FO: Cream jacquard floral dress

So.. after my last post, i completely removed the sweetheart neckline from my cream dress and modded it so that there wasn't a huge gaping hole between my actual bust, and my imaginary dream sized bust ;) hehe

Unfortunately, in the process, i actually underestimated what i *did* in fact have, and ended up making the dress a little too small up top and effectively squishing and flattening my already small upper body ..

Oh well, i can't be bothered making amendments at the moment, so I present to you an FO:

FO: Cream Jacquard Floral Dress



Pattern: My own. It's basically a strapless dress, with a bubble/gathered full skirt.

Notions: Thread, 30cm cream invisible zipper in the centre back.

Fabric: Some cream floral jacquard that I picked up on sale at Spotlight during their end of year sale. I got 2 metres, and i probably used up 1.7 of it. I have a small amount left which i might be able to make into a shoulder cape / small jacket of some sort.

Comments : I made this dress with the intention of wearing it to my brother's wedding. While i would still like to, im not sure how i feel with looking like a prepubescent teen with no chest.. I might be able to salvage the upper body to create more chest room.. but as is, it's a nice dress, but would've been nicer if it fit better!

We're going to the chapel....

No, not me. My brother is getting married in a few weeks, and I am stuck for something to wear. I know I know, people who know me in real life will know I have a tonne of dresses hanging beautifully in my wardrobe. But of course, I have nothing to wear...

A few months ago when I was visiting in Perth, I stopped by and stocked up at the local Spotlight store for fabrics that I wouldnt be able to get out here in Kal. On that shopping list was lots of printed cottons, a few rolls of jacquard (heavily discounted as it was "buy the rest of the roll and get xx percent off"), and some pretty silk.

(trying to get my craft room up and running)

One of my favourite fabrics that I purchased that day was a cream jacquard with printed flowers all over it. I managed to pick up 2 metres at a total cost of $18. Bargain or not?

Anyways, I always knew I wanted to make a pretty dress with it.. so I started to draft, and cut, and sew.. and eventually I ended up with this (the hem and the skirt tucks aren't sewn yet. Still playing around with it):


Personally, i think it's quite lovely. But I also overestimated my less than ample bosom. Because while it's lovely, the sweetheart/corset style top means that I am not going to be able to make simple alterations without unpicking most of it. DISASTER. But one i'm willing to tackle nonetheless..


But anyways, I have a question.. I realise that wearing WHITE to a wedding is boo boo... But how about cream (with flowers).. it's not a boo boo is it ? :)

FO: Icy Mint Vintage Cardigan

Project Details

Pattern: Golden Vintage Cardigan, by Thea Colman. Available here



Yarn: Bendigo Woollen Mills Cotton 8 ply, in Icy Mint (discontinued colour). The yarn itself was nice to knit with, but I hated the colour every step of the way. I'm not even sure why I purchased the colour in the first place, but it was sitting languishing in my stash so I decided I better knit something with it...


Needles 4.25mm , to get gauge. I noticed my little Clover needles were in between standard needle sizes, and thank goodness for that ;)

Comments
Very simple, easy to knit cardigan which produces a cute, classic result. While im not overly impressed with the colour of the cardigan, I would definitely reknit this in something more wearable (black, red, greys, whatever... just not icy mint).


Other mods which you might consider (and I would should I knit another) is to reinforce the button band with some cosgrain ribbon as it is fairly weak, and perhaps lengthen it.

Protecting yourself

My brother's fiance sent me an email forward yesterday and I just *had to share*.

Here are some ideas for you to protect your privacy and security when using your computer/laptop :

and the very best idea of all!!

Hair hair everywhere

As much as I love alpaca, I hate the way the fibres shed. It's all over me, my bf, and on the clothes. It's just like having an alpaca bleeping away in my living room ... :S


PS. I did say the Phildar Tie Sweater WIPs were going to be dull didn't I ? ;)

Plugging, plugging, plugging

Have you ever had a pattern that you found really boring and really difficult to continue with, yet you loved the finished pattern?

For me, it is turning out to be Kim Hargreave's Lisette Cardigan, knit in fingering weight / 4 ply which never seems to end. (Plus , it is the second time i'm giving this cardigan a go).


At the moment, there is one back piece, one sleeve, one front piece and a tad bit of another sleeve. I'm knitting all over the place with hopes that it will be more interesting this way (ha!). But anyways, a little bit a day, and hopefully it will end soon ...

Casting on : Phildar Sweetness

Flicking through an older Phildar magazine, I came across a sweater that I fell in love with as soon as I had bought the magazine. However, many magazines and pattern book purchases later, I soon came to neglect the previously loved sweater until recently.

The sweater itself is very simple, knit in reverse stockinette stitch the whole way, and finished off with a sweet tie up at the front. Not difficult knitting it seems. And it's also one of those sweaters that you can wear very easily, so coupled with the simple sweetness of it, I decided I just had to knit it right now.


I've cast on using Bendigo Alpaca , which is fairly different to the Phildar Frimas suggested, but the cotton i tried to swatc with was fairly ugly knit at the looser gauge. So, I'm trying alpaca as it is fairly drapey, and hopefully will give me a similar effect to the Phildar Frimas. Plus, i'm trying to use up stash yarn before purchasing more yarn.

I don't expect it to have very exciting WIP photos along the way, so we may stay quiet on this one for awhile ;)