Fiber Monday 310: The Lady Grows Some More

In Which I've Done A Lot Of Work On A Lot Of Projects

I promise I worked on the shrug, but I've also been working on other projects, so it's not as impressive as it usually is :|

The Progress
also my feet lol

I've been working for a while on making some vintage lace to turn into a lovely choker, which I've finally finished (for the most part - I still have to weave in the ends and clip the extra string)!

The choker

I also get to practice my Blocking with this project, which is a first for me. I've never blocked before, so I hope I've done it more-or-less correctly and that it comes out well. I don't need it to be perfect - I just want it to work.

A closeup of the blocking. You can't really see it, but it's quite damp right now.

The other thing I'm working on (as winter wraps up, of course) is a snuggly brown sweater. It's a top-down affair in a thick worsted acrylic with a pattern from the Yarnspirations website. The pattern calls for zig-zags, but I think I'll just work down to where the pattern starts being solid (probably right at the armpits, tbh) and then make some sort of repeating pattern - maybe Fairisle, maybe something nerdy, idk. But for now, we're barely at the shoulders!

It's a much darker brown in real life. My phone eats color :(

So that's what I'm up to this week in projects! How about you guys? What are you up to?

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Fiber Monday 308: Speed Up Would Ya Lady?

In Which It's Slow Going

I promise, I worked on the shrug, it just doesn't really look like it. Between the thinness of the lace yarn and the fact that I probably only did one or two pattern repeats, it's not too much bigger than it was. I apologize for this. I blame my poor time management skills. Also the fact that I've been super distracted by writing lately.

Still, it's lookin good!!!

If a little hazy. And furry.

Since today is a high-allergy day, and since I live with a cat and have worked on this around dogs, it's full of pet fur, which is annoying and makes my nose burn. At least it looks like a beautiful day, and it's in the mid thirties for temperature (above freezing!). It's sunny and bright, but the sky is pale and the horizon is that off-blue color you get when the atmosphere is odd.

It's lovely.

I'll be heading out there soon, but I just wanted to reassure you all that I am, in fact, still working on this project.

Go Enjoy Something, guys!
FC

Fiber Monday 305: Slow Growth

In Which Everything Grows Slowly

I knew when I started the Downton Abbey Lady Sibyl Shrug that it would be slow going. I was using the wrong-sized yarn, the wrong-sized hook, and I was starting it at the same time as my novel project (which is going fairly well!). Still...

I'd hoped to have more than a single inch of the garment finished by this week.

Life intervened, however, and now I'm at about 0.75" finished, unblocked. At least I know now that it will take at least 16 pattern repeats to make the garment? Because it's supposed to be 15" wide (38cm). I have very wide arms, however, so it's probably going to be more like 16" (40.6cm) wide.

So it's probably going to be anywhere from 17 to 30 pattern repeats.

Why such a broad range? Because I absolutely stink at eyeballing progress.

Also, because I'll be fitting the garment as I near the end.

But What does all of this mean for future Fiber Mondays? It just means you'll be seeing a whole lot of this color yarn, really.

I've got more rows to complete, words to type, and food to consume and discuss, today, though, so I'll let you all go.

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Fiber Monday 236: Shrug

I've finished the Shrug i was working on as a side project

So when I'm working on something, I've usually got a few side projects going. It's one of the reasons things can take... ages. I've had the lovely Yvonne yarn from a local yarn maker for years, but I only recently started working on a project with it in earnest. The rich purple merino-silk blend makes this shrug one of the softest things I've ever made, while the pattern is one that is so simple I'll probably be using it for many other items - including, perhaps, the pumpkin set I'm planning to make next...

The pattern is based off of a pattern called "Fika" by CJ Brady designs, so if you're looking for instructions, I'd strongly suggest going to Ravelry and checking it out there. I really liked the way the stitching was kind of a shell but also kind of not, so it looked really cool!

As you can see, I made a long rectangle. here it is shown folded in half.
It's about 15" high by 30" wide (or 38cm x 76cm) with 5" (13cm) sewn in on either side for sleeves.

I loved this pattern. I don't wear cowls or infinity scarves, but boy if I did, this would be how I made it. It's so airy, but it's also so warm! This is perfect for a short-sleeved dress in early spring, or a cold-shoulder dress when it's a bit too cold for one. I would have needed a third ball of Yvonne to finish this as a long-sleeved shrug, or to add a proper edging around the inside, but sadly, Yvonne is out of manufacture, so I will have to content myself to its current state.

Which isn't hard. It's fantastic.

I stitched the sleeves shut inside out with a simple single-crochet row binding the edges together.
Then I turned the garment right-side-out to edge the sleeves!

Measuring the other sleeve before committing to the single-crochet.

The actual speed of making this whole shrug was shocking. Seriously, if I'd just worked on it every day, I probably could have made this within a week, which is incredible for a snail like me.

Finished before edging.
I had to do the finishing in the hall upstairs, since there was no room at the table
and I work better sitting in front of the project than with it up near my face.

I finished the edging on my bed.
The edging was a repetition of the Fika pattern proper, which is simple and fun!

The hardest part, however, was trying to get this thing on camera. I'm not much of a photographer to begin with, so I had to balance on tiptoe and try to snap this in the mirror awkwardly...

Well, you can see it. Mission accomplished?

It really is awkward, trying to photograph oneself without exposing one's face...

I did get a good detail on the sleeve, though!

In the end, I've settled on laying the finished shrug on the stairs to give you some idea of its wear.

Which, unfortunately, the flash completely botched - lol!

If you were wondering what a shrug was this whole time (and the photos aren't clear enough, for which I apologize), it's basically a tiny sweater that consists of a tube that's only sewn along the bottoms of the sleeves, left open in the middle, and worn to keep the upper arms toasty. Or fashionable.

I hope my experiments with this shrug have intrigued you enough to check out CJ's pattern on Ravelry so you can make your own garments based off of it!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC