Me Made May 2013: Shift Dress Easy Stuff

If you jump into my magical bloggy Dolorean back to a few weeks ago, to this post has a mosaic pic of a whole bunch of retro patterns.

I just finished this 1970s shift dress, likely just like any other basic shift dress, but I'd like to think it's just that extra bit disco for its age.

I have to say I was a bit afraid of looking like a set of drapes with this fabric, but I think it's passable as regular fabric (it's actually quilting cotton. Very cute and on sale, so you know, I couldn't say no).

I'm rather proud of my hems, and pleased that the neckline actually fits - and perfectly! Even over my giganta-noggin!  It took some fiddling to get the facing to lay right (ish), but I'm wearing it. I don't care, dammit!

Since I'll be off and away on a vacay soon, it's likely this will be my last FO from MMM'13. Sad, indeed.
I have plenty of plans for more sewing, so stay tuned Batman!

Let the Summertime commence!

Hells yeah it's summertime.

I always equate vacation with summertime. I'm still a 12-year-old at heart.

Despite it being, in fact, MAY, and not summer, I'm starting my vacation-going early this year with a trip to Alberta.  I'm going with the man; he has family out there.

I've never been further west than Sarnia, so I have not ever actually seen for-real mountains. I cannot tell you how excited I am for this.

We've arranged a stay in cabins (squee!) in the mountains (super squee!) in Jasper National Park.  I'm frantically reading up on local birds, and planning out the perfect WIPs to bring along for the trip.

What knitting project would you bring on a trip to a cabin in the mountains?

I'm hoping to have copious photos to share when I return. But for now I leave you with this vintage Hinterland Who's Who video of the Mountain Sheep.

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Paulina Popiolek
Rav ID: PaulinaP
Some Great Designs: PaulinaP's Rav Designer Page

This designer overwhelms me with her textural accessory delight. Seriously, hop on over to her designer page on rav. You'll see.

To sort through the loveliness what difficult. I've narrowed it down to four here, which I'll run through quickly so that you go and click click click on her many other pieces!

Emanuela is the pictured pretty you see here. And a great example it is of PaulinaP's strengths: textural, pretty, feminine, wearable accessories. This is one of many shawl and wraps for you to see on her designer page.

In the topper category, there's the Pamir Hat. A good and stretchy (textured!) brim accents an otherwise simply knit and shaped hat. So wearable. This is the kind of hat that you could wear throughout the cold months of the year.

And, in a timely fashion, there's the Primavera Capelet. The lighter version of the Winter Capelet, this piece is knit in the round, accented with scalloped edging and delicate lace. A knit to dress up an outfit!

Now really, go: check out her designer page. There's like, 40 designs over there!

Me Made May 2013: For Real This Time with Neon Green

Now this is a dress I absolutely started and "completed" for MMM'13.

My friends, I did say that I'm not a sewer.
My issues here are compounded by the fact that
1) I like to learn as I go.
2) I'm impatient.
3) I strongly dislike anything at all that I view as wasting my time.

So, this dress was made by eyeballing up a dress I purchased and very much like.

My problem with this dress is the skirt.  I likely should have flared it out just a bit near the bottom edge, so that it's much more flowy and less.... almost pencil skirt like.

I'm thinking I can either accept this dress as-is and wear it out in public shamefully. Paranoid. Always thinking people are pitying me and my lack of the skillz.

OR

I can attempt a fix.
I have a very limited amount of fabric left (almost a metre). Maybe I can slit up the side hems and add a panel on each side? Add width to the skirt?
Or, would this be a disaster/waste of time/no help at all?

For all my sewing peeps out there: what do you think?

ps: wearing neon green is amazingsauce.

Survey and Giveaway

Yarnny preview of soon-to-be-released pattern

Heads up, knitters!

I'd love to hear your feedback about Canary Knits.
I'm holding a survey for people on my mailing list. You can join by clicking here.

There are prizes to be won for completing the questions (of which there are only six!)

So, I'd love to get to know you better, and hear your thoughts about knitting in general and my designs in particular.

Thanks everyone!

Lady Bat: Vote for the KAL

They're holding a vote over on the Holla Knits blog.
The top two patterns from The spring/summer issue with the most votes get to be in this season's KAL.

Interesting in participating in a Lady