Knitting and some sewing too.

Long sleeved cardigan under way.

The past couple of weeks has seen a lot of knitting alongside a little sewing and preparation for more sewing. I have been concentrating on getting this long sleeved cardigan finished and also starting a pair of trousers. However, I seem to have been getting all sorts of things wrong. I have completed the whole of the large sections - back, fronts and both sleeves - only to have to rip back the left front since I missed out two rows of the first zigzag pattern. This may seem fussy, but it will irritate me when I wear this cardigan, so I really must sort that out now before finishing it. At present I am nearing the section of the right front where I shall be decreasing ready for the collar shaping. Hopefully I shall finish this in the next day or two and then I can rip back the left front and do the same corrections to that. The photo shows the pieces of the cardigan as I completed the second sleeve. If you look at the top left of the photo you will see one of the front pieces. It clearly shows the first zigzag pattern. The section just below the purl rows is the bit which is wrong. There should be a line of five holes at this point and not four. An irritating mistake to make especially since I got it right on the back. Definitely a case of more haste and less speed.........

Trousers

The trousers are now nearing completion and I will post a photo once they have been hemmed and are ready to wear. At present they are waiting for me to get around to sewing the long side and inside leg seams. So not much more to do. The fabric is a linen/cotton blend and I am really looking forward to being able to wear them. It is a pattern I have used before. Sadly, last time I got the sizing wrong and they turned out a little too large. This time I have used a smaller size. The pattern is KwikSew 3363. a simple pair of straight leg trousers. As you see from the photos these should go nicely with the long sleeved cardigan I am also making.

I have been reading The Colette Sewing Handbook and have taken on board some of the advice, most notably the second chapter which is entitled "A thoughtful plan" and details ways to dress for yourself and your shape. This might all sound very obvious, but the advice is timely for me since I really hadn't grasped these ideas before having them spelt out for me in this book.

Skirt

The second item I have prepared for sewing is the Meringue skirt from the same book. I am really not sure about the scalloped edge of the original and also the short length so will probably be modifying this with an underskirt to make a feature of the scalloped edge without having it as the hemline. It also doesn't have pockets which is something I do prefer any skirt I make for myself to have. I may end up adding these to the front since it is a very plain straight skirt otherwise.

iPhone pockets and knitting, preparing for sewing too.

Stormy skies

The skies aren't quite so dark as this outside at the moment, but this was the scene from the back garden a few days back, just before a thunderstorm. The colours were amazing. At the moment the skies are dark and it is raining again. The garden does need the water, and it gives me the time to get on with things inside rather than feeling I should be out doing some gardening.

Weights for my next session with a dress pattern.

Yes, it might seem odd having these heavy washers in my sewing room. I was reading the Coletterie blog, and noticed how washers were used to weight down dressmaking patterns rather than using pins. I decided that the next time I was in a builders merchants I would get some for myself. So yesterday I picked up two packs of these. They were the heaviest on the rack and cost just £2.14. It will be interesting to see how I get on with these.

iPhone pockets.

Yesterday my elder daughter took collection of five iPhone pockets which I had been making for her. These have been around my workroom for the past few weeks and I had forgotten to post about them. Liz had seen two previous little bags I had made for myself, and noticed that they would be perfect for carrying her iPhone around at work. I let her have the one already completed and let her persuade me to make some more. Three of these have closures while the remainder are just left open at the top.

More iPhone pockets.

You might recognise the fabric used in two of the pockets shown above. I was printing these not so long ago.

Reverse of the brown and silver pocket,

My long sleeved cardigan under way.

The back of my longsleeved cardigan is now complete and I have started the left front.

Making a miniature quilt

The Quilt blocks part way through assembling the quilt.

I've been having a little fun making something very simple for a change. This is a foundation pieced Miniature Whirlwind Quilt. I had decided to have a bit of a break from my lengthy list of projects, and make something where the design was already set. The result is this set of sixteen pieced blocks. I shall quilt these very simply and add sashing and a border.

The completed 12" square centre.

The design comes from http://quilting.about.com/. You will find the design here. There are a number of other quilt designs to choose from. The prompt to make something like this came form an online group, one of the My Sewing Circle forums which was starting a quiltalong. I just couldn't get my head around any of the projects I really should have been getting on with, so decided to have a go. I really didn't fancy making a twelve inch square block, so looked around for a design for a miniature quilt which would end up being 12 inches square. This little quilt when finished will probably turn into a cushion cover. I have plenty of these fabrics left over to make another three cushions. Perhaps by the end of doing these my piecing may have improved.

My finished edge to edge cardie, or waistcoat.

During the past week I finished off my waistcoat. I haven't worn it yet since it has been rather too warm. However, it is really nice and I am looking forward to wearing it later in the year. first posted about this project here.

The next project a cardigan.

My new project is just about ready to be started. Pink is really not my colour and so my version is going to be a pale green. As you might have noticed, this project is also in the same booklet as the edge to edge cardigan above. It is unusual for me to knit more than one project from a book, but this will be my third.
The first project and the book itself were written about here. The completed first cardigan was shown here.
I haven't knitted so much in months.

Now that the knitted elements of my wardrobe are under way I really ought to start getting some clothing sewn. As you can see, I have already bought the fabric. From the top here is some wadding, two patterned fabrics - a soft cotton destined for blouses and some blue chambray which is going to become a new skirt. The bottom fabric is a soft poly-cotton fabric which will become the skirt lining. All these fabrics, apart from the wadding has now been laundered and is awaiting a final ironing before I can start cutting out and sewing. I am hoping that it won't be too long before I can get started.