Color of the Year Pants

When Pantone announced the 2013 color of the year, I was already itching to have/make something in the Emerald color.  I'm not really one to jump onto color trends unless it's a color I already like/own/wear.  I do LOVE color, though.  So it is always interesting to see the trends come out with the runway shows, and figure out how I can work something into my own looks.

Something else I really like to do is dye things.  If it is white or light colored, and made of fabric, yarn, or anything else that will take dye, it is in danger if it is in my house.  This is just as well, really, because I'm clumsy and white doesn't last long anyway.  So I had my eye out for something to dye green when I came across these pants:

There is nothing offensive about the boring grey corduroy.  Actually, they went with quite a few things in my wardrobe, but I decided they were too bland.  I looked up the color of the year dye formula, and green pants were born!

They worked pretty well in this cozy outfit.  Not sure that I will wear them tons, but they are fun, and will make me smile when I wear them, so that's all that counts in my book!

A {Grey} Brownstone

Quite some time ago, my husband asked me when I was ever going to get around to making him a sweater.  When I stumbled onto Jared Flood's Brownstone Sweater pattern, I knew it would be a perfect pick.  It had enough details to be interesting, but was not so crazy that Matt wouldn't wear it, or that I would give up making a man-sized sweater.  

I finally got around to starting the project while he was gone for the summer doing his internship.  This allowed me to work on it in secret (for a Christmas gift), and it provided a great way to keep myself busy while I was missing him.  He was out of town from the end of May to the beginning of August, and I had finished the sleeves, and half of the body at that point.  I decided to keep it a secret, and I would knit at my parent's house here and there, or while he was at class.  It was down to the wire, but I finished it the week before Christmas and had it blocked and wrapped just in time.

Somehow, I managed to keep it a surprise, and I think he really likes it.  We finally got around to snapping some photos and he went all J.Crew on me ;)

Overall, it was a great pattern, and really the only thing I changed was that I did one button instead of two, and I did a single crochet chain for the loop closure instead of what the pattern recommends.  I'm just happy that after all that knitting the thing fits!

You can see my ravelry project page here.

A Handmade Yarn Swift From My Sweetie

I hinted at a handmade gift that needed to be shown off, that I received from my husband.  We have been trying to do handmade gifts for each other, and as many people on our list for the last couple of years.  This year we got close (all but one!).  Matt does woodworking, so at my request, he made me a yarn swift.  I'm pretty sure it was made with love, but also with the desire to not have to help me wind yarn balls anymore ;)

I love how it turned out, and it works really well.  The base is made from Walnut, and the arms are from Maple.  Matt looked up some plans online, and then winged it from there.  The pieces are basically scraps leftover from the cutting boards he was making for gifts, so we got by making it pretty cheap.  I think in the $20-$30 range.  The pegs are just pieces of dowels, that can be replaced if they get stained from the dyes in the yarn.

Tigger was intrigued:

 

Here's a closeup where you can see the finish, and how lovely it looks with some yarn on it!  I really love that he made me something I will use all the time!  If I can get some photographs of his sweater, you'll get to see what I made him next!

 

Plaid Flannel Wiksten Tova Top

There are many enviable versions of the Wiksten Tova Top out there on the web.  (See Wiksten Flickr group here)  I have had this pattern (along with the tank pattern) for awhile now, and with the cooler weather, I finally decided it couldn't wait any longer.  I needed to make it in plaid flannel!  

I was originally making the dress version, but then I chopped it off after trying it on.  The crazy colorful plaid I picked was a little much in allover dress form!  Here it is:

(That's Tigger on the shelf behind me.  He loves a good photo-bomb opportunity.)

I made a couple of minor changes to the pattern.  To show off the design lines on front, I decided to cut the bib section on the bias.  Since I did this, I also decided that that section needed interfacing, along with the placket.  What happened when I tried it on, though, is that it was stiff and looked too "buttoned up," even in the absence of real closures.  I remedied this by pinching a dart out beside the placket to make the neckline more V-shaped.  This worked, but I think if I made it again, I would use a fabric with no real wrong side, because my interfacing sort of shows if the top gaps.  Or, you could do a double layer on the bib, so that it would not be an issue.  I'm hoping to make it again in more of a floaty cotton, and I think that will change the look of the neckline.

I'm still happy with the final product, even though some changes had to be made.  It's a great casual top to throw on with jeans and boots!

I have also uploaded a review to Pattern Review here.

On Playing Catch-Up (and some new socks)

So after a year long hiatus, I'm back.  Not that I will guarantee I'm going to be posting every little thing, but I am ready to share some more and get caught up with this space.  I intend to share some of the things I made from the end of 2012, and through the holiday season.  Sewing has somewhat taken the backseat to knitting lately.  Something about the cooler weather, I guess.  I just finished a pair of socks for my Dad, that were intended for a Christmas gift, but ended up being a little late.  Luckily, he didn't mind, and put them right on to go do cattle chores in the snow!  (I know, scary that they might get yucky, but I am from the school of thought that handmade items are to be used, so this thrilled me)  

The socks are just a basic pattern from a Patons Sock pattern book that I picked up at a chain store.  It is the first sock pattern that had enough pictures and explanations for me to make a pair without struggling or giving up, and the husband was the lucky recipient of that first pair Christmas 2011.  (He has since moved on to bigger and better gifts such as sweaters...more on that later)  I have since become really fond of making socks in a way I never imagined.  They are the perfect portable project, and they have just enough boring stuff, just enough action to keep me hooked.  They are also great for when you are working on another more involved project (husband's sweater), and you need a break.

 The color is just a boring oatmeal color, but I'm breaking him in slowly with the handmade socks ;)

Can't start off with too many crazy colors!  The yarn is also a nice wool/alpaca/nylon blend so they are really soft, and should wear nicely.  Here is the Ravelry page.  (Psst...Feel free to add me on Ravelry!)

Time to head back to the couch by the fire, and keep on knitting! :)

Testing 1, 2, 3...

Here are two of the patterns I'm planning on testing, and the fabrics I have paired up with each.  Let's hope they go smoothly!  I figure it will be easier to teach them, if I've already tried them myself.  As an added bonus, the students will be able to see a finished product!

And then October Happenned...

Wow, what a crazy month (and a half!) since I've posted.  October whizzed by in a blur, as it always does.  A happy birthday for my brother at the beginning of the month, and then lots of craziness helping with Extreme Makeover Home Edition for it's Joplin build.  Then enrollment for my students, and holy cow Thanksgiving is this week!  How the time flies!

So, I'm back and I have some fun stuff coming up for you (my first giveaway), and some actual sewing to show off.  But first, some vintage fabric finds.  A couple of them from the flea market, and the others from my Grandma's house.  I went shopping a couple weeks ago for some fabric at my local Jo-Ann (which is in a temp location because of the May 22 tornado), and sadly, they have very little apparel fabric.  When I got home, I got to thinking that maybe my Grandma would have some fabric I could use.  I called her up, and she was happy to fix me up.  I brought home way to much, and here is just what I have washed and determined is suitable for use (not double knit lol).

 And here are my thrift store finds:

I've already whipped up a dress out of the purple/red pattern fabric, and I'm going to use some of the fabrics my grandma had for testing patterns for next semester.  I'm teaching a sewing course, so I need to pick out which patterns we will use!