nothing gained...

I calmed down, thought some more and figured I’d be further ahead to actually cut my new shape out of another fabric and baste it in place to see if it worked. It would be easier to fine-tune the knitted piece that way as I did want to be able to sew it in place with finished edges without having to resort to serging alterations, or worse, having to re-knit because it was too small!
So glad I did! With the pieces basted in, I could try it on and adjust little bits here and there  to get the fit I wanted! Pretty pleased!
BTW, another deciding factor on the yarn, I had a leftover part cone of WCD in chocolate (234g) that should be just the right amount – didn’t want to break into a full cone of something for this!

nothing ventured...

Heh, heh! Hope you didn’t think I was gonna do intarsia or anything silly like that!
I cut out as many pieces of the jean jacket that I could get from that fabric, leaving the sleeves and side panels to be knit. Then I started sewing. Got it to this point to make sure that I liked it before really getting to the down and dirty. Figured if it wasn’t working for me, I could abort and never tell anyone. :-)
Notice the pattern pieces for the sleeves and side panels that I didn’t have enough fabric for. I plan to knit them in a solid colour. I drew them on my knit contour/shaping device, in half-scale but simplified slightly. For the front side panel and the back-side panel, instead of two pieces, I joined them to eliminate the side seam so there would be one underarm panel on each side of the jacket. The sleeves are two-piece as well, but I made it into one, keeping the cuff opening at the back side to simulate what happens in sewn jackets. I do have camo fabric cuffs to sew on.

When I started sewing, for some reason I did all the top-stitching with black, thinking that the knitted pieces would be black but once I got the collar on and was able to ‘put it on’, I changed my mind to brown being the contrast. With all the pieces sewn together, it looked a bit different. Because the fabric is not symmetrical, I kept picking the brown-er pieces for the outsides.

In choosing the yarn, I wanted to emulate the thickness of fabric – it isn’t a twill bottom weight but it is a sturdy, woven fabric so I was leaning to a mercerised cotton because, WCD (wool crepe deluxe), the correct weight, might be too stretchy in stockinette?? Oh, who am I kidding? I might need the stretch!
Suddenly gung-ho to knit, I almost began knitting one of the underarm panels – it is more important structurally than the sleeve! Realized I hadn’t planned out the hem! Took another break to think it all through more carefully…

camouflage...

I think I’ve subtlely admitted that I kinda, sorta have  this thing for camo. You had to be paying attention. I also have a thing for jean jackets.
Anyway, lately, I’ve noticed camo fabric clothing showing up all over. On Project Runway, twice, Nina was wearing something camo, not counting what the contestants and others  were sporting! The young woman on the afternoon show out of Minneapolis has a camo jacket she’s worn a couple of times and I seriously covet it!
Finding the right fabric can be somewhat of a challenge. I have an old piece, leftover from the early 90s, that’s, in my mind, just right but I know there isn’t enough to get an entire jacket out of it. But, what if I knit a couple of pieces? Hummmm…
You can laugh and snicker now! I'm fine with it! You won't be able to see me anyway! ;-)

progress report...

Where did June go? What have I been doing??

Bit by bit, I finished the striped hoodie for Vickie – I think that was a record for things hanging around my workroom! I started it on May 9 and just finished it up this week! Good thing I wasn’t worried about a deadline! What can I say? The weather has improved and it's nice to be outside! Now to find a box and get it to the post! ;))
Also managed to get Rhiana’s grad cardi done just in time – yesterday was the graduation - she looked lovely, so grown up! It was too hot for the cardi but it’s all good – she likes it and can wear it later with jeans and a white tank.
I changed out the original design a bit – the edgings that Ev used were really nice but a bit time-consuming, especially considering I was using the brushed mohair and there’s nothing like that type of yarn to make one feel like a newbie knitter again! The hairy bits get caught up in the brushes and when you’re shortrowing, talk about loops at the edges!! Ripping out the row carefully and pulling up on the yarn at the beginning of each row became necessity! The easiest part was the two lace panels! I started off with waste yarn, knit the two pieces of lace for the skirt, separated by waste yarn and ravel cord, and added my favourite tuck hem, #33, XOXO Trim from Band Practice and used it for all the finished edges.
Now, I’ll be back to doing something for me! Stay tuned! Happy Canada Day!

graduation alert...

or should that be ‘Grama alert’? It kind of snuck up on me! Rhiana, 12 years old (already!), is graduating from Grade 6 at the end of the month. She will be changing schools and going into a Junior High so they make a big deal out of it – there’s a fancy luncheon and ceremonies. She showed me a picture of her dress, ordered from the internet – it’s sleeveless with a white-eyelet yoke and a printed fabric skirt (large multi-blues flowers on a white background) in two layers, kind of her fanciest dress yet and I’m sure it will look great. 

