Halfmoon Atelier Roma skirt

This project was theoretically a quick mock up to see how the Roma fit.  I adore the Halfmoon Atelier patterns, but I always think they won't suit me.  So I wanted to see how this would go and whether I could make it work.  The linen was salvaged from a very shapeless dress which didn't work out so it has various seams in it.  It is heavyweight linen from Merchant & Mills - very heavy, consistent with the website - but still somehow difficult or different than I expected.  It's expensive stuff so I really did want to make something great with it.  I removed something like 8 inches of length from the pattern - a LOT, but I don't remember quite how much.

And then I didn't have the right kind of bias binding.  I ended up ordering some on Etsy.  And by the time it arrived I no longer had time and this project wasn't looking so easy!  So it became a UFO and I went travelling.

It was with unexpected surprise that I saw it come together now.  It's a quick make.  I had lost my pocket markings so I had to make the entire skirt in order to decide where to put the pocket, therefore ensuring that sewing it on would be a total pain, but the skirt was looking so cute that I knew I had to commit and stick with it.  I also customised how far down to sew by just pinning and trying it on, but I don't think I left the slit much higher than the pattern recommends.

I cut a size M!  I sized up based on my hips and an assumption that it would be better loose than too tight.

There is some bagging around my waist due to the thick fabric and the way it pools from the elastic waistband.  I think it's more obvious to me, looking down, than it is to the viewer, although I also don't think the skirt looks flattering, at least in these pictures.

I actually love this skirt!  The slit means it has great mobility and doesn't feel like a pencil skirt (a silhouette I really don't trust) and I am super happy with my gold bias binding. 

By Hand London Kim No. 2

After I finished my first Kim (which you can see here), I applied a few small changes to the already-cut out Kim 2.  I narrowed the bodice top by slicing a tiny piece off the sides of the center bodice piece, bringing the straps in closer and decreasing the space for the bust.  And I cut off 4 cm from the straps - mostly off the front.  And this time it's the normal length, ie only shortened 6" and not 12".  I did not think too hard about whether the armhole would be too small and in the end got lucky - I would have cut out a bit of the front of the armscye if I had remembered...but you will notice that I did all this a long time ago.  You will notice that I said rather prophetically that I hoped Kim no. 2 wouldn't take as long as Kim no. 1, and that I wrote about it almost exactly a year ago!

Well, I left these cut out pieces while I lived in New Zealand and Nepal, and have been sewing up my neglected WIPs all holidays as I wait for various visas.  It took me 1.5 days to sew up Kim no. 2, in between other things.  Those tucks are really exhausting, and it seems I just can't do tucks, gathering *and* a zip all in the same day.

So, Kim 2 fits fine.  The bust is better, but I have shrunk so there's still some space in it.  The armscye is too small due to how much I took off the straps, but the straps are no longer too long.  And the skirt is the "correct" length.  It dwarfs me - I feel pretty ridiculous in this poofy dress.  I think the removal of 1 foot of the skirt length was the best choice for me.

I was really thrilled by the Kim pattern because my first one fit crazy well.  I do feel kind of ridiculous when I wear it - it's the only thing I own with a gathered skirt.  So Kim 2 just feels like too much.  I do like the bodice, but I think I like the Elisalex bodice more.  I still want to do some Frankendresses but I am no longer so convinced this is going to play a part.  But if I keep working at this pace at least I'll finally get my first Zeena dress finished soon!!

Miette by Andi Satterlund - a two year project

I cast this on in Ukraine but realised the lace was too difficult at that time and stopped it.  I had considered using Malabrigo Rios (I ended up making my second simple sweater with it - here) but I thought the single colour that I had originally planned to use would indeed be nicer.  The yarn is Cascade Heathers 220, the colour is called iridescence, it is pale mauve from a distance but close up it's a rainbow and very beautiful. 

So I really cast on in 2016 while I was in Poland travelling with my cousin.  I got through the first 20 rows and then ran out of knitting time...until now.  I had progressed through increasingly challenging projects in Nepal and felt ready to tackle this monster!

This is a much harder project that the simple pullover I made before, and for that reason I'm glad I put so much time in between the two.  I had to relearn everything in Nepal - yarn overs, and ssk and all of it...maybe it will stick in my head this time?  The awesome thing is how my projects inadvertently were a progression of skills.  I started with the legwarmers, doing nothing new, but really needing my project to fit me.  Then I made the cowl which reminded me how to concentrate as you only have two rows of pattern but they are slightly offset.  After that I made the handwarmers and was really amazed how ok it was to do the thumb gusset and the thumb overall - plus those went into use RIGHT AWAY! The cables in my earwarmer made me more confident doing new things - so by the time I picked this back up my confidence had grown.

I picked this up at row 20, and with one week left in Nepal I was on a mission to get it done!!  I was a knitting machine!  I didn't finish it before leaving Pheriche - I had the body and one sleeve done and determined to finish the rest in Kathmandu.  As always with knitting, I have found that the minute you stop a project you doom it to potential eternity.

My colleagues in Pheriche totally laughed at the diminutive size of this thing.  They couldn't believe it was for me.  I made the XS and it's really small looking! But when I put it on, noting there were still no ribbing front bits, it seemed to stretch to fit.  So I guess blocking is when you really make something your size. 

I'm not sure what difficulty level people place this sweater at, but I believe it's relatively challenging for a beginner.  The lace rows mean that you are endlessly counting, ugh!  If you miss a stitch, you have to put it back into the right quadrant of the sweater.  I was totally mad at the single purl row at the bottom of the sweater, not realising it really is pattern!  And after that I didn't have the energy to figure out knitting and purling into my back loops, it was too hard, so I went with normal k2p2 for the bindings.  (During my last week in Pheriche I had no internet to check on things!)

 Also I thought the way the sleeves are continued makes it really hard to actually not have a hole in the armpit.  I assume this is beginner problems.  You only pick up two stitches at the bottom, then you knit those stitches together...on my first armpit that led to a massive hole.  I left a large yarn tail luckily so I kind of darned that thing shut while weaving in the ends.  I used a very short US 8 round needle for the sleeves and it was kind of a pain but I did the same with the second sleeve (not enough of a pain to switch to DPNs).  I didn't have a smaller needle for the sleeves so the cuffs were also done with US8.  I tried to be more clever about the second sleeve but even trying to pick up strategic stitches, there is a huge hole. It seems to me like you need to pick up 3-4 stitches to avoid having a hole.

I did get around to relearning purling in the back loops for my button bindings.  It is not all that easy and for some reason I had a real block at first but I got the hang of it.  However I don't think it looks better at all and it is *so much* harder than just purling, so I'm not convinced.  Or I'm doing it wrong?

The pattern read that I needed 7 buttons, which I already had gotten in Kathmandu, so I didn't double check.  It ends up you need 8 and I could have gotten one more!  I finally finished the bands after the holidays - didn't manage to finish it in Nepal, but I'm still really pleased it's done.  I feel more confident and ready to make larger sweater projects that will actually fill gaps in my wardrobe - I'm not really confident that I'll wear this much since it is best suited to going over dresses.