Felicia dress

Last summer I decided that I would like to make a few loose fit dresses for hot days when a dress with a fitted bodice is not the ideal choice.  This is a Tessuti Felicia and I bought it together with their Lisa dress, which I'd seen some lovely versions of on Instagram.  I hope to make one of those soon.

I've had fabric for a while and had originally planned to use it for something else, but I hadn't got around to that plan so I used it for this.

I followed the pattern instructions exactly except for the waistline seam which I did as 5/8" rather than 1/2" to make the gathering easier, and I did a 2 1/4" hem instead of 1 1/2".  It was a straightforward sew apart from the pockets, which, for a bit of top stitching, were more faff than I could be bothered with (although I did), so when I next make this pattern I'll just do straightforward pocket insertions.  I'm really pleased with it and it's going to be lovely and cool in hot weather - I hope the glorious sunshine we've had for the last three weeks continues into June, July and August!

Pink and yellow Greta top

Undeterred by all the sewing in of ends on my Rainbow jumper the next thing I knitted also had rather a lot of ends... I used a gradient set which I bought at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival three years ago and the same yarn in a yellow which I bought from the same vendor at Unravel four years ago.  I love this pattern and I knitted it pretty much as written although I changed the neckline in the same way as this one which I knitted two years ago.  Fortunately I'd written down what I did and kept it!

This one is also made with a wool / silk mix yarn, although this one has more wool and less silk.

This is the pattern I used - so pretty. 

I've got quite a bit of the yellow left because I bought two skeins, so I might make a cardigan to match at some point.  I've also got a couple of other skeins of this yarn - one is natural cream and the other is a pink variegated so I may knit another of these tops - it's lovely and lightweight.

1940s Rainbow jumper

This was my next knitting project and was made from Malabrigo sock yarn in six colours (Ivy, Cote d'Azure, Impressionist Sky, Terracotta, Chocolate Amargo and Sand bank).

I've seen several versions of this pop up on my Instagram feed over the years, and it's also appeared in various guises on TV and film (JoJo Rabbit, Miss Marple A Murder is Announced - Geraldine McEwan version, and Housewife 49 spring to mind).

I made it slightly larger than the pattern (wider and longer) and I also changed the neckline and shoulders slightly so that I didn't have to bother with putting buttons on - it just goes straight over my head.  It was an easy knit and a great stashbuster, although there were an awful lot of ends to weave in even with carrying the yarn up the side!  I've got lots of odds and ends of leftovers from other projects so it's quite likely I'll make at least one more - the pattern also has a long-sleeved option so I might do that next time...

ETA July 2020 - pattern is available online free from Theodora's blog, or if you would like a pdf, it is available for purchase from Subversive Femme,and My Vintage Wish on Etsy. 

Dayflower cardigan

This was the first thing I knitted this year - I took a break from knitting in January and finished this in early March.  I can't remember now where I saw this colourway (it's Madeline Tosh sock), but I know that I liked it and bought some online two years ago before the prices went up dramatically and it's sat in my stash ever since.  I decided it was high time to knit it up!

I did have some other plans for it originally, but changed my mind and so I had a look through my stitch dictionaries to find a pattern that I liked and this was what I settled on.  The stitch pattern is called drooping dayflower, and it's from The Knitter's Stitch Collection by Lesley Stanfield and Melody Griffiths (other retailers are available).  There are lots of stitch patterns in this book and I've used quite a few over the years.

It was an easy knit and I followed my usual template for cardigans which I knit without a pattern - knitted bottom-up in one piece to the armholes, create fake side seams and split for the back and fronts and work them separately.  Seam the shoulders and pick up and knit the sleeves top down.  The button band is picked up and knitted on.

The buttons are vintage although I can't remember now where I bought them.

I love this, it's a great colour for spring!

Knitting and sewing plans for 2020

A little later than planned... life has been very busy over the past few weeks and although I started writing this in November it now needs finalising.

OK, I'll start with the knitting plans.  Having managed to knit entirely from stash during 2019 (apart from the Christmas jumper for my grandson), I'm planning to do the same again this year.

I'd like to knit two projects which are carried forward from last year - the pale yellow and pale green cardigans (here), and one from 2018 - the vintage V-striped top.  Also, some more 1940s tops with lots of colours to use up the various part-balls of wool I have amassed over the years.

These are the patterns that are in the running

Your Victory jumper

Rainbow jumper

Waffle jumper

Colourblock jumper

I've seen several versions of the above three designs knitted by people I follow on Instagram and they look just fabulous - at the moment I'm not sure how I'll choose which colours to use!

I'd also like to knit another feather and fan top - again, not sure which colours I  would use, and another Greta top, using an as yet undecided combination from the yarns below.

