Burda 7890 knitted top

So Ruthie on Sewing Discussion at Stitcher's Guild Sewing Forum set a challenge to sew a knitted top.  She had found some great designs so a few of us decided to take it up.

My darling Mike went off sailing today so I had a few hours to see if I could sew up something that would be quick.

I looked through my patterns and came up with Burda 7890 which is actually part of a sort of lounge set/ PJ's but I liked the shape of the top so gave it a bash.

 This is the end result.
The fabric is a cotton knit lace which I have used before for a long swing jacket.

90% of this top was sewn using my Bablylock Evolution serger and the hems were completed using the flatlock function.  In the past I have struggled with this, but the gods were kind to me tonight and allowed me to hem the sleeves and bottom hem using a wide flatlock and I finished the neck edge this way too.

Unlike Kathryn on SG I don't have any light-weight knit that I could line this with so I will have to wear a little vest underneath, however I will look out for some light-weight knit on my next fabric shopping trip.

I now need to see if I can be a little more creative to meet the challenge brief and see if I can get another top done during the week.

Variation on Butterick Blouse 5464

You may recall that I made up this Butterick Blouse pattern 5464 in a leopard print fabric earlier in the year and I have worn it for work and love it.  I wanted to make another in a crease resistant fabric that I could pack in my bag for work trips so decided to use the same pattern but make a couple of variations.

First I added a short sleeve to the blouse using another sleeve as a template and I reduced the size of the ruffle down the front.

Having mastered the rolled hem on my Babylock surger I rolled the hem on the ruffle, sleeve and bottom hem.

 Here you can see the original ruffle on in the background, with the reduced sized ruffle on top - I think going forward that I will use the smaller ruffle.

 I had this lilac cardigan that I purchased some years ago, and it had some chiffon fabric threaded through the holes in the front.  I decided to replace the old chiffon, and make two new ribbons from the blouse fabric, here you can see the cardigan on Edna over a lilac dress (work in progress), and over the blouse - I think I can get away with wearing the blouse over the dress with a belt and double its use.

I purchased a bag of mixed buttons from a lady on ebay - it had a large number of lovely pearlised buttons, which also match the buttons on the cardigan.

All in all I am really pleased.  I wore the blouse with my black pants (see later posting for details) when I was in Paris last week with a green cardigan, and they looked great.

Balmoral DK jacket

I haven't knitted for about 10 years or more, but a few lovely knitted garments on the Sewing Discussion at Stitcher's Guild Sewing Forum gave me the encouragement to pop to my local shop and go through many books to find a pattern and some wool to get going.

This is the Sirdar, Balmoral DK pattern

Dress size:10-20
To fit bust:32"/81cm - 42"/107cm

I am using the Kingcole Riot double knitting wool in these lovely mix of colours.

This is a simple stocking stich for the bulk of the jacket, all using just a size 4mm needle.  The hem and cuffs are 4 simple rows of 1st Row knit, 2nd Row purl, 3rd Row P1, K1 4th P1, k1B.

I started this last Sunday and finished the back last night and started the left front.  Sadly I didn't bring more than the one ball of wool so will have to wait until I get home to get going again.

I have found the knitting quite relaxing.  I have ascertained that I am unable to just do one thing at a time.  If I am watching TV I am knitting.  If I am sewing I have the TV on in the background.  If I using my running machine, I often take out my laptop with me and watch one of my sewing DVD's or read a book from my ipad.

I travel a lot, and while there are lots of fantastic blogs to visit, and my favourite sites such Discussion at Stitcher's Guild Sewing Forum and http://sewing.patternreview.com to name a few its still nice to be productive too.

Watch this space hopefully I will get this finished in a couple of weeks (if not sooner).  Now the initial knitting cramps in my little finger have gone (I seem to hold the wool using my little finger and when I started knitting it almost locked into place) I am definitely knitting quicker so look forward to finishing it and attempting something a bit more involved - this is a lovely easy pattern to ease me into knitting again gently.

I have been sewing too, and need to upload my recent additions to my wardrobe but will do that over the weekend.  I made a pair of pants/trousers in a black suiting fabric and a frilled blouse - both of which I have worn on my business trip.  Indeed, everything I have worn this week, except for my underware and cardigans are what I have made myself, so I am quite proud of that.

It sure is good to be back into sewing and knitting again rather than painting.

More later....................................

Paris in June

I had to take a photo of the Eiffle Tower on my phone and post it on my blog.  I am here for the week for work, but I am hoping that I get a chance to visit some of the shops in Paris that people have mentioned in other blogs and on Stitcher's Guild Sewing Forum to see if I can see any sewing goodies.

A few moments ago the tower was covered in little tiny stars like something out of a fairytale - very pretty indeed.

I was busy sewing last week and managed to make up a pair of black pants/trousers and a lovely short-sleeved blouse.  Both came out great and I have brought them and several other garments I have made with me, and I intend to wear the black pants and top for my presentation tomorrow.

As much as it is great to be in Paris, I would love to be in my sewing room right now sewing, however I have brought my knitting with me, just in case I get any time to relax.

Right I am off to bed - early start for me today and an even earlier start tomorrow when I have to up, bright-eyed and bushy tailed to present to a group of around 60 people at 8:15am.

Au revoir jusqu'à la prochaine fois