Wednesday, August 17, 2016

The words I love to hear!


Azrael photo bombing!

I have always knit and sewn for my brood. Having a girl and then boy/girl twins meant that there have always been lots of opportunities for all types of clothes and I have been lucky that they have always been really receptive to the idea of things made by Mama.  The trouble is for boys there comes a time where there is little to no choice in sewing patterns ( very little in the way of knitting either). So most of the more recent sewing has been for the girls. That is about to change as the boy is now 15 and fits comfortably into men's wear. Yippee!!

Just before the end of school he went rummaging in my fabric stash as he wanted something to cover his AMP . It isn't what I thought he would go for, it wasn't what I would of chosen indeed the fabric has been in my stash for at least a decade as it was bought for a disregarded project.

So off he went with the fabric and the scissors coming back a while later triumphant. Really proud of what he had accomplished  "Mum what do you think? I love it looks great!"

Then he said the words I love to hear...... " I'd love a shirt in that".   I literally rushed to find a pattern online before he changed his mind. I chose the Colette Negroni Pattern and traced out the small ( he is growing lots and honestly this size probably won't fit him for long.)

Now I had never made a man's shirt before indeed I hadn't really thought about the construction the yoke is very interesting. Fell seams were definitely a new one on me and I would definitely say I need more practice luckily the fabric hides a multitude of sins!

I had forgotten that I love the Colette patterns there is so much detail. My mum actually thought I was reading a book as the instructions were so comprehensive. Also the shirt has been made literally hundreds of times over the internet and there are lots of hacks out there which means it is never going to get boring. After I finished I found Male Pattern Boldness had done a sew along many moons ago with loads of info about shirt making. you can find it here
Don't you just love the red against the black and white?

I did fairly well on the pattern matching. The pockets are perfect although I didn't do the pocket flaps as one I thought the fabric too fussy to warrant them and two matching the pockets nearly drove me crazy!! The fronts aren't quite matched but again the fabric is so fussy I doubt anyone but me will notice.

The boy is very happy with it, I thought the fabric might be too warm for the summer but it travelled last week with him to Belgium . Worn by itself and with a tee-shirt underneath

Anyway until next time
 
A x

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

The Hannah Poncho


Hannah Poncho
What is it already mid August? The Summer is going so fast and I have to admit I have enjoyed every minute of it. It has been slow paced, a house full of teenagers runs to a different clock to other households. They stay up really late and then emerge blurry eyed at mid day looking for food. So although I have been reasonable productive, getting people organised to take photos has been a little bit challenging! Hence the delay in this post.
But it is worth it as I actually knit something, the first something this year , a poncho!
Mario and I had a day out to Uppermill a while back and we stopped at WoolyKnits to have a wander around. They had the Hannah poncho made up and I was instantly smitten, it is unusual for me, these days as I have so much yarn stashed, to buy a knitting project on a whim but Mario liked it too, helped me chose the colour. I don't usually wear/like blue unless it is in the form of Jeans but the sample was in blue and I was assured it looked good on. I loved it even more when he bought me it as a early birthday pressie. So I cast it on as soon as I got home. The pattern had a couple of mistakes when it is setting up the pattern, but was fairly instinctive and it made good TV knitting. The yarn is lovely and sheepy( I just love that smell)and it produces really nice cables that pop. It was knit on a 5mm needle with a 4mm at the collar.
I made it slightly longer than the pattern suggested as I was super keen on the cables matching up as I knew if they didn't I wouldn't like it. That basically meant ending the diamond pattern before starting the neck shaping.

Realistically I am a bit of a cold person and I was unsure that a poncho would really keep me warm enough as I have a tendency towards a coat at any opportunity. I needn't of worried, although might not be that practical in the middle of winter it is perfect for summer evenings and slightly windy days. It also seems to have enough lanolin in the yarn to sustain against a slight shower. I know, I have tried it out.

I haven't actually put anything else on the needles since I finished it but I am thinking I could do with sticking to the 5mm for a while as there is something very satisfying about how fast it grows.

Anyway till next time A x



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