November 19-20
Aranami Shawl
I finally finished knitting the Aranami Shawl which I started years ago, only to set down for some reason, then left it. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been plugging away at it and finally bound it off, washed, and blocked it. I’m developing the story for Outfit Of The Day. So far the story is that a woman is mourning her lover lost at sea. As she longs for his return, she dries lemon skins to cure his potential scurvy.
right after finishing 
during blocking process 
finished, and ready for drama
I think I will pair this with a simple grey dress that I recently altered to give pockets, black tights with boots, a cardigan & possibly the grey coat I’ve been working on (that is a post for next week, I think).
Zombie Socks
Almost every night after work, for the past couple weeks, I would put a little time into these well-loved socks. They were threadbare, so I just wove in some reinforcement and patched the holes.
the wearily worn 
the first foot fixed 
the pair back in action
Triple Collar Vintage Dress Copy
I started this copy project last week (I think), and I’m working out the details of the collar. The dress is legitimately vintage; it may even be considered antique by now; I would guess that it was handmade in the 50s, but it could even be the 40s. It has a number of special elements, and I want to use the opportunity to deconstruct and reconstruct these vintage methods.
original dress 
new rouleau loops at 1/4″ 
copied bodice
The triple collar is constructed of two specific parts: a slightly piped pointed collar on a rounded base with bias tape and the rouleau loops.
I made some test pieces, but felt that the commercial piping I had on hand was too bulky. On my original dress, it’s subtle, so I went to Knit One Quilt, Too in Barrington to see on a longshot if they had any cording. The attendant (owner?) recommended I try Ace Hardware to find some cotton twine in the size I need. I went, and I did. What a great tip! It’s still a little more pronounced than the original, but not by much.
the first attempt 
second and third attempts 
comparison to original
11-20 I made big progress on the bodice tonight, but I had some frustration with the rouleau loops, so I think tomorrow, when I’m less tired, I’ll re-do the right yoke piece.
mockup with ridiculous pink zipper 
close-up of the collar with rouleau 
some things to give closer attention
11-21
Well, I took the left collar piece off and redid the entire thing, and I’m right glad I did. Overall, I’m so gloriously pleased with this effort. I have to pay very close attention to the placement of collar pieces (noted in markup journal), but I think I will mark the pattern pieces a little more clearly, and when I’m making it for real, I won’t be tearing it back constantly and stretching the fabric. I had the creeping fantasy of making it in wool, but I don’t know if I have it in me to go this way yet.
When all the other projects get too harrowing, I resort to knitting, and as I’ve just finished a knitting project I can start a new one shortly. I’ve been knitting up a swatch for a future sweater project for which I have not yet decided. I’ve been looking on vintageknittingpatternarchive.com and freevintageknitting.com, but I just can’t make a decision and then math it all out, since I am not vintage-sized. I’ll knit a swatch in US5 and US6 and see which I like better in this beautiful goldenrod virgin wool that I scored at the Fiber Festival a couple weekends back.
halfway swatched 
size US5 
I got 5 of these
I saw someone’s make of this one in avocado, which was just lovely, and maybe that will be a nice one for this goldenrod / mustard color, too. I’m also partial to this one, and I have some leftover contrasting yarn from The Dude Deux. For a future project, I want to make the Dagger & Heart using (probably) this pattern, but I think I want to stick with the original colors for that. We’ll see.
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