Ready for summer

It's only taken me three months, give or take, but I finally finished my lil sewing project for white shoe season!

I don't plan to use this as a kerchief for my head, but this pose looks cuter and evokes a carefree 1960s summer don't you think? 

Even taking the project from initial idea to fabric purchase took ages, owing to my not being able to decide (and also, having a lot of work on.) 

But to recap, I was hoping to solve the problem knot of white being SO not my colour, while also being a fun and heat-reflecting choice for summer; not liking to put on a ton of sunscreen all the time; and wanting to do a better job of balancing prints and solids. 

Enter, scarves! Only I couldn't find any in shops that would be lightweight enough, apart from bandanas and other square options, which have to be doubled to make a triangle. Too hot for a hot day, know what I mean? And on cooler but not quite sweater-friendly days, I didn't want a big flopping scarf over my shoulder or in a big lump draping down from my neck. I wanted something tidy, like a turtleneck. 

I settled on Liberty of London's Tana Lawn cotton pretty quickly, because it's the lightest, softest cotton I know. Half a meter was, I felt sure, enough to do the job. Then I stalled a long time because I couldn't find a pattern that matched my vision, and I didn't know how to get there on my own. 

Eventually I cut off 27" of one piece, planning to fold that piece to half height, and, with 3/4" for a side seam, make a funnel to slide over my head. The idea is to fold it up a bit to protect whatever isn't covered by the shade of a big hat in full sun, or fold it down a lot to leave air flow while still having some colour near my face to brighten up a black top or make a white one less jarring.

Then I cut out a triangle that spanned the full half meter on one side, with a view to finishing the edges for a single layer jaunty bandana for hot days. For my NECK, not my hair. I need forehead protection too so it's sunscreen or hats for this girl. 

Et voila! This was my first attempt with the finished edges.

My sewing machine took ages for the fancy stitch, which kind of buckled the fabric, and I still had to do a second run of stitches. After this one, I just pressed in a fold and tucked the raw edge toward it as I ran a bog standard stitch down the length. Definitely preferred. 

The funnel neck is pretty much as I described - a tube I stick my head through. 

Boring, right? Let's look instead at how cute these fabrics are with my blue suede Birkenstocks. 

How cute will these look with an all-white outfit, or all off-white? And check this for white jeans and a navy T:

Somehow I got into a lot of trouble making the funnel work, so in the end I made a long horizontal tube, pressed the raw edges inward on either side, and topstitched them down to each other for a 25" tube (maybe 25.5", don't quote me.)

 

I think that'll also give the tube some stability in the back, where I want it more or less flat, even as the front part flops down a bit into its fold.

Here's how that looks on my faaaaaaave of the three, the print that matches the one I had in brown tones in a miniskirt I wore for years after finding it at a jumble sale in England.

Swoon

I save this one till last as I was sewing, so I would solve all the little execution issues before I got to it, but then I managed to sew its initial seam with bits of raw thread sticking out right where it'll be next to my face, sigh.

Probably you can't see those bits along the top edge. And I've decided to just clip them close and pretend it never happened. 

Meanwhile, while I was noodling around online looking for patterns to spare me figuring this out myself, I started thinking about how fun it would be to sew a Merchant and Mills top in one of these prints. I mean, assuming I could afford it! Tana Lawn is SO pricey. Another reason for a single-layer neck scarf.

Might try to sew this top in some 'lesser' fabrics first, and see how it goes. 

It's a long weekend here and I have made my usual holiday weekend plans: DECLUTTERING THE HOUSE. I hate cleaning, but if I put on a good audiobook and dig in, I can go for hours just making the place tidy. Currently that audiobook is Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time.

fun quote, paraphrased: your gifts don't count, it's how you use them that matters.

I loved that because it means it's okay if you're not the best at something, as long as you find a way to apply that skill that has a positive impact. Or to put it another way, it doesn't matter if you don't get a project done within a week of thinking of it, as long as you finish eventually, ha!

Hope you have a great weekend however you're spending it, and thanks for spending some of it with me. See you next Saturday!

 

Slow spring

I've been feeling lazy lately, curling up with a book or some stitching, enjoying the view out the window and the warmth inside because it's been sooo chilly and damp out there!

What do you think of my new Emma Bridgewater blueberry mug? I know it's silly, but switching up my mugs for different seasons really makes my day. Also I love these shades of blue and green.

