Make It With Wool Last Garments of the Year

Hello Sewing Buddies!
  I figured it was about time I posted these! I came home from summer camp, found out I was moving and found out I was not only helping my friend enter SD Make it With Wool contest I was entering it too. Cue the exacting frantic sewing, because this was for a contest!

Why yes, I am a perky librarian. 

Notice the flowing sleeves that are so in style as I display how green our leaves still are.

I did add a high waistband to show off my tiny waist with different tops. 

How I'll probably wear this outfit since it is SO MUCH green together!

So fun! Now you can see the guts which were all stash busted! I had to add color somewhere.

Since red is my favorite color and I think topstitching that can't be seen is a waste I opted for this dark magenta. A little spice but not super loud.

This was actually my second top and I loved how it came together. Even if it involved a lot of hand stitching to hide all my seams. 

Thoughts:

• I used Cake's Hummingbird pattern for the pencil skirt since I'd already made it up several times. I used my shaped waistband and simply pleated a silky remnant I had for the skirt lining.
• For the final top I used a vintage Butterick 6856. I knew this era fit me pretty well so I made it up without muslining. Next time I'll lower the bust darts a smidge because I'm not going to wear bullet bras and things quite passable but not quite perfect.
• I really like these as a whole outfit but even more as separates. It's Italian wool and I didn't know wool could feel so nice!
• There was a lot of angst because of the deadline and the perfection needed in sewing but I'm glad I've got these pieces made because they will be nice to wear once we're done working on the house.
• I'm kicking myself for not pretreating the wool. The lady I got it from said, "No, no. You must always dry clean wool" so I just took it home and started cutting.

Any ideas on how to wash wool at home? 

StashBusting... YARN

Hello My Fellow Stashbusters!
  My how this month has flown! I'm so glad I didn't make definite plans for this month since its been pretty unpredictable. I took a trip to SLC as a nanny to my friend and the weather has been crazy here. Snowing one day then temps in the 60s the next. This confuses your sewing mojo.
  So enters my stashbusting project. During one of the first sunny spurts I decided to finish what would probably be my last knitted project for awhile.

The moment I saw this sweater I knew it had to be mine.
It's #8 Cabled V-Neck Slipover

This would be my first project working with cables. I blithely knitted the back which was basically a rectangle so super easy to lengthen for my long torso. When it came time to do the front I needed to do a bit more thinking... I decided to shorten the cables and add an extra cable since that came out to approximately the same amount of rows on the back. Only it didn't in real life. The length got added in the shoulders which made for an even lower neckline. Thankfully a friend suggested an easy fix. While part of me wants to rip the whole front out and redo it now knowing what I've learned, another part of me said, NO WAY! So here's my version in all its imperfect glory!

Look guys! I was in a city getting ready to
ride a train!

Details. I don't think I like red fingernail polish on me... Looks like I
dipped my fingernails in blood. I need to repolish my boots as well.

This is actually a great seasonal transition piece. It's made from 100% wool that is super duper soft and cozy; even if I do shed like a blue poodle when I wear it. It keeps my core warm while the short sleeves and open front make it easy for me to regulate my temperature if I get too hot. It's easy to throw on over many different t-shirts or turtlenecks so it can fit with much of my existing wardrobe. 

I think turquoise is one of my new favorite colors
to wear!

Even with all its faults I plan on keeping and wearing it. The pattern was so easy I can see myself making it again in a few years. So that's my stashbusting for April so far. How do you handle knitting mishaps? Does the weather ever affect your sewing plans?

My Knitting Master

What a way to replace a hoodie!
I had this in the works for about a year!

A couple years ago my youngest brother came to me and said, “Hey, let’s learn to knit.” 

“Ok,” I said, “I’ll talk to the lady in our church who knits and see if she’ll teach us.” 

Instead I walked away and promptly forgot about it. Yes, because that’s how cool of a big sister I am. 

This happened a couple of times until one day he walked out of his bedroom and said, “Hey! Look what I made!” 

We stared in amazement at the beautiful scarf in his hands. Knitting ladies oohed and ahhed over his remarkable tension and perfect gauge. 

When asked, "How did you learn this?" 

“YouTube.” was his reply.

Fast forward a year and my brother drags me over to a lady and says, “Tell her she needs to learn to knit. She can’t just crochet.”

After a long conversation, in which I learned many interesting things, like the fact that knitting was invented by fishermen and in the beginning was strictly done by men until women stole it from them; or knitting was made for clothing because of it’s built in stretch, I was converted. I picked up my first set of needles and learned to cast on! 

It has been two years since I began to knit and after multiple Interesting knit projects,  I have finished my first full sweater! 

Meet My Joseph's Coat Of Many Colors

It is super beautiful, warm and I love to wear it! It has replaced several old hoodies and is much warmer than they ever were. It is 100% wool from Noro. I adapted two Noro patterns taking the shape from one and the stitch pattern from the other. I took the extra time to knit it to the correct length for me. For the back and front I just added rows to the bottom. For the sleeves, I knit an extra row before every sleeve increase so it would grow in proportion. 

To finish, I did a four strand braid in two colors to match the sweater colors. After some research on the best methods, I used grosgrain ribbon on the back and perl floss to sew the buttons on so I wouldn't rip the sweater with wear and tear.

A cozy collar instead of a hood to keep my neck warm.

I’m so thankful my brother took the initiative to learn a new skill and wouldn’t leave me alone until I learned it too! I really enjoy having someone to discuss a creative process with and watching him create is truly inspiring. Plus I now have some amazing things to wear!