FO: Emelie Cardigan

This post has been over a year in the making :) I finally finished my Emelie cardigan! (I'm sorry about the lack of detail in the modeled photos - it was so sunny while I got ready that morning, but as soon as I was ready for pictures it was pouring for the rest of the day. Ah, Florida. Also the white shining through the yarn is from the flash on my camera - it's not like that in person).

This is the Emelie pattern by Elin Berglund. I fell in love with the simple but pretty design last year and when I snagged the perfect yarn for a great deal I decided it was meant to be in my life. I started knitting this sweater last August (the 17th according to Ravelry) and at first I did make really good progress for this being my first fingering weight cardigan. Everything moved along until the Christmas crunch started when it was set aside for the first time in favor of gift making. I would pick this up between a few other projects, and I was much better about devoting time to it after Christmas, but my life became so crazed this year that I didn't really want to guilt myself for long standing projects. Knitting is my relaxation activity, so I tried to keep things low stress. Also black fingering weight yarn is not the greatest thing to work with when you can only knit at night. Just sayin'. Anyway, we eventually got there and now I have a sweater :)

This sweater marks a few firsts for me: it's my first time making such a large project with fingering weight yarn as well as my first bottom-up sweater (meaning you start from the hem and work your way to the shoulders). I was nervous about not being able to try it on for length as well as incredibly paranoid about running out of yarn - not a fun combination. I only had exactly the amount of yarn the pattern called for in my size, so I made the sweater just barely to the length of my waistline. I don't really understand how this always happens to me since I do knit a gauge swatch first, but once again I ended up with excess yarn. This sweater only used 2.5 skeins of my 3 skeins of yarn :/ Looks like I could've gone longer, but like I said there was no way to know at the time. Oh well, I'm sure some nice black yarn will come in handy. I just try not to think about it, lol.

The nice thing about this pattern is that it gives you 3 different hem and sleeve length options. I went with the 13" (which is the measurement from the bottom of the armhole to the hem). In truth, I do wish this was a bit longer, but it will still be a great basic as it is. Once I had the body knitted, I made the button bands and neckband so that I could make sure the sleeves would have enough yarn to be even length (again, this was when I was worried I would run out of yarn). To do this, I knitted everything but the sleeves, then weighed the yarn and divided the remainder in half and had planned on using that much for each sleeve. I did not end up needing to do this, but that's how it's done in case anyone is curious, lol. I just kept trying the sleeves on and started the ribbing when they were the length I wanted. This came out at 3/4 length - which is my favorite :)

Here are a few shots were you can actually see the lace detail - I love the little mock cables the design creates - too bad black is so hard to photograph. The pattern is simple but enough to keep the sweater interesting in my opinion, and as a basic black sweater this is just enough detail to go with pretty much anything I want to wear. I used Valley Yarns Charlemont for this project, which is seriously the most luxurious yarn I've ever worked with. It's 60% superwash merino wool, 20% silk, and 20% polyamide which makes for a deliciously soft combination. It's just so smooth and soft I want to rub it all the time. The only downside of this softness is that the yarn does get fuzzy fairly easily, meaning it will pill with wear. It had a light layer of fuzz just from all the handling of knitting the sweater, but this was easily solved with a clothing shaver. Also, having a mannequin made shaving this sweater SO much easier! Also, the above picture is the only one where you can actually see the cute buttons - they are just cheapy plastic ones, but they are faceted and have a trois foil outer edge. FUN STORY: I bought 2 cards of these buttons at Joan's 4th of July sale knowing they would be a possibility for this sweater, but in all the craziness of sale shopping excitement I forgot to look up how many the sweater would need ... and I only bought 8 when I needed 11 :/ I didn't realize this until I was ready to sew the buttons on, and just in case I couldn't find more of the same buttons I didn't want to take that step until I had enough to finish. I mentioned this to a crafty friend at church and she happened to be going to Joann's the next day and offered to pick up another card of the buttons for me! Crafty people are just the nicest. Thanks, Beth and Alex!

