13 in 13

At the start of last year I made a commitment to knit from stash as much as possible.  To complete 13 knits from stash in 2013.  I am happy to report that I did in fact finish 13 knits, in fact I finished 16!  

My yarn stash was not huge to start with, but I did have a couple of jumper lots which helped immensely when planning outfits.  My yarn purchases this year were also modest, but they are already fitting into my knitting plans for 2014!  As my life will include a train commute four days a week for the next couple of years I'd like to take advantage of that prime knitting time and get stuck into some big projects.  So I'm looking at 14 in 14!

Have a safe and happy new year my friends.  Thank you for your company on my journey in making stuff this year, I look forward to sharing more plans and adventures with you through 2014!

Jen xx

Outfit Nine - October

My October!  A little later than anticipated, but as we regressed into wintery weather it took a while for my cardigan to dry.

One of the great things about this project has been that I've finally used some of my favourite fabrics.  The beautiful fabrics I have been hoarding and saving are now becoming garments that I love even more.  I bought this fabric a couple of years ago, it was love at first sight, there was only a couple of metres left on the bolt, I bought the lot.  It's a light gauzy voile, always destined to be a summery frock.

Because it is quite sheer, I chose a dress pattern with lining and lined it with ivory coloured lawn.  The pattern is from BurdaStyle 5/2013 125, it's one I'd been planning on making since it was released.  I lengthened the bodice midriff by 15mm, and made the skirt fuller by using up as much of my fabric as possible.

I love the combination of romantic feminine shape with the bright graphic print. 

October is a fickle month, weather wise, in this part of the world, so I knew I'd need a cardigan to go with my dress.

I had planned to make a Myrtle Cardigan, but the combination of all over lace cardigan and all over printed dress was far too busy.  And the yarn just did not want to be a Myrtle!  I went with my back up pattern, Soay and it is perfect.  Just right for warmer weather, it will be in high rotation.

This is a seriously great pattern.  Very cleverly constructed, no seams, and beautifully fitted, everything I was after.   It is perfect with all my dresses and looks great with jeans and a tank top as well.

This was my first foray into the wonderous world of Wollemeise.  I admit I had my doubts, the cottony stiffness had me worried, but washed and blocked it is a different creature altogether, soft and springy, and the colour is so intense!  

I plan for this outfit to get me through a few celebrations in the next month or so.  Birthdays and Christmas functions are coming up in abundance, and it's always nice to show off something special and handmade!

The dress has already had an outing.  The weather was so awful and cold on the day of my interview for school that I needed something that would work with my navy blazer.  So the outfit I had prepped to wear was out and this dress was in!

This tank is in a park fairly local to us.  The kids had a ball clambering all over it while I grabbed some quick shots.

Outfit Eight - September

Now that I've shown off Darron's September outfit, here is mine!

This outfit was always going to involve a Dahlia Cardigan.  I bought the Colinette Jitterbug yarn for it a year and a half ago at the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show.  The colour way is Ginger Cinnabar and it is gorgeous!  This cardi has a really interesting method of construction, everything is knitted off the centre back lace panel.  Once I wrapped my head around the construction it was pretty straightforward. The only modification I made was to shorten the sleeves to elbow length, perfect for a spring cardigan.

I have had the fabric for this skirt for a couple of years.  It is a heavy weight cotton with a floral print inspired by the work of the artist Pissarro.

I bought it from my fabulous local op shop and was waiting to come across the perfect garment for it.  When I saw how well the colour of my yarn picked up the darker tones in the fabric I was sold!

The pattern is from BurdaStyle magazine 08/2009, pattern 110.  I made it without lining because the fabric is heavy enough to not need it.  It has pleats in the front and sits just above my natural waist line. An invisible zipper and vent in the back.  It's a very simple fitted pattern that makes the fabric the feature.

I had planned on making a chambray shirt to go with this outfit, I had even cut it out.  Then I found a 1980s Calvin Klein for Vogue pattern while shopping my mum's stash.  It was perfect for this outfit, then I found this slinky crinkly rayon at my local basement fabric outlet, a one metre remnant, just enough to make it.  I took that as a sign.  

I love the shawl collar and simple lines with a little bit of texture.  The fabric, while bing quite lovely, it light and slippery, so even though I took my time sewing, there were stiLl some nervous moments.  There are some flaws, but nothing major so I'm ok with them.  With a garment so simple I went a bit fancy with the buttons.  Speaking of buttons, the top button placement on the pattern is quite low, this wouldn't be an issue in a fabric with more body, but this just slipped open too easily and exposed considerably more of my undergarments than I like.  Simple solution, I added another button. 

This outfit is a bit of a departure from my original 12 outfits mission statement.  It's not quite in line with the more casual, everyday wardrobe I was aiming to make.  A couple of months ago I applied to return to school.  I'm hoping to study a Diploma of Applied Fashion Design and Technology.  I have an interview in November and an opportunity to present my folio and three garments I've made.  I'm planning on wearing this skirt and blouse for that interview.  So with interviews and the possibility of school next year, my wardrobe focus has shifted somewhat.  If my application is successful, it will mean big changes, two years of full time study would definitely be an adventure!