Leafy Lace, KW#53

The ‘Grama (and knitter)’ in me thinks she should have a cardigan to go with just in case the weather is cool – this is Thunder Bay after all and so far our spring has been kind of miserable! I have two weeks so it’s not like panic city, but I can’t really afford to waste a lot of time.
Between us,we decide on a light blue (I have a partial cone of periwinkle blue in a fuzzy-look yarn from way back that will be enough) and I quickly come up with a plan – you know I do love lace  and it brings to mind a really cute girl’s cardigan that Ev McNabb did for our final issue of Knitwords, #53 – called "Leafy Lace", a smock-style cardy with lace skirt, made in two pieces without side seams, buttoned at centre back and front, just perfect for Rhiana's tween-age! The bodice is a raglan with vee neck in stockinette. I'm changing that to a set-in sleeve because that will be quicker to make than the full-fashioned raglan.

Swatching now so I can get started tomorrow!

a bucket list?...

I don’t really have one but if I did, at the top of the list would be a cruise to Alaska! You can imagine my excitement when I got an email from Morgan Hicks/All Points Yarn from Seattle, WA entitled ‘Cruise Alert - ALASKA 2020’!
http://www.allpointsyarn.com/events.htm
Check it out!

“Along with the great adventure of cruising, fine dining, gorgeous views, exciting ports of call, and the many ways to enjoy and relax on board, you will have the opportunity to socialize and learn with fellow knitters and crocheters.  The class schedule will follow in the coming months.

You can travel with your knitting and crochet buddies, or fiber-friendly family members and get the best of both worlds, Entertainment, and Instruction!”

I love it! But wait, how about some machine knitting? Hey Morgan! I’ll come, bring an LK150! We’ll do a bunch of basics and demo some techniques like shortrowing, neckline shaping and sleeve caps. Throw in MAO’s exciting trunk show and do some trims and edgings! Put on your joggers and we’ll talk mk-ing design as we do laps on the Lido deck – just kidding (about the jogging, but it could be an option! Work off that fabulous food!)! But really, doesn’t it sound like a great time! Call or email me or Morgan! Let’s make this happen!

how long has it been...

since you had a new machine? Oh my! Some getting used to! The stitch dial on my old carriage, it was so loose, I could turn it with the side of one finger. This new one, I almost feel like it needs two hands! Switching from stockinette to tuck, pay attention! Say nothing of the extra elbow grease to pass the carriage back and forth! Oh well, enough whining! It works! Did I mention that Mike’s yarn spray is my new best friend?
You may remember my problems with patterning and what I tried  - here’s the link if you want the story from mid February - https://knitwords.blogspot.com/2019/02/peanut-butter.html
In the end, I have a new, slightly-used demo machine, an SK840 (Studio) carriage that works on my old SK580 (Singer) needle bed and the electronics on the old bed (they were built-in) work with the ‘new’ carriage.
To get DesignaKnit to work, I was told by the North American distributor that I would need to purchase a new cable because my old SL4 would not work with DAK8. I do have DAK8 on my Windows7 laptop and was not really wanting to spend the money to get the new cable, mostly because all the old stuff works and I don’t really need DAK unless I want to download a large stitch pattern and knit-from-screen (last time I did that was for a picture baby blanket and I’m so over that! https://knitwords.blogspot.com/2017/11/ever-have-one-of-those-days.html).
When I was chatting to Mike at dknits.com and giving him my tale of woe, he told me he had a software upgrade that would allow the SL4 to be used with DAK8. OMGG! He mailed it to me, I did the install, easy-peasy! It worked! Mike is my new best friend!
Seriously folks, if you need help or are considering Designaknit or cables for whatever reason, call him!