As per my usual habit, I stabilized the button bands with rayon petersham ribbon. I seriously love this technique - it makes the sweater feel so sturdy and professional. I ordered this ribbon from Britex months ago just for this sweater. I would also like to note that this is the first sweater I ever did a correct wrap and turn for the short row sleeves. I always ended up with holes in my previous sweaters, so for this one I looked up a tutorial and found out I was doing it wrong. I still have some small holes on the side where I purled the wraps, but it's not nearly as pronounced as my other sweaters, so I call that a win.

This picture is a bit goofy, but I had to include it since this is realistically how the sweater will be worn. I think it looks just as nice open, don't you? I hate how these photos came out as far as the shine of my pale skin through the stitches. I sweater the sweater is not that tight in real life. It actually fits exactly like I wanted :) I think the shine is a combination of my white shirt and the silk in the yarn.

So, here's another goofy hand pose to say that I really love this sweater, and I love even more that I am finally done making it, lol. This pattern is really well written and I may visit it again later on down the road - I will definitely work with this yarn again (if it goes on super sale again, especially the newer kettle dyed variety). I love that I now have a hand knit black and white cardigan in my collection, though I am certainly ready for a bright color. The next one will be much more fun :)

Summary:
Yarn: 2.53 skeins of Valley Yarns Charlemont in black - $28.33
Pattern: Emelie by Elin Berglund - $6.00
Notions: 1.11 yards of 1" wide Rayon Petersham Ribbon - $3.00, 11 black buttons - $3.00
Time to Make: 1 year (on and off)
Total: $40.33

WIP Wednesday: It's All Happening!

Hello, All! It's been a pretty momentous week around these parts because ...

I finished knitting my Emelie cardigan! It's a miracle! To be real, I do still need to re-knit the bind off on the button band, but still - the main knitting is done and I'm so excited. I started this project last August (ugh!), so this has been a much anticipated sweater. This is my first fingering weight sweater, and I learned quite a bit in the process.

I included a more lightened version of the photo just so you can see what I mean. It's not awful, but the button band bind off just doesn't stretch quite enough, so I'm going to take it out and redo it. I'm not looking forward to this, lol, but after a year of work I'd rather not think I wish I had done something to fix it while I wear it. I'm hoping to buckle down and get this done this next week so I can get it finished before the one year mark (August 17th). We'll see ...

Also I completely lost steam on my project for the Ami-Along. It's really cute! I just lost all desire to crochet for some reason. He just needs to be sewn together and get ears and he's done, so this is seriously a half hour away from completion. Hopefully I feel up to it soon so he doesn't remain headless, lol.

 I also cast on a new project (I'm in a very "plan future projects" mood lately). This is the Nosegay Vest by Andi Satterlund, and I'm joining in the knit-along for this one. I loved this design when it was released, so when Andi announced the knit-along I decided it was a good opportunity to get this made up. This project will be a few firsts for me - it's my first vest and it's also my first colorwork. I've watched the Intarsia class on Craftsy, but I've still never officially used the technique, so I figured I would just go whole hog and have this be my first project. Another factor in making this vest is that I'm actually able to make it entirely out of stash yarn - yay! The color section on the rose will use Cascade 220 Superwash (in Strawberry Pink, Daffodil, and Salmon) and Lion Brand Wool-Ease (in Avocado). The body is where I ran into a smidge of a snag. I had two skeins of I Love This Wool yarn in Winter White from Hobby Lobby that I've acquired over the years - the two skeins are different dye lots, but close - the problem is that the vest requires a bit more yarn than just those two skeins. I went to Hobby Lobby to get one more skein ... only to discover that they have discontinued this yarn! They had other colors in the sale section, but none that I could use.

. 

