At some point this winter I realized that my wardrobe had a lot of bright color in it, or at least I was wearing all the bright colors in my wardrobe, and I had been knitting and sewing in these colors too. Weird, because in my mind I’m always in gray and blue, maybe with a pop of something else. Maybe it was the winter bareness or all the moving-related newness the drove me to more color. But from what I’ve been making lately, I think I’m back to the blues—the happy blues.
I started my Stripe Study Veera shawl while on vacation in Florida, so that feels like the ocean to me.
And then Eva’s kcwc top was gray.
And I made this little zippy pouch for the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild meeting swap. I got something fabulous from Anna in return, but I’ll wait until I hang it to talk about it more.
And then I’m also working on simple, basic mini quilt with gray and blue. More on that soon.
by Dorie on April 29, 2012
Here I am at the bitter end of kids clothes week, furiously hemming to get the kid in the photo before the last rays of sun are gone. I’m happy with this top, and so is Eva. I’m pretty confident that it will get worn, only because the challenge of this kcwc was as much in conversation and communication as it was in sewing.
I used a Japanese craft book (isbn 9784834725568), one that I’ve always thought was a little young-looking for me, but bought anyway. Japanese craft book patterns tend to be boxy, and I always need to add hip space to them for me, but this worked really well for my in-between girl. I made an adult small pattern without adding any seam allowances, which I suppose might equal and adult extra small.
I love the gray and the pin tucks, and the girl loves the colors she got to pick, the layered look, and the sheep pocket. (Of course I love the sheep pocket too.)
by Dorie on April 26, 2012
I am doing Meg’s Kids Clothes Week Challenge, and so far the most challenging part has been finding the right thing to make—the thing that would make both me and my girl happy. She came to me with a great idea—so much more interesting than the simple shorts I was thinking of—a charm quilt shirt. She wanted a shirt with lots of different novelty fabric from my stash. Cool! Fun! I can get behind that. I could use the Build by Wendy raglan sleeve top as a base and sew strips of squares and then foundation piece them on to the top, and that would be neat. But that wasn’t the image in Eva’s mind. She was thinking more like string quilting, and a strappy top with an elasticized back. And so, for an evening it was no fun for either of us. I think we have something else going now. We’ll see.
I did manage to finish a top for me. Thinking about the Build by Wendy top for Eva reminded me that I had one unfinished for myself, one that had been languishing for two years (!), because I was struggling with fit and had shoved it aside in a fit of annoyance. I have made this top before twice, but I stopped wearing them because they were tight across the shoulders. So I made this bigger one that was just all wrong. I messed with adjustments, but nothing seemed right. I can see now that it’s the sleeve cut. I need the space across the back but not in the armpit. No more sewn raglans for me. But I was able to save this one because I had cut it long, and it works OK as a longer top with a belt. Originally, I had the hem pinned about 3 inches higher, which would have left me way boxy. I finished the top in time for Made By Rae’s Spring Top A-Long. So glad she includes stuff you started in the past, because it was a great boost to just getting this top done and wearable.
by Dorie on April 21, 2012
I started blogging six years ago sometime in April. That seems like a substantial amount of time, particularly if I measure it in how much my daughter has grown. There have been very prolific blog times and there have been blog droughts. I like to notice these cycles here and on other blogs, because we can’t all be that excited all the time. Or sometimes we are that excited, but we’re also having children, relocating, starting a new job, splitting up, gettting hitched, etc., and we just can’t blog the crafty end.
This little bunny went to Kristin of Kleas, someone whose work I have admired for, oh about six years. Her felt flower pincushions were one of the first things I fell hard for when I started spending Saturday mornings on the blogs. Most recently, I’ve been loving Kristin’s flickr inspiration mosaics, like this one. I don’t know where she finds the stuff. Her flickr search abilities and collecting sensibilities make a very beautiful thing. They helped pull me out of a little slump, and so while I was in a doing mode, I finished up the rabbit.
The bunny is the same pattern as this one, and from a Japanese craft book I bought in San Francisco, but which purl soho now sells. I did the base differently and put a jar lid in there for stability. I like that trick. Also, this bunny has a real angora tail from my real angora rabbit—Bunsen’s first contribution to craft.
by Dorie on April 18, 2012
I have another reason to love Etsy. As if providing makers with a marketplace for selling their craft wasn’t enough, Etsy is speaking about the role of women in technology and throwing in some financial support. Etsy is giving $50,000 in scholarships for women to attend summer Hacker School this year. The Etsy news post is really interesting—Etsy understands that the majority of their users are female, that they support female entrepreneurs in a big way, and that it would make sense if there were more women crafting the platform where the others sell their craft.
Regular readers and friends know that I code. I most recently wrote quiltr, and the space where technology meets craft is very interesting and, well, special to me. During much of my career, I didn’t think it was a big deal to be a woman in tech. I worked in environments where there were other female developers, and I was always hired by a woman who had also written code. I worked with great people who judged me by the work I did. I’ve spent the last nine months after our move working on my own, and observing that for the most part, the coding community is great and supportive and full of people who want to share ideas and cheer for others’ achievements. But, I’m also aware that I look like a girl, and there are little things that make me have to admit that we’re someplace behind the place I thought we were.
