Distracted by Repairing an Old Favorite

I'm supposed to be finishing my weaving, but, since winter hit I've gotten out a few old favorite pieces of clothing that I've had since the 90's which could use some love. One is the Calvin Klein winter dress coat that has remained perfect for my fit and style. Luckily I wore things a little too big back in high school and many of my tops still fit today. 

The outside of this coat is still in good shape but the inside lining was really torn up. I used to wear those jeans with the metal buttons on the pockets which did a number on long coat linings and bucket seats in cars. I started wearing this coat again much more frequently last year and the tears in the lining has been driving me crazy. It's time for a refresh.

I've been doing small hand stitching repairs on many of Bryan's things but not my own, so I decided to "treat myself" with my own hand-stitched and patched things. I did a clean out pass of the studio and realized I have a significant amount of satin-y fabrics in the stash. One has a wine-themed print that is really lovely, but I haven't wanted to use it for myself since I don't drink anymore. I had purchased a yard of this fabric from Spoonflower for a mask commission and the rest of it has been laying around saying "but look how pretty my print is!" and I tell it "but I don't drink!"... So as a consolation prize it gets to be some pop and flash in the lining of this coat. It'll barely be seen and it gives this patch project some extra flare. 

I think it's great that 90's things are back in style, I have been having fun reviving my past fashion choices. I noticed a few weeks ago that Vans even has a purple suede shoe back which was my first shoe purchase when I started shopping at the mall on my own back in the day. I loved those purple Vans SO much I may need to get the new pair while they're available. Of the shoes I have left in my closet from High School those didn't survive because I wore them so much.  I'm glad this coat stuck around so that I could give it new life!

Knitting Project: My Little Secret Crop

I was talking to my friend Sarah and she mentioned this cute crop top pattern on Ravelry.  I looked up My Little Secret Crop by Jessie Maed Designs and loved how versatile the pattern is and how she encourages you to use stash yarn. As much as my initial thought was that I have no business wearing a crop top at my age, I decided to ignore that and try my hand at knitting this top. 

I have recently purchased a pair of Levis that are flared "ribcage" jeans which I would just describe as super high-waisted stove-pipes so they allow me to wear a crop top without any unsightly bulges sticking out. I've always loved the vintage 70's look and I think this top, the yarn choices and the pants all make it come together for me. 

I was so proud of myself, I sampled ahead of time and ended up using 3 strands of yarn at the same time to get the correct gauge. The rust colored yarn is a bit scratchy so it took me about a month of knitting in the evenings to finish this without rubbing my fingers raw. I haven't done a burn test on this yarn to see what the content is. I was a little worried that it would be too uncomfortable to wear at the end of the day, but as I used to say "fashion over function."  After washing it I've found that it is comfortable to wear and I love it! 

About this stash yarn. I met Sally through Reach's Not So Silent Night holiday fundraiser a few years back. She has some of my beadwork and I've done some repairs on antique bead pieces for her. She told me she had nice yarn from her mom's estate that she wanted me to have. Last year we finally had a good time to meet when she was in town for me to come pick it up.  I'm still sorting through it, much of it is a little thicker than what I use for my regular (double weave) weaving but I use anything and everything when I tapestry weave.  When I decided to make this crop top, I found this wonderful rust speckled yarn that may actually be from the 70's to use as the base of this top. It has the turquoise and pinks in it so using them as accent stripes made sense. The images of the various top combinations on Ravelry were inspiring and I definitely liked the striped ones over the tops with just one color.

2020 and 2021 is really the first time in my life I've spent a lot of time knitting other people's patterns. From the beginning of my knitting career in elementary school I always preferred to figure out how to make something on my own. Most things were very blocky because I didn't know how to do much. This past year I have been knitting more of other people's patterns and I'm finding it more relaxing (it's all figured out for me), and I'm learning a lot more. The straps to this top are double knit, which has recently come up as a thing I thought I should learn. It's double knit on a small scale but with the pattern showing me how to do so it was a quicker learning process and now I'm letting it roll around in my head as to how else I could use this (and how can I knit it like I do double weave pick up). I also learned how to do a three needle bind off. Mind. Blown. Which I actually needed to do for my next knitted top's bottom hem. It looks lovely and no stitching anything together afterwards. 

I've already worn this top twice and I have a sneaking suspicion I'll be making more of these.

Dolman Sweater

This sweater began with an award from a Michigan League of Handweavers Fiber Art Exhibit during the last Conference. My award was a gift certificate from Threadbender Yarn Shop. I decided to peruse the selection they had at the vendor's market.  I kept eyeing this yellow and fuchsia yarn, I had no idea what I wanted to make with it, and usually it just ends up in my stash as some sort of accent yarn to use for tapestry or Theo Moorman inlay.  Rather than adding this yarn to my stash I obsessed over it. I looked through hundreds of Ravelry patterns and against better judgement I decided I couldn't find a pattern I liked so I'd make one up as I went along. I had the idea in mind and I have just enough knitting knowledge to be dangerous. 

I knit samples for the first time ever, just to check gauge and make sure my yarn blending was going to be about what I imagined in my head. I had decided to knit a dolman style sweater; I kept being attracted to this style at Talbots and figured the slow increase would be simple enough to make up as I knit.  I had been knitting a lot of socks at AA meetings and I thought it was time to make something larger for myself. As this piece grew I realized I needed more yarn, I picked some up at Woven Art to blend in, but as I got to the yellow top I started to panic.  Thankfully I found some left in a yarn shop that posted on Amazon.  I could have made this a little bit longer now that I'm looking at the finished piece but I was too nervous that I'd run out of the yarn again and I wanted the sleeves/cuffs to be a solid yellow. 

I thought for sure that I'd have to flip this piece inside out and stitch the side seams up for a better fit, but as it turns out it's the perfect comfy, slouchy weight that I wanted.  I knitted this sweater using 2 strands of Manos Del Uruguay lace weight yarn on a size 4 needle. I'm guessing it took me just over a year to finish, I kept putting it down to think it over, wait for yarn, or I just wasn't into knitting in the evenings. With this quarantine all I have wanted to do is knit and hand stitch.  There's something really soothing about knitting, it's good for the soul while the world spins outside.  Which I need because I spiked a fever yesterday, freaked out, had to call in to work and go get tested. So now I wait. I am hoping it's just a seasonal cold because from what I've read the symptoms of COVID are similar. Let's hope that's all it is. I'm very thankful that I love hunkering down and being home with Bryan and the kitties.