So I returned to my stash and dug out all my skeins of white/natural colored wool to compare. The closest color I had was a skein of Patons Classic Worsted Wool in Aran, and I decided to just go with it and alternate skeins every two rows. This complicated my yarn pulling arrangement to be sure, but it's manageable as long as I stay on top of things. Now I'm just trying to decide if I like how the vest is looking. It's not just the color - the yarns are different plys, so it's coming out like a subtle stripe in the fabric. I included a blown up photo to show what I mean. I've only knitted the bottom ribbing so far, so I'm going to go a bit further into the stockinette section before I make my official Yay of Nay decision. I want to see if the stripe gives a "kettle dyed" look, or just looks silly, you know? Wish me luck!

On the sewing front, I've been very busy but with not much to show for it. I've had McCall's 6503 on my list for years - I really want to make view D in a navy blue cotton. I already have everything I need for the official dress in my stash. I made my first muslin in the size that I usually do for Simplicity patterns about a month or two ago and it was enormous (this is my first time with a McCall's pattern). I was frustrated back then, so I just kind of chucked the muslin aside and went on to the next project. I decided to try again in a smaller size this past week, so I checked the finished garment measurements before cutting and put together a smaller size. It came out too small! RRrrrrr.... I voiced my frustration on Instagram, and a few very kind sewing bloggers tried to help me out (thanks Gillian and Brooke!), sadly I was so not in the mood to work on it further at that point that I didn't delve that deep into the adjustments. I did try an experiment and used the midriff band from the previous larger size muslin on the new, smaller muslin and that actually seemed to solve the too small problem really well. Now I have my usual hollow chest adjustment to make, but on a bodice that has no darts I have no idea how to accomplish this. The other ladies told me where I could find the info I need, so I know for next time. I've just been distracted by the new and shiny things ever since, so I haven't bothered with this any further. Hopefully I get in a more "get this figured out" mood soon.

On my sewing table right now is a freshly traced Sorrel top pattern I just grabbed yesterday. I just couldn't resist the Sew Independent pattern bundle that's up for grabs right now (today is the last day if you want it). Of course the patterns I loved the most were in the highest price bracket, lol. Anyway, I really loved the Sorrel top with it's neat inset collars. I love a good t-shirt, and this one just has such neat options. I printed it out right away, put it together last night and traced off my size. I've already pulled out a dark teal interlock fabric for the body and a blue floral t-shirt for the collar - both of these were thrifted so I'm ok with using them as a wearable muslin. I've never made anything with inset pieces like this before, so I'm curious to see how I manage. Hopefully I can make this up after work tonight :)

I'm also REALLY excited that I finally have a copy of Butterick 6217. I've been trying to buy this pattern for months at the pattern sales, but it's always been completely gone or only available in the small size. My sister found this one and grabbed it for me this weekend and I was so so happy, lol. I have 2.5 yards of that same rose print swiss dot fabric just begging to be made int o this shirt. I can't wait! I also have about 3 other dresses floating around in my head that I really want to make up. If only I could just sew and not worry about working or any issues with fitting, amiright?! I would be so productive then. Anyway, I'm sure this pattern isn't far off in my future :)

Phew! That was a long one! That's what's happening over in my neck of the woods. Head over to Gracey's Goodies if you'd like to see what some other knitters have in the works as well :)

WIP Wednesday: Progress, Progress

I know it's been a while (I feel like I'm all or nothing when it comes to projects to post about), but I have managed to make some decided progress :)

 I finished the first sleeve on my Emelie cardigan! I actually managed to finish it on Saturday, which was National Knit In Public Day :) I went to Seaworld with my family and finished the sleeve on the way.

Here's a close up - I had to fudge things a bit since I wanted my sleeves shorter than the pattern calls for. I had to decrease very quickly at the end, and I actually ended up with a line of decreases on the underside of the sleeve, but it feeds right into the ribbing so no one will notice it but me. It looks like a sudden dip when it's flat, but when it's on my arm, you can't even tell. I'll take it :) I also managed to make my whole sleeve cap in church on Sunday and start on the actual sleeve itself. I can feel how close this is to finishing now so I'm trying to work mainly on this.

