so, clearly from these shots, i hate getting my photo taken. much more natural for me to be behind the lens... but, alas, i will indulge a couple of you who wanted to see the dress i made this weekend. and to show off my new favorite accessory.
first, the dress. stretchy, velvety baby corduroy. took the "pattern" from another favorite dress i made out of stretchy dark denim (which was drawn up from a favorite dress i didnt make, but i used that dress as the pattern maker... sorry, cant be more specific than that.) learned that dresses are not made in just two parts (i learned that with the last one, this one was far less painful of a sewing experience. dont need to get into details of ripping and resewing for the first!) so, bodice was three pieces, body was three pieces and two straps criss-crossed in the back. i made this dress because one of my students gave me this amazing twin lens camera patch for my birthday and i knew i had to put it somewhere that i would love and use all the time. of course i built a dress around the coolest patch ever. i had to. so far, this dress is now on the top of my wearing list. super comfy, soft, stretchy for biking, black (of course, black) and well, the patch...
and, the final view of the toasties which wouldnt quit (seriously) striping and double pointed needles... though these would never end. but i am really glad i made them this long. i tend to get hot and cold and hot and cold. (might have something to do with riding my bike a lot and usually having wet hair when i ride to and from places, etc. or possibly just my general indecisive nature...) anyway, i like that they are cozy like a sweater so i can take them off when i am hot, put them on when i am cold, but it doesnt involve a whole sweater, etc. get the idea? i originally made them with spring (or spring-like weather which we have been having lately) and crisp summer (which we have in the bay area) biking. with a t-shirt, when i get warm, take them off... so, the modifications i made to the original toasty pattern were to make them super long and to do a folded cuff at the ends. i got that idea from the Jane hat that i made recently. i love the folded (and sewn...) cuff. it makes them stay up on their own without rolling down (since they are so long, that is key for me so i dont have to stop and pull them up while biking). so, in all their long, lanky glory, here they are...
and speaking of Jane, here is a glimpse of a new one i am starting for my mom. she has blue blue eyes, so i like how this color will look on her. i call it her blue eyed jane. the yarn is punta yarns merisoft hand painted aran (which i think knits up like a worsted- extremely comparable to malabrigo merino worsted- in fact i mixed the two together in the last Jane.)
and finally, my yarn along for the week... and a book! can you believe it! i have been reading! (or should i say, finding time to read... amazing what you can do when you disconnect yourself from the computer...) i really love reading the words of photographers. so often you only get the images, which are great (!!), but the process -mentally, not just the technical details- is what makes my gears turn and fills me with inspiration. so far, her words are incredible.
on the needles: my foxy felicity. yarn is madelinetosh vintage (of course) in silver fox. the felicity pattern seems really great for a thin slouchy hat. casting on 100 as my gauge was a little smaller than pattern calls for and everyone seems to think that casting on more is good as i guess it runs a little small? we shall see...