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Sunny Days


I've been on a sparkle kick this month, embracing wonder and shininess wherever I can find it (which is surprisingly everywhere, given the pandemic and all). I redid my tile mat (click that link at your own risk) with an appropriate sentiment, and my projects ended up more themed than usual this month. I may not be able to extrovert with people like I'd like to, but I can extrovert my spaces!


One thing I did was create a sewing corner in our living room. We've rearranged it twice in the past few months (Adam did it once, while I was gone on a solitary birthday/convince-the-toddler-to-stop-nursing-by-removing-the-temptation outing, and then I redid it a few weeks later) and one result of the final redo was a nice corner by a big front window opening up. I got a reasonably priced writing desk from Target, hung a mirror behind the curtain, and  dragged out my old sewing machine from where it was mouldering in a closet (I haven't used it since Tobin was a toddler, when he crawled under the table and pressed the presser foot for me, with semi catastrophic results).

 
My first project was a new cover for it, since the original flimsy plastic one was bringing down the vibe of my sunny corner, and because a box bottomed tote bag isn't something I need a pattern for. I ordered fabric, thread, and a tape measure (the Bigs destroyed my beloved black sheep one - I'm taking recommendations for sourcing a new cute replacement!) from Fancy Tiger Crafts and it was an emboldening success.


Having accidentally started a sun theme in the corner with my sun tassel (blue sky version available from Bella Vita Jewelry) I also got a cute partly sunny embroidery kit. I did it in two sittings, because the twelve strand French knots were making my fingers hurt, but it is incredibly adorable and completely worth it. I sort of want to do this on the pocket of a jacket - sun peeking out and cloud overlayed.


After working on it for a little over a month, I finished my Soundtrack sweater (that link goes to Ravelry, fyi), the week after the cool front left. Of course. But I plan to get lots of wear out of this once the weather cools off! I love the way the Spincyle yarn in the yoke fades from light oranges and grey to darker oranges and pinks - I was actually a little nervous about it having enough contrast at the beginning, but it turned out great. I should know by now to trust Kandy's color sense, since she's the one who put them together for me.


After finally finishing two big projects - a sweater and a reading project - I was ready for something that was both quick to knit and could be worn right away. Since I had intentionally overbought fabric for my sewing machine cover, I dug through my stash to match some yarn I already had with it and decided to make a whole ensemble (forgive me, we read what felt like all of the Fancy Nancy books aloud today).


This Ripple bralette (another Ravelry link) was a gratifying knit and I would like more of them now (I've certainly got plenty of sock yarn to do them with). Even with adding significantly to the suggested length, it only took about half of my ball of sock yarn, and the 14" long double knit straps were less tedious than anticipated.


I didn't have quite enough of the grey fabric for my corresponding sewing project, so I headed back to Fancy Tiger for some coordinating golden sunshines that I had seen and wanted when I initially ordered, but didn't feel quite suited the sewing corner (we use that wall as a projection surface for movies, so I was trying to keep it fairly subtle).


Despite some initial struggles with the pattern (it printed it on 20 sheets of paper and then had to be pieced together), I am incredibly pleased with how this Gena Crop turned out, and also delighted that it's reversible and how well the Ripple goes under it.


In addition to continuing to support local/fair trade makers, I'd like to start making more of my own things, clothing and otherwise. This month was a good start to that! The crop pattern included lots of information for tailoring it for a more exact fit, which I might do for another one. I figured for a first garment attempt (okay, I think I might have made pajama shorts once, as a teenager, and as I have no memory of wearing them I doubt they were a success) I should stick to the basics and not modify.


I wrapped up my project list early, so now I have some time to plan next month's projects - and maybe work on some filler ones in the mean time...
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