As far as my Outfit Along Briar cardigan - it hasn't even been started. Ugh. The Fibranatura Cotton True is sold as "sport" weight yarn, but it is more like fingering weight in person. I've tried several larger needle sizes and I still can't even remotely get gauge even when the stitches are so big that you can basically see through the knitting completely. Rrrr... Oh well. I have to figure out something else, but I may just use my Emelie as my OAL sweater. We shall see. It feels like I haven't had much time at home over the last few weeks, so I haven't been able to delve into my stash and figure out a new plan. 

In other news, My mom knitted something! My mom was always told she could never be taught to knit because she was left handed. Even her mom wrote her off as hopeless when she was young, so she just gave up on the idea. When I taught knitting at my church back in May, my mom was one of my students. She has stuck with the washcloth project, and worked on it little by little, asking me questions periodically, and she just finished binding off yesterday. I'm so proud! (sniff)

I did finish a fairly complex sewing project this week as well - a Colette Beignet skirt. I posted this pic on Instagram last week when I hammered out the buttonholes. It came out really great, and I'm super proud. I just have to take photos and whatnot, so stay tuned for that :)

I'm also knee deep in listening to A Tale of Two Cities along with a friend  of mine. Oddly enough, I've never read this book, and I never even knew what the story was about despite this being required reading in basic 12th grade English in my state. I took AP English, so I didn't have the same required reading, and this book just never crossed my path. This book is always in the top 5 of Books To Read Before You Die lists, so I've wanted to read it for the last year or so. My friend Taylor suggested the two of us read it at the same time, so it gave me a great excuse to finally mark this one off my list. I'm about 1/3rd through it, and I'm liking Madame Defarge already :) Gotta love a fellow knitter and revolutionary.

So that's it for me this week :) Head over to Gracey's Goodies to see what others are up to.

WIP Wednesday: Definite Progress and New Projects

Well, it's another Wednesday and I do have some discernible progress to show!

Look! That is a real sleeve! I'm to the point now on my Emelie that I have to decide once and for all how long the sleeves will be. I need to knit about 1 more inch plain and then do 3 inches of ribbing and this sleeve will be finished. Of course now I find out I have plenty of yarn leftover, so I could have made the body longer, but what can you do. Note to self - this is why I prefer top-down cardigans. I do love the style of this though, and I'm really excited to get this one finished and wearable.

Of course, I didn't feel like being dutiful and working on my Emelie cardigan last night, lol. I have a sudden urge to cheer myself up with a stuffed animal, so I'm going with it. I've been a bit down lately, so I'm trying things to help perk me back up a bit. Case and point: I've always loved the Baby Doll pattern by Susan B. Anderson (it's in Itty-Bitty Toys), but I've always said I would have to just wait and make it if I ever had a daughter. Obviously, that has not happened, and I just really want to make this baby doll. So I cast on last night :) I may be a 30 year old with a baby doll, but I don't care. I'm really excited to have this in my collection of heirloom toys.

I've also been sewing a bit over the holiday weekend. I spent my Saturday night tracing 4 patterns I've always wanted to make, and then made a muslin of the Megan Dress from Love at First Stitch by Tilly Walnes on Monday. I had the opposite problem I usually have - the front fit fine, but the back had a ridiculous amount of excess. I'm going to have to have someone pin it all out for me and mark the wedge so I can see what to take out, plus I definitely made a size too big, but even with just taking it in at the sides it was still big on the bottom. I also will have to lengthen the bodice by about 3/4". Right after I made this muslin and saw these issues, I suddenly realized I may not like this style of dress on me. I'm still trying to decide. Either way, progress stopped there and I just didn't have the desire to sew anymore that day. Oh well. I do want to make myself a birthday dress this year, which may be what I submit for the Outfit Along as well. So we shall see.

