Star Wars Cosplay Series: It begins

My excitement for the project is already clouding my judgment. I pulled the pieces out of M7100 to cut them and found out that there is a shoulder dart in the pattern that was not illustrated on the line drawings on the back of the pattern. I now realize it does say "with shoulder dart" in the description but... I never read that. Anyway I just squished the dart out of the pattern piece and am going forward.

What I don't have is any scotch tape to do my pattern adjusting with so I'm using hot pink duct tape. Worst choice ever for adjusting delicate dainty tissue paper. Cool

You can see where I folded the shoulder dart out of the sleeve piece and I also added the band lengths to the sleeves and body pieces since I"m doing the jacket straight down.

Thankfully my project is saved by the baby as I realized he'd be getting up before I could cut the pieces so I am taking the time to wash and dry my fabric instead. Smart move. Thank you baby. I am trying hard to bring this back into the realm of good sewing habits.

I also started a handwritten journal of the experience because I'm way too excited to keep this project just an ordinary project. Plus I need more stuff and carrying around swatches in a purse sounds like a bad call too.

Next I'll be figuring out my lining situation (the pattern isn't currently lined) and testing out the quilting detail for the sleeves. Oh and purchasing some dang scotch tape. Onward!

Star Wars Cosplay Series: Intro

Star Wars Episode VII comes out in December of this year so Jerm and I decided to have a little cosplay fun to get psyched up for what looks like a very promising return to the Star Wars saga.

Jerm is going to be Han Solo and he's aiming for accuracy to the original costumes. I'm going to be a female interpretation of Luke Skywalker wearing the costume from this scene:

I plan to make some elements such as the amazing yellow jacket, probably the black shirt under the jacket, and the holster for the blaster on his leg. I'm still debating if I should make a medal. I think it would be cool but maybe it'll be the last part of the project.

Below you can see the shirt on a young and dreamy Mark Hamill.

So let's start with the somewhat formidable jacket. I have never made one so why not take this opportunity to give it a crack and hang my hopes and dreams on it while I'm at it? I've got a copy of McCall's M7100 and some yellow fabric and lining. The trick is that this pattern is almost like a sweatshirt style, is unlined, and calls for knits, so I'm a little nervous how it will come out in something with structure/quilting/lining but hey- I'll improvise!

More about the fabric and taking my first steps soon! My goal and hope is to document this crazy venture into cosplay and I hope to have other projects in between too. So ambitious!

Baby Quilt for Margaret!

Here it is!

Crib sized from a Mardens Jelly Roll. Excuse my weird eye intensity.

Bundled for the gift bag. I tied it up with the leftover quilt binding.

The back is solid green. The fabric was originally going to line a knitted skirt but I thought it would look so cute on the quilt so I used it for this instead.

This is definitely just the start of the quilt making days. I had a complete blast from start to finish. I think the best part of all was probably looking through the jelly roll and dreaming up my design but I really enjoyed every single step. Quilting it under the walking foot was also interesting.

I'd love to get more jelly rolls and make a twin size quilt for Adrian to grow in to. For now I'm scheming up a quilting related project (ok, a patchwork project. no actual quilting.) for my coworker who will be having a baby shower here eventually.

GoVeralls, Next Socks, and Back To Sewing!

My sweet baby is 9 months old today! I would wish for him to slow down if he weren't so darn cute and happy to be growing and learning!

Crafty me managed to bust out some On The Goveralls for him in just a couple of weeks. This speed of completion is nearly unheard of * so it's kind of a big deal. They initially came out huge so I frogged the 12-18 mo size in favor of 6-12 and they're frankly still a touch oversized. Guys I knit under-gauge (and hate spelling the word 'gauge'!!) all the time so why the past 2 projects have been oversized is beyond me.

* for a Bethy, that is.

Eeeenywhoo here's a couple of bad photos/poor lighting/etc of the adorable overalls.

Awesome. They don't look too huge when he's sitting but you can kinda tell there's some extra fabric hanging around his legs. I'm tempted to knit up another pair lightning-speed in the next size so that I'll have a backup for when he grows outta these... but no! I've got far too many next project ideas on the docket!

I cast on my next pair of Christmas present socks. After much deliberation I chose the Dogwood Trees because I can't get enough of free downloadables on Ravelry.

Finally, I decided it was high time to venture back into the sewing foray and I was super inspired by Amanda Rolfe from 3and3quarters. I'm going to make some English paper-pieced hexies. If it is too much to pull out all the machine sewing then at least I can do something by hand, dang it!

The days may be long and busy, but they can still be crafty!

Colorwork Socks and New-To-Me Yarn

Happy 4th of July! The lighting seemed great for a quick photo shoot of my latest creative endeavor.

Butterflies are Free

This is my first venture into stranded colorwork and I've fallen in love. It is so fun and pretty and it turns out I really don't mind following charts. Only the first sock is done and when laid flat (this is unblocked) it appears comically large BUT when I put it on the sock actually has some semblance of (slightly roomy...) fit!