And speaking of green, the leaves are definitely coming out now despite the chill.

That's our lilac on the left, and on the right, the brilliant green of our mystery shrub. It's coming up to its most gorgeous moment in the year, when pink blossoms burst open. After that the petals brown and drop, and the leaves brown and linger till the fall. Good thing I love textured bark, and the squirrels and birds love places to shade themselves, or it'd be a pretty dull view.

 

As you may recall, I was at a jewellery show last Saturday. Trish had called to say a friend of her mom's was selling *her* mom's mom's various projects from the 1940s. Of course I dropped everything and ran to the venue!  

These little handkerchiefs are all so delicately edged or, in the case of the flowers, stitched. I think the white and blue are both crocheted but the purple is definitely tatted! That's something I can't imagine having the capacity to learn, and it's so pretty.

Prettiest of all though is that floral design, in my opinion. I just love it!

I'm also so smitten with this white crochet border, and the delicate embroidery of A. P. As it happens I have a writing friend with those initials so I snapped it up for her.

 

I also snapped up this little earring and brooch set for Lannie, made from shells! Shell jewellery was hot back then I guess and this lady was very adept in making it. I tried to get a little closeup for you of the earrings but you might have to use your imagination.

I guess it's not a surprise that somebody who can tat can also glue together tiny curls of shell, but I'm still very impressed. 

Meanwhile, I've continued to work on my second crochet blanket, with just one more colour stripe to go to make two full repeats of the six needed to make it long enough for a snuggly long stint on the sofa. And my main takeaway is that even though it's the same stitch and mostly the same colours, I like it SO much more than the original narrow-stripe blanket!

The fabric is coming out dense, almost rigid, compared to the floppy stretch of the original, whose stitches were a constant miracle to me as I learned how to work them. This time my tension is consistent and I'm working with as much calm as enthusiasm, which seems to go better than enthusiasm alone. 

Here's another shot to maybe show better how the two compare. 

Still enjoying the process a lot, still hoping to be done in time for the cool weather next winter! We'll see though, how much appetite I have for a big blanket in my lap during the inevitable run of heat waves.

For now I'm just going to keep drinking my tea and working away at things, mindful that even the smallest progress adds up.

Hope you have a great weekend and week, with progress of any kind or at least some happy moments! Thanks for dropping in and I'll see you next Saturday.

Legacy knits

I meant to post much earlier today but Trish put out a Vintage Linen Alert, so I had to dash off to a show-n-sale. Back now, and grateful to be in the warm again. This *is* May, right? Because it feels like February out there. Let's cosy up with a pretty sock:

This was knit by a friend's younger sister, who died tragically young from cancer, leaving many unfinished projects. If you've been around here long enough you may recall that I finished a different pair for my friend many years ago. Recently she discovered this sock, which not only needs its mate but is unfinished, itself:

and also, knit on three steel needles, aiiieeee! But I said I would finish the pair for her and so I shall. I've already snipped the grey yarn so I can start the second and take it up to the same point, then see if there's enough yarn to finish them without striping. 

My friend used to sit beside her sister and wind her skeins for her, but always too tight in her sister's opinion, and I can guarantee you there's no way the yarn in these balls would have held up, as stretched thin as they were for so many years.

So, I reskeined them... 

 

didn't they look beautiful just starting to relax again? and bathed them in Soak Wash, and hung them to dry. Then: the cakening.

 

All done now and ready to cast on, once I count out the stitches in the sock I have, and recreate the pattern she was using from that information, plus the base pattern book she had left in the bag. 

I'm not looking forward to those steel needles, but I can't see how else I'd come close to the right gauge! and I would like the mate to be as near as possible to what it would have been in her sister's hands.

But first, I gotta make supper. I can't believe I left this week's Hug so late! especially on a day when I'm prepping eggplant, which needs its sweating time. Lately I've been cooking barley to toss in with roasted bell peppers and a sauteed mix of shallots and cherry tomatoes under a dusting of fresh parmesan, but today I'm adding roasted eggplant too. With a side of buckwheat baguette! We've got all healthy here at Hugs lately. 

Hope your Saturday's been lovely and that you have a delicious dinner coming up soon, if not tonight! See you next week and thanks for spending this time with me today.