Outlander Rent Shawl

 This is also something I wanted to knit for ages, I bought the yarn years ago, even before I made my Outlander outfit.

I even decided to start it and gone as far as taking out the yarn and print the pattern several times, but honestly, the pattern just confused me. 

Yes, I can see from the stills of the TV show the way the ridges of the garter stitch go, but I thought it is unnecessarily complicated way of knitting a shawl.

This year, we were having an event in Sirok, where the last two times we have been there for the March 15th celebrations, the weather was COLD, I thought, high time a pattern just cannot get the better of me.

I sat down and started. 

First juggling two colors, then three.

And then five balls up in the air.

So, this shawl is not knitted from top down, and adding the decorating two stripe, when one runs out of the base yarn, but knit from the bottom point and adds the stripes as intarsia, and knits the middle part first, then adding the two outward going edges later, one side at the time. 

I have knitted the shawl bigger than the pattern instructions (as if you remember, for me a shawl is the bigger the better).

I am glad I managed all of it, the tons of garter stitch (I am not fan of it), the juggling the colors, the intarsia, but still, I think, with the basic top down version, the achieved effect is the same, with a lot less fuss, with the added benefit, of being able to knit, at least the middle part, until we have yarn, and not having to take a chance of either ending up with a ton of leftovers or running out of the yarn before we finish. 

I still say that this way is unnecessarily complicated and I don't think that if this would have been knitted in the period, they wouldn't use the simplest way.

Of course I know that the knitwear in the show, Outlander is not necessarily historically accurate, at least not for the middle of teh 18th cetury. 

However, in the 19th century, from the early Victorian times, knitted shawls were around, that is -partly- I decided to wear it with my early victorian outfit.

The yarn I used is DROPS Soft Tweed, of which I just wrote an ode a week or so ago, so I will try not to repeat myself. 

But I do have to reiterate, that I ADOREthis yarn. It is so soft for being a rustic, tweedy yarn. Also, it is warm. 

And I would just LOVE if the colors it used to have would be available again... along with even more color choice. 

Photos: Norbert Varga @bodeszphoto

Yarn: DROPS Soft Tweed, I bought from Nordfonal

Weekly SO

 Last week I managed to mix up the English and the Hungarian translations of the same post and nobody told me, I only realized like two days later, when I -of course- promptly switched them, but it does make me wonder, if anybody reads these... 

Yet here I am with another of these. 

I hate all those videos/reels that keeps telling me what and how to dress, wear my hair, etc, so it would not age me. 

For god sake, I am past fifty, I have silver hair. NOTHING I wear would make me younger. I would be still past fifty, still silver haired and somewhat overweight, even if I only tuck half of a shirt in the waist of my pants.

Why can't I enjoy my life, without being reminded ever darn second, that I should scramble to LOOK younger? 

That reminds me of the Facebook meme:

Picture is from the Internet.

April fools

My face as I am trying to figure out something funny for you on april fool's day. 

Because I really thought hard about it...

Like announcing I will stop blogging. Or knitting. Or sewing. 

But I thought, I should just let it go...

Weekly pattern

Before we get into the pattern "review", I have a question about this series. I've started this series with knitting patterns, but what about sewing patterns? There are so many around, online, often from indie designers, would you like me pick a some here and there and show them to you? Since I have not made them yet, these are NOT full reviews, nor do I think, that just because I don't like something they are not good in themselves. With that...

This week's pattern also comes from Ravelry's hot right now list. 

It is the Nordic Bloom West by Caitlin Hunter.

picture is from Ravelry: © Riikka Kantinkoski / Laine Publishing

I just realized, that I already picked on another of her designs, but let me just say...

There are people who adore Caitlin Hunter's designs, and there are those who cannot stand her, and I am somewhere in between, because she does have patterns I would love to knit, and there are some that are an absolute no-no for me. The Halibut sweater was one of those and the Nordic Bloom west is another one that I would not knit. 

For one I feel that this design is just yet another skin of the well deservedly popular alpine bloom series.

The drawing is similar (maybe even the very same diagram), placed on a different base sweater, a waistcoat this time. 

Also, the base piece, the waistcoat does not have anything redeeming, as it is rather shapeless, a stocky square and I am stocky enough myself, without a waistcoat emphasizing the fact, thank you very much, it is short, it has drop shoulder, any of those elements would make me want to avoid this piece, but all together is a definite no. 

It might work for someone... who is at least three decade younger than me, or 30 kilograms lighter, or 15 centimeter taller, or all of the above. 

Look, I did sew something!

 The good thing about being multicraftual, is that when you get stuck with one, you can still occupy your hands with something else. 

