Super Nova Scotia Wedding

Back in the beginning of September, I went to Nova Scotia for my dear friend Amber's wedding. I had an absolute BLAST. I'll just share a few of the highlights that I actually have pictures of.

There was ocean views outside of the cottage I stayed in.

There was dockside yoga every morning (including the morning of the hurricane that knocked the power out for all of the day before the wedding), a candle lit rehearsal dinner, and tipsy mid-night photo sessions on the eve of the hurricane with new friends who were totally game when I suggested that we pretend we are dead!

The highlight of the weekend was when Amber got married
and I got to wear (coughshowoffcough) this dress:

It's the dress I made specifically to wear to Amber's wedding. I am mighty thrilled with how it turned out. I would go one, but it deserves it's own post so I will go into more detail on that later.

Avacado Star

Way back in March, I received a huge compliment that came with a wicked awesome box of free yarn! Lion Brand Yarns is without a doubt one of the main reasons I am such a crafty knitter today. I was very surprised and delighted to learn that not only are paying attention to what people are doing with their yarns, but they really appreciate their customers on a personal level as well. 

So what did they send me in this awesome swag box of yarn goodness? 

1. A congratulations card with a picture of knitter on it, which lives in my cubicle at work.
2. 2 Skeins of Woolease, Navy and Burgundy - my go to yarn for gifts and for washable knits.
3. 2 Skeins of Lion Organic Cotton, Vanilla and Cypress - I think  I'll make some luxe washcloths with these.... not dishtowels mind you! For the bathroom.
4. 2 Skeins of LB Collection Pure Wool. The Lion Brand team has noticed that I like to dye yarn and as soon as I decide on a color scheme (oh the endless choices) that is going to be a fun experiment.
5. 2 Skeins of LB Collection Organic Wool, Avocado and Toffee. Toffee is not one of my favorite colors, but I think it will be fun to try to over dye it with purple and let some of the brown show through. The Avocado is a gorgeous shade of green that isn't really anything like the refrigerator we had in the 80's. It's a bright, cheery shade that looks like it belongs on a tree at the end of summer. To date, this is the only skein I've knit with from the swag box, but I have plans for the rest!

So the hat.... It's a Marsan Watchcap. I had to knit it longer than the pattern called for because the super stretchy rib would pull a shallower hat right off my head. This yarn is perfectly suited for this pattern. It makes a nice squishy rib that is dense enough to keep the wind out. I made the man size and it stretches REALLY big to accommodate even the roundest bowling ball shaped head I can find. 


Also... that cowl.... that's Lion Brand Yarn too. It's Amazing. I modified it from, wait guess..... a Lion Brand pattern! It's the Port Chester Cowl but I made the entire thing in ribbing so it would be reversible. I also used and strand of Puno alpaca instead of 2 strands of Amazing. I switched back and forth between Grey or Blue alpaca held with either Wildflowers or Arcadia. It's a stripey 2x2 rib and it's long enough to wrap double around my neck or drape down loosely.  I like the amazing yarn... I keep thinking about what else I'd like to do with it. I think it looks great held double with a solid; it mutes the color changes even further.

Brooklyn Bridge

Shot with my vintage medium format stereo-optic camera on the Brooklyn Bridge

It is not necessary to have a viewer to see these in 3D. If you can successfully view a a "magic eye" poster, you can see this. Relax your eyes and enjoy!

Burdastyle Book

Since a bunch of other people have blogged their good news I guess I can announce that I'm involved in the upcoming Burdastyle Book also. I'm actually pretty excited about it. The project required that I submit sketches and fabric swatches and gave me some limitations (and deadlines!)... which kinda makes it like being back in design school. But it's better than school work because strangers will actually be able to see my design in PRINT for years to come. That's wicked cool if you ask me and I don't mind a little ego stroking motivation.

So, I'll be making a skirt, and I'm in the muslin making stage of things as I write this. Burdastyle sent me fabric that is pretty much spot on what I had in mind for my design. I would love to show and tell more about the process of the project, but showing isn't allowed. I'll be sure to post updates when the eventual release date approaches. Wish me luck!

Beating the heat on my "balcony"

Crochet Lace Tank Front
Originally uploaded by wzrdreams

Pattern: Airy Lace Shell from LionBrand.com
Yarn: Cotton-Ease (Lake), 3 skeins

I made the size Medium, which has a 40" finished chest. That size called for 4 skeins, but I had some extra odds and ends floating around my stash and this was definitely a stash-busting project so I decided to hold off on getting a fourth skein until I knew if I actually needed it. Since I modified the front neckline to be lower than the back neckline, I was able to just squeeze this out of my 3 skeins minus the DC border along the bottom edge.

To modify the front neckline, I simply started it right after I finished the armhole decreases.

This pattern couldn't have been easier. It was well written, and it was a very quick, satisfying project. There is also a version written for the Lion Brand Collection Cotton-Bamboo, and I think versions written for Microspun and also one of their organic cottons.

Built By Grace Dress

BuiltByGraceDress1
Originally uploaded by wzrdreams

Here is my latest instant gratification project! It seems to be the only kind of project I cam able to actually finish these days. Even now I have a stack of garments that are all 99% done and lack only buttons or a bit of embroidery. Silly me. I am such a sucker for the quick and colorful, but who can blame me?

This is the Simplicity 2865, Built by You, Jersey dress.
I found the fabric on 39th street at my favorite LFS and it cost $4 a yard for 60 wide cotton jersey. I fell in love with the fabric immediately and that is always a good sign. Sure enough, 48 hours after purchase, this sweet and simple shift was complete. My only pattern mod was to lengthen the torso 1". I also used the serger to apply the bindings in one pass. There are more pics on my flikr page for interested eyes.

After McQueen

Happy New Year! (Vogue 2984)

AK Jacket Front
Originally uploaded by wzrdreams

Picking up some OJ on the way to New Years Brunch.

Vogue 2984 - Klein Jacket pattern. Self lined, shawl collar wrap jacket with slit pockets and back/side peplum.

The pattern ran small, but I read up on it on patternreview.com before hand so I was prepared and cut a jacket 2 sizes larger than I would have otherwise. I also make the armhole slightly bigger at the suggestion of a previous pattern reviewer and my pattern maker (I work for ladies suit company as a tech designer and using the cutting tables is my favorite job perk), who happened to walk by while I was cutting this out. He suggested that I trim the armhole 1/4" and then sew the armhole seam at 3/8" instead of the prescribed 5/8". I took his advice and am quite satisfied with the fit of the armhole.

It’s completely self lined, which makes it very warm, but one thing I would do differently is change the sleeve lining to a thinner material, the double layer of wool gets bulky in there. This was also the project that I learned you should preshrink even your woolen fabrics. Steam press!