That's all for me this week :) Head over to Gracey's Goodies to see what others are making up as well!

WIP Wednesday: Slowly, But Surely

So, I have been thrown into yet another bout of running around like a crazy person this past week, which has certainly taken a tole on my crafting time. Not only did I have a bunch of personal crap to deal with, but last night I taught a knitting class at church ... to about 20 women! It was crazy. Luckily I had assistance by a few other knitters, but man, that was just flat out too many to try and teach in the 1 hour period we had. There were a few who really took to it though, and most of them still seemed enthused when it was over, so that's good. We had so many that there is talk of doing another teaching activity so they can get further in our project.

So, since last I wrote about my WIPs, I did manage to have something to show for my time :)

I finished my Bunsen and Beaker square for the Geek-Along. I managed to finish this one in just a few days because I actually buckled down and worked on it for stretches of longer than 20 minutes like the Tesla square, lol. I feel much more confident in my tapestry crochet abilities now, that's for sure. I'm excited to keep going with the blanket :)

Also, miracle of miracles, is that a sleeve cap I see on my Emelie cardigan? Holy crap, guys, this thing is going to get finished if it kills me. I made the entire sleeve cap once and started on the sleeve itself, but my wrap & turns looked like a hot mess. I never realized that I didn't actually know how to properly wrap & turn. I mean, I knew the wrapping and turning part, but I never worked the picking up of the wraps correctly before. So, since I love this cardigan and this yarn and I've spent so much time making it, I decided it was a perfect time to finally learn it correctly. I tried reading written instructions, but it still wasn't clicking and I couldn't get it right, so I turned to the Free Short Rows Class on Craftsy which finally saved my butt. I am just a more visual person, and I need to see things done in real time.

So now my sleeve cap is looking really nice :) I'm now ready to progress onto the actual sleeve knitting, so hopefully I get more time to work on this in the near future. I'd really like to have this one to wear. It may even assist in distracting the eye while I wear my Skewed Flowers Dress, lol.

In my book world, I am finally finishing This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I actually read half of this book last year, but it's seriously so full of 1910s slang that I could barely understand it. I know that probably makes me sound like a bonehead, but seriously the dialogue is just nuts. So when the audiobook was available this week, I snagged it. I've already passed where I had read to in the physical book, and the audiobook helped a bit on that first half, but holy cow I'm so confused when these people talk, lol. I'm a big history buff and I love historical films and literature, but I've never heard most of this jargon. I am determined to finish it though, so hopefully it all makes sense in the end.

And that's what I've had going on in the craft world these past few weeks. If you'd like to see what others have in the works, head over to Gracey's Goodies and check it out :)

WIP Wednesday: Working on Golden Oldies

So, a miraculous thing happened this past weekend - I actually had the desire to finally pick up my Emelie cardigan, lol. I started this back in September, and managed to finish the body of the sweater at the beginning of December. I'm a smidge worried about having enough yarn, so I wanted to knit the button bands and neckband before making the sleeves, so I can just make them as long as I have yarn for - this meant having to do lots of counting and such for the button bands, which I really don't enjoy doing. My least favorite part about knitting is the math, hands down. Anyway, not only did I need to count out the button bands, I also needed good lighting to do it since I knit this in fingering weight black yarn. Most of my knitting time is at night after work, so it became a hassle and I just ended up setting this aside while I worked on other projects. After cleaning up my sewing room, I had a sudden desire to finally get this thing finished up, so I buckled down and knit my button bands!

I'm sorry for the terrible quality of the picute - black is seriously so hard to photograph any details on. I spent my Saturday evening knitting both button bands - I even learned how to do a 3 stitch button hole :) Once I finished the bands, I looked at the pattern ... and noticed that I was supposed to knit the neck band first! UGH! I seriously can't believe that I didn't even think about it. The button band is supposed to continue up the edge of the neck band as well to tie it all together ... so these bands will have to be unraveled and redone :( Bummer!

