Knitting - Bosc Pear

Pattern:  Bosc Pear (Ravelry Link)
Yarn: My hand-dyed gradient 4ply
Needle: 5mm
Mods: I knitted 6 repeats of the pattern - not enough yarn for the 7 as written. I stopped at the end of the stst section and did a row of 2yo, s2kpsso before picot bindoff, to make the bindoff edge look a bit more like the side picots.



Verdict: I like it. I'm pleased I used quite a big needle, and the colours work better than I expected.
I had hoped that the colours would fade into one another more than they do, but the striped effect is pretty too, and it looks nice when worn with the two different coloured ends.

Spinning - Threshing Barn merino/silk

Threshing Barn are often present at the various wool shows I like to go to. The colours of this roving called to me when I saw them, and I had to have it.



Details:
Length: approx 260 yards
Type/weight: 2ply sport weight (ish) yarn
Spin/ply direction: Z spun and S plied on an Ashford Traveller, standard maiden, middle whorl.



Verdict

I like it, it's nice and springy. I have no idea what I'm going to make it into, there's probably enough for a scarf or something like that. I might spin something else to go with it, then I could make it into a garment of some sort.

Sewing - Simplicity 1716 knit mini-dress, tunic and top

Simplicity 1716 is described as:
Knit mini-dress, tunic and top can be made with a front twist or draped neckline with five different sleeve variations to choose from.

I thought it looked really wearable, so I went out and picked up two fabrics, with a view to making at least two of them! I got the bolt-end of some brown patterned knit fabric, and on measuring in the shop we thought I'd have enough for the tunic version, but probably nothing more.

I washed and dried the fabric, and then laid it out on my dining table. I was surprised and pleased to see that once I laid out the pieces for dress view A with sleeves E, I actually had enough in the knit for the full dress!

It was pretty quick to make, I spent a while cutting out and pinning because of the nature of knit fabric. It actually wasn't as scary to work with knit fabric as I'd expected, but I wish I'd had a walking foot (I have ordered one for next time!)



Modifications and Adjustments

I graded out the hips to a size larger than the rest of the dress. I made the 14, grading to a 16 at the hip. With hindsight this wasn't really necessary given the stretch of the dress fabric and the design ease it's written with. I tacked the inside of the front collar down in two places to ensure that it didn't flip over.

Verdict

I love it. I'm wearing it as I write this and it's comfy to wear. I feel pretty stylish in it too, which is great. If I were being very critical, I'd say that the dress feels like it rides up a bit at the back, but whether that's because of the size of my bottom or the fabric I am not sure.
I am going to make another one, I have the fabric already laundered! But I'll probably make the bag(s) and the simplicity sewing challenge dress and skirt first.

Spinning - Spin City Funky Roving

Spin City has some of the most amazing colours! I got these two braids of roving at a fibre festival, I can't even remember which one. Probably Fibre East.



The Tour De Fleece (which runs alongside the Tour de France cycling event) prompted me to start spinning this lovely fibre, and it's been a lot of fun to spin. The colours play with one another well, and the resulting singles are pretty and vibrant. (some of these are progress shots!)



I used my Ashford Traveller, and the only problem I have with it is that you can't see how the singles are winding onto the bobbin because of the setup of the wheel. If I ever get a different wheel (unlikely!) I'd consider getting one where the wheel and bobbin are set out differently.

It took me just over a week to spin both singles, which I then plied together into a lovely barber-poled yarn. I Andean plied the last few yards and joined them all together to make one monster skein.



Details:
Length: approx 550 yards 
Type/weight: 2ply sport weight (ish) yarn
Spin/ply direction: Z spun and S plied on an Ashford Traveller, standard maiden, middle whorl.


Verdict

I'm very pleased with it! Now I just need to figure out what to knit with it!
It does still need a bath and finishing, but I'm going to do that en-masse when the tour is finished.

Sewing - Draped Top from Sew Magazine

I bought the Sew Magazine Vintage special recently. It has such a variety of patterns in it. I was really excited about the Vogue pattern that came with the magazine, but inside I found a lovely 1920's-inspired draped top.

Pattern: Not really a pattern, just a guide in the magazine.

This fabric was leftover from the Simplicity 2369 dress that I made for my wedding anniversary. It's a knit of unknown composition, but I suspect it's probably polyester.

Modifications and adjustments
Since this is a draft-it-yourself pattern, I didn't make any modifications. When I make it again, I'm going to learn how to use the invisible hem foot on my sewing machine rather than wonderweb (hemming web) because I think it will make the sleeves drape nicely.

I also think it would work well with more fabric on the front neck for a really drapey look, and it might also be nice in a woven fabric, though I'd want a bit more ease around the hips in that case.

Sewing - Simplicity 6483 - 1 hour top

When my copy of Sew Magazine arrived earlier in the month, it had a one-hour top pattern with it. I couldn't resist, and though it took me more like 4 hours all together, I'm pretty pleased with the result.

Pattern: Simplicity 6483, view D
I had just enough of this lovely blue fabric to cut out all of the pieces, though the neck facings weren't cut on the grain as they were meant to be.

Modifications and adjustments
I didn't make any. I made the size 16 as written. With hindsight, I think that was the wrong choice, as I have some gaping issues around the arms,  and there feels like there is a lot of fabric in the back.

 
When I make this again (and I do intend to make another) I might make a smaller size and adjust for the bust. We will see. I think taking more measurements of myself, and of the garment I have finished, might help me to make that decision.

Knitting - Basket Weave Socks

Pattern: Basket Weave Socks (Ravelry Link)
Yarn: Pagewood Farm Yukon, Vineyard Blues
Needle: 2.5mm

I measured a pair of my husband's hand-knit socks to get the right size. Originally these were going to be a birthday gift for him, but they're more than 2 months late! Fortunately he's very forgiving about hand-knit socks! Instead of writing down a bunch of measurements, knowing how tape-measures like to go walkabout, I simply drew marks on my piece of paper for the length of the cuff, leg, and foot. I also made a note of the pattern so that I wouldn't have to refer to the electronic version. (my laptop and my printer don't talk to one another).

Modifications and Adjustments: I did a twisted rib cuff. I didn't do the heel as written, I did a sort-of-afterthought heel. My husband tells me that the afterthought heel fits him nicely, so once I had knitted to where the heel should be I left a row of contrasting yarn. When I had finished the toes I went back and picked up the stitches around the contrasting yarn and then knitted a toe/heel. After trying on, he'd have preferred a longer cuff. I don't know what's gone wrong there, but I might have included the cuff in the leg length when measuring during knitting, but not when I made the marks. 

Verdict: The pattern is pretty easy to work, once I'd got going. The yarn is lovely. If it were any other colour I'd probably be making something for myself from it!