Dither

It's been really tense around here.... well, not really... I've been knitting some socks for my Mum for Christmas and was convinced about half way through that I was going to run out of yarn for them.  I chose the pattern because it looked interesting and also so I could reduce the amount of stash I have and when I thought I was going to run out I was pretty gutted.  I even "phoned" a friend and there's some emergency yarn winging its way from Finland to here.  In the end I didn't need it, so my plans for stash reduction have only been partially successful, but I'm sure I can find a plan for the extra yarn when it arrives. 

Anyway, here are the socks:

I really like them -  I love how the colours dither (hence the name of the pattern) and I can see some other versions in the future.  I think they're quite a unisex pattern, so I can see some blues and blacks and greens going well together for David.

They're ravelled here.

JJ blouse finished.

I little while ago (back in April!) I blogged that I had started the JJ blouse using some of the fabric I bought in Vietnam.  After my old sewing machine playing silly buggers, this is now the first piece of clothing made fully on my new machine :-)  I'm really enjoying sewing on it.  Anyway, back to my JJ blouse.  I had originally thought of doing some pin tucks on either side of the centre front instead of the ruffles that are on the original pattern, but then changed my mind and decided to leave it completely plain as the fabric is quite busy.

I cut a size 36 bust grading to a 38 around the waist.  A lot of people have complained about the pattern directions - they were a bit confusing, but with the help of this tutorial and looking up how to do a continuous bound cuff opening in my trusty sewing book it went together fine and fits well. 

The only changes to the pattern I made apart from the obvious omission of the ruffles is that I put 6 buttons down the front rather than the 4 the pattern said, I also didn't do the belt ties. 

I did do French seams everywhere.  I love French seams and how finished and professional the inside looks with them.  I don't want a serger as I love French seams so much.

mermaid costume

I've been sewing this mermaid outfit recently for F.  When we were in Vietnam earlier in the year she found this sparkly pink Lycra material on a stall in the fabric market we visited and its been destined to be a tail ever since. 

 It's basically a tube skirt with some pieced together shapes to make the flippers.  I also got some pink net and sewed that inside the flippers to give them a bit more dimensionality - it's quite long as she wanted to be able to lie around and have her feet covered, but then she's able to hitch it up and be able to walk around.

 

She needed a top to preserve her modesty so I picked up some plain t-shirts and attached another bit of the Lycra to it and sewed it into the side seams of the t-shirt.  I also gathered the centre so that it looked like a bikini top.  

And here's both of them getting ready to go to a Halloween party.  R's going to need a new costume soon as he's had the dinosaur one now for a couple of years.  I'm thinking of a lion next.