The Grey and the Blue

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm picking up Lady Grey again, and not a moment too soon because the wind around here is frigid (at least from my perspective; I mean, I know that I don't live on the frozen tundra...or, you know, someplace actually cold), and I would like a new coat to greet what I'm hoping will be snow in February.  I'm currently coming down off a stress-induced shopping high from before Christmas, so I'm not buying anything for a month or two (we'll see how long that lasts), so the only way I'm getting that new coat is to work on something I already have.  Lady Grey is by far the furthest along, so it's the winner by default. 

When we last left Lady Grey, I had just finished pad-stitching the front lapels and was working on fusing interfacing to the back pieces when I messed up.  I forgot to trim the hem from the interfacing on one of the pieces and fused it anyway.  Luckily, I had plenty of extra fabric, but I had no interfacing left.  And that's where we stand today.  Except that I got some interfacing (one of the allowable exceptions to the shopping ban), so I'm ready to go again. 

So, the big question now is, where do I pick up again?  With tailoring the coat back.  Because I'm a little lost at this point (as well as the fact that I've never made a coat before) I'm going to rely on Gertie's tutorial and hope for the best.  Mr. flyskim is playing dodgeball tomorrow, so I've got the whole uninterrupted evening to cut my new back piece and finish interfacing everything.  Maybe I can even get the back stay cut out.  I'll be back with pictures because this is likely to be a learning experience on my end, and pictures will help me remember what not to do next time. 

How's everybody's January shaping up? 

So, This Was Christmas

Wow, is it just me, or did this holiday season just fly by?  We've taken down all of our Christmas finery, but I thought I'd share some of it here before going back to business as usual.

Remember that 9-foot tree?  Well, here's what it looked like all dressed up.

I never quite seemed to get the whole tree in any photo I took.  That's a capiz-shell star at the top.

And here's how many ornaments it takes to fill a tree that large (large-to-us, anyway).

I didn't even bother counting.  This doesn't include the garland or the 1,500+ lights.

I've been collecting ornaments for well over 20 years, and I'm going to have to stop because I've got way more than can fit on any tree that we can squeeze into our house.

I thought my Christmas Eve dinner table turned out really nicely.

Here's the little boy hanging out with the Christmas toys.  He would burrow himself into them for naps, and you could barely tell the difference between him and the stuffed animals.

Anyway, thanks for indulging me in this little detour.  Now, I also made something.  I know, finally.

Please forgive the wonky posing.  This is the picture where the color of the yarn turned out most accurately.

This is the Ruffled Scarf (I don't actually think that's the name) from Sadie & Oliver, and about 1/3 of the way into it, I realized that it was the perfect Christmas gift for my sister-in-law V.  The pattern is simple.  Stockinette stitch with increases and decreases along one side for the shaping.  Here's what the shape of the scarf looks like without the ruffle.

This is the unruffled version that I made for niece A1.

The ruffle is picked up and knitted along the shaped edge and is a plain garter stitch.  This really helps control the edge rolling that stockinette is prone to.  Another thing that helps?  A really soft yarn.  I used Malabrigo Silky Merino, and it's beautifully soft. 

I wouldn't have any problems wearing this next to my skin, but if you're really sensitive to itch, then there could be a problem with the wool content.  I did not block this scarf because reviews of this yarn have said that it grows a lot during blocking due to the silk.  This yarn was lovely to work with and produces a fabric with a soft drape.  It's kind of rough spun and varies slightly in its thickness throughout the hank; however, I also have this yarn in one of the variegated colorways, and there was a big problem with the spinning.  The thickness of the yarn was wildly uneven, and I couldn't knit more than a row or two before I'd either be working with totally unspun fiber or fiber that was spun so tightly, it was barely lace weight.  So really check the hanks out for quality issues before you buy. 

I also need to work on my white balance.  Everything's a little too yellow.

I really enjoyed working on this scarf, so much so, that I'm making one for myself in a light gray.  The increases and decreases on the stockinette make the pattern more interesting than just knitting a rectangle, but it's still so simple that you can plop down with your needles in front of the television.  The ruffle is a pretty detail that isn't too fussy.  This is still in its gift bag waiting for the intended recipient to get back into town, but my brother-in-law assures me that she'll love it.

Anyway, I hope everybody had a wonderful holiday season and New Year and that 2012 brings you all good things.

Oh, and for my next trick?  I'm picking up Lady Grey again after a substantially long break.  Gosh, I hope I remember how to tailor.

Dear 2011:

Well, that happened.

I'm sure that you thought you were a pretty good year, and for some people, you may very well have been.  But as far as I'm concerned, we're just going to have to agree to disagree on that particular issue.  We'll leave it at that because I'm also pretty sure that you took last year's letter to 2010 as a personal challenge even though I was as nice as pie (I don't actually think pie is easy at all, but it sure is nice, especially served warm with vanilla ice cream).

And 2012?  Your reputation has been preceding you for quite some time, so you don't need any additional pressure from me.  You just go and be whatever kind of year you're going to be.  I'll be in my basement if you need me, stockpiling emergency provisions.  And weapons.  Lots of weapons.