seed stitch cardigan

Semi de Printemps by Lili Comme Tout: The details in this cardigan are really nice and it was a pure pleasure to knit - made in seed stitch with picot edges on hem and cuff.

The directions were straightforward and the sizing turned out perfect. I followed directions for size 4 but, with the length of body and sleeves for a size 6. I used a hand dyed merino wool by Mountain Meadow in sport weight, color way: Scarlet *how fitting.* Part of the way through I wished for a more round bouncy yarn to see the details better. Perhaps I will knit it again someday. This little cardigan travelled around over the month spending some time at the beach, on car rides, at the park... wherever and whenever I could put a little stitch in. Thinking of the thousands of stitches that make a piece is really incredible, don't you think?

Those of you who know S well will recognize the kitty pose;)

drawstring backpack

A drawstring backpack tutorial showed up on my feed from the Purl Bee the other day and I realized I had the materials on hand (or very close to it) to make one. Now that the heat wave has broken I was feeling the urge to sew again and wanted to make something I could start and finish quickly. I made this up in the adult size and lined it with muslin that has a little weight to it. The green straps fell a bit shorter then the pattern called for but, it worked out anyway. I am not sure how I acquired these straps but, they have been sitting in the ribbon tin forever. It always makes me feel good to use something I have on hand...sort of gives justice to my packrack habit with craft supplies.

I also have a few quilts in progress though I am not sure what direction they will take shape in the end. One is stripes right now and the other utilizes 'flying geese.' I am also planning on sewing up a Laurel in the near future.

gravity and grace

El Anatsui at the Brooklyn Museum today. Amazing.

knitting projects in progress

Hello, Hello. I thought I'd check in since it's been 10 days since I posted! Most of those days I've been battling with a cold virus that has not been fun. I lost my voice and had a fever on and off. There were a few days where I thought I was getting better only to get struck again though really it hasn't been all bad. I went to see Yo La Tengo and Belle and Sebastian in Brooklyn one night, had a girls tv night and a few birthday parties were attended. Summer has been fast- go go, no time to slow down yet. In my bits and pieces of spare time I have been trying to garden, read and knit.



My latest knitting project was one I was pretty excited about- another Marin - but I played 'yardage chicken' and lost. I ran out before the 5th repeat and final edging. Perhaps a miracle will come about and I can finish it. It's a complicated situation.

Another cardigan was started which will most likely get finished first though I am not loving the yarn I really like the pattern. Red is so hard to photograph.

My cardigan which I do really like so far has been suffering a bit from neglect.

The lovely drink up there- tequila, grapefruit soda, mint, lime and nasturtium from the 4th of July.

I post on instagram if you would like to follow me there- sewnancy

nani iro double gauze quilt

I once had a boss who would declare when she was happy with my photo edit... " I love it, I love it." She would say this very dramatically and it was one of the things my colleagues would hear throughout the day and giggle about as we made our selects leading up to and during fashion week. This is exactly how I feel about this quilt.

My Nani Iro double gauze quilt top was finished on the morning of July 4th and at the end of the day there were fireworks to celebrate. :) Here are some pictures of the top before it was quilted and bound. I borrowed the idea from Melissa after I was handed a nice pile of Nani Iro fabrics from Jaime over the winter. This stack combined with leftover pieces I had in my stash from other projects made for a beautiful mix of florals and dots. The darker fabrics (black, green and orange) with prints on white and lighter colors made for a striking color combination. I used a lightweight loft batting and two Nani Iro prints on the back. I was debating how to quilt this and decided to just go ahead and machine quilt on the diagonal which worked better then I had thought. For the binding I chose red pre-made. I always machine quilt on one side and hand stitch to the back. This is what I am comfortable with and I do like sitting down with it all on my lap and hand stitching to finish. These days though with the air conditioning on.

It measures 48" x 50" and each square is 4"

I still need to give it a wash and dry and am looking forward to it all fluffed up. It will make for a nice lap blanket someday though not anytime soon- it's about 100 degrees today!

bundle dyeing

I have been wanting to try bundle dyeing for awhile and read about using tea as the mordant. This method will more likely fade with washing. I cut and hemmed a large piece of muslin and threw down a bunch of flowers, herbs and leaves from the garden. I included roses, delphinium, nasturtium, lavender, hydrangea and currants. The rest I don't remember. I worked quickly and bundled it up with twigs and twine and threw it in a pot of boiling water with 6 tea bags.

It boiled for 25 minutes and then I set it on a cutting board on the counter. After 2 days I unraveled it and found it settled in nicely in one good size section of the fabric. I don't know what I will use it for yet. It was good to try something new.

granny's favorite

Sometimes a pattern comes along that makes me drop whatever I am working and start right away. This cardigan is exactly what I wanted to knit and the pattern was worth the effort. It is called Granny's Favourite and the designer is Georgie Hallam. I chose Cascade 220 super wash in a really nice shade of blue because it reminds me of my own Granny (or Nana) as I called her. I knit the size 22" chest knowing it would come out more like 24" and chose the size 5 dress length with 3/4 sleeves. The fit is great with room to grow and wear things underneath and hopefully she will love wearing it. She wasn't too keen on sweaters this past winter but, I am banking on this being a phase. The buttons are glass and I believe they are from Tender Buttons which is an amazing button store in NYC.