Before I unravel things, I decided to go ahead and make the neckband so I only have to pick up stitches along that extra area and not the whole thing again. Smarts! So, my sweater looks like this at the moment, and hopefully tonight I will get the chance to unravel and redo. I'm really excited about this sweater now! This is my first fingering weight sweater, and I'm hoping I will actually be able to wear it in the blistering Florida heat (indoors, that is) without wanting to die. My wool sweaters have already been packed away, and I've kind of lost steam on my Agatha sweater for the same reason - it's in the 90s already here. Ugh.

In other news, here is a sneak peek at what else I was working on this week - I made a dress! I finished it up last night and now I just have to photograph it, so stay tuned for details soon :)

I've been working on all these projects while listening to what may possibly be the best book I've ever read - Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Oh my gosh, this book is so good! This is a 63 hour audio book (!!!), and in the past 2 weeks I've managed to listen to 49 hours of it. The amazing thing is that I have not once wished it would just get to the point. I have loved every minute of it ... for 49 hours so far! That's pretty incredible. I can't wait to listen to what happens next!

I've also worked on my Geek-A-Long square as well as a new project I have yet to mention here. I've been pretty busy! If you'd like to see what others are up to, head over to Gracey's Goodies and click around :)

WIP Wednesday: Big = Slow, Plus An Accidental Ornament

This holiday week has really put a damper on my knitting time! I still managed to get some done, but things are just not going as quickly as I normally would expect. I think part of it is that I'm not so great with the big yarn I'm using right now...

My Roland is still progressing, but man oh man does it take forever to make anything with such big yarn! Seriously I feel like each stitch is made in slow motion just from the time and effort it takes to wrap it around and pull it through each time. I'm on the decreases for the shell, so I am in the home stretch at least. My quick project has turned out not to be quite so quick, so I may have to set this big guy aside until I finish more gifts :( Just for the record, that gray "shell" piece already has used almost 2 entire skeins of Lion Brand Hometown USA! That's nuts! Judging by the weight of this piece alone, I can tell you right now this things is going to be really heavy. I hope I have enough poly-fill!

On Monday night, I decided to be responsible and work on part of a gift. I cast on this toddler sized mitten as part of my sister's present (which it now turns out may cause her to question my sanity, but what can you do?) She already saw this piece yesterday , by the way, so I'm safe in posting it here. I made this little toddler sized mitten using the Frozen Mittens pattern (which is a free pattern from Bernat). I made the smallest size because it said it was for 2 to 3 year olds - just the one mitten only took me 2 hours (during which I watched one of my favorite movies), then I decided I would have Luke try them on before I made the second one ... just to make sure. It's a good thing I did! I could barely squeeze his little hand into this thing, lol. I did manage to get it on him (and he thought it was pretty awesome, because he started to laugh and rub my leg with his mitten covered hand), but it was definitely not big enough. Apparently my nephew is big for his age in ALL ways. Duly noted. I need to make his bigger for my project, but this left me with one tiny completed mitten. Guess what my Christmas ornament for this year is going to be? lol It's the perfect ornament size - I just need to add a hanger and I think I'm going to embroider the year on it. I think it actually works out great - what better way to commemorate the year I had no money than with a handmade ornament, lol.

As a side note, this was really a neat pattern. The mittens are knit flat and then seamed, but the way you knit it causes a natural curve inward (it's hard to explain, but it's not just a flat shape). I would definitely recommend the pattern if you wanted to make any kid mittens :)

And as usual, I've made a tiny bit of progress on my Emelie cardigan. I'm almost finished with the left front now! lol This poor project has taken so long.

I'm to the point where you bind off for the neckline on the left front. I think I will skip in the directions and do my button bands before the sleeves just so I can make sure I have enough yarn - I've ended up making more modifications than I originally thought, including making it longer, so I would be devastated to end up with uneven sleeves. Hopefully it works out!

