Knitting & Crochet

A Crafty Swap

~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

Do you remember last year when I had the most beautiful scarf and hand-warmers made for me? I wrote about them here. The weather is getting colder and it’s time to pull them out again!

Here they are:

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   Aren’t they gorgeous? I love them.

Valerie and I were talking during the year after I picked up my beautiful scarf and hand-warmers, and I said I’d like a brooch to match them – black background with white flowers; that I loved her knit brooches. She said she loved my felt ones. We decided we’d do a trade – brooch for brooch.

I sent Valerie a few options, red and white, all red, or all white. She chose the all white option with crystals.

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The crystals aren’t showing up very much in this photo, but one of Valerie’s gorgeous scarves is! She really is so very talented.

Here’s what Valerie made for me.

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I love it! I pinned it on an old fleece jacket I was wearing that day, but I think this needs to go on my dressy black wool coat. It will really stand out then.

Happy creating!

Basic Black Butterfly

~ Michelle

This week started with me drawing, re-drawing, and re-drawing vertically seamed cups. I think I have a good pattern to cut out, but after all that work, I wanted to sew something that I was sure would fit – back to my Pin-Up Girls Classic Full Band pattern. So once I test the vertical cups, my next bra just might be my Prima Donna Milady copy. I don’t have the bra, so can’t make a clone, but will just make something similar based on their lovely bra.

I went back to basics colors this week, but wanted a little something special, so I added a Butterfly Effect. It’s really a lovely effect, and doesn’t take a lot of lace.

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The lower cup on this bra has been split, which I’m told is always helpful to someone with an Omega shape. I also made a few fitting alterations to the pattern. On this bra, I took in the lower part of the cup along the wire line so it fits into a smaller cradle – no gathers this time. I put darts in along the wire line to take out the excess. The cups really do look a lot smoother in the bra. Those tiny gathers aren’t anything that would be visible under clothing, but I like that little extra of the cup fitting perfectly in the cradle.  I also made the underarm area smaller by putting a dart in the pattern there. I used my custom bridge, which is altered for a flat spot and also lowered 1/2″, and I thinned the elastic under the cup.

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Here’s a close up of the Butterfly Effect. It really does look quite a lot like a butterfly. I think the lace I used, which has a clear border, helps to outline that effect nicely. The upper cup is trimmed with loopy elastic, but it’s not showing very well. It seems to want to curl inward on Catherine.

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Here you can see how smoothly the cups go into the smaller band. (Here I go again.) I do really like that. The gathers, however, are an easier option, and really hardly show at all. If anyone reading this is making that adjustment for an Omega shape, do yourself a favor and do the gathers initially.

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I did change one part of the back. I made the back strap elastic join the bra with a slider attached to elastic on the band rather than attach directly to the band, so the back strap elastic is done in two parts rather than just one. This method seems flatter on the back.

From the comments I’ve been hearing this week from my dear hubby, this is the prettiest bra I’ve ever made! He really likes it. Then, I think he doesn’t want to upset me and says all the other bras I’ve made are pretty too, but this one is really pretty. He’s so cute.

I do want to do this effect again and cut away the Duoplex from behind the lace. That gives a sheerer look to the butterfly effect. I think that would be really lovely too.

I have some of the leaves from the lace cut out and ready to be sewn onto some matching panties, but didn’t have as much time this week to sew as I might have wanted. That will have to wait until next week.

A friend of mine came over yesterday to take some photos. She’d made a lovely shawl and wanted to use Catherine to display her shawl. I was happy to let her and took a few photos too.

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I watched as this shawl took shape, week after week, while we had a ladies’ night and watched Downton Abbey.

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Here’s a close up of the two fibers. I like the sheerness the one yarn has.

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This is my favorite part though – the little details are what always win me over. Julia unraveled some of the yarn on the fringe and beaded it. It’s just lovely.

Happy creating!

My Gift to Me

~ Michelle ~ 5 Comments

I often get money for occasions, and I don’t mind at all. I usually have a running list in my  head of what I’d like to buy, so gifts of money are always appreciated. This past Christmas was no exception, I was given some money by my father-in-law.

I can’t count the times I’ve used money I’ve been given towards sewing, but this time I decided I’d buy something that would be well-remembered. I knew exactly what I wanted. A very good friend of mine makes the most beautiful scarves and accessories. I’ve loved one of her scarves for years – the RoseOnie Scarf.

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Isn’t this stunning? This image is taken from Valerie’s Etsy store. Oh, I love this scarf and have since she first made it. Valerie says ‘I designed this scarf in memory of my amazing mother. She loved Gardening and Roses. This Rose Garden is for her, for the inspiration she had and continues to impress on my life.’ You can see this scarf along with the many other beautiful accessories Valerie makes here.

I didn’t want to stop with just the scarf though. I wanted a set of her hand warmers to go with it. I thought about the ivory ones, but then thought I also have a black scarf that they could match, so went with black hand warmers with ivory roses.