At the beginning of this year, I felt stuck with many things in my life, and sewing was one of them. 

I still got fabrics, and I still had plans, I even bought some patterns, but i just could not get myself to sit down and atually sew. 

(That is why I knitted more than in the last few years, because with knitting - I felt- at least I felt more or less confident I cannot mess it up, if it is ugly, it can always be frogged).

So I thought, I might start back again with something simple. 

A cape. 

Capes are wonderful. Capes are timeless. They make you feel almost instantly transported in time, they make you feel magical. I wish, we could wear capes every day. 

Yes, I already have one, an end-of-the-18th century, red cape (though I did wear it with earlier period clothes), but I always wanted something less bright. Whenever I wore my blue medieval dress, or my green renaissance dress, I felt, I need to borrow Norbert's green dress, so the bright red would not clash.

I had this petrol-ish blue wool fabric for years, I did bought it to make a cape, so I thought, it is high time I actually make it. 

Sewing it is actually not difficult, my fabric was 150 cm wide, I folded it, so I could cut a half circle out of it.

And then cut a (much) smaller half circle for the neck.

Have not photographed, but made two darts for the shoulder, cut the hood from the leftover, made a kind of collar, and added it.

I decorated the edges with a jacquard/brocade ribbon, and the bottom hem was finished with a bias tape.

Now, I love to finish arched hems with bias tapes, and I usually cut more than I use, but I always keep the leftovers.

One of these leftovers were used when I made the musical instrument-holder, and now I planned to use some black one I cut, when I made Norbert's cape...

Only I could not find it, among the others...

However, I found a piece of blue polca dot fabric (I used it to line the blue polka dot bustle dress), which I cut up, and finished the cape. 

Both the brocade ribbon and the bias tape was sewn on my hand, because machine sewing would have... I don't know the right expression, but machine sewing would make a continious line that is pressed into the ribbon and the fabric, while handstitches practically hide. 

I intentionally made this cape with its pointy hood more fairy-tale like, as I am planning to use it with medeival and renaissance clothes too.

Let me tell, you, I just LOVE it. It is so simple, and so magical. 

I feel I should start a movement, "lets make capes everyday outerwear again!"

Fabric: I Love Textile

Photos: Norbert Varga @Bodeszphoto

What the Friday?

 In which I am musing about things I find about stuff I find for sale on the net.

Look at this pair of two toned Victorian boots. 

Aren't they absolutely gorgeous? 

I would certainly wear it even today, and not only for historical clothes. 

It is amazing that they were kept in such a good condition.

Picture is from e-bay.

Ode to Soft Tweed

 It is not a secret that I love rustic, heathery, tweedy yarns. 

I was ever so happy, when DROPS came out with their Soft Tweed yarn. So much so, that, in time, I collected a boxful of it (most of them bought at their sales, but some did came full price). 

That is why it is a surprise, that it took me years to actually knit something from it. 

Interestingly enough, when the 228-17 pattern came out, I knew I wanted to knit it. I know, generally I am not prone to knit such simple stuff, its simplicity draw me. 

I also knew, that, though, back, when I had red hair, I would have killed for the rusty orange color, the original was knitted in, for my silver hair the dusty pink would be better. 

There is not much to be written about the pattern itself, as it is straighforward, just follow, how it is written.

Actually, I started knitting this last year, right after I finished the New Year's Good Luck sweater, but then spring and summer came, along with a lot of sewing, travelling, and I only took it up this year, yes, after finishing this year's New Years Good Luck sweater,

Though, you probably would not be surprised to know, that I added waist-shaping and longer ribbing to the cuffs.

You see, though I do have a thing against pockets on knitted stuff, I even knitted the pockets, according to the pattern. They do have a video tutorial, which helped me a great deal. (now, having worn the cardigan a couple of times, I am still not convinced about pockets and knitted sweaters).

But the yarn, the yarn! Oh, how much I love it! Unlike many tweed / tweedy yarns, it is SOFT. Like butter. It has delicate, soft bits of colors spun into it, its fiber content has alpaca, ool, viscose, what not to love? 

Unfortunately, this soft pink color is discontinued (among other, beautuful colors), which makes me bang my head into the doorframe, for not buying even more of those colors.

(It also dyes beautifully, but you will have to wait to see that)

Please, DROPS gives us more, more more of this yarn (especially more colors!)

(yes, we photographed this twice, with me wearing two different outfits. Both times were extremely cold though, and I still cannot decide which set is better, but I did not want to a) drag Norbert to do yet another photoshoot, b) wait even more to post this).

Photos: Norbert Varga @Bodeszphoto

I ordered the yarn from Nordfonal.