I know I've been absent from posting for a while...

But life kind of got in the way! I've been taking classes at the local community college since January (on a really awful schedule, so downtime is weird) and that makes sewing inherently difficult, as I'm home less during the day.

One thing I have been doing, however, is knitting! Knitting up a storm. Hats, potholders, sweaters, mittens, all kinds of exciting things - some of which I've never done before. (Never done before = almost always a plus, I love learning new skills and techniques!) It's really easy to take knitting wherever you go, I usually make things that will fit into one of my giant purses so I can keep it crafty and creating wherever. And, I usually try to knit vintage or vintage-inspired for myself, as I do with sewing.

One project you readers might be interested in is the 1940s sweater I'm knitting - the Flash! Cable! sweater. (There's a link to the pattern for any of you knitters out there!) It's going to be a very thin but sturdy knit, as it's out of very thin yarn on very small needles. It's an exciting, if tedious, process - the smallness of the parts makes it take far longer than usual.

The pattern and materials for the Flash! Cable! sweater
(I'm using KnitPicks' Palette (100% wool) in MaiTai heather, on 1s and 3s! Eek!)

I'll be sure to post pictures of this when it's mode completed, possibly not until it's been assembled. I'm hoping it will be done by the fall, when the weather starts to turn chilly, so I can wear it with some vintage fashions I'll surely be sewing this summer!

(I have cut out abut half of my Hollywood Pattern, in white with red polka dots, but I haven't gotten around to finishing it! Maybe the prospect of a real shirt-dress, with buttons all down the front is what's intimidating, or the fact that I'm not sure if it will fit or not... I really hope it does! Puffy sleeves and all-white contrasting collar and cuffs? I need it to work!)

(Oh, and I have been buying some vintage-inspired shoes.. including some wingtip-looking shoes I actually got from Kmart! I'm wearing them with my vintage dresses now that the weather is finally letting us know it's spring!)

Le Meret

I may be an avid seamstress, but I am also an avid knitter. I have been knitting for a few years now, and I've worked my way from simple scarves to more complex projects, like a small bolero sweater and a lace shrug.

This winter, however, I asked my mother what we should get my nana for Christmas. She suggested we find a scarf, as she didn't have one. She didn't have a hat, either. After a few days of searching and not finding anything right, I said I'd be happy to make them. It's always nice to give a handmade gift and nice to receive them, too.



After sorting through patterns, I finally found one for the Meret - a beret that was once a "mystery" project (they give you directions, but no finished images, you just knit in mystery) but has long been revealed - and decided that would be the hat.

After many hours of knitting, I had a beautiful little beret - a little small, so I thought I would block it. But first, I had to make a matching scarf. I used the pattern of the lace in the Meret on the edges and in the middle of the scarf, to add an element of coordination as well as one to break up the utter boredom that knitting a stockinette scarf can bring.



In the end, I think it really turned out beautifully. The lace was enough - still exciting, not enough to be really tedious and still really pretty. We mailed it out so she'd get it before Christmas and she was really happy and grateful for the gift. The best reception that anyone can get for a gift made by hand.