January 2020
Wednesday Project Roundup: More Rainbow Knit
Color makes you happy; winter doesn’t have much color; ergo, all my projects have been rainbow since November–even the thread:
This is a pair of Greentstyle Creations Brassie Joggers for the gym in a “rainbow faux knit” athletic from The Styled Magnolia.
The Brassies are definitely pants, not tights, but they are much, much sleeker than the True Bias Hudson Pants, with a flatter front, higher rise, and better “rear view.” They also sew up in about an hour and don’t require any fiddly topstitching.
I ended up trying this pattern because my fabric didn’t have quite enough stretch for my preferred tights pattern, but I really love it. I’ve already made two more pairs–one for around the house and one in a print to wear to work (stretch pants 4EVA!).
Tuesday Project Roundup: Rainbow Knit
Let’s hear it for big yarn: I started this right before Thanksgiving and wore it last week. For me, that’s an incredibly fast knit.
This is another pattern from Good Night Day, the Kingston Sweater. The only change I made was to decrease about 10 stitches before the cuffs for more of a balloon sleeve.
I loved this yarn: Berroco Coco, a superwash merino that literally changed color in every stitch. (This colorway is “Park”.) It was exactly the rainbow dose that my winter brain needed and it’s not itchy at all. Warm, soft rainbows–everyone needs more of those, right?
Literally The Best
Doc surprised me with a portrait of Toby and JUST LOOK AT IT:
I never talked about it here, but about two weeks after Mom died last year, Toby’s ear started to swell. After panic and guilt and some deeply traumatic vet visits, we found out he had a hematoma. We don’t know how he got it and it left permanent damage. I’ve had a hard time looking at his new “cauliflower ear” and not feeling all those feelings again–but this portrait is the first time I think I’ve really accepted it.
I mean, he wouldn’t be Admiral Lord Toby–veteran of the seas, decorated in battle–without it, right?
Friday Links
1. Wow, the first full week of 2020 didn’t pull any punches, did it? Maybe we can try again for that “fresh start” next week.
2. The world may be falling apart but I DID A SKATE TRICK! I can’t wait for warmer weather when I can skate outside.
3. This seems like a good January link: A Radical Guide to Spending Less Time on Your Phone.
Happy Little Poem
This one is from A Poem A Day and it’s just nice.
The Orange
by Wendy Cope
At lunchtime I bought a huge orange
The size of it made us all laugh.
I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave—
They got quarters and I had a half.
And that orange, it made me so happy,
As ordinary things often do
Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park
This is peace and contentment. It’s new.
The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all my jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I’m glad I exist.
Wednesday Project Mega Roundup: Gifts For Doc
I wasn’t able to blog most of my sewing after Thanksgiving because it was all for Doc! First up, a birthday shirt, in this amazing Japanese oxford and the tried-and-true McCalls 6044:
The modeled shot colors are way off, because winter is dark, but the print really pops in person. He didn’t pick this fabric but I thought it was a pretty safe choice for him, based on the last cat print he chose.
Then I made him a Christmas shirt, in a print he did pick back in the summer: this panda cotton lawn from Lady McElroy. I used the New Look pattern I tested earlier in the year for more of an aloha shirt vibe:
I didn’t get a modeled shot of this (I believe the hanger shot is from when I finished on December 23rd, eep), but he’s worn both and reports all compliments they receive, so I think they were good gifts.
Finally, what do you do for a man who wants no material goods but whose underwear is wearing out? You sew him some for Christmas and hope the fact that it’s handmade cancels out the fact that you’re giving him…underwear for Christmas.
These are the Greenstyle Creations Walbrook Boxer Briefs. The gray pair is some leftover bamboo knit I had in the stash (originally from The Fabric Fairy, I think) and the cats are just cotton interlock I got on sale at Jo-Ann.
By dint of some SUPER CASUAL AND NORMAL questioning, I determined I did not have to make him the version with the functioning fly, so they were a really fast sew. I did the optional “burrito” method to enclose the edges of the pouch on both sides and finished the inseams with a faux coverstitch (serge with right sides together and topstitch the seam allowance down with a twin needle).
As you can see, I played with waistband finishes but I think the enclosed elastic is the winner. Doc reports that they are “comfortable” and would like more pairs, so I guess it was an OK present.
Tuesday Project Roundup: Birthday Shirt
Doc suggested a skate party right around the time this amazing Ruby Star rayon came out. I ordered 3 yards for the grooviest disco Amy Jumpsuit you’d ever seen–except that when I started to lay out my jumpsuit pattern for cutting, I realized Ruby Star rayon was only 45″ wide and I didn’t have enough.
I scrambled and found a Butterick pattern (B6714) that ended up being even more perfect: the same flowiness I wanted from the Amy Jumpsuit but none of the dangers of a skate getting stuck in a really wide leg (and, let’s be honest, more appropriate to the venue, which really isn’t a “glamorous jumpsuit” sort of place).
I love how it turned out. The cape on the back was DEEPLY satisfying to skate in, as were the huge sleeves. Construction-wise, it was really fast; I couldn’t visualize how the cape and the back yoke got attached and turned but I just followed the instructions and it worked out.
At this point in life, how many things can you say that about?
Careening Into 40
Doc had the BRILLIANT idea of doing a kid’s party package at the local skate rink for my birthday and it was amazing. About 20 people came, we fed them pizza and soda and Rice Krispie treats, and I went off the smallest jump on the speed track at the very end.
Not bad for a 40-year-old!
40: Using My Words
Today’s my birthday! After 38, when my mom went through chemo and failed surgery, and 39, when we lost her and tried to just keep it together all year, reaching 40 feels like a miracle and absolutely nothing to fear.
Sure, I’m rapidly going gray, but after the last two years it makes sense. I’m still going to the gym and to therapy, I’m still trying to show up and be brave and use my words–and that’s all I’m going to try to keep doing for the year. I was talking to my friend last night about everything else I wanted to do in 2020 and she said, wisely and kindly, “I thought of the first year of my 40s as the warmup.”
So for 2020, my single goal is: “Use my words.” Tell people I love them. Really listen to others. Speak up when something isn’t OK. Talk about my feelings, even though that’s still pretty terrifying.
As I enter another decade, I know objectively that I can do hard things. So I’ll keep doing them, and enjoy being alive and sharing it all with my loved ones.