Powdersnow Shawl by Lisa Hannes in Shibui Staccato

 This gorgeous little bit of knitting delight is the Powdersnow Shawl by Lisa Hannes.  I don't knit as many shawls as I used to a few years ago (because how many little shawls does a girl really need?) but this one has been calling to me for a couple of years.

The yarn I used for this design is Shibui Staccato, the same yarn I used for my Knitty Design Recital.  I love the softness and drape of this merino/silk yarn.  It also blocks beautifully.  My color of choice this time was "suit."

Here you can see the three distinct textured sections - a knit/purl textured stitch, some cables, and a simple ribbed edge.  Gorgeous simplicity.

The photo below is a pretty good representation of the color - a little lighter than a true navy.

   This has been my take-with-me knitting for a few months now.  I am excited to pick out another small project for that purpose.  Maybe some socks!  I have definitely come around to the call of sock knitting since I have discovered my love of wearing them.

I attempted to take some style shots, but my timer always makes for blurry photos, and the dark color was causing the same problem as black - no detail visible.

Vogue 1537 Dress in Silk/Linen

Hi there!  You may (or may not - it has been a few months) remember my excitement at Vogue 1537, a spring Kay Unger Designer pattern for Vogue.  Well, I finished it about two months ago, but with all the move excitement, I never got around to photographing and sharing it.  The coat is 95% finished as well.  It just needs a bit of hand sewing at the buttonholes (and buttons!), but once I missed the deadline on a perfect event for it, I lost steam.  It is too warm to wear now in Florida, but hopefully I will find the perfect excuse to wear it once we get to Pennsylvania.

So back to the main event - Vogue 1537.  I photographed this on a beautiful day, but I think the pale colored dress plus the white in the background was just too much for my camera and the photos are a bit washed out.  The detail photos at the end are an accurate representation of the fabric.  It is a silk/linen blend that I purchased at Penny Fabrics in Sarasota (sorry, still no website).  The lining is rayon from JoAnn fabrics.

The only shaping on the front is two french darts.  This style dart starts at the side seam around the waist and comes to a point at the bust.  This is a very flattering dart on my body shape.  It is easy to fit.  Here is another example of a dress with french darts.

The back has standard vertical fish-eye darts and a side invisible zipper.  I tried so hard to get that bottom band to be in the perfect position to cover my bra strap, but it always pops out, which totally ruins the look.  So far, I have only worn this dress with a little cardi over top, so you couldn't see the main detail anyway, but maybe I could look for a bra with a very thin band.  I can also envision some type of thread loop carriers like are used for bra straps, but that would be quite a pain to attach to my bra band and might cause strange bunching of my dress.

Here are the detail photos that show the fabric better.  After I wore this dress two times, I took it to the dry cleaner, and I kind of want to cry.  I was so meticulous with sewing and pressing this dress, and it came back distorted on the left side of the opening...

...and look what they did to the back left shoulder!  That isn't a sewing mistake.  The corresponding underside on the right is just as bad, but this is visible.  I don't know what to do in the future.  Just hand wash and press myself?  I like the crispness from the dry cleaner, but not at the expense of the shape of my dress!  Any ideas?  

New Knitting Pattern in Knitty - Recital

Sorry I have been away for a while.  It turns out we are moving up the east coast as soon as school is over, and I quickly became overwhelmed with all the preparations to sell the house and move our stuff.  This is for the most part, a very good move.  Hubs has a great new job, and we are moving very close to all of my family, but we have definitely settled into Florida after almost 7 years, and we will miss our friends, our perfect little neighborhood, our church, and being so close to my in-laws and the BEACH 

There has been precious little crafting going on - a little knitting on one project and no sewing except for some things for my church.  My sewing machines have been unceremoniously placed in a closet for house showings.  Much of my yarn stash has been placed in a box and moved to storage, to declutter for above-mentioned house showings.  Most destructive of all to the creative juices has just been the all-consuming nature of preparing for the move.  Even now, with our current house under contract (YEA!!) and more free time as I just wait around for the move date, I am hesitant to get things out and start making messes again.

In the midst of this excitement, my second knitting pattern for Knitty was published, Recital.  Here it is on Ravelry.  My plan had been to have two other knitting patterns up on Ravelry before the release date, but, well, that just didn't happen.  Now would be a good time to finish up those patterns, though.  It makes no mess to type up instructions!

