Colour Coordination Win

I have another new hat!

This time to match my luxurious possum/merino jacket. Well, enough of a match to make me happy. A full match would require finer yarn as well, which wasn’t going to happen.

The pattern is from Patons “Winter Warmers”, the set of hat patterns I bought when I got back into knitting over 20yrs ago. It’s for 8ply yarn. This didn’t have it’s ply equivalent stated. It’s probably closer to 5ply? Certainly the hat is very light! Feels almost weightless to wear. The scales say 28g. That’s pretty close to weightless in this context. I’ve been regretting dyeing so much of the ~100g hank. Now I’m wondering if I can get a pair of really snuggly socks out of the substantial remainder.

A pic on me. I’m not friends with the mirror at the moment so I’m hating all pics of me. I know my friends will want to see though. I’m liking the mirror box sneaking into shot and the coordinating colour of it’s eye.

Stashaholics Anonymous

Hi everyone. My name is Montjoye and I haven’t bought fabric since early May. That’s 11 weeks! I’m proud of myself for this. It’s been hard. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve thought of going fabric shopping and resisted.

I have however been busy making things in that time, as you know. Turning stash into finished and useful items. Today I am celebrating that all my fabric fits into the designated fabric storage places various. There is no random stack hanging about. First time in ages. There is even a very little spare room!

I mean to try to continue to resist for a while longer. I have so much fabric that I can sort of go shopping in my own stash. I have an enormous list of semi planned projects that I’m excited about, with no need for shopping. I’d like to make a bit more room. It’s less about avoiding spending. More about not feeling like I’m drowning in stuff that I haven’t time to deal with. I think I might even try to sell some more of it, if I ever get around to selling things.

I have also not bought yarn or fluff for quite some time. Since April I think. I have less of that, but get through it more slowly. I really have no need for more any time soon, especially having figured out how to customise it by dyeing.

This is a good review to have done just prior to visiting a sheep and wool show. I expect I am likely to buy something. I shall try to limit it. Some sort of souvenir of the trip is allowed.

 

Stormy brain cap

This is handspun yarn bought at the Gerringong fibre muster back in August 2016. No identification of the spinner sadly. I bought it for the beautifully subtle mix of stormy colours. It was always going to be a hat, it just took me a while to get to making it.

The rib head band is alpaca that I dyed to coordinate. I sort of made up the pattern, but based on several patterns that I’ve knitted. The horizontal bands of reverse stocking stitch meant it needed more rows to cope with the vertical contraction/elasticity. I did one row of rib dots that didn’t stand out as well as I hoped, so I added ultra subtle winky bling to gently highlight them. It’s more obvious in movement, promise.

I’m really happy with the shape and fit, but it’s hard to get good pictures in the dull winter light. I’m also vain enough and old enough that I’m not keen on full face close ups :-). Ah, really, I’ve never been pleased with photos of me. It’s taken years to be able to mostly relax about having my photo taken. I don’t publish pics of me here, they are pics of my makings (or so I tell myself).

Rejects given pretty new life

This is a tray cloth from the pile of family linens that my mother didn’t want. I wasn’t likely to use it either in this form, but that embroidery is pretty.

I’ve combined it with a length of cotton poplin from a friend’s rejected stash (very narrow, only 88cm wide, old maybe?), broderie lace from another, buttons from another person again. The only physical elements I provided were label and thread. Plus inspiration, pattern and making of course.

The other basket on the back yoke:

A little OTT in the laciness, but I don’t intend to wear it out of the house.

Yes, yes, it’s another night shirt.

Detail at hem. Evoking a side slit gusset, but when I had this thought for placement of the last little flowers, I’d already cut a shirt tail hem curve.

and sleeve flowers, positioned to fall uppermost on the forearm.

Repeatery for linkiness.

Dyeing to match

So far with my dyeing I’ve just been aiming to get pleasing colours. Now I’ve been brave and tried dyeing to matching existing yarn. I’m delighted these worked, though the second lot took two tries.

The varigated prettiness below is handspun wool bought at a fibre fair near Shoalhaven. I really love the colours but it’s just a little too harsh for me to tolerate on my forehead and there is only enough for a hat, or most of one. The brown on the right is soft alpaca, but didn’t match. So I blackened it with food dye to coordinate with the darker shades.

This garment below is a possum/merino cardigan that I spent mumblety lots of money as a present to myself on a trip to NZ. I’ve been sad that I didn’t have a hat that looks good with it. On the same trip, I bought a hank of oatmeal coloured possum/merino yarn. My first attempt to match the teal blue of the cardigan turned out too green, but the second attempt yesterday came out so much closer. Whew. I plan to knit the two together in stripes.

Priestess of the Sun

Remember this object? It was made as a centerpiece for the lattice quilt but I changed my mind and didn’t use it. I found it when clearing out my drawers of clothing and other sewn objects designated for recycling(yes plural, but at least only two, and small ones). I’ve also been clearing out other cupboards and had torn up for rags a favourite nightgown, that had become very tatty, so I needed a replacement.  I’d also been wanting to make something out of a bolt of yellow cotton bought in the Job warehouse clearance. I have lots of that, so I want to see how it wears.

I’ve put all those thoughts together in one garment. I unpicked the black from the sun piece, and sewed it to the front of a simple T shaped gown, the same shape as the worn out gown. I had very current awareness of where the fabric wore out, so I cut the facing deeper for this one.

All sensible and tastefully combining different shades of yellow. As it was coming together though, it was provoking thoughts of saffron robes, hence the silly name. All cut and sewn in one afternoon, though the unpicking was done the day before.