Lunchtime Loading Dock

by Natalie on May 8, 2013

Logwood Legwarmers

Loading Dock

I started a new job this week. Today is my third day as a receptionist downtown. It is my first full time job since babysitting in the summers during highschool. It’s a bit of an adjustment, and I do miss my knitting friends a little. The best part is that I know that I’m not leaving it all behind. Not really. The knitting stores are all still there after work, and I am teaching at the Knit Cafe once or twice a week. Teaching was what I liked best anyway.

Other than working a 9-5 five days a week, I’m also in the urban jungle of the city in a totally different way. The office is on the other side of town from where I live. It is a 30-45 minute commute by bicycle through the city. I am a confident city rider, as I have been doing it my entire life, but I haven’t done a route like this on a regular basis. The best part is that I am getting a great work out every day, 16km total is nothing to sneeze at, even if I don’t go very quickly. Pro tip: I don’t. I’ve been trying to get outside even for just a little bit at lunchtime to see the sunshine. There is a concrete open area as a loading dock, so I sit there and knit a few rows. We’ve been having a glorious spring so far, all clear warm days with hardly any wind or humidity. Not to hot, not to cool. Just right. It reminds me exactly of the weather in San Francisco when I was there last year this time of year.

I am knitting a pair of legwarmers right now. The yarn is Madeline Tosh Vintage in Logwood. I am making up the pattern as I go along. I am having a lot of fun with the squishy cables.  Hopefully I will be able to remember what I did for the second one!

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Fashion Friday: February Outfit

by Natalie on April 19, 2013

The weather co-operated last week and gave us a little mini dump of snow so that my February outfit would look seasonal! I am so happy to have another outfit in the bag, it feels great and I have been wearing the pieces a lot.

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This shawl has become a wardrobe staple since I finished it. It is the perfect size to wrap up in, or to wear as a regular scarf. I handdyed the yarn last year with my friend Emily. The body of it is an aran weight and the edging is a laceweight, all dyed at the same time. The lace on the edge creates a great contrast to the dense garter stitch of the main section.

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The dress is the same pattern as January, a Japanese dress pattern I picked up at Purl Soho a few years ago. It looks like it isn’t in print any more. I used a Kaffe Fasset Shot Cotton for the main section, plus some Liberty of London for the hem, pockets and bodice lining.

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The sweater is Jill Draper Makes Stuff Mohonk. I designed the pattern. I’m not 100% happy with the fit as is. I was hoping for something a bit more fitted. I think I ran into some gauge discrepancies between my swatch and the finished garment. I am going to try and block it out a bit longer to see if that pulls the body in a bit. It’s super comfy and the sleeves fit now (yay!) so over all it’s fine.

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I love love love my bright socks! Tanis Fiber Arts Purple Label in Jewel, pattern is Froot Loops from Knitty.

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I am well on my way with March and April. Wait until you see the March sweater. You guys are going to love it.

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Making Good (Button) Decisions

by Natalie on April 6, 2013

I’m churning out my second sleeve, and I have come to the next big decision. Which buttons should I use?

Button Choices

Let me know your favourite in the comments. Number 1, 2, 3 or 4, counting from the top.

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Knit. Re-Knit.

by Natalie on April 5, 2013

Man, I really thought I would be able to show you all another finished outfit last week. I was so ready, project wise and mentally. I wanted that second outfit out of my system already! I blocked the sweater pieces, I knit the button band. I started to sew it all together. And then this happened.

February

A little misshapen, that button band needs to be steamed, but looks fine, right? Wrong. That sleeve is about 2 inches too big for me. My gauge is a bit bigger blocked than I thought it would be. Stupid dirty lying swatches.

February

See all that puckering? I had to do a lot of work to ease that sucker into the armscye, which should have been my first indication that things weren’t really going my way. It was bad, really bad.

February

So I’m reknitting the sleeves. I’ve got one done already, and have unpicked, balled and started the second one. Soon. Soon it will be all done!

In the meantime I’ve been plotting for the next few outfits. I may have done a good chunk of the next sweater while I processed the fact that things hadn’t gone my way.

12 Outfits

 

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Fashion Friday: January Outfit

by Natalie on March 22, 2013

So what if it is almost the end of March, January’s outfit is done! done! done!

January Outfit

I woke up extra early this morning to take pictures before running off to work. I am so happy to finally have finished the first set of projects. The pictures didn’t go exactly as planned though. It is still pretty chilly, despite being the second full day of spring, so I was keen to be as quick as possible. I realized I was missing a part of the tripod so I had to elastic band my camera onto it, and to top it all off my little wireless remote battery is dead. I was able to make do with the 10sec timer, but I wish I had a bit more time and better resources to take a few more photos.

Yes, I could have waited, it’s true. But there is snow on the ground! And it will melt this weekend! And while I have no delusions about the fact that it will probably snow again before warm weather really hits, who knows if I will be available to take pictures, or if it will be the sort of snow that sticks around. Besides, these photos aren’t so bad anyway!

January Outfit

I am in love with this sweater. I finished it about three weeks ago, and have been wearing it non-stop since then. It took me two weeks to sew on the buttons, so I made do for a while with just a 3.5mm dpn. It worked just fine as a closure, but these buttons are even better! The Mountain Mohair is so warm and cozy, it’s been great for this Canadian winter! I’ll be able to wear it as a jacket when the weather gets a bit warmer as well.

January Outfit

January Outfit


Details

Dress: Japanese Dress Pattern with a wool/rayon pinstripe

Sweater: Dark and Stormy knit in Green Mountain Mohair in Lupine

Socks: pattern from my head knit with leftover Casbah, Starry and mystery ball

Shawl: Crescent shawl with handspun from Fleece Artist, Ashland Bay and Old Maiden Aunt

Boots: Sorrel

Tights: Urban Outfitters

January Sweater

January Socks

I almost thought I wouldn’t be able to get these socks done in time for the photos, but I powered through the last little bit while listening to The Paris Wife on Audiobook last night. These socks really were knit in little bits here and there. I had them next to me at the sewing machine yesterday with my mom. I would sew a seam or two, then she would press and pin for the next thing and I would knit a round or two. They got rounds in on the subway too and from work. Then just a little push and they were done!

I should have been more careful with my stripes when I started. I assumed that I had enough of the Casbah to do most of the socks with that, but once I turned the heel of the second one I knew there was no way, so I had to dig out a third yarn to finish it up. I have no idea what yarn it was, just a little cake in my leftover sock yarn stash. I saved enough Casbah to knit the toe, since it is most important to have warm toes!

January and FebruaryThis is where things stand over all for the outfits project. January is all done on the left, with a finished dress and socks, plus most of a sweater and shawl. I am so looking forward to starting up March, I’ll show you all the plan soon!

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