I love this little cowl-neck tee.  The yarn is Shibui Knits Staccato, a luxurious merino/silk blend.  It is perfect for these spring days when you are ready for short sleeves but want a little sweater warmth.  The construction is really fun, too.  The back is knit normally, bottom-up, but the front is worked from side to side, and the sleeves are picked up and knit down - no sewing in sleeves!  Possibly best of all, being a Knitty pattern, the instructions are free!  :-)  I hope you enjoy.

On the Moors with Jane Eyre Shawl by The Sampler Girl + Me Made May 4 and 5

This was such a fun little knitting project.  It is called MKAL On the Moors with Jane Eyre and is designed by Tanya of The Sampler Girl.  The name is a bit of a mouthful, and if you are unfamiliar, MKAL stands for mystery knit along.  The pattern was released in four separate sections over five weeks.  I didn't see the finished shawl until I finished mine.  Very fun, but you definitely have to know you like the designer to commit to that format. :-)

The yarn is a discontinued Noro that is mostly cotton and silk.  I had three balls and it used up almost all of the yardage.

Aaaand as usual with shawls, this is how I actually wear it - wrapped around my neck like a big ol' scarf.

I am happy to report that this is my Me Made May outfit today, day 5.
Here is the skirt and here is the top.

This was yesterday, day 4.  I am wearing my Bonbon Shawlette.

Day 3, I totally failed and forgot to get all me-made up before going for my weekly school library volunteer gig.  I never officially signed up on Zo's blog anyway...

Marfy 3443

Here it is:  Marfy 3443

 

This was a mental challenge, figuring out the order of construction and where to use structural fabrics.  I am very pleased with the outcome!  My original plan was to walk through the muslin and construction in more detail, but I had a deadline for this dress (son's First Communion) and found myself less than two weeks out without so much as a  cut-out muslin.

Here are the fashion illustrations.  Both have a buckle or brooch at the center.  I considered adding the brooch I mentioned here, but the fabric is so busy, I think it would have been lost anyway.

I think my waistline falls higher than in the illustrations, but it's hard to tell.  It does fall at my narrowest part, more at my lower rib cage than natural waistline.  I do think it is flattering. 

My waist and hip measurements fell between two pattern sizes, so I ordered down due to my small bust.  I figured the bust would be the most difficult part to adjust.  This plan worked out well.  I did add about 1" total to the waist area at the side seams, and I needed to add almost two inches in the back since it felt tight across the shoulders and back.  The hip area was fine as drafted due to the A-line shape and tucks.  I'm so glad I made a muslin for this dress.

Because the sleeves fall right below the crease of the elbow, and mine are simply one layer of silk chiffon, they do tend to get bunched up like you see in the photos, but it doesn't bother me.

Side view:  Despite the higher waistline and pleats, there is no maternity look about this dress.  The silk just lays perfectly flat where it is supposed to.  It could easily be modified to make a killer maternity dress, though.  I found the muslin sleeves were tight for me and I couldn't move my arms enough.  I added an inch to each sleeve and they are so much more comfortable now.

 I guess the back of this dress is nothing to write home about, but the fit is good and I got that center back invisible zip into the silk without bubbles, so that's something!

This dress is soooo swishy.  Love it!  I used a printed silk chiffon with a silk charmeuse lining/underlining depending on the area of the dress.  I used silk organza to add structure (interface) the back pieces and the side fronts.  The bust and skirt (areas with pleats and gathers) are just the chiffon lined with the charmeuse.  The sleeves are a single layer of chiffon.

The chiffon and charmeuse are from Pennie Fabrics in Sarasota.  The organza I've had for years and just use as needed on projects like this.  I mentioned using it to interface this blouse.

 Here are all the details.  I stitched down the skirt pleats for a couple of inches as shown on the pattern piece.  In the muslin, I didn't do that - I just tucked them and basted without stitching down.  I think these pop more and look more like the pattern illustration.

Inside, some areas are finished with the charmeuse acting as a lining, and some seams are finished with bias tape depending on what the area needed.  For instance, the zipper needed all three layers (chiffon, organza, and charmeuse) treated as one so the zipper wouldn't show through the chiffon and organza, so I finished that seam with some bias tape.

 I also treated the chiffon and charmeuse as one for the skirt pleats and finished the ends with bias tape.

Edit:  If you're interested in the Marfy process, I wrote a post about opening one up here.