The kitchener stitch grafted toe came out a little wonky on this one mostly because I was doing it past my bedtime out of project-completion-excitement. Fool that I am. Next sock I'll be sure to save this bit for daytime or at least pre-9pm. Speaking of the next sock... I really did get started and am already 2/3 done the leg!

I am using post-it notes as my chart guides, which is both cheap and highly portable so hey. Don't judge me. I'll buy a magnetic chart board one day. You can also see the delightful wool/nylon blend yarn I'm using. It is splitty and a little heavy for sock-weight but I forgive it because it's a really nice yummy wool that shows off the colorwork so nicely.

My next project is already partially started. Here's the yarn I saved from what my buddy Johanna found for me. It's acrylic but should be perrrfect for the overalls for little Adrian. This photo is after having soaked and dried the yarn- I have two more bundles that are drying still. Gotta wind up the balls and then I can cast on my goveralls!

Finally, below is a shot of the intended goverall recipient and my photoshoot supervisor.

He was waiting (somewhat) patiently just inside the door as I took these pictures out on the front step.

That's all for now!

New Patterns: Cutting and Altering

I just got two new patterns in the mail- fresh off the $2.99/Mccall's sale. They are for a pair of jeans M6610 and for a couple of T-shirts B5354.

One exciting thing about the jeans is that the pattern includes detailed instructions on alterations. I appreciate that Mccall's has embraced the difficulty of fitting handmade pants and wants to help. The very reason I chose this pattern was to myself embrace the difficulty of fitting handmade pants, so thanks McCall.

I'll get started on those pants soon. The fabric is in the wash.

Turning to the Tshirt, I have a bizarre thing to note. I want the shirts to come out plenty long enough so I took a gander at the finished measurements and contorted myself a bit to determine if the listed 24 1/4 inches would suffice for my back length. Putting a tape measure up to my neck, seems good! But! I decided to pull out the pattern and check the measurement against that just for giggles.

See there- the pattern only measures about 25 inches long in the back and wants you to make an inch and a quarter of a hem. When you remove that hem length and another 5/8ths for the neckline, uhhh the finished length is NOT gonna add up to 24 and change!

I decided to consult the instructions to see if I'm supposed to add my own 1.25 inches when I cut but it isn't super clear or rather it doesn't seem to want me to. Then I consulted the Reader's Digest New Complete Guide to Sewing and based on their assessment I'd say the pattern wants me to cut it as-is, meaning I'm not getting that promised finished length.

Can I also point out that the "lengthen or shorten here" line is above the natural waist, which implies that my waist is lower than the pattern. Nope. Actually I have a high/short waist and a longer whatever-you-call-below-the-waist-and-above-the-butt.

It's just a shirt pattern. I'm sure I can just add a little lengthy-poo and it should come out. We'll see! Check back for more details in this exciting tale.

1001 books you must blah blah list

Lets start this out with the 1001 books you must read before you die list, which I found via google on listology.com. This sounds like a fun idea, although I don't want to spend every moment of reading time agonizing over whether I am accomplishing the list... we'll address this in the future, I'm sure!

Here are the ones I HAVE read and whether I was forced to (school) or whether it was by choice.

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer- my choice (my only post-year-2000 read, which is amazing since there are 10 years of post-2000 literature already!!!)
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden-choice
The Cider House Rules by John Irving-choice
White Noise by Don DeLillo- school
The Color Purple by Alice Walker- choice
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams- choice
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next by Ken Kesey- choice
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien- choice
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov- choice
Lord of the Flies by William Golding- school
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway- school
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger- school
Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton- school
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake- choice
Animal Farm by George Orwell- school
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck- school then again by choice
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien- choice
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell- choice
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley- school
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald- school then again boy choice
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton- choice
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells- choice
Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll- choice
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott- school
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll- choice
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens- school
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens- school
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe- school, I picked it for the project
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne- school
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte- choice, then again for school
The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe- choice
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen- choice
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift- school
The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan- sunday school
Metamorphoses by Ovid- school, translated from latin
.
So yeah- 35 down. Hundreds upon hundreds to go. I only counted the books that I know for sure I have read all the way through- there are several more that I have started, or even made a very strong start but then didn't finish for one reason or another. I'm already interested in many on the list, so I figure I'll chip away at it when I think to and enjoy it.

One of the things I noticed was that a vast majority of what I have read comes from the 1800s. In fact, most of the list came from the 1800s. Think about how far culture and society have deviated from the way things were 200 years ago, and yet our body of literature is still mostly from then. I think it would be great if we could continue to have breakthroughs in writing and literature to keep the art of writing (and reading) alive. I guess that perhaps this is why we're in the era of blogs??

More later, if I remember.