First things first, this project stalled my sewing mojo for a solid four months, but now that I've finished it I feel a lot better about moving on to other projects that have been on the back burner for awhile. Introducing, the Grainline Studio Archer:
Due to the long time-out period, I don't distinctly remember the details of this project. I think I assembled it up through the sleeve plackets before tossing it into the basket where projects go to think about what they've done. Then, in a misguided attempt to try to motivate myself to finish it, I decided not to start any new projects for myself until I finished it.
Four months later, I decided I no longer cared about this thing coming out super nice and pulled it out of the bone pile, ironed out the worst of the wrinkles, and got to work.
And remembered almost immediately why I didn't care for this project. After sewing up the side seams, I faced putting together the collar. While the instructions were clear about what to do, for some unknown reason my collar and the neck hole were two totally different sizes. Like, the collar was a whole inch larger than the hole it was supposed to fit into. So I eased it, swore, and eased it some more until it fit somewhat, then sewed it in.
The cuffs went by easily, and the button holes were probably the easiest they've ever been even though I had to figure out how to do button holes on my still-new-to-me sewing machine (a Janome Skyline S5). Turns out, they're super freaking simple, and I'm definitely not going to shy away from patterns with buttons anymore.
The hem, if you can see it in the picture, shows how little I gave a shit by that point in the process. Despite my lackadaisical attitude toward the thing after my prior frustrations, it turned out well enough that I wore it to work the other day and none of my coworkers (all of whom know I sew a lot of the clothes I wear) noticed the wonky-ness of the thing. Goes to show how little attention non-sewers pay to how clothes look.
On to the last things I made before the Archer:
Those are two Cloth Habit Watson bras, which came in handy after I had a pretty bad skin reaction to the sticky stuff in a strapless bra I wore for a wedding at the beginning of May. The blue bra is made from leftover knit fabric from the bridesmaids dresses for my sister's wedding, and the bottom one is made from black power net and black stretch twill for the bridge. The black bra fits better than the blue one, mostly because of the sturdy bridge.
Alright nerds, here comes a bunch of handknits:
Plain sock pattern from the Yarn Harlot
Ragnarok stripey socks
Gemini Mittens
Tombreck hat
A shawl
I've been trying to remember to take pictures of my hand knit projects for the Eryndor Artistry Guild, and as a handy side-effect of that I have pictures for the blog. Socks are a constant project of mine, and I'm shifting away from making toe-up contrast socks in favor of cuff-down heel-flap socks. I've memorized both patterns at this point, and they're nice knitting to carry around with me for waiting in lines, playing DnD, or watching TV.
The Gemini Mittens were knit for my brand-new brother-in-law for Christmas. He loves them, and has thanked me numerous times for knitting them - which is exactly the right way to behave to get even more hand knit things in the future.
The Tombreck hat was some treat-knitting for me. I'd been hoarding the yarn I used to make these for years. There was just barely not enough to knit a scarf or shawl, and I despaired at knitting a set of things out of it because it's a little too bright for me to wear multiple items made from it at the same time. Then I remembered that the stash is there to be used, and I cast on a hat. And to be honest, it was a great choice. I loved the whole process of knitting it, and I adored wearing it.
I had four huge balls of Lion Brand Wool Ease in Seafoam left over from when I knit my grandmother a lap blanket a few years ago. I'm in the process of de-stashing in preparation for a move to a new house sometime this summer (Cross and I are planning to buy a house before summer is over), and I stumbled upon those balls of yarn during the process.
I've wanted to make a huge, snuggly shawl to wear during nightlife at Dagorhir events for years, but I don't really have a ton of patience for shawl-knitting. So I decided that come hell or high water, I was going to knit a shawl, and I was going to keep knitting until I used up all four balls. Then I did that thing, and that behemoth of a shawl is the result. It legitimately saved my life during Friday night at HCII, my local realm's May campout last weekend.
Speaking of HCII, my buddy Ronin asked me to make a pair of pantaloons for him. He provided fabric, and I charged $20 for additional materials (thread and elastic) and my time to make them.
Pantaloons are pretty simple, and it takes me about 40 minutes to make a pair of them from start to finish. One of these days, I need to get around to making myself a few new pairs since I've gotten far better at making them since I first started making them several years ago and I personally don't own any that utilize my new technology (better elastic casings, serged/finished edges, a better crotch curve/depth).
So on the cutting table right now is some black lycra to make some Ohh Lala leggings from Papercut Patterns. I personally own three patterns from Papercut Patterns: the Undercover Hood pattern, the Anima pants pattern, and this leggings pattern - and the leggings pattern is the only one I haven't sewn. I've made the other two multiple times, and I adore them.
I also have a pair of short pantaloons on the table to finish up. I cut them out years ago to show someone how to make pantaloons, then never assembled them. Acecia has a matching pair, and it's about time we were able to be twinsies on the field.
Alright, I'm going to get to work on that stuff. Have a good weekend!
