Spring is stuttering in, and I've washed and put away all the coldest-weather clothing. Layers of mid-weight will do for a while.
Slowing down on the knitting, but enjoyed working with the Manx loaghtan wool (rare breed undyed) as the hat grew in odd short spurts. Two concerns: Playing yarn chicken. Would there be enough to finish? And is it big enough? I checked tension and the pattern suggests it should stretch to fit. First wear before it was blocked, and it crept upwards. Better after wet blocking.
Unusually, my train-journey bag has crochet for two community arts projects. Poppies for a Remembrance Day exhibition, commemorating service folk and civilians. And granny squares raising awareness for maternity provision - or lack of it - worldwide. I'll use all my red black and pink yarn leftovers for these projects, and get back to selfish knitting and baby hats later in the year.
Sewing. Last month's plum self-drafted skirt has had a surprising number of wears, as an extra layer over pj's in the early morning or late evening. As a personal preference, I get on better with a hoodie rather than a big-sleeved dressing gown while doing first- and last-thing jobs. The trial skirt isn't brilliant fabric, but it is keeping my legs warmer.
A shirt for H had reached the head of the queue last blog post. V1 Simplicity 9210 in old sheeting had to wait for a wear test (Spoiler: it passed with very few changes).
Whilst waiting I adapted ancient News of the World NS258, made successfully in linen last year, for stretch ponte (antique gold from Marshside), cut out and accepted up to the waistband. Since I need a curved or darted front waist at that height, I wanted to check how my pattern lines up with the darts before finishing.
Then H came back from her trip. V1 trial shirt needed small tweaks to sleeve length etc, but drapes beautifully around her neck and shoulders. Cut out V2 Simplicity 9210 in constellation print cotton poplin from Croft Mill.(UK readers, H studied a while at Jodrell Bank observatory, so you'll understand why this fabric was for her.) Finished, tested, and pattern changes made. She is really happy with the finished shirt.
The antique gold ponte pants NS258 have their hem and waistband. Yes, the top of the band does indeed need to be 3" smaller than the base an inch below. Had to take them in, cos the trousers were Toulouse, as the old joke goes. Kidding apart, I'm pretty pleased with them as secret pyjamas. The bonus is that they go well with the duck-print jacket that I wear to technical meetings in summer.
Repairs done.
H's dark floral shirt, shorten at hemline to 23" below high shoulder point.
Plum skirt, take in an inch at waist. Then another!
White floral shirt - shorten sleeves 3" or 3.5", taper to original cuffs, so lose 1" wrist circumference. Added 1" darts front and back. Added shoulder darts, taking in 1". Repair frayed buttonhole. Hmm, maybe it would be quicker to make a new one, however I learned better fitting and a new-to-me cuff placket.
Replace drawstring and toggle on grey/turquoise backpack.
Bra extender added to old but barely-used reserve white rtw - stitched on to survive washing machine. (The good bras are handwashed.)
Some household repairs too, principally fixing a partially blocked drain before it became completely blocked.
Chose not to do:
Take out excess below front waistband neon cycle shorts.
I've added a discards section to my diary. Hoping items will mostly be worn out after many wears, rather than shopping mistakes. The 2014-ish navy and white raincoat must have had hundreds of wears and a couple of reproofing runs before finally biting the dust when the zip broke. Not worth unpicking when cuffs etc are almost worn through.
The other category I'm happy to discard is wildcard buys from charity shops*. If the peasant style top with dark peach and dark sage flowers had worked out with my mature figure... I'd been unsure whether the style was too young, but the actual issue was that lower-cut backs fall off my sloping shoulders. For a couple of quid to a good cause, and better understanding, I'm not unhappy to discard i.e. donate it unaltered to another charity shop nearer me.
* Very few fitting rooms nowadays, and in this case there's a rail journey to take the top back.
Candidates for next time? Maybe see if I can get a skirt from the leftovers antique gold ponte.
I want to restart the woven shirt/top. I have some adorable chicken print poplin and a trial top fitting from last year, though hadn't decided on sleeve and neckline to showcase the print.
Depending on my non-crafty commitments, I'd also like to think about top and underlayers. Fit a sleeveless top to double as a cami, and maybe a cardi that fastens at centre front. UK summers are as unpredictable as our springs.
The Rolls-Royce item, a raincoat that fits me, is still in daydreaming stage rather than planning.
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