Outfit Seven: August

I've finally caught up!  Here is August's outfit... in August!  I have a confession, it has been ready for nearly a week and I've had plenty of opportunities to photograph it but I waited 'til I got my new hair.  It had been over a year and a half since my hairdresser laid hands on my hair, and it was incredible to get a proper style cut and colour instead of the shaggy growing out 'do I've been sporting lately.

I am very pleased with this outfit.  This was a big departure from the outfit I had originally planned, but given that elements of it have already been getting near constant wear I'd say it's one of the biggest successes of my 12 outfits so far.

Starting from the outside, this oversized cardigan is a simple big boxy shape with pockets, but in warm black drapey knit fabric it goes with just about everything in my wardrobe.  It's casual and comfy without being sloppy.  The pattern is from Burda Style 7/2013, 109A.  I have bought a fuzzy, lacy knit to make another for spring.

 I bought the fabric for my shirt at the same time as the fabric from March's skirt.  They are the same print on different backgrounds.  I love the bright red and bold graphic floral print.  It works perfectly with the pattern, you guessed it, another Burda mag 2/2009, 120.

Because the fabric is an almost sheer cotton voile, I used french seams throughout.  It was well worth the little extra effort to enclose all the edges, the finish is really clean and the seams are nice and secure.

I put a bit more thought than I usually would into the pattern placement.  I didn't want sheer background patches at the bust, or a great big flower arrangement bursting out of my guts.  I'm pretty smug about the way it turned out.  Perfect for the transition into spring that the weather has been hinting at this week.

When the pattern for the Maroo Mitts was released I fell in love with them.  I love the scalloped colour work, and the colours used in the samples were right up my alley too.  I've been hoping to get more confident with knitting colour work, but just hoping wasn't doing much so I've started practicing.  These are a fantastic introduction.  I had decided to knit them without being part of any outfit but noticed that the greys and yellow fit in so nicely with the colours in this outfit, and I just happened to have greys sitting in stash and yellow left over from my cowl, so here they are!

I bought this super smooshy grey 4ply yarn from Wendy Dennis a couple of years ago at the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show.  200 grams was perfect for the Mara shawl that has been in my Ravelry queue for a couple of years too.  On 4mm needles I used about 90 grams got the garter body of the shawl and then 95 grams for the the ribbed ruffle.  Blocked out it became a great big squishy hug.

Finally pants.  For the record, I don't do leggings.  I wear running tights when I run, I wear tights under dresses, skirts, even under shorts.  I do not wear leggings.  These pants were borderline.  The ponte knit is dense enough to avoid unsightly sheer stretching over my widest parts.  The pattern had enough structural detail to take them far enough out of leggings territory and into pants land.

These were my first garment from a Style Arc pattern.  They are the April Pants.  I must say I was very happy with the pattern.  Again I put more effort than I have in the past into these pants.  All the seams are overlocked and topstitched, the result is a very smooth neat finish.  The fit is perfect, the pattern is great, I'm looking forward to making the Sandra  Jeans I bought at the same time.

You can see my assistant in some of the above photos.  When she wasn't wandering through my photos she was doing this:

Muddy puddles!

Outfit Four: May

May is here and it's cooled right down.  Perfect for my May outfit!  The majority of this outfit was finished before May even started, I got a bit ahead of myself there.  This was because the big time consuming knit was finished in February.  There are more details about my Effortless Cardigan here.

I have had this pink pinwale cord in stash for a couple of years.  It was another score from my local hospital op shop.  There wasn't much, less than a metre, but plenty for a short skirt.  This one is from the same pattern as the red tartan skirt.  BurdaStyle 2/2010 pattern 104A, a-line with hip yoke pockets and an invisible zip.

The blouse is sleeveless, slightly fitted, and originally started out as a rather large mu mu.  One of the great things about mu mus is that they are essentially large pieces of fabric just stitched together, so cutting out another smaller garment like a blouse is easy to do.  I have a couple more I bought from the op shop at the same time that were made from the same pattern by, I'm assuming, the same person.

The pattern I used is a 1970's Simplicity blouse and tunic pattern (8209), I made a few minor mods, like removing pin tucks and sleeves.  Plain black buttons finished it off.

These tights used to be white.  I only ever wore them a couple of times, because really, I'm a grown woman, and they're white tights.  I still had a second pair I hadn't even taken out of the packaging.  Bundled up in some rubber bands and dunked in some grey dye for 15 minutes and they are much more wearable.  I'm now on the lookout for more white tights to tie dye some in every colour!

Originally that was all I had planned for May's outfit.  But as you can see in the photos I'm wearing a hat.  I decided that I needed something more to just top off the outfit, so a slouchy hat in an angora blend was knitted.  The pattern is Knitted and Scrunched Beanie, made from some Moda Vera angora blend I've had for ages, but could never come up with a project for it before.

