OAL2015

Are you in this year? Andi from Untangling Knots and Lauren from Lladybird have announced another Oufit Along. I'm definitely in! I participated last year (although I took forever to get my photos posted). It's a great way to get yourself organised and sew and knit along with people from all over the world, and try out a new knitting or sewing pattern. I love checking out what everyone else is making. Check out the Ravelry group set up (www.ravelry.com/discuss/untangling-knots/3202861/). Everyone has made such great combinations of fabrics, yarns and patterns. The great thing about this OAL is that, although there is a recommended dress pattern and a knitting pattern recently released by Andi, you can make up any combination that you like. Andi has created a new pattern Vianne, which I think is lovely and I can't wait to try. Lauren has challenged us with McCalls 6887, which I like but I don't love and I don't think I have the headspace right now for a completely new frock. So I'm going back for another go (my fourth!) with Simplicity 2648. I'm going to raise the neckline a little, use the sleeve cap and this time, I'm going to line it (it's an unlined pattern). So same, same, but different.

So here's my combo. Simplicity 2648 from some stashed Lisette cotton sateen and Vianne with some fantastic cobalt blue colonial wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills. The cobalt blue yarn and the blue of the lines in the fabric pattern are a good match. Colonial is the yarn that I first tried from Bendies. Lot's of fantastic memories here, including the first jumper I knitted for my now husband.

This will also be my June MAGAM. Hopefully it fits the theme 😊

MIA

Geez! I've just realised that it's been over a month since I last posted. It seems like only yesterday but also a lifetime ago. This last month has been the perfect storm where work, family, extended family and health have all collided. I've managed to muddle my way through the craziness but the one casualty has been my "me time" and especially sewing. Before this I had embarked on a more technical detailed project (Simplicity 1421) which I had committed to for April MAGAM. So far I've sewn three seams. That's it. And honestly, I'm not keen to take on this project when the rest of my life is so hectic.

In the meantime I do have some progress to share. I have had to travel a bit lately and had planned for quiet evenings which I mostly got. To tide me over, I started knitting a cowl. Not just any cowl. Seamstress Erin's roses and leaves double knitting cowl. I thought twice about starting this. Would it be too much? I'm not the best concentrator when I'm travelling for work. And I wanted a relaxing project. I decided that it would fit the bill and I'm really happy to say that it has. This pattern is a fab balance between repetitive knitting that is good stress relief and an interesting pattern repeat to stop boredom setting in. The pattern is repeated three times in each round. Just right. Enough to get comfortable but not too much that I lost interest. So I'm now just over one third of the way through. And I'm pretty darned happy with it. Ravelry notes are here.