From shawl knitting virgin to sewing crack....in 249 easy stiches

Dear Michelle,

Hello from a sunny evening in Wales. What have you been up to then, my lovely friend? Me? I've been resting. The bane of my existence is this inanely boring health thing that I have (I wont bore you with details as it is dull, dull dull) but it does mean that I need to rest. Quite a lot actually. And sometimes for months on end. 

Well what's a woman to do?

 I have those  darling dresses waiting in the wings, flapping like very pretty ghosts calling 'finish me, finish me, just one dart...you know you want to!' (Did I mention that the dress is now five ways instead of three? will save that for next post)

Then, there is the continuing sock marathon, only the pain in my arms and hands was making holding those tiny needles a killer. At one point I was propped up with 6 cushions under each arm so I didn't have to raise my hands. Now that's commitment. 

As far as the POD goes...well I might have accidentally bought more fabric. Oh and  swapped some for a lovely Doctor Who damask patterned cotton but actually sitting down at the sewing machine? Er, no. I am resting.

To stave of the mind-numbing dullness that is resting... did I mention I was resting? I decided to knit a shawl...well decided might be too strong a word- the needles mysteriously appeared in my propped up hands and all of a sudden I was knitting. I think it  might have started with an online wool sale at Wool Warehouse. Too much time on ones hands and a paypal account is a dangerous thing. So after a few little purchases, in ready-ness for their arrival, I thought I might have a practice run. 

I should confess now that I am a bit of a wool snob. I like the feel of lovely wool in my hands when i am knitting and when I am wearing it. I don't like the uniform colour of mass dyed wools and as for the A word - Acrylic... I am a smoking hot woman of  peri-menopausal age. I could spontaneously combust at any moment. I don't want to wear anything that might actually melt with me.

Back to practising, I had this huge ball of Aran of indeterminate origin i had bought on-line years ago, mistaking it for something far lovelier and never getting around to returning it. I am not sure what it is. I know what it it not. I know it is not hand dyed blue faced Leicester hand reared on the welsh hills and sung to sleep by fairies as they spin it each night.  It has some wool in it but I don't know how much. I do know it has some you know what in it, that said it didn't feel too bad and it was only a practice until the real lovelies arrived. 

Just five little stitches and I was hooked...it looked so lovely on the needles. It draped across my legs as I lay on the sofa and was warming and comforting. Like realising the guy you are dating, that you are not sure about, is transforming into the man of your dreams, I love this wool. 

Of course the pattern helped. I stated off using Drops Tequila Sunrise.   I printed out the pattern and rearranged to suit my dyslexia and set to. Worked on circular needles it is a simple increase in the centre and at each end, with a looped garter stitch pattern, meaning it grew quite quickly. But you know me and patterns? Easily bored and distracted. 

I cant help myself. So I added a row of Holes (yes that is the technical word, cheeky woman. Are you suggesting I simply cant remember the name for some very fancy stitch?) I then I kept adding them and adding more stitches and a few more extra hoops and it grew and grew and it is so lovely.  

I have tried to knit a shawl before, have drooled over those stunning lace ones on Ravelry. I even have a Craftsy class that will teach me how to make one. But I have struggled with following a chart (not dyslexic friendly)and have gotten myself into a cross knotty mess. Using such a sturdy yarn with sensible size 6 needles (size 10 for U.S)  and a simple repeat pattern and I am hooked.

With the help of a very lovely YouTube lady at Knit Purl Hunter  I even worked out how to do a picot edge. Bind off picot edge.   I  blocked it by soaking in warm water and then laying it, folded up, on a bath towel which i rolled up to squeeze out as much water as I could. I then hung it out to dry. I am sure this is not the correct way to do it but its what I did.  And here it is..in all its glory. 

unblocked and still a work in progress

Sunning itself in the garden

And do you know what, I ran straight back into the house after hanging it up, grabbed a cup of tea and my ipad and was searching Ravelry for the next shawl to knit while it was still dripping. I might squeeze in some socks now my hands are feeling stronger but like a kid on a roller-coaster (no I am not puking into my friends lap) I wanna go again!!!!  I am completely addicted. My legs feel cold and I don't know what to do with my hands. I need another pattern. Only this time a little harder. Just a little more complicated. I can handle it.

 And my new wool arrived, so now I can start the real thing ! HOORAY!

So what are you working on? Come on, I've shown you mine so you show me yours.

All my love

Maya

p.s  it is taking me hours to change al my i's into capitol I's so from now on, with your indulgence i wont bother xxxxxxx

socks are where its at.....

I am on a mission with socks. Every few years I give hand knitted socks to my family as Christmas gifts. Every year I start knitting early but every year I seem to end up knitting in a mad rush, frantically picking up stitches and turning heels in a wild frenzy until by January I'm a burnt out mess with tangled yarn and an inability to count stitches.