So this is May.  In the past, the majority of the garments I've sewn have been light weight summery clothes, so it's nice to actually have some clothes I've sewn myself that I can wear in the colder months. As it's Me Made May at the moment, all of these garments have been getting worn, together and with other pieces from the me-made collection, so I'm well pleased with them and how quickly they've settled into my wardrobe!

Note:  I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago and scheduled it to break up the MMM'13 outfit posts.  I feel lucky that I did because depression is a bitch of an illness and ignoring your warning signs can land you in a deep dark hole.  So, while I climb out of this hole, with the help of my loves and my doctors I can still share something.  Something that also helps to remind me that I have valuable and worthwhile skills, and that at the end of the day I make stuff, and for my whole life, making stuff has made me happy.

Me Made May '13 - The Rest of Week One

Day Four: Star Wars Day!  May the fourth be with you!  I made some alterations to my trousers from the April outfit and the fit is much better now!  Yay! With my striped t shirt, Effortless, and Song of the Sea cowl, this is an entirely me-made, warm and casual outfit.

Day Five:  The grey jersey dress with my thrifty green v-neck tee over the top.  I'm digging the t shirt over a dress thing, extra layer for warmth, extra wardrobe options, it's a winner!  Also wearing my Honey Bunny cowl.  I love the way the colours in the cowl are picked up by the rest of the outfit.

Day Six:  A busy day so I didn't manage to get a photo during daylight hours, and we're getting less and less of those as we head towards winter.  This outfit is the sleeveless blouse from May's upcoming outfit, my Damson shawl and Forestry cardigan.  The cardigan was made some time ago, and while the body still fits well, the sleeves are too big now, I'm trying to decide whether or not to rip the sleeves and  do them again because I really really love this cardigan.  The jeans in this one are thrifted, a whole 50 cents worth! 

Day Seven:  The pink cord skirt and tie dyed tights from May's outfit, my refashioned blouse and refashioned cardigan.  This one is another very me-made outfit!

So, one week down and I'm tracking pretty well.  I still have garments that haven't made an appearance yet and combinations that I want to try out so I'm really happy with the progress and versatility of my handmade wardrobe so far.  It will be interesting to see how I go as the weather gets colder, I must say I'm glad I'm a knitter!

Almost Effortless

Decisions about sleeve lengths should not be made in bars or restaurants.  For example, if you are knitting a thick warm cardigan for winter and you take that cardigan to a knit night in summer, don't have a couple of ciders and try it on.  I decided that I was jack of knitting sleeves and that elbow length looked and felt good so I started the ribbing.  The next morning at Coen's little athletics meet it was incredibly cold.  So right then and there I ripped the ribbing and continued on with my sleeve.

 

I started this one at the end of January and only took a couple of weeks to finish, 10ply on 5.5mm needles flies.  I love the long front panels, they drape nicely and wrap snugly.  The waist shaping makes it sit nicely in the back.  Another project to add to my 13 in 13 from stash.

Pattern: Effortless
Yarn: Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 10ply - Ghost
Size: 34.5" bust
More photos here.

In an effort to get some nice photos of my cardigan I took myself and my tripod up to the historical monument near our house.  I couldn't resist a backlit sun flare.

Girly Kniting

It's a Girl! Which means I'm two for two at guessing the gender of my children! I suppose there's always a chance the sonographer was mistaken and we'll end up with a boy dressed in frilly lacey stuff!

I bought some gorgeous sock yarn from the lovely Charly of Ixchel fame and had been itching to cast on something pretty. The pattern is Garter Yoke Baby Cardi (Rav link), the Ixchel sock yarn is a colourway called Fantasy and the grey yarn is Patonyle.

I have plans for some tights to match in the lovely colourful yarn, but they will have to wait as all projects are now on hold until I finish Em's wedding dress!

SSS Days 15, 16 and 17

For some reason I had been keeping this dress in reserve for a special occasion. Then I remembered that every day has the potential to be a special occasion and threw it on to go shopping today! It's not really suited to cold weather, but with thick tights, long boots and cardigan I'm toasty warm!


Yesterday was a work day, which threw my whole week out because I usually work Tuesdays, but this week got all twisted about so Mr Huff could do his promotion exam for work on Tuesday. I wore a refashioned work shirt with a thrifted skirt.

The shirt is the uniform for the Jakarta branch of the business I work for. They send XXXL shirts to my colleague Al. They love Al because he's very tall and broad. However Al has recently dropped loads of weight and the XXXL shirts swim on him. When the latest batch arrived I offered to take it in for him, then we decided that I should take it in for me and we could have matching uniforms! So I took it up, took it in, added darts and puffy sleeves. Here it is in its original state! HUGE!


On Wednesday we went to Carlton to catch up with my in laws who were in town with Darron's uncle who had triple bypass surgery that afternoon (it went well and he's recovering nicely). We had a lovely lunch with them and then went to the Melbourne Museum to look at the dinosaur bones. The self stitched components of this outfit are my skirt and triangle shawl. The rest are all wardrobe staples, the umbrella was purchased that afternoon when the weather couldn't make up its mind about what it was doing. Melbourne weather at its best!