I Think I Broke My Cat

The other day I was sitting at the dining room table working on some paperwork when I glanced over at the front door.

Squeaks was laying on the floor in the sunshine looking like she was drunk and passed out.  I couldn't help but laugh.  She stayed that way long enough for me to get this picture but when I called Ed she moved.  Cats don't usually sleep very deeply.

Since I finished up a couple sweaters, I cast on a new batch of projects.  I don't have any pictures yet.

Last weekend Ed and I took a little trip up to Michigan.  We went up to the Traverse City area.

We stayed in a little cabin that was out in the middle of nowhere.  It was a cute place but a bit too far from Traverse City.  I made the mistake when I booked it, thinking it was closer.

We drove up to Traverse City for the day on Friday.

We visited the Old Mission Lighthouse.  While there we met a group of women who work for Ironman.  They noticed Ed's shirt as we walked by.  We chatted with them for a few minutes before making our way further down the beach.

From there we went to the Chateau Grand Traverse winery.  After trying a few wines in the tasting room, we sat on the patio and enjoyed a glass and charcuterie plate.  I am now obsessed with brie and fig jam.  It was like a dessert.  The almonds were pretty special too.  They weren't the normal type of almonds you find in the grocery store.

After the winery we went back into Traverse City and walked around the shops

There was a candy store that sold all kinds of sodas.  Can't say any of these flavors sound appealing to me.

When I was planning this trip I thought about making it a yarn hop.  There are plenty of shops between my house and Traverse City, but we ended up only stopping at one.  I'm trying to be more mindful of my yarn purchases.  Buying random skeins that languish in my stash just doesn't bring me joy anymore.  Now I'm only buying yarn for a specific project.  When I get home with the yarn, I put it in a Ziploc bag with a tag saying what pattern it is intended for.  That way when I do get around to knitting the project, I won't waste time trying to remember why I bought the yarn in the first place.

A good goal, I guess.

Word of the Day - Drapey

It is now September and I'm still not working full-time.  The project continues to be delayed.  Thankfully, the part-time project also is experiencing delays so I'm not totally without an income.  I'm not making much, but it does give me some spending money.

To fill all my free time, I'm sewing and knitting. A lot.

I made a top out of the indigo I dyed last month.  I used the Collins Top pattern by In The Folds.  What drew me to this pattern was the interesting construction.  Instead of just a front, back and sleeves, this pattern has multiple pieces for each element.  I thought it would be a good top to feature the different dye techniques I did.

Here is the front.  The center front is one panel with side panels.  The sleeves have 3 pieces each.  Two of the 3 are visible in this shot.

The back has a upper center panel and a lower center panel, along with side panels.   The back can be constructed with either a opening and button or seamed all the way up like I did.  The neck opening is large enough for either way.  If I had planned it better, I could have put the back center seam on a fold of the fabric and eliminated one seam.

I'm very pleased with the pattern and how it worked up with the fabric.  The only thing I'm not pleased about is the fabric itself.  As mentioned in my last blog, I used cotton muslin.  It is not as drapey as I would like.  As I wash and wear this top it should soften, but right now it sticks out like a tent on me.  Not a very flattering look.

The next top I sewed is the Scout Tee by Grainline Studio.  I used the Japanese batik I bought last month at Silk Road Textiles in Cincinnati.

I am completely thrilled with this top.  The construction was easy and it fits like a dream.  The fabric is also 100%  cotton, but isn't as stiff as the muslin I used for the indigo dyeing.  I definitely will be making more of these tops.

My next sewing project was an adaptation.  I used the Concord T-Shirt from Cashmerette to make a dress for myself.

I have a J Jill dress that I absolutely love.  It uses panel print fabric and fits like a dream.  I've been thinking about replicating the dress and went so far as tracing it onto interfacing for a hacked pattern.

While shopping at JoAnn's a couple months ago, I found a jersey panel print.  I bought 3 yards, thinking I'll use that for my hacked dress.

While digging through my craft room looking for some things else, I stumbled upon the Concord T-Shirt pattern that I bought a couple years ago.  I hadn't used it yet and decided I'd try making a dress using the panel jersey.  My thought was that if it didn't work out, I wasn't out much money because I bought the fabric on sale.

The pattern is only for shirts, but I used the J Jill dress to extend the hemline down to dress-length.  It took a little experimenting with my machine to get it to sew nicely with the jersey.  It was a definite learning process.

I am quite pleased with the final result.  The dress fits nicely and is soft and drapey, like I was hoping it would be.  I do need to practice sewing necklines a bit more.  It is puckering slightly.  I think I should have cut the neckline just a bit long so it won't draw in the bodice as much.

I am definitely going to use this pattern again.  Cashmerette specializes in patterns for curvy figures.  This T-Shirt pattern is sized for women with C through H cup sizes.

In and around all this sewing I managed to finish two sweaters.

Relax is finally finished, blocked, dried and in my closet waiting for cooler weather to be worn.  I was able to block it out enough that it has a nice drape.  As I was knitting this I was worried that the fabric would be itchy.  But the yarn bloomed nicely and seems to be soft and not scratchy.

I also finished the Pajama Cardigan.  Since it is made out of a cotton silk blend, it is getting used now.  This sweater is getting a lot of use in the evenings as Ed and I watch television.  The chair I normally sit in is near the back windows, which let in a cool breeze now that the weather has shifted to more autumn-like temperatures. 

My brother Joe has been visiting this weekend.  I promised him a train ride for his birthday.  On Saturday we drove over to Perry County to visit the Zanesville and Western Scenic Railway.

The railway is owned and operated by a couple of guys.  They lease the track from the state of Ohio and as a result are responsible for maintaining it.  Because of limited funds, they only have a couple miles operational at this time.  They are seeking funds so that they can repair the several trestles along the line.  

Joe and I were the only ones on the 2:00 ride, so they let us explore the entire train.  Joe was excited to see a caboose.  Here we are looking out the back of the train.  The rest of the train consists of a gondola car, an open-air car and a diesel engine.  We weren't able to see the engine.  Joe had his choice of where to sit.  He chose to sit inside and look out a window as we passed through the trees

On Sunday we went to a baseball game.

The Columbus Clippers didn't win, but Joe loved being at the ballpark.  We were 10 rows up from the dugout, close enough to see and hear all the action.

I'm starting to plan my Christmas projects.  When I stumbled on the Concord T-Shirt pattern in my craft room, I was actually looking for an unfinished quilt I am making for Blake.  I have the front and the back done, so now I have to get it quilted.  This will be his Mom-made Christmas gift.  I am going to make a quilt for Kristin also.  The blocks are large which should be easy enough to put together.  Trisha and Craig are going to get a crocheted afghan.  That afghan is my current television-watching project.

As mentioned, the weather is getting cooler, which makes me very happy.  My windows are open and I'm going to take a walk outside to enjoy more fresh air.