Not this year. This year I am starting EARLY! 

Well that's what I thought....in the past 5 weeks I have knitted five pairs of socks. Yes that's right. FIVE pairs of socks! The plan is to fill up a box of handmade goodies for the holidays that I can happily hand out as gifts minus all the stress and last minute hoo-ha! 

But then I had to send a pair to my lovely co-blogger so she could see what I was talking about (see earlier pic). Then a second pair, made from a stunning Bluefaced Leicester yarn, went to a beautiful friend for their birthday. Then a third I managed to stash in the box without anyone seeing. However, the fourth pair were nabbed by my daughter, pretty much straight from the needles. The final pair, gorgeous dove grey super soft alpaca, went for a birthday present to my lovely son in law.

Sadly I didn't even get time to take a photo of any of them to show you.   

I think I might have needed to start knitting for Christmas earlier. In secret. Under the covers. With the lights out. Then no one can see them and go 'oohh they're nice. Can I have have a pair of them?'

Am off to cast on again....sshhhh! Don't tell anyone. It's a secret. 

Playing on Ravelry

Isn't Ravelry the best ever!?  I think I may have 5273 things I want to make!  

Here is a wee sweater (jumper to my friends across the pond) for my new grandbaby that is due in late October.  He/She will have to wear it during the first five days of their life as it is so tiny.  
So fun to make, and she has other 'wee' patterns that I will begin once I find out the gender of the baby on May 28.  

Cinco de Mayo

The fifth of May is Mexican Independence Day.  We (especially in Texas) use this excuse to eat lots of Mexican food and drink Margaritas and Mexican Beer.
Many years ago, my sister and her husband, transplanted from Texas, lived in Connecticut and had talked about Cinco de Mayo.  Their friend needed a new fence and so he told all his (Northern) friends that Cinco de Mayo was Mexican Fencing Day and that it was a day that everyone came together to help someone put up a new fence.  It worked!!  He got a bunch of friends to come over and help him build his fence.  

Probably couldn't get away with that today with Facebook and all.

Happy Mexican Fencing Day!

One dress, three ways!

My newest  project is to make dresses for my three best friends. I am an intermediate sewer. I make my own clothes reasonably successfully minus the odd 'what was i thinking?' moment in either fabric choice or pattern.

I'm what is politely called super curvy. That is one of the main reasons I wanted to make my own clothes. I hated shopping. I could never find anything i wanted to wear in the plus size rails and would come home in tears feeling fat, frumpy and miserable.

Not any more. Making clothes that fit me has been such a massive confidence boost, both in the new skills I have learnt but also, and maybe more importantly, in how I feel about my body. I am tall, have big boobs and a belly. All those years of struggling to find a stitch to wear are gone, now I can slip on a handmade dress and feel fabulous, even if I am just popping to the shop for milk, because MY clothes flatter my figure rather than disguise it.

So back to my three friends...I thought it would be an interesting challenge to make and fit the same dress on three very different bodies...my lovelies are all quite slim and all very different in build . I want them to feel as gorgeous, in a made to measure dress, as I feel.

The pattern I have chosen, after long consultations and flicking through pattern magazines, is McCall's M7085. This is a simple lined shift dress with darts through the waist and back to give a lovely long curvy shape. Very easy to sew.

I thought this would be the most flattering to all three friends while at the same time offering lots of scope to make each dress really personal. So we headed off to the amazing Abakan store in Mostyn, Noth wales.

The final fabric choices are all very different, in both texture as well as colour. There was a lot to choose from in the store. Dress one has gone for a soft cotton Paisley fabric in turquoise and brown . This is very light and drapes well and being a little sheer will benefit from the lining. With a big pattern there is going to be a emphasis on pattern matching. It will be cap-sleeved with a sweetheart neck and will be above the knee.

dress two 

Dress two is a two way stretch cotton twill. It is obviously stiffer than the cotton and is very firm to handle. i think this will give a very structured look to the dress. It will be sleeveless with a slash neck finishing at mid-thigh. I am not sure if it will be lined, due to the stretch fabric.

Dress three is a  very lightweight silky printed poly with lots of movement. I think this will be the hardest to sew as it does like to move about but drapes beautifully. This one will be just above knee length with mid sleeves and a sweetheart neck.

For each dress i will make a muslin ( a mock up of the dress) from the unaltered pattern pieces. As each of my models measurements range between at least two pattern sizes I will  fit the muslin to their bodies and then transfer those alterations back to the pattern pieces before finally cutting and sewing the dress.

i'll post loads more pics as I go so you can see how it going.  

Ohhh! i am so excited to get started, i can hardly wait!