It's done*! It's done*! We're not gonna talk about what I did to my sleep schedule up finish it, but it's done*!
We had a nicely aesthetic walk in the woods, so I figured that'd be a great photo op... And it was 26°C at 10 am already, with 77% humidity, my hair wet from a shower and an incline most cars can't handle. Most of the frontal pictures have me looking like a freshly steamed lobster.
But ho-lee bugnuts, does this twirl. It's not even all that heavy (1590g) or warm (the top is a single layer of linen), considering it's 920-ish pieces of fabric pieced together by hand, but structure the patchwork is just stiff enough to flare out perfectly without hanging weird when you're just going about your day. I was one of the few during the hike who didn't have to worry about bugs or stinging nettles on most parts of their body.
...or, you know, committing shenanigans with the plushie of a friend who is stuck at home.
Several people who have seen it so far said the colors work really well together and it looks so balanced. My BIL, who bought "his wife" a sewing machine with zero** ulterior motives a few months ago, asked where to get fabric that's the color and texture of the skirt. Um.
But yeah, data:
- skirt is Salix by Unendlich Schön, lengthened to 80cm, but with the flare reduced to 75% its usual volume (see pictures above on how little difference that makes)
- skirt has center slit pockets anchored in 3 panel seams and the waist seam. Twirling pictures were taken with things inside the pockets, because years of experience have taught me that backpacks and humid heat are a special kind of hell
- bodice is from the Hinterland Dress by Sew Liberated, made with the 3/4th sleeve without the cuff and the elasticated back hack
- patchwork is the Spiny Peaks quilt pattern by Modafabrics, each strip of blocks applied with foundation piecing to the panels, with the zigzag alternatively running vertical and horizontal across each pattern, quilted down extra hard by following the outside line of the green zigzag. I've got about 80-100 blocks left.
- fabric is some IKEA calico and green linen scraps, one half of a digital print dinosaur duvet cover I bought two years ago and scraps of a floral duvet cover I tried to dye a moody dark gray but which ended up black. Some of the inside fabric is also a duvet cover I bought to use for mockups. The entire project was to see if I could make a coherent, wearable garment out of a pile of scraps that weren't enough to do much with.
- The main expense was overlocker thread. I used... A lot of overlocker thread on this one. I'm actively grateful for it being affordable at my local fabric store. Add 3 machine needles and we're looking at about 15 bucks spent making this. If we factor in that the thread and fabric and tools from my stash still have value, as do the 200+ hours of my time that went into making this... This might be the most expensive garment I own.
* the 6m of hem are overlocked and very much not done beyond that. Shhhh.
BUT I finally photographed this thing I finally finished:
Mitered squares baby blanket from acryllic yarns I'm never going to wear myself now that I've been medically warned off artificial fibre. I started it in I think early 2021, and it was slight lockdown madness where I started knitting squares for a blanket on 2 mm needles. No idea what I was thinking there. Back then I thought it was a blanket for myself. No idea what I was thnking there either.
Now it's a slightly chaotic baby blanket for charity, and I'm ultimately very happy with how it turned out, even when, at the last moment, I managed to mess up the order in which I sewed the squares together. Yes, it's a mitered square blanket sewn together from individual squares. It's easier to travel with and do in small implements that way, even if the finishing was then a pain.
It used up over 250 g of yarns that had been languishing in various stashes, so. Success, and I've started another, this time in greater thickness on larger needles because I've learned my lesson. Even though admittedly the end result does seem worth of the effort in the end, it's so fun and neat at that gauge, even in its semi-planned chaos. But. So much time, and I have so many other things to do.
Hi, hello~ it's been a hot minute since I last posted here, I know
But. Um. Look! I knit my first sweater!! :D It's so pretty and comfy and soft I love it so much! I will be wearing it as often as I can while the weather remains cool and rainy ,'3
(Also a lil explanation on the name I've given it: it's just because the main sleeve yarn reminds me of Pigeons lol)
I did want to make this blanket big enough to cover my bed, but I've been working on it for over 2 months now, and it's big enough for a lap blanket for the sofa and I'm happy with that
The next time I want to make a big blanket, I am going to do it in 4 pieces and sew it together!
Photos of a quilt I made two years ago. This was a great stash busting project, I mainly used leftovers from various medium weight linens I had made skirts, dresses, aprons and chemises out of. Only the backing fabric, quilting thread, and batting were bought for this project. I originally wanted to do triangles, but they ate up so much seam allowance that we got cute squares instead!
Finished the first skein! I guess that it was technically more half a skein. Currently knitted 34.5/120 needed “block rows”. I have two more full skeins left so that should be more than enough to finish this outside of the scarf.
