Blowtorch Crafts

On the left is the way I transport my crocheting. Make it into a roll, and stick the needle through. Otherwise, long items, like this one, will tie itself to my headset in the bag, coil around my keys and eat my cellphone. This is a scarf I’m making for a friend’s birthday today. I will add fringes in turqouise, and hopefully manage to take a picture of the finished product. The scarf is crocheted in half double crochet and a few rows of treble crochet (mainly to keep me from fainting from boredom).

This weekend, I’m suddenly going to Kristiansand to do some pre-production work for this summer’s festival. It will be a four hour train ride each way, but that’s the only time for knitting/crochet all weekend. I’m not sure if I dare to bring any knitting – I live in fear of the whole thing unravelling by itself while I’m not looking. Crochet is more trustworthy that way :)

I am not able to finish my jacket (mentioned below) because I have apparently done something strange while cutting the pieces for the hood: it does not fit propely. I’m not sure what to do about it, except put it in the closet and forget about it until I get a bright idea.

Thougt I’d post the finished shawl. Here, you see the difference between my digital camera (on the left) and my cellphone camera (right). I tried to lighten the picture taken with the cell phone, because it was surprisingly dark, but it did not turn out too well… At least, you can see the size of the shawl. It is rather long, so it reaches down my entire back, even if it is not very wide. The heavy alpaca yarn makes the shaw lay nicely over my shoulders, and it is AMAZINGLY soft and lovely. And warm.

I ordered a skein of Noro Kureyon lately, a multi-coloured yarn that is highly praised by many in the blogging world. Unfortunately, I got a different colour than I ordered, but I decided to take the unfamiliar colours as a challenge rather than return it. I am not converted to this yarn yet, however. I have real trouble deciding what to make, and it does not really appeal to me in the same way that alpaca does. Maybe I’m just not used to it yet?

I will be working on finishing the shawl for my grandmother this weekend, as well as sewing the hood and hem of a wool felt jacket that has been lying around for weeks. I also have an idea for one of the alongs I’m in – finally! I have been struggling with this for a while…

I am very much looking forward to try my hand at knitting again: I will try to make a vest as well as traditional knitted mittens! And then there’s the Granny Ripple baby blanket… A lot on my plate at the moment, but that’s just fun :)

This is the finished jacket. I’m actually rather happy with it.

The fabric is still lovely, and I adore the waistband. The collar turned out nice, too.

I’ve been wearing it for the last couple of days, but the snaps have been moved around a bit. That’s one of the challenges of changing the pattern and making it up as you go…

Sorry about the blurry picture, I think I need some practice in the self-portrait department. Or possibly get an assistant.

This is a detailed photo of the waistband. I love the fabric, don’t you? I still have some left (it was a scarf in its previous life, and I made ribbons from it), and it will be used in a secret christmas project.

The jacket is now very close to be finished. I had to take the sleeves off, it turned out that the problem was the angle of the sleeve and the body. Stupid pattern.

Or rather, stupid me for not considering that a sewing book made in the seventies will have patterns that are not excactly the season’s haute coutoure… The problem with this book is that all the clothes are rather bulky. Having experienced this before, I picked a size too small. The shoulder seam was still far off the shoulder, so I narrowed the width from neck to shoulder. If I had stopped to think, I would have realised that this would affect the way the sleeve hangs.

The sleeves had to come off (extremely carefylly), and I had to make new ones which allowed for a more contemporary look (i.e. not made supposing the wearer to be two metres wide standing with their arms straight out). I didn’t have enough fabric, so I’ll have to buy more for the last sleeve before I can finish it off. And there’s still the lining to do. But otherwise, I am done.

I have to admit that both the pun and the image came from Cute Overload. But this one is so cute, I had to post him.

The jacket is progressing. I made the lining, both fabrics, and it turned out really well. Except for the fact that it is a little tight under the arms. I think I’ll insert a little bit of the thinnest lining fabric to make it a little bit wider.

The outer layer is also progressing nicely. I need to make an adjustment for the boobs, one of the joys of being female… Unfortunately, I followed the instructions without thinking, and just attatched the sleeves to the body. I don’t want to separate them again, as the outer fabric frays really easily. But if I make the adjustment a little lower than I normally would, and angle it upwards, it will be in line with the sleeve seam, and the sleeve needs to be taken in a bit, too. I hope it will turn out the way I planned!

The next step will be to finish off the jacket. I am going to cut up a scarf from the wonderful shop NOA NOA, and make an empire-inspired ribbon as well as edging om the sleeves and, possibly, a pocket. The collar needs adjustment, and then it’s just the hemline and edges that remains. I hope to finish it during the weekend! (perhaps a little optimistically)

Exam time rushes closer as well. I take one class each semester, mainly for the student discount on trains and buses, but also for fun. This semester, it’s a course in basic latin and its influence on European languages. Sounds incredibly dull, but in fact it is really interesting. Of course, I’m far behind now, what with an exhausting autumn etc, and in two weeks, I must turn in a qualifying paper in order to take the exam. Agh!

Ah well. It will turn out all right, I guess. I do it for fun, not for education. And if the two can be combined, what could be better?

Ahahahahahaaha! I managed the collar! New problems arise, however. This is the fun part of sewing. Seriously.

Now, it turns out that the pattern expects me to have rather wider shoulders than I have. It is not the first time with this book, they seem to make the clothes very roomy… Ah well. Taking in is hardly a problem. You can barely see the pin where the seam is supposed to go – I will probably need to trim off about 7 cm.

This is what it looks like at the moment. No sleeves yet, no lining, and not yet sewn in the sides. But definitely showing promise, don’t you think?

I love making things. It gives such a feeling of accomplishment. I am already full of plans of what to make next – when I am finished with the jacket.

This is beginning to get interesting. Why is it that the challenges always pop up in unexpected places?

Alle the main pieces are cut now. In three layers. The velvet outer fabric, the woolen lining and the inner lining. Phew. I’ve started to assemble the outer layer, and met an interesting challenge: How to make the collar. I intended something like a wide chinese collar, or a high, wraparound turtleneck, and I didn’t imagine it would be difficult. At least not that part.

Well, it is. And as this is the part where I have no pattern, I’m stuck at the moment. Until I figure out how to make it, or possibly, give up and try a different collar. Ah well. I will post a picture of the wonky collar tomorrow, and hopefully someone will understand just what I did wrong…

You see, that’s part of the problem. I don’t know why it is wrong. It is fairly obvious that it is wrong, but I’m not sure why it didn’t turn out the way I planned… hmmmm. We’ll see.