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Again, this image is taken from Valerie’s Etsy store. I must admit, I felt so pretty wearing these gorgeous custom made-for-me items. This was one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten! For years to come, I’ll wear these and remember the generosity of my family, and a friendship I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy since my 20s.

Just a day after I received these from Valerie, I was at a work-related conference, and you know I had my beautiful new scarf and hand warmers on. I had so many comments on how beautiful they are. Thank you, Valerie!

Happy creating!

A Few Accomplishments!

~ Michelle

My husband and I went away last week for our 22nd anniversary. We found a wonderful deal at Christmas time and bought it and put it away for ourselves. We only live 4 hours from the Rocky Mountains, and it’s our favorite vacation spot. Our suite had a tremendous view! Just look at this:

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This was the view from the kitchen patio door. I could just sit and look out at that. We spent 4 days with that view, and although there was still snow on the ground, and we even woke up to snow one morning, it was still perfect!

I took a few projects on my trip that I wanted to complete while I was there. One project was to complete the measurements for a bodice sloper. That’s not a big deal, but for some reason those last few measurements just weren’t getting done. They’re done now, so I can work on that.

Another project was fingerless gloves. I was determined to get them done. (I know, Andrea, it’s a bit late in the season.) I’d looked at many patterns, and finally settled on one I found on Ravelry. These are based on the Vanilla Frappe Fingerless Gloves. You can find the pattern here.

I really liked the ‘body’ part of this pattern, and decided to do just that, with a scallop border on the top and bottom. The body is knit; I crocheted the borders, so mine look different than the originals, but I’m happy with them.

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I’ve sewn one, and one waiting to be sewn up.

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The ball of white yarn is to do some flowers or hearts or some type of embellishment.

So two projects done. I also took my sewing kit to tighten a button on my coat, but that’s still on my to-do list.

And when I got back I had one more accomplishment!

I worked on another bra. I knew the area that needed work – the bridge – so I tackled that as soon as I got home. And another success! I have the best fit I’ve tried for yet! Let me tell you, if you’ve never had a properly fitting bra – one where the bridge goes all the way back to the chest wall – well, it’s a different feeling. I’ve never felt that. It’s not uncomfortable, but it is different for me.

plunge bra prototype

When I started this bra, I have to admit, I wasn’t feeling super encouraged. It feels like there have been too many challenges along the way that left me less than hopeful. I even skipped some of the little finishing details on this bra – finishing details that made it onto all the other attempts I’d made. However, this one only needs minor tweaking. That has me excited!

One of those minor tweaks? The bridge can still come up about 1/4″. But that’s it’s. So now I need to look at plunge styles. I haven’t seen a lot of patterns for plunge bras. Does anyone know of any?

For this bra, I took my Sewy Rebecca pattern and made it into a Classic pattern. I also straightened the lower edge of the upper cup to get the most lift. I decided not to do a three or four piece cup on this so it would sew up more quickly, and also I don’t see a lot of plunge bras that have those features. So, once I had a basic Classic pattern, I used my trusty Bra Makers Manual to change the cup shape to a plunge style, or ‘fake’ demi-style.

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A very basic back, with the Prima Donna U-shaped back. I don’t think they’re the only ones doing this now, but I do remember them advertising this feature.

So a few little glitches I ran into while sewing this? You can see in the above picture that the back band is a bit smaller than the hook and eye closures. That’s a small adjustment. You can see it better here:

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That’s not a big deal – just a small tweak.

Another small tweak is the lower cup. I still have to make adjustments for the Omega shape, and need to fit a larger cup into a smaller wire. On this bra, (again) I didn’t put a lot of effort into it. So when it came time to fit the cup, I simply put a fold in the lower cup’s material. The cup still fits fine, and the seam line fit as well. I have altered the pattern with a dart to take out that excess on the next one I do.

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You can see the tuck here. It shows more here than when I’m wearing it.

Bow to cover seam

Lastly, a tweak to make is my order of sewing if I do this style again. On this bra I had the cups sewn into the cradle and then looked and I still had to add the neckline trim. On a style like this, I think it would be better to do that before putting the cups into the bra. It works fine, but would be neater sewn the other way.

So, I’m very happy to say I’ve had SUCCESS! It feels really good to know I’m there with just a few minor tweaks now. Whew! I said a long time ago that I hoped my journey would encourage someone else not to give up! How long has it taken me?

Here’s to happy & successful creating!

A Few Projects, Lots of Coughing

~ Michelle

After my wonderful trip to the mountains a few weeks ago, I came down with the worst cold I can remember. And I coughed so much my ribs were hurting! I’m finally feeling a bit better and getting at some new projects.