One of the fairisle patterns from Home Fires - I think aiming for more than one would be overoptimistic sadly;

a cabled cardi - there are currently two options in the running for this - Rowan Scottish Tweed 4 ply

for a pattern from Woman's Weekly 13 July 1940

and bright blue Drops Baby Merino, possibly for this pattern, but I might make a different cardi with this wool...

And a jumper from this gorgeous wool / silk mix yarn although I haven't decided on a pattern yet - possibly I'll make one up with the help of a stitch dictionary.

Currently I'm leaning towards reproducing this - from the first episode of series 5 of Foyle's War, but we'll see - it might end up being a much plainer design!

Also, a cardigan or jumper from this wool which I bought at Unravel a couple of years ago

A cream coloured plain jumper,  probably from one of these patterns

Also a Cockatoo Brae cardigan by Kate Davies (maybe... might do it as a jumper instead), and a Minerva cardigan by Helene Arnesen.

There is absolutely no way I'll knit all of this in one year, but I hope to at least get some of it done!

Sewing

Well, as it turned out, I focused on sleeveless, pleated skirt dresses last year and suspect the same may happen again this year, but I would also like to make a couple of blouses, shirtdresses and the other items which were in last year's plan but didn't get sewn.  As with the knitting I'm aiming to only sew from stash again this year.

Knitting and sewing review of 2019

Knitting

Well, I managed to knit only from stash and not buy any wool at all this year apart from some Drops Baby Merino to knit a Christmas jumper for my grandson (and a couple of other colours to make the order up to value for free p&p), and I justified that because I didn't have the right colours in stash.

So this year's tally is
yarn bought = 2,275m
yarn knitted = 11,021m

Overall 8,746 metres less in my stash than at the beginning of the year - hooray!

I knitted quite a few things from my plan for the year which I'm pleased about - I got stuck in to my Home Fires knitting project, I blogged about the individual knits here, here, here, and here, and wrote a general update on patterns and my visit to Bunbury (where it was filmed) here.

I also knitted two jumpers and three cardigans from my 2019 plan and one other, a baby cardigan for my newest grandson

and a Christmas jumper for his older brother (I ran out of time before I could knit one for my granddaughter, so if she'd like one she can have one next year - the Rudolph jumper was specifically requested!).

The cardigan is from a vintage pattern that I've used before.

Although I didn't knit the dress (again), and two cardigans are carried forward to Spring 2020 - by the time I got around to thinking about knitting them autumn was well on its way and I knew I wouldn't wear them for months if I started them in September - I'm very pleased with the total output.

Sewing

This year's sewing has consisted entirely of sleeveless dresses all of which, apart from the navy daisies one, were sewn from fabric I already had.  And all except one (Anya) had a pleated skirt.

Bodice patterns used
Sew Over It Betty (10)
Butterick 5748 (3)
Simplicity 2444 (3)

Skirt patterns used
Simplicity 3749 (7)
Butterick 2248 (2)
New Look 6824 pleated version (6)
New Look 6824 straight version (1)

It turns out the most popular combo was Betty bodice and Simplicity 3749 skirt - I made five of these,

closely followed by Betty and New Look 6824 pleated - four.

These two both have Butterick 2248 skirts - only suitable for 56"+ width fabric (Betty bodice on the left, Butterick 5748 bodice on the right)

And here are the rest - the three dresses with Simplicity 2444 bodices (bottom left and the two on the right) and the other two with Butterick 5748 bodices.

I bought 5.5m of fabric this year - daisy print poplin which quickly became this dress, and some bee print corduroy which I have yet to sew up.  I also took quite a few metres of fabric to Sew Brum for the swap table, so much more out than in!

Overall I'm pleased with what I've sewn, having made good inroads in to my stash, although the output bears little resemblance to the original plan beyond the first paragraph!

Grey & yellow floral dress

This might be my last bit of sewing for the year, as I really need to get on with Christmas knitting.  I would have started sooner, but I cut one of my fingers last weekend - not badly, but enough to snag wool as I'm knitting whether or not I put a plaster on it - didn't affect sewing (or anything else) fortunately, but does mean I'm behind my own self imposed schedule...

Anyway... this dress.  I bought the fabric three years ago from Fabric Godmother and it's a viscose / linen mix, so has a lovely drape to it.  I think I was probably drawn to the faded-style colours, which is a departure for me as I'm usually drawn to either brighter, or more saturated colours, and it was another dress length which languished a bit while I hummed and ha-ed what to make with it.

I bought 2m, and, since it was 60" wide I was able to get a Betty bodice and New Look 6824 pleated skirt out of it, but it took every last inch of the length.  

There are some subtle blues and greens in there, along with the various shades of grey, so I have a few cardigans which will go with it, although I think this one looks best.