WIP Wednesday: Renewed Vigor

I honestly can't explain why, but I have a sudden desire to finish this dang sweater. A turning pint occurred after knitting the sleeve during church this Sunday. I had reached a point where I needed to decide on a sleeve length, so I pinned the sleeve I had made in place on my mannequin just to see how it looked, and guys... I'm smitten again. It looks so much cuter with a sleeve, seriously. I deliberated for a while about the sleeve length, and in the end I decided that I would like to make this one with full length long sleeves. I have several fingering weight sweaters at this point, but all of them are 3/4 length sleeves, which is fine, but since I don't have any in full length I thought it would be nice to go that route this time. I knitted to the point that I need to start the ribbing on that first sleeve and then set it aside to knit the second sleeve just so I can be sure I have enough yarn for both and can make them match (I think it should be fine, but just in case...).

I also needed to deal with the extra buttonhole I made but don't need. I thought that since I was extending the sweater that I may need a 6th buttonhole to accommodate for the added length. Wrong. You can see the hole in the first photo - way up there by my neck. I didn't know this until the whole thing was knitted and I had it sewn onto the sweater, so I was NOT about to undo all that work and remove that hole. I decided to just close it up instead, which I finally did on Sunday. It's not perfect, but I don't think anyone will notice unless I point it out, so that's fine by me. I even have my rayon petersham ribbon that I will back the button bands with, so this sweater is well within my reach to finish soon. Very exciting :)

Then on Sunday, I decided to get over my lack of sewing by jumping into a project I was excited about not long ago. My weight is still in flux and I'm down to the final 10 lbs I want to lose, so when I bought this fabric I wanted to save it in case I lost more weight in my stomach and made this too big for this hopeful future body size. The thing is ... I still haven't lost that weight. I've been at a plateau for months now, and I miss sewing clothes. So I decided to just cut this one out so I can wear it now knowing I can always take it in later on if I need to. This fabric is a cotton canvas from Joann's I grabbed on sale over the summer, so it's the perfect weight for a Hollyburn skirt. Sadly, Joann's decided to give me a 2 yard cut as a 1 yard cut when filling my 3 yard order :/ Which meant that I could not cut this out with everything on grain. I hate that fabric stores feel this is fine, but anyway. I got all the main skirt pieces totally on grain using the 2 yard piece and the waistband is cut on the cross grain on that same piece. The waistband will be interfaced anyway, s as long as it's not on the bias, I think it's fine. Plus this made it so that I could center the moon on the waistband in the correct direction so you can tell it's a moon, which is cool. After cutting it, I also dug out a zipper from my vast stash. I have a big handful of vintage zippers in this odd 70s golden color, which in no way goes with most of the colors I tend to sew up, but given that it was a perfect match for the moons on this fabric, it was the perfect opportunity to use one up. I always sew a lapped zipper for this pattern anyway, so it's a nice little secret pop of color. Because of Halloween and adult obligations like cleaning, I haven't sewn this together yet, but I hoe t this week.

I've also recently become obsessed with the idea of sewing myself a Sophie Dress by Ora Lin Patterns. Shannon Makes on YouTube recently made one in a lovely linen rayon blend and it introduced me to the pattern. Now I can't stop thinking about it. I have a lot of linen on hand that would be perfect except that I need t dye the fabric first, which I just can't muster up the time or devotion to try again after my failed attempt a few months ago. I will dye it soon, but that delays this project a bit. 

In the meantime, it got me thinking about other dress patterns I really want to make and one that has been ono my list for YEARS now is the New England Dress by Decades f Style. I've owned this pattern for years - it's been on my Make 9 list several times - yet I still have not made this up and it's a crime. Last night it occurred to me how cute this would look in some black linen I have on hand I can see it in my head - a simple black dress with a little something t make it not dreary or too dressy. I'm excited, so I think this will be happening soon.

SO after a bit of a slump in my sewing, I now have new found motivation and projects in mind :) Sometimes we just need a knitting break, amiright?