Where I've been

As usual, I'm not really sure what to say in a blog post.  But I keep getting random people supposedly following my blog (I'm skeptical, and looking at their profiles I don't believe they're real) so thought I'd write something to post.

I haven't posted since last October -  that's no way to run a blog! 

Anyway, in my last post I wrote that I had published a shawl pattern on ravelry.  To date, I've sold 13 patterns - but no one seems to be posting pictures of what they're making or asking questions - so I guess the pattern has been bought and has been stagnating.  I'm really keen to see anyone's finished versions - but I can be patient. 

I also mentioned in my last post that I was planning to try to publish an inset sleeve sweater - I thought I'd managed to grade it and even got it accepted into an online knitting magazine, but then during tech edit we found out that my grading hadn't been completely successful and after a bit of toing and froing it was dropped for the time being.  I'm actually wondering if I'll rewrite it completely as a top down seamless top - but after my grading fail I might pay for someone to grade it for me.

At about the same time as they were trying to figure out my submitted pattern I was admitted to hospital after a tumour was found lurking in my colon.  It's been a pretty efficient, if not exactly pleasant, experience to get rid of it.  Now I am tumour-free but am undergoing chemo and radiotherapy over the next 5-ish months.  I'm finding the highs and lows of chemo pretty tough going, but am trying to make use of the highs to be productive and do some knitting and sewing.

After my op I can't wear jeans (my usual uniform) as I have a temporary stoma and jeans are too constricting around my waist, so I decided to make some high, elasticated waisted trousers.  I've made one pair so far using some dark blue fabric I found in my stash and a pattern that I have also previously made (sounds like a win win to me - lets call them free trousers).  I've ordered some more fabric to make another couple of pairs.

I've also started knitting from my stash - I've started stripes gone crazy by alpha knits.  It's such a fun knit, especially using the long colour changing yarn I bought eons ago in Tallin. 

Last year, after some storms I collected some oak moss lichen.  My plan is to dye it using ammonia - I can't figure out a source of household ammonia here, so I'm going to create a urine vat... the thing that I'm now not sure about is that from what I've read you should avoid urine from people taking medication.  I'm wondering if I'm clear enough of the chemo meds a week after my infusion to start collecting or if I need to find an alternative source?  Any ideas? 

Another longtime project finished

Back in 2015 (apparently) I started to repurpose a faux suede jacket I'd made and didn't wear.  I decided to try to make it into a the Burda silk motorcycle jacket.  I often like the look of Burda patterns and then regret getting them as I hate tracing and adding seam allowances and then the directions tend not to be as clear as I would like. 

Anyway, 4 years later and I've finished it.  

F insisted that her pom pom pet, Freya, wanted to be in the photos too! 

It's not perfect, but I think I'm more likely to wear it than the boxy jacket it used to be.  The sleeves feel a little tight when I'm putting it on - maybe I should have made the next size up - but I doubt I would have had enough fabric for that looking at the meagre amounts I have left.

I seem to remember quite enjoying looking through my me made clothes and figuring out why I wasn't wearing a particular piece - this jacket slowed me down quite a bit - but I think I should go back to it.  I was wondering about doing Me Made May this year - we're away for about half of May, so I don't think I will, but maybe I could be doing this instead.  Just to note - in the pictures above - the jeans, top and jacket are all made by me.  😊

What's on my ironing board

Most people work at a desk, not me - I do most things (apart from sitting at my sewing machine or somewhere knitting) at my ironing board. 

Very little actual ironing goes on!  So, what's on my ironing board at the moment:

From left to right:

I'm making a blouse for F from some spotty purple fabric using the Oliver and S music class blouse and skirt pattern.  I've made the skirt a couple of times before, but never the blouse - I'm making the size 10, have added a couple of inches to the length and intend to sew some shirring elastic around the sleeves on Fs request after her seeing that on a top I made for myself.

There's also a yarn label for Creative Bubble by Rico Design.   I had one ball of this to try making washing up tribbles from, it was successful so the yarn label is around as I went looking for some more. 

Next is my Geo Yoked Fair Isle Sweater by Di Gilpin.  I received the pattern and yarn for this from D for my birthday last year after seeing it (and trying it on) at Di Gilpin's stand at Yarndale.  It's in a bag as I'm having to pause as I have run out of the main colour - I don't need a lot more as it's mostly just the yoke to do, and Di has been very helpful in finding another ball for me, so hopefully it won't be in the bag for long.

In the red folder is the paperwork for the first assessment piece I submitted to City and Guilds and which I intend to work into a publishable pattern.  At the moment I'm rewriting the charts from excel into Stitchmastery before I get the pattern into shape and then look for a couple of test knitters. 

I'm off to the Swiss Yarn Festival tomorrow - I wonder if I'll find any goodies.

One crossed off.

I've decided to blog again as if there hasn't been a three year blog hiatus - hiatus, what hiatus, I don't know what you're talking about... moving swiftly on...

The beginning of 2019 has been jam full of finishing off some really large projects that have been on the go for longer than my blog hiatus (I thought we agreed we weren't going to mention that), and as I originally set up this blog in order to track my progress and keep me a little accountable to myself - here I am again!

The first project that I'm going to blog about that finally got finished this year is my ten year quilt project - wowsers, that was a long 10 years!

It had a number of stalls and also moved house a number of times (9 house moves in total and between 5 countries!), so I'm really pleased to finally be able to call it finished and have it on the bed.

Here it is being held up by my three trusty helpers.

I quilted it on my home machine using techniques from the book Walk: Mastering Machine Quilting With Your Walking Foot by Jacquie Gering.  I found this a really useful book, and although the quilt is huge (220cm  x  240cm ) I managed to do it on my machine.

I also decided to label my achievement by machine embroidering a bit of information about the quilt itself and some words to remember:

 

 "It is astonishing how long it takes to finish something you are not working on"

As you can see from the picture, the back drifted a bit when I was quilting, but a bit of extra fabric pieced in made it alright and has added to it's imperfect, scrappy nature.

Onwards - what's next for the finished pile?