Hey, I made some jeans! It's another pair of Ginger jeans, I know, I know. Big whoop. This is my fifth pair now and I'm done for the foreseeable future! I have the very first pair, the second pair that worked on the retro styling and fit and added a cuff, the third slightly relaxed Western pair, a fourth pair I'm going to get to in a sec, and this pair. This fifth pair technically replaces the fourth pair. And I ... Read more »
Princess Harald stranded pullover
Today I'm happy to share with you a pullover that I finished... I have no idea when. January? Maybe. Long enough ago to get to enjoy wearing it this winter, I can tell you that that much. So I realized I'd better show it to you quickly since the first day of spring has officially passed (woo hoo!). (Shown here with my Western-inspired Ginger jeans) I started it way back in October. In fact, it was vacation knitting. ... Read more »
Retro bra making is my new favorite thing
Hi, my friends! I haven't blogged in nearly two months and it's almost entirely due to current world events that have been all too stupefying and depressing. I just haven't wanted to sit around taking oodles of photos and having mundane chatter about this and that I've just made. It doesn't mean I haven't been sewing or knitting because I have! They help keep me sane. In fact I've finished up some projects I'm really ... Read more »
Ultimate Sheath Jumper
Do you ever get taken with a piece of fashion that up until a particular point in time, you've more or less ignored? That happened to me this winter! I have some tried-and-true style combos that I love and turn to time and time again. But this fall and winter, I kept seeing jumpers. A lot of the modern takes on them didn't grab me for obvious reasons, but I started poking around at photos and sewing patterns for ... Read more »
Change of coat making plans: now I’m doing a vintage pattern!
Hello, friends! No 2016 roundups or 2017 plans from me, although this is my first post of the new year. There's so much crap going on in the world that it's still sometimes difficult to focus on seemingly inconsequential things like sewing and knitting when you want to tear your hair out at the madness of it all. But when those things bring you great joy and pleasure and ease stress, to help balance out other things or ... Read more »
Swatching my next winter pullover
It comes that time again when a knitter must swatch for the next project! I need a new sweater to start when we go to my mom and step-dad's for Christmas. I haven't actually finished my current project. You saw a glimpse of it in this post. It's a long-bodied shaped pullover with a small, allover stranded pattern. I'm knitting that one in DK weight Rauma Strikkegarn yarn. Which I have fallen head over heels with, by ... Read more »
Different color palette and some tips for a Fayne beret
I thought I'd share with you my own version of my new knitting pattern, Fayne, that I actually knit for myself. If you missed Tuesday's post, this is what it looks like, but in alternate colors! (Pullover I knit from a vintage pattern, blogged here) The green sample knit below went off to live with my lovely model and fellow knitter, Madison. But I love that palette so much, I may need to knit one for me at some ... Read more »
Fayne beret: new knitting pattern release
I'm so happy to share that I've just released my latest knitting pattern, Fayne. You can purchase Fayne on Ravelry, or keep reading for more links at the end of this post. If you're a sucker for plaid like I am, I hope you'll fall in love with Fayne! Model: Madison Steward Fayne is a knitter’s take on a favorite print: plaid! Named after Nancy Drew’s short-haired sidekick (George Fayne), Fayne is a fetching plaid ... Read more »
Refashioning my own Christmas knitting
In the spirit of Make Do and Mend, I did something recently that I've done only once before that I can recall: refashioned my own knitting! Six years ago, I knit Susan Crawford's Perfect Christmas Jumper pattern. It's a gorgeous, classic novelty holiday sweater. As an aside, if you're familiar with the pattern, you can see one major difference: the design is a lot bigger because I knit it in worsted weight yarn ... Read more »
Get your knitting needles ready for my next pattern (perfect for a holiday gift!)
Hi everyone! I'm just about ready to release my latest knitting pattern, a fun new hat. Can you guess what it is? If you guessed a plaid beret, you're correct! Knitting plaid is no small feat, usually involving intarsia knit flat and/or sewing or crocheting vertical lines in the finished work after completing. However, my new pattern has the spirit of plaid without all the hard work. It's knit in the round, with ... Read more »
Western-inspired Ginger jeans
Something like 3 months ago, I finished making a pair of jeans. When we went on a vacation to northern Wisconsin in October, we took photos of them. Finally today, I'm sharing them. Let's have a little sewing, shall we? These are my third pair of Ginger jeans. I sewed them immediately after sewing Mel's Morgan jeans and my Safran jeans, and by the end of all that I was totally jean-ed out. I'd been saving some Cone ... Read more »
Hate has no home here
I've been trying to come up with a post for a couple of weeks. The election changed everything in this country. I have no pretty images for you today, I just have my words. This is a frivolous blog about things I mostly do for fun and pleasure, so politics don't come up much. But this isn't politics, not now it's sure not. This is humanity. This is (slightly less than) half of my country voting for someone who is the ... Read more »
Prepping for my Clare coat project
I have a lot of creative things floating around both in my head and in my hands lately. Behind-the-scenes, I'm working on my next knitting pattern release. Not-behind-the-scenes, I have lots of things on my list. Too many. Ugh! But right now, one of the main ones is the Closet Case Patterns Clare coat! I went gaga for it the second Heather released it around this time last year. For Christmas, my mom and step-dad ... Read more »
Black cats on parade!
Happy Halloween, my friends! There's a couple of holidays for which I'm interested in sewing, and Halloween is one of them! (It's a short list: the other is obviously Christmas.) Last year, I was in London meeting up with sewing friends on Halloween and sewed myself a theme-y blouse for the occasion. I used the same pattern as my recent Bye Bye Birdie blouse, and this year, I've used the pattern again! What can ... Read more »
Plaid flannel tie-front topper
Before Mel and I went up to northern Wisconsin for a short vacation earlier this month, I had grand plans for vacation sewing (as you do), but only got a couple of items finished. The first I'm sharing is this flannel topper! I found this great Simplicity pattern from 1949 at an antique mall for just a couple of dollars! I bought it purely for the tie-front topper. I thought it would be great sewn up in a cozy plaid ... Read more »
Review: Pins for pinups DIY retro brooches ebook (and my Headless Horseman version!)
Awhile back—okay, awhiiiiillllllle back—the lovely Brittany from Va-Voom Vintage kindly sent me a copy of her DIY ebook, Pins for Pin-Ups: DIY Brooches for Retro Girls. I'm a retro girl, I love brooches, I love DIY projects, what's not to love about it?! I knew the ebook would be great, because last winter I'd purchased Brittany's Christmas project ebook, Kitschmas Crafting with Va-Voom Vintage, and I had a ton of fun ... Read more »