So, that's all I can show you that I've been working on lately. Seriously, I can't wait til after Christmas just to show all the other things I've made, lol. Do you have any secret projects in the works?

WIP Wednesday

The Christmas crafting continues! I've been quite the busy bee lately with it and I've managed to finish everything I was working on ... ! Crazy. I keep having that dreaded feeling like I should be making something, but then I remember I finished them, lol. Anyway, so I'll start by showing you my sweater ... as usual, haha.

Definite progress! I'm almost finished with the neck bind off at the back :) I've done the actual "neck" section and I'm about 3 rows from binding off the right shoulder.

Last night I found myself with no gift project in the works (gasp!), so I started planning and was struck with genius to make this project for another person on my list :) This person could possibly read my blog, so I will not say who it's for or what it is (I figure I'm so early on it could look like quite a number of things, so it's safe to post). This is a wool blend yarn so it will be machine washable - it's Schachenmayr SMC Northern Worsted with Wool yarn in Lilac and it's deliciously soft :) I'm sure the recipient will like it.

So, that's all that's "in progress" at the moment. I'll be slamming you with quite a few finished items over the next few days - only those that I feel are safe to post though. Some of them I'll have to wait until after Christmas and keeping them secret is KILLING ME! I can't wait to show them off, lol.

All this looking through patterns and yarn has me itching to make things for myself (I know, I'm so selfish). I'm sure I'll have to squeeze something in the next few weeks especially since it's getting cold fast (it was 40° F this morning when I woke up! I'm sure most of you are cursing me for that, lol).

Do you have any holiday projects going yet?

WIP Wednesday: Black on Black

Well, the holiday gift making is plugging right along :) I finished all the knitting on the piece I hinted at last week, I just need to buckle down and get it seamed and blocked. This week I have more of a different item to show you, though it will not look like this for long...

It's a hat! lol It looks like a boring black hat now, but it will be so much more than that soon. I know, I'm such a tease :) I got to do a little Christmas fibbing for this one - I plan on making my husband and brother-in-law matching hats (I feel safe telling you this since I'm 99.9999% sure neither of them reads my blog), but my husband has, shall we say, an "above average" head size. It's an affliction we both suffer from - heaven help our future big-headed children. Anyway, I knew that if I just made the hat to the pattern size specs, it would be too small for him. So I used the Basic Hat Pattern from Ooo Baby Knits (it's free!) as a base, and had him try it on as I went to get the length right. I just told him it was for my brother-in-law, lol, which isn't entirely false. Sneaky, sneaky :) Now I know the modifications I need to make for my husbands huge cranium. I should really write those down somewhere...

When the hat was finished, I needed a change before launching right into another of the same, so I picked up my Emelie again. I'm part way up the upper back and counting :) It's so exciting to see this finally look more like a sweater when I work on it.

In other news, I'm participating in the Sewing Photo A Day challenge put on by Bimble and Pimble. Everyday for the month of "Sewvember", we post a specific themed photo from our sewing life. I am participating through my Instagram, and I've already showed days 1-5. It's been really fun trolling everyone else's photos to see what they are working on and how their sewing room looks. I'm nosy like that :)

So that's it for me this week. I actually haven't had more than 10 minutes to do any sewing - I'm going into withdrawals, people! Hopefully I can fix that tomorrow.

WIP Thursday: It Has Begun!

Sorry I'm a little late this week - a day late and a dollar short as they say. But better late than never, right? It's been one of those months weeks. Anyway, I think I'll start with progress on something you already are used to seeing, lol.

I finished the right front of my Emelie! Isn't it exciting?! It's looking more and more sweater-like all the time.  Even with my nice progress and excitement around this sweater, I have had to put it aside again :( I am getting a jump on my holiday gift knitting this year so I'm not a frantic crazy person like usual (well, let's face it, that will probably still happen, just for different reasons, lol). Anyway, I officially started my Christmas knitting on Sunday night and I already have one item 90% finished!