But first, let me share a cute moment from our trip. One of the highlights my husband and I enjoy about going to the mountains is seeing the wildlife there. This trip we saw a few deer, coyotes, and bunnies. Yes, bunnies. At some point in the not too distant past, someone thought it would be a good idea to let domestic bunnies loose in Canmore. Well, it’s not uncommon to see the little furry guys hopping all over the town. But back to my dear husband. He kept saying he wanted to see bears. I reminded him, bears hibernate, but he still kept saying he wanted to see them. On our last day in the mountains, we were driving around and at the top of a road near the Banff Springs we came across this adorable family of bears!

Banff Bears

This made my honey’s trip! He got his bears.

As for me, other than coughing this past week, I did get my scarf done. I love it. I really mentally debated how to finish the outside part. And I actually knit up the better part of a ball of wool in a seed stitch. But I kept thinking with the straight border on either side, the overlapping edges of the middle part would give it a clear front and back side. And I didn’t want that. So, I abandoned the seed stitch and sat (and coughed) and tried to think of something else to give me that black border that looked so nice. I decided just to do some crochet all around the edges and I really like the result.

Red & Black Scarf

I love the contrast between the variegated red and the black. The black wool is 100% Merino.

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Hmm. Although I’m using my camera again, and editing my photos. I still don’t love the quality. However, this does show that variegation better. It goes from pale reds to really deep burgundies. Just lovely colors.

And I’ve also been mulling over what changes I’d have to make to my Fantasie Vivienne clone. I knew a few changes I wanted to make. A narrower bridge, and lower too. And seeing as my wires are shorter than the professional wires, I’d need to adjust the side’s height as well. I was also trying to figure out how to adjust the cradle and use my correct wire size which is one size smaller than what was in the original.

So I started that too. No cutting out yet. Just figuring out all the changes. So let’s look at that first one. Narrowing the bridge won’t affect anything else very much. But lowering it will. I had to adjust the upper cup accordingly. Same with lower the side. I adjusted the side panel and then the band. And lastly, the cradle. I was having a little trouble figuring out how to adjust for one size of wires. Would I have to re-draw the whole cradle using the wires as a starting point? I decided to take a 1/4″ out and eyeballing it, it looked good. There’s still some splay room for the wires, so all should work out okay.

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Here are my re-drawn pattern pieces with the adjustments made, my bra kit from Bra Makers Supply in a pretty black with pink detail in the lace, and the picture of the original bra as a reference. I’m thinking with the changes to the bridge I’m making, it may end up looking more like their plunge bra.

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Here they are for comparison. I’ll have to see if this is more along the lines of what mine ends up looking like.

Happy creating!

Conquering Crochet

~ Michelle

I’ve been having a struggle with my thoughts. As a teen I learned to crochet and knit, but by time my 20s came around, I was only knitting. I’d crocheted more than one afghan as gifts, but for whatever reason didn’t keep up with it.

Well, because it’s been so long since I’ve crocheted, I don’t really feel like I can crochet. So I’ve been challenging myself to pick it up again and overcome this thought that I can’t do it.

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Buying this pattern was my ‘jump’ back into crochet. I bought the pattern on Ravelry, and although it looked so beautiful, and I spent way more on wool than I’ll ever admit to my husband, I could not get the pattern to work. I tried numerous times.

One time was rather funny. My husband came into the room just as I was tearing out the work I’d done and the look on his face! He looked horrified. I had to assure him I could do this over and over it nothing was harmed in the tearing out.

But this pattern really frustrated me because no matter what I did, and I tried a few variations, I could not get the same look. It wasn’t encouraging to me.

I met with my friend, Valerie of Intricate Knits, and took my pattern & wool to her to see if she could figure out the pattern. She couldn’t get it either. She said she could probably take a lot of time and figure it out and re-write it but it just wasn’t worth the time.

This past year we got a PVR and I search for craft shows, well sewing, knitting, crochet and jewelry shows primarily, and record them. Just a few days after meeting with Valerie I was watching Knit & Crochet Now. I was so surprised to see them showing this pattern:

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This is close to the original center crochet pattern, but after looking at it and reading it, and contemplating it, I decided it was too ‘thin’ looking for what I wanted. So I started searching again. However, it is a beautiful pattern, and I will add it to my pattern stash. Here is the scarf pattern on Knit & Crochet Now: Madena Lace Scarf.

So, next was to find a pattern I really did like, I felt I could do, and would make me happy replacing the original pattern. After some searching on the net, I found a wonderful tutorial with nice clear pictures to explain any changes in the pattern she’d made. Here’s her blog site with this pattern & tutorial. It was great! Easy to follow and I’m so pleased with how it turned out. Perfect for replacing that original crochet part of the pattern.

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My ‘camera’ (phone) doesn’t do this justice. It’s a beautiful rich variegated red going from vibrant reds to deep burgundies and pale blushes. The wool is a blend of Merino, Cashmere and Nylon. It’s wonderful to work with, and to feel. So nice!

I’ll have the knit part done this week and sew the scarf together.

Happy Creating! And I encourage you to do something you don’t think you can!