Branching Out

I know I haven't posted for ages, but I've still been knitting, as well as sewing. So I'm going to try and bring you up to date.

First off here is a photo of my finished Nicole from Rowan mag no. 39.


nicole pattern rowan mag#39 

I had to rip the stitch pattern out on the back a few times, but once I got the hang of it, it came out really well. It took a while to find the buttons, but I'm glad I kept looking, I think it finishes it off well.

For some reason I've been making a lot of bags lately, previously not being that much of a bag person.


abyssus nauta(hello sailor) bag 


ribbon bag 

The basic bag pattern came from Stitch n' Bitch Handbook, then I just added the ribbons.

My mum used to make clothes for my sister and I when we were little, so when I decided to give something a bit more complicated a whirl I asked for her help. I'd been looking around that shop for a summer dress but I didn't see one that I liked, so I came the the conclusion that is what I should make. I found a pattern and fabric at a shop in Leeds and, with the help of my mum, I got to work.


summer dress 
It's a Simplicity design from the New Lookrange.

It actually worked out a lot better than I expected. The body side seams and the skirt side seams don't quite match up, but I don't think it's too bad for my first item of clothing. I had to cut about 5in of the bottom so that I didn't look like I was standing in a hole, but on the hole I'm really pleased with the result.

It was my birthday at the end of May, and for my birthday my parents got me Kit in a Tin. It's made with Rowan Holiday and Summer Tweed, I don't know if you've seen rowan holiday, but it's quite a weird yarn to knit with.

knit tin bag 

I decided to condence my photos with Mosaic Maker so that the post isn't really long, but if you want see a bigger photo of the things I finished you can look in my Flickr Gallery.

Sorry

It's been so long since I've blogged that I'm having trouble remembering what I've done since I last wrote.

I had 2 knitting projects on the go last time I posted. I've finished the After Bertha Socks that I was making for my sister, I used Opal Uni 4ply leftover from the socks that I made her last year, so again she mismatched socks.



Pattern After Bertha from Socks, Socks, Socks.
Yarn Opal Uni 4ply.

And I've very nearly finished Nichole. Not before I ripped out the patter detail a few times though. There are lost of yarn forwards and lifting stitches over other stitches in the pattern, not to mention that you are decreasing at 1 st at each edge at the same time, I got so sick of counting stitches to make sure that I hadn't lost any when I shouldn't have!


nicole front 

Since I took that photo I've sewn the sides together. I just need to sew the straps to the back and find 4 buttons for the front, so far I haven't seen any that I like, but there are one or two more shops I can try.

I'll post again soon with my current projects, knitting and sewing - I'm diversifying :D