sahara

First of all - please, please know that I'm not really fond of pictures of myself (and especially POSTING pictures of myself). I do however appreciate when I see finished garments on a real person and not a headless torso. So for this reason I had Jay take a photo for anyone and everyone to see (gulp). Please mind the early morning bedhead.

My Sahara is done, and aside from the wild colour I'm pretty happy with it. The pattern really was easy, and I learned once again to read instructions carefully...I had this puffy sleeve at one point because I didn't realize I was supposed to wrap the next stitch two stitches past the last one. I skim, I admit it. But what I love about knitting is that you can correct your mistakes, plus I no longer fear ripping out nights of work. It's so worth it in the end because you'll have a sweater you will actually wear! (Though I do think the sweater would suit someone with an actual bust better, but I'll wear it nonetheless.)

And on another note, I just loved this wool. It's so soft and not as heavy as other cottons. Sadie and I already walked to Knitomatic today for more: black for Something Red, and purple for Girlfriend's Swing Coat (for a deserving little girl). Suddenly I'm a huge Knit and Tonic fan!

Pattern: Sahara by Wendy Jo Bernard

Wool: Misti Pima Cotton/Silk, 4 skeins

Needles: 4.25 /3.25 circulars, 4.25/3.25 DPNs

Modifications: I did the XS size until the waist and then made more frequent waist increases to end up with a S/M bottom. I didn't do the shirttail hem for no better reason than I thought I would prefer it straight. And I spent forever stitching the collar ribbing to the body. I couldn't get a mattress stitch seam I was happy with so in the end I used a crochet hook and made a really lumpy seam, but it mimics the ribbing and suits me just fine.

tangerine progress

Just before our road trip to Chicago I picked up wool for the short sleeved Sahara sweater. The pattern is from Knit and Tonic (though purchased from StitchDiva), but it was this version that really convinced me to tackle it (could that blue be any more perfect on her?) Anyway, I headed to Knitomatic before we left and stocked up on Misti Pima Cotton/Silk in this wild tangerine colour. I had black in my hands when Haley suggested that summer knitting called for colour, and if I was really unhappy in the end I could always dye it black. Sadie chose the orange over lavender, and Haley approved. I will wait to decide until the end...but I'm such a practical girl at heart that I'm already leaning to the dye job. The pattern has been straightforward and I'm really excited about the collar detail - plus the wool is fantastically soft. It's pretty dreamy to knit with. All I have left are the sleeves!

The one thing that may keep it orange is how well it will go with my recent indulgence - a bag from Orla Kiely. I am a bag person for sure, but not really a purse girl. I ordered it online as a birthday present to myself, so I don't actually know if it will suit my non-purse persona. Oh well, at least it will be awfully cute...I mean, look at that awesome pattern!

Hmm, the older I get, the more girly I become. Funny that.

that bunny's a tramp

Every so often, I just tell myself that I need to make something in less than 24 hours. This weekend was one of those times; armed with the March theme for Month of Softies ("mad as a march hare") and inspired by Lyn at Mollychicken (really, when isn't she inspiring?) I set out to create a bunny for Sadie. I must admit I soon went off the rails, and my bunny became a black-eyed, stitched up hussy who just had to have black stockings. Luckily Sadie got a new bunny from friends today so I think it was all meant to be.

I must tell myself to make something more often - this may have been the most fun I've had in a while. For more doll inspiration, check out these two local artists: Magda Trzaski and Miru's Friends.

lovely in chicago

While in Chicago Jay and I sought out a show called "ImPaired Visions" at the District 13 Gallery. We saw a link on the Daily Candy (thanks Dave!) and thought it sounded like a good stop. When you know nothing about a city it is hard to understand where the good galleries are, and often people have opposing opinions (really, most folks suggested going to the Art Institute, but we wanted to see contemporary work to get an idea of the type of culture Chicago fosters). In total we visited around 10 spaces, but this one was by far our favourite - and luckily our last stop, so we ended on a high note. Youth, playful restraint and solid talent filled the walls. We each were drawn to a piece - but not the same one. Oddly enough, they were by the same artists so we had to take a walk to decide how we would choose. In the end we picked both because we were in Chicago for Jay's art and we liked the idea of showing our support in return.

The top piece was my pick, titled "supper was delicious mommy"; it was a little more feminine and I just adore the script of "lovely" flowing out of the vomiting daughter's mouth. What you can't see in the photo is the clear gloss printed floral pattern that I think was the last layer screened. Jay's piece, "hope", is printed on solid wood and is wonderfully minimal. The artists are two guys from Minneapolis who form the duo Lovely. They had a number of pieces in the exhibit and even designed the show poster (which we also got a copy of - you can see it here), but most of the other artists were from the Chicago area. I did recognize one artist by name - Shawnimal - from the Plush You II show last year. For a very brief moment, this one degree of separation made me feel like a part of this vital culture, but I quickly resumed my "happy to be absorbing" position.

Someday, someday.