The Filati Cardigan

 Knitting from an European magazine is like sewing from Burda, the instructions can be sketchy but with simple designs you will probably be fine. One huge advantage is the designs are always timeless or fashion forward and the shaping is always good.

 This very simple cardigan has only the pretty lace detail on the sleeves

 The fit is pretty wonderful, in my opinion.

 Here is the link to Ravelry

 I added one inch to the length of the bodice, which I usually do.

 The cardigan is the only thing made by me.

One of my students told me she liked my outfit today, "it is very hip!" She made my day!

Checking in

Wow! I did not mean to go missing for so long! I have been very busy but I have not produced much to share.

I finished this scarf that had been my travel project for a couple of years. I blogged about this before

I also attached the sleeves to the Filati cardigan I have been knitting. I now need really long circular needles (47" long!) to pick up stitches along the front for the band.  I don't have the needles so until I find them  I went ahead and made a swatch for my new knitting project. It is from the book Amber by Kim Hargreaves

I'm making the cardigan called Ginny. I love the shape of the sleeves and the fitted bodice.

 I am using the yarn called for in the pattern, Rowan Felted tweed but in a different colorway

I have also been helping at my son's high school with costumes for the play. Nothing to make from scratch but finding the right pieces and altering those that are available but not quite fit. My 32 year old high school prom dress (made by my mom) will appear on stage as a wedding dress so I modified it to fit the actress/student.

Most of my time however has gone to prepare for the one class (Spanish 2) I am now teaching at the community college. All the teachers I talk to say the first one is the hardest because later you recycle the material. I also spend time helping my son with Geometry (can you say Proof?) and Spanish. And let's not forget I'm in the middle of painting my bedroom...

This and that

Yesterday afternoon I took time off. Time off from computer, exercising, cooking, cleaning...you get the idea. I sat on the couch and read magazines that had been piling on the mail table (Vogue Knitting, Vogue Patterns...didn't get to the new Burda!) and I finished reading the book for my book club. The book is the Paris Wife by Paula McLain and I enjoyed it very much. I will review it later over at Goodreads; although it is fiction it deals with Ernest Hemingway's first wife. Don't you love the shirtdress on the cover?

Courtesy of Amazon.com

I have been blocking the cardigan I'm knitting and now when I am reading to start putting it together to finish it.

 Filati Cardigan

I also will finish this quirky and fun little cushion I crocheted.

The pattern comes from Attic 24


I also cut a beautiful silk to make Burda   which I already had traced but because of the cut on sleeves I couldn't find wide enough fabric to use for it.  The silk is from Metro Textiles from a couple of years ago. I was very nervous cutting this out, my first time on a slippery silk. Of course I have used Bemberg rayon for many linings  but never silk.

I found a nice velvet at Joann's to use for my son's wizard hat. Rhonda was very generous in offering me her quilted fabric, but my son was set in black with blue accents. I will have to quilt the fabric to get the look he wants.

While at Joann's I saw that they had quilt fabrics on sale and I couldn't resist on getting these

they will be a quilt for my in-renovation bedroom. By the way if painting was just about painting it would be a piece of cake, the priming is what is killing me.

Today I'm working on the wizard's hat, since my son is home from school I will be able to try on the pattern and see how it fits him.

Happy sewing, knitting, crocheting, quilting and reading everyone!