MORE LIGHT SEWING
There continues to be quite a bit of sewing going on. I go through periods of being interested in sewing but not enough to put my knitting down then out of the blue I just have to sit down and sew. Go figure.
I finished up one more Sobretto. I must say, these little tops are downright addictive and a delight to make. I plan to make a few more. Despite the high winds outside at the moment and the impending rain warmer weather is just around the corner. Yesterday was a balmy, sunny 65F. At the moment the trees are whipping back and forth with debris shooting past.
The garden is starting to wake up with visible growth from one day to the next. The weeds, well, they are weeds and as far as I can tell, never ever stop growing. A few things have started to sprout in the greenhouse. It never ceases to amaze me that those tiny little shoots will produce lots and lots of lovely tomatoes and melons (among other things) in just a few months.
One of two dresses for young girls part of some charity sewing for the upcoming sew-in this summer. The second one is almost finished but for some bias tape application and made out of the blue floral Sobretto fabric.
I continue to wonder just what to knit next while futzing along with some UFO's. I knit little swatches just to get a sense of needle size. I know I should do a Great.Big.Swatch but really, who does that? There are just so many lovely yarns out there and fantastic patterns it's difficult to say "this one!".
Coming up fast on my never ending "To Do" list is to recover the speakers in the living room. Opal has already tried her claws out on the new fabric and gave it her "Nice for Shredding" stamp of approval. A sturdy, attractive burlap in a mossy green with overtones of khaki. I like it, Hubby is not too sure. He doesn't like green.
Also waiting in the wings is the recovering the dining room chairs and sanding and re-staining the table. Oh year. Lots of fun. Eight chairs. Big table. Sure to be fun.
The predicted rain has now started and I am reconsidering going out to knit. Perhaps just another log on the fire please.
A LITTLE SEWING
I finally managed to get back to my cowl front pattern alteration experiment. I am very pleased with the final result. It took me quite a long time to get the sleeve cap to align to the top of my shoulder and actually fit into the armscye. I tweaked here, I tweaked there. I was a tweaking maniac. Then there was taking things in, getting the underarm seam to be just right so that when I raised my arms I could well, raise my arms. I am liking working with knits a lot. They are not at all like what I produce with needles and yarn but still, they are a great addition to one's wardrobe.
I ended up with several, not quite perfect attempts that are fine for wandering around the house in and a pattern that can be cut out and sewn up in an afternoon producing a lovely top. I stockpiled my attempts so I could switch my serger over to its cover stitch function. (Note to self: Never buy a combined machine again, just way too much trouble changing plates out.) I ended up spending an enormous amount of time getting the sucker to work properly. I mean and eNORmouS amount of time. But in the end it worked. I can be amazingly stubborn as anyone who has spent any time around me can attest.
Next up on my sewing agenda was
Sobretto, a free pattern from Colette Patterns. It's a super easy pattern that you download and print out. Then you trim and tape the pieces together. If you are a beginning sewer this is a perfect pattern to make up. All of two pieces, no closures to fiddle with because you use bias tape for the neck and arm openings. It's a pattern that can be gussied up as desired. I did a muslin and thought the armscye gaped more than I liked and the back neckline was a bit lower than desired so I whipped out my French curve, some tape, and tissue paper. Voila! A much better fit.
I have two more cut out and almost completed. The whole thing sews up in a couple of hours. I am liking how my summer wardrobe is shaping up. Next up will be pushing my skill level on making better fitting shorts and pants.
We finally had a decent storm come through and give us some much needed rain. Not enough, it's going to be a long and hot summer but it was great. At the height of the storm our propane delivery truck drove up, topped off our tank (country people have great big tanks of propane) and promptly got stuck. Absolutely and totally wedged against one of our oak trees.
Four hours and four men working in the pouring rain. Two two trucks (the first tow truck got stuck TWICE). I haven't had such an amusing morning in ages. I got to stay indoors taking photos in between sewing. Our driveway was severely chewed up and the tree took a very nasty gash. The company responsible has already been out with an arborist and a man who will bring a tractor and a heck of a lot of dirt and make things all better again. I assume the tree will live long and prosper though somewhat scarred.
I always enjoying seeing a hint of what creatures wander around during the night. Tracks of who knows what. Probably a loose dog and something much smaller, I don't think it's our cats.
There has been knitting. I may actually finish my Knotty Gloves which will end up being fingerless gloves. I chose my yarn, Koigu's Kersti based on color so I have 44 stitches cast on, not the 60 the pattern calls for. It's driving me nuts trying to get the thumb gusset in the right place. The gloves are way too long in the wrist. I could unravel them and them and then bind off. It wold be a lot of work. I am pretty tired of this project. Tired. Seriously Tired.
I also knit the sleeve of Samsara using some pink Fleece Artist/Scotian Silk and as feared the whole thing bloomed after blocking a huge 2" all around. What to do what to do. It's a lot harder to knit from stash than I had thought.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
We hit the highway last month in our trusty RV to do our last annual trip to Cactusland - The Enabler is Moving! We didn't make it last year (though I flew in, one cannot let one's BFF celebrate her birthday with just a Prince Charming and a passel of cats).
We spent a few days in Death Valley and enjoyed walked around part of the
Ubehebe Crater. I even managed to catch a glimpse of the
mojave fringe-toed lizard though it ran so fast I doubt I could pick it out of a line up.
Last time we were in Death Valley we tried to see
The Wildrose Charcoal Kilns but couldn't make it through the snow with our motorcycle. This year we both had our dual sport bikes and although there was a bit of snow there was no problem riding right up to the parking lot. They are magical!
I just loved them.
One has a lot of time to knit while flying down the highway. The trick is to bring projects that aren't too complicated, need charts, or use teeny tiny needles. I opted for more baby items all in Cascade 220 Superwash.
When we rolled up our driveway there were definite signs of Spring. It was great to see things growing.
Or not.
