Thursday 6 December 2012

Almost Blue

My recent burst of creativity and motivation has collided with an unavoidable round of winter virus bingo, which has meant there have been lots of creative thoughts but not so much in the way of actually making stuff. 

Luckily, I finished the nomad jacket just before the latest virus cranked up to full power. Less fortunately, I misjudged placing the buttonhole (which I wrote into the pattern last time round) and it needed to be a couple of rows higher and closer to the edge by a couple of stitches. Ordinarily this wouldn't seem like much of a big deal; it was only 7 rows to rip back and re-do. It took a few evenings to sort it out and it really could have been done in one. 

A few days in the head-clearing spaciousness of Keswick have helped; not enough energy for big walks but we went for a wander along the lakeside and enjoyed the winter sun. 


Derwentwater

The dress I wrote about last month has been deferred into next year - too much to do in December without tracing pattern pieces and making toiles etc. I did buy a linen/cotton blend fabric although I'm not so sure about the colour. I bought it online and it looked much bluer on my screen; it's really more of a lilac. (I also bought some habotai silk to line it as it worked out only slightly more expensive than buying an acetate lining). This is only the latest online purchasing mishap. Previous cock-ups this year included ordering a miniscule hat, and fabric that was too light weight for a skirt. The lightweight fabric will get used for something, not so sure about the hat though.



l-r: purple corduroy, printed lawn, habotai, linen/cotton 
So instead of the dress, I might be making a quick and easy skirt using some stash fabric that Kath gave me (purple corduroy, far left) and a previously tested Burda skirt pattern. Or I might make something from the December issue of Burdastyle which has some interesting patterns. It's the first issue I've bought where I'm not sure what to make first. As ever, there's some weird stuff in there too:

Burdastyle weirdness

Next year I'm hoping to use up some stash fabric and work from patterns I have already. That includes a pile of Burdastyle magazines that I haven't tried yet. Each one has at least one worthwhile pattern in. Unfortunately, during the time I took out my subscription there were some monstrosities in there. This Krystle Carrington biker jacket on the right here is an aberration in an otherwise excellent issue.  

The picture below is of the completed nomad jacket. This is the second one I've made, but this time using yarn closer in gauge to the recommended yarn. The colour scheme is a bit 1980s but I'm happy with the fit. I'm pleased to report it looks better on me than it does on my trusty dummy Maria. I'll try and replace this fuzzy pic with a clearer, human one soon.



Nomad Jacket

 

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