A first

I’m calling this – I just turned 48 and I knit my first vest and the color is sincere because I physically feel like a piece of chewed up bubble gum, while mentally I feel like I should embroider the words baby girl on it. The duality of existence.

♡

It’s absolutely cute, but I’m not even going to pretend I knew what I was doing, I have such a hard time with things that don’t necessarily look like the finished thing while working on them, my struggle was real with the unfinished head hole and I added the collar ribbing the literal second I could so it looked like a sweater again ..fewf, I’m mostly a top down sweater knittter (collars built right in), occasionally a cardigan for Jason, and wasn’t expecting having a “what the hell is this thing?” moment.

This has a classic vest look, with so many great options and variations written into it, the pattern goes up to a 65″ bust, I worked a size 7 with a 55″ bust and kinda feel like I could’ve went down a size.

Plain ribbing on all my openings, but also included in the pattern is an alternative eyelet rib stitch if you’d like something a little more delicate looking.

I also chose the regular scoop neckline over the tall neckline and used the optional narrow shoulder adjustment to make sure the vest would sit slightly in at the shoulder rather than slightly off the shoulder, I think that adjustment might be causing that slight fabric push/pull midway down the arm hole on both sides, maybe it’s going from a small amount of stitches to a large amount rather quickly, maybe it’s just a vest thing, maybe I don’t know? Next time I could work the deep armhole adjustment to try and minimize the tug and give myself a bit more sleeve room, this is perfect for layering over a fitted undershirt or tailored button down, but lots of my handmade clothes have lower/boxy sleeves and they get a little ruched up with this closer fit.

I worked the cropped length bodice adjustment, so it hits right at my waist, I also kept the hem straight, but the pattern offers a split hem option too ..see so many options!

Pattern: Gan by Ailbíona McLochlainn.
Yarn: Ash Lawn Collection by Cestari colorway Burgundy Heather.

Let’s make more vests ♡ ..I learned they are also sometimes called slipovers, cute!

Neat

I remember a few times in school we had the chance to make pinback buttons, they were usually generic printed images with a blank area for us to write our name and then the teacher assembled the badge pieces and sometimes we got to pull down the press handle and sometimes not, and sometimes they were already 100% assembled and we only got to write our name on the top of the finished buttons mylar after the fact with a crappy marker or even worse a crappy ball point pen, either way it was a pretty big deal. Little kid me would’ve loved a button maker so much.

Then you grow up and realize you can do whatever the hell you want to do now, so you go out and buy yourself a button maker, and you take all your favorite saved kid stuff and turn it into the pinback buttons of your little kid dreams. Jason bought me that industrial metal button press years ago, after cheap me bought a plastic handheld one, where more than half of the buttons never sealed right, and it used special brand specific expensive button parts. Frustrated, I thought that it took some magical skill that I just couldn’t learn, that’s as good as it gets, and it sucked. Turns out it was that cheap plastic press the whole sad time and I’m actually a button wiz.

Portrait of my life now, featuring cute bits of my childhood. 1.25″ is my favorite badge size to make and 80’s scratch n’ sniff is my favorite art to use.

“Looking Good” was the 20th button I made, I say I’m done, but I don’t know, there’s probably more in me, I’m definitely still missing a few favorites.. “The Greatest” clown, “Much Better” bandaid, “Well Done” fried chicken leg with a face? …ok, going back through these stickers, they’re so dumb and great and they still smell and it’s like time travel.

It looks like a worm, and I can picture making a very hungry caterpillar version of these for Lex. No heel, universal fit, all sorts of rib, I’m not sure how they’ll wear, if they’ll be comfortable or if they’ll even stay up, but I’m interested.

They’re called Bananen-Socken (banana socks) ..I see it.

P.S that’s a Ravelry link.

In big news, this is mae mae and she is a 6 year old garbage girl, she was a little rough and tumble when we adopted her, so we’re taking it slow and helping her learn to be cared for. She’s a chatty, buttery soft noodle who’s still a trash baby with a plastic obsession. We think back to early days kiki (she had a tough life before us) and know with time mae will be a good cat too.

♡

Maybe Sew

I haven’t been up in the studio for a long while now, no real reason just blah, but Jason needed a new hole punched in his belt and all that stuff is up there (also Lex had taken over the space to do some screen printing). I walked into a mostly tidy space (thanks Lex) and forgotten stacks of things I got for Christmas.

Like smelly stickers and a new glitter sticker book ..I haven’t had a sticker book since the 80s, so I’ve just been shuffling cute things around feeling like it’s my birthday. 💕

I think it was around October of last year when I had a bunch of pdf patterns plotted and they’ve sat it their giant cardboard tube in my studio ever since, I didn’t even open them. It’s now sometime in March and I’m thinking about them again, I can’t quite remember but I think there’s some Trigg Shorts by Elbe Textiles for Jason in there, a few Muna and Broad patterns (including the Kapunda undies which probably didn’t need to be plotted, but whatever), a few from Style Arc like the Hope Woven Dress (that raglan is everything) and the Bob Pants – but I’m fat and easily annoyed with most pants, and now think dang should I have gotten the Muna and Broad pant patterns? Oh and I think the Sew Liberated Hinterland Dress is in there too, gosh so much cute stuff!

This is the US based pdf plotting service I use to print my full size Copy Shop/AO patterns. Most indie patterns come with both a Print at Home patten file that you have to print, cut out and tape together to form the full size pattern pieces (and can be upwards of 25+ 8½”x11″ pages!) and a Copy Shop/AO version that needs a special large format printer to produce life size pattern pieces (most patterns are only 1-4 pages when plotted).

Fabric pictured above is Double Wedding Ring Cheater Print in Blue Ribbon – Honey Collection by Alexia Abegg for Ruby Star Society.

Now I just need to figure out how to get beyond always making my self drafted sometimes pleated, sometimes gathered, sometimes not, sleeve or sleeveless, easy wear standard uniform dress, the slipover comfort it gives me knowing it will fit exactly the way I love with zero fucking around is hard to beat. I don’t want a bunch of handmade clothes that never get worn.

Today I’m a picnic, a late winter picnic in a wonky plaid millend that was printed slightly askew to the grain ..always fun times with those. I decided to cut keeping the plaid in check, knowing sections would be cut partially on the bias, all while making sure those red squares didn’t end up centered on my boobs. It went alright, there were some hairy moments with unpredictable stretchy hems, but my frustrations were soothed by the fact that this cute fabric was clearanced at a dollar a yard (a fricken dollar a yard!) and I knew going in it was a misprint ..it’s so much worse when you pay full price and haven’t a clue of your future misery. Ok, going to make this plaid my entire personality now.

..anyways, big sewing thoughts today..

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