Mojave

We're in that part of summer that's making me long for autumn. Mostly this entails me asking "why is it still so hot?"  While I can't wait for sweater weather, something needs to be done to keep cool in the meantime. This means a little more summer sewing until I can break the knitting back out.

I saw this pattern, Mojave, in the most recent Seamwork sewing magazine and immediately knew I wanted to make it. It's a kaftan pattern, ideally a swimsuit cover up, but loose and breezy enough to be perfect for hot summer days. Coupled with some Anna Maria Horner rayon challis that I've been hording, I knew this would be the ideal August dress.

The dress came together in about 2 hours of sewing (yay!). My favorite thing about the final dress is definitely the fabric; I love both the print and how comfortable and breathable the rayon challis is. My least favorite thing is the size. The dress came out a little too big, meaning it slips off of my shoulders occasionally. Still, this is the perfect dress for lounging around while still looking chic.

I'm very glad to have finally found a use for this awesome fabric. I now understand why I've heard such good things about rayon challis and I definitely plan on using this fabric again in the future! In the meantime, I'll be here trying to keep cool.

Three-peat

I'm a serial re-reader of books. If it's a favorite of mine, you can bet I've read it at least three times. While I'm not as bad in the crafting realm, there are definitely patterns that are so wonderful that they can't be made only once. On the knitting side, it's a bunch of Ysolda patterns - Ishbel (x3), Veyla (x2), Damson (x2), Garter Stitch Mitts (x2), and Gretel (x2)- while on the sewing front the patterns come from Colette - particularly Peony (x2) and Moneta (now x3).

This is my third Moneta and definitely my best one yet. This has all to do with the fabric; the first version was too drapey, the fabric for number two had minimal stretch, but the blue dotted cotton here is just right. It's actually taught me a lot about matching knitted fabric to a pattern by experimenting with such a wide range for one design.

I'm kicking myself for not finishing this project sooner, as it's perfect for the summertime. Instead, it's been sitting in my craft room for months waiting to be hemmed. I'm really glad I finally got around to it because this dress has become an immediate wardrobe staple. You just can't argue with a comfortable handsewn dress in a cute print!

Just For Fun

It's a truth universally acknowledged that sometimes crafters lose their mojo. Many years this happens to me in the spring, but this year it seemed to be a summer problem. Thankfully, I'm starting to feel the desire to craft again after a 2-month hiatus. I've got several projects in the works at the moment, but want to show off the first thing I finished after getting my mojo back:

This is a tiny sushi from the Mochimochi Land sushi bar set. Mochimochi Land has the most adorable tiny patterns and kits and, after knitting my first one, I can definitely see the appeal of tiny knitting. It was a nice quick reentry into knitting life and good springboard for several other projects which I can wait to show off on the blog!