? She's gorgeous, has great style, and (at least from what the American media tells me) seems to be a genuinely lovely person. So when I saw a pattern pop up on Ravelry for a knockoff of her shawl, I was all over that.

It's one of the bigger shawls that I've made, and I love being able to curl up in it. And the yarn couldn't be more luxurious (well–qiviut–but let's set that aside for the time being). I absolutely love knitting with and wearing Fresco because it feels so perfect.

I really didn't intend to rip off the color as well as the style of this shawl, but I didn't yet have one in this color, and we had enough of this colorway in stock at the time that I was really feeling the need to cast on. I'm a CopyKat: there, I said it.

Pattern: CopyKat Shawls by Rose Beck
Yarn: 5 skeins Classic Elite Fresco #5376
Needles: US 5
Made for: me
Timeline: 1 June – 12 July 2012
Modifications: none
Worst Part: picking up for and knitting the ruffle–so many stitches!
Best Part: the yarn and knitting on this during a Wilco concert (thanks, Kathy!)

 

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Agnes Pullover

Recently, I was looking back at my posts since moving to Pittsburgh and beginning my PhD program, and I realized how incredibly sporadic my crafting must look! From my perspective, there really is a method to it all, and I finally have photographic proof that I do, indeed, finish my projects from time to time.

This is Agnes, the sweater that I began back in November. It's finally finished, and I'm so pleased with it. It's the perfect cozy sweater for the “student” days in my graduate student life, and the colorway is one that was previously absent from my wardrobe. Considering there's still a bit of snow on the ground here, I'm hoping to get a few more wears out of it before tucking it away until fall.

Aren't these epaulette buttons perfection? Sweetie found them at the fabric store. And I can't get over how gorgeous the honeycomb pattern is. Neither can my mom–maybe she'll need one of these sweaters one day (after I finish her Dale of Norway, of course).

Pattern: Agnes Pullover from Knitscene

Yarn: Peace Fleece DK Sport
Needles: US 7 bamboo
Made for: me
Timeline: 1 November 2012 – 29 March 2013
Modifications: none
Worst Part: the honeycomb is slow going, but it's only on the front and the finished product is so worth it
Best Part: having a cozy sweater for reading, studying, and grading

It's Easter break on my Catholic campus, so I'm enjoying some quality time with Sweetie. I've got work to do, of course, but I also plan on taking time to knit, watch movies, and recharge my batteries before going back for the last month of the semester. It shouldn't be as crazy as March was, but those term papers aren't going to write themselves!

 

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Conference Knitting: Louisville Edition

I was lucky enough to have a paper accepted to The Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture since 1900, which is rather a Big Deal. A lot of people from my program attend this conference this year, and I was really pleased to have a project that I’ve been working on for a long time now accepted.

There’s typically a caravan (using the term loosely…we trickle in) of students and faculty making the 6-7 hour drive from Pittsburgh to Louisville, so you better believe I packed some knitting!

I cast on a Stripe Study shawl on the way there and have been working on it steadily ever since. This project has been a long time coming. I first admired the pattern during the initial craze after its publication, and I purchased the yarn a couple of years ago. I’ve wanted to use Jamieson’s Spindrift yarn all along–I thought this would be a great pattern to showcase a yarn that is sometimes underrated outside the world of colorwork knitting. The finished shawl should be incredibly cozy, and I’m really enjoying the rows and rows of garter stitch. It’s exactly what my grad school-addled mind needs right now.

In addition to the shawl, I wanted to bring along a project that was a little more portable to work on during the panels. I’m not much of an aural learner to begin with, so I really struggle with full days of listening to papers. Knitting on something that doesn’t require much attention really helps.

My go-to project in these situations is, as you probably know if you’ve been here for a while, socks. These ones will go to an amazing colleague who has been such a wonderful friend to me since the day we met.

I didn’t get very far during the conference itself (through the gusset, I think?), but I brought them along for spring break and finished the first sock over the weekend. The second one may come along to the next conference. Destination: Boston!