Recently my daughter told me that she just wasn’t a “computer person”. My heart sank a little. Not because I want her to like everything I like and grow up to be a developer just like her mom, but because she sounded just like me at her age. It wasn’t until college that I saw that computers and code were tools for creativity and self expression and for making beautiful things. Before that, I found computers to be fragile, inflexible, and dull. Have I failed to show my daughter the awesome side of code? And what I can I do about it now? Hmmm … I smell an awesome tech summer coming on.
Back to Etsy and Hacker School. Will I apply? I’m not sure. Maybe. What about you? I appreciate what they’re doing, and I appreciate the thought behind it.
by Dorie on April 7, 2012
I have some things in my etsy shop. How long has it been since I’ve done that? Last fall when I was knitting a bunch of baby hats, I thought that it would be fun to keep making small groups of things. I only got as far as these pincushions that I’ve just put in the shop, so not sure how good that idea was. I like the pincushions though! They are little scrapbusters—each square is only a half inch.
Last week, I was on vacation visiting my dad and stepmother in Florida. It was beautiful and wonderful and very relaxing. I came home feeling motivated, which is a really great feeling.
by Dorie on March 28, 2012
Remember how I said I thought I would knit a tunic? um-hm. That project was to come right after this sweater, which I have only just finished.
I do love this sweater. I started it in October, but then lost my sweater mojo around the holidays/move #2. I got re-motivated when I realized it was March already, and if I had any hope of wearing it this season, I had better get hopping. So sweater is done and March is not over yet. Still, it probably won’t get worn until next year, but I will love it then still.
The sweater is all garter stitch with one crosswise cable. Squishy, squishy garter stitch. It feels like wearing a comfy blanket. And the cowl! It is the mother of all cowls. Huge and asymmetrical. I like it very much that way.
The pattern is Graystone by Veera Välimäki. The yarn is Traveler in Solvay House by the now split Sanguine Gryphon.
Also, dang this camera takes some foggy-looking pictures.
by Dorie on March 20, 2012
All winter long I wanted a sweater tunic. At first I thought I’d knit one, and then as the days dribbled off the calendar that turned into wanting to buy one, and then even to just buying one at Meijer, for goodness sake, but it never happened. So for Spring, I am on it. I have made myself a spring tunic.
The pattern is Simplicity 0450, also called Simplicity 2245. (Why? I don’t know.) But more than that, it’s the lisette portfolio tunic. Lisette is Liesl Gibson’s line for women via Simplicity. Because when we all said, “I want a grown-up sized oliver + s dress,” she listened.
I am entirely pleased with the way it came out. It’s comfortable, cute, and even stylish. I don’t get that made-it-myself-in-a-bad-way feel when I wear it. It has very cool pockets, and also a dolman-ish sleeve, which is my new best thing for not having sweaty pits (not that you asked).
Here is how I will wear it in spring, assuming our spring ever stops acting like summer:
Here is how I will wear it in summer when it’s really hot and I’ve gotten used to having exposed skin:
I used some blue egg colored linen that was languishing in the stash. It was a good fit. I had heard that Liesl gave all sorts of good construction tips in the oliver + s patterns, so I was looking forward to that in the lisette pattern. I was not disappointed. I would like to think that if Liesl got together with Martha to discuss my tunic, the conversation would go like this:
Liesl: I think Dorie did a great job on that tunic. I can tell she didn’t skip out on any of the little steps.
Martha: Yes, and it is a beautiful color—either Robin’s Egg or Ameraucana Blue. My favorite.
by Dorie on March 12, 2012
I’ve been doing a fair amount of making, all of it a little bit here and a little bit there. It feels really good to take a few stitches on projects that have been languishing too long.
The weekend was so sunny and bright that I remembered to snap a few in-progress pics. When I look at all the projects I’m doing right now, I realize that they are, for the most part, following directions-type projects. I think I’m about ready to start something different—something I make up—to really get to that side of creativity. I used to do that more. I think I have space to do it again.
Here’s a little list of what I’ve been working on:
My carpenter’s wheel quilt
A portfolio tunic
A little pincushion
I finished a Norie hat, but it’s too big, so it’s really not finished because I’m going to rip it all out.
I think I finished the body on my Graystone sweater. Just the sleeves remain. I want to finish it in March!
by Dorie on February 26, 2012
I’ve been catching up this week after being away last weekend. I went to Chicago to meet up with my friend who returned from an overseas sabbatical trip. It was great to see her. When I got home, this little bunny was waiting for me. I’ve wanted an Angora rabbit ever since I saw someone spinning right off of one at some historic festival years ago. It was a nice surprise from my guy and my girl. I tell the rabbit (his name is Bunsen) to eat all his food and grow me a sweater.
I find myself thinking about spring pattern sewing, tunics mostly. I need some cute, but not too dressy, things. I have the wiksten tova pattern and four lisette patterns (portfolio, market, traveler, passport) that I bought on 99 cent day last spring. I may just dig into one of them and see what happens. I’m thinking the portfolio tunic.