This is the only sneak peek you get, I'm afraid. I hate not being able to show what I'm making here, but I would hate for one of my family members to actually read my blog and spoil their gifts (I don't think they do read it, but just on the off chance...). I just had to show something because this is a project I've always wanted to make, but just couldn't justify for myself. So someone else will get it instead, lol. Don't you just love the colors?! The gray is Patons Classic Merino in Pearl Gray and the variegated is Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Alpine Pearl (ooh, fancy!). Even better - both of these yarns came from a thrift store! Crazy, right? I can't believe someone would donate Malabrigo anything, but it was 100% unused and even wound into a cake when I bought it. I love the subdued colors and I love this combo of purple with gray. Anyway, I think this year I will show mysterious closeups like this so at least I can say, "Look! I MADE A THING!" and have something to show for it :)

I've also been plugging away diligently on my first Dahlia dress. As usually happens though, I have hit an unfortunate road block. I'll admit, I did make this project much hard than it should be - I decided to use a super drapey rayon-type fabric, then decided to underline it, then decided to match the pattern - all of these things I have never done before. I thought I was in the clear after a ton of work on my muslin last week (like I am talking ALL of last Thursday was spent in my sewing room) and I cut into my "real" fabric. I've slowly poked along, working on things a little each night and Monday was the day I finally got things together enough to try it on and double check ...

It doesn't fit.

I think I've figured out my error, but that doesn't make it any less depressing. I must have cut out the bodice piece along my sewing line by mistake because no joke I cannot even make the side seam touch where the zipper should go. I know what I need to do - remove the entire bodice (which means undoing more than half of what I've already done), recut the main fabric and the lining, and reinsert the new pieces. Man, is that going to suck. On top of it not fitting, I also discovered that this fabric is so not "me". When I have it on, all I can think of is how I would never buy a dress in a store with this type of print. *le sigh* Oh well, I am going to finish it anyway just for some much needed closure. Honestly, I really just didn't need that this week, lol.

Here's a little look at my technically failed pattern matching - though it was a diagonal print so I don't know why I'm disappointed. Also the fabric is totally printed off grain - so yeah, I just did the best I could. Also here is a look at the insides - all nice and enclosed. Ah :) I treated the bodice as 'underlining' simply because the pattern doesn't give any lining instructions, so you can see the seam allowances, but I enclosed the waistband and did the skirt as 'lining' to keep things more flowy. I've learned that really drapey fabric is not exactly flattering on my lower half. For my body shape, "flowy" seems to equal "clingy", which is why I decided on adding a lining at all. The lining is there to pull the drapey pieces over my lumps in a more pleasing manner and it has definitely succeeded :) I really wish I was the kind of person who could just make up the dang pattern with no lining, but I will pick lining it every time - it's just so much nicer!

Oh, and I tried making bias tape for this project and I am honestly having to curb my ill-mannered words while typing this just by recalling that horrific experience. I followed the directions of the Colette Sewing Book with the black cotton batiste I used for the waistband and I even used a bias tape maker - what a load of crap that thing is. I've read countless sewists out there on the internet saying casually, "I made my own bias tape for this project," without batting an eye - WHAT AM I NOT GETTING HERE?! Is it really this eye-gougingly-frustrating for everyone and they are trying to sound nonchalant, or am I just missing the bias tape making gene? No joke, I actually had to make myself not scream in frustration and throw the wad of fabric across the room. To save my sanity I dug out some pre-made bias tape from my stash and used that. I'll willingly admit that I don't like this option - the fabric is really scratchy, especially compared to the rest of this dress - but I didn't have to try making it again so I'm ok with it. Ugh! Bias tape!

So, those are my projects this week :) On top of my crafty problems, I discovered 3 big time house problems in about 3 days - not fun! Hopefully things are going a bit smoother for you, lol. Anyone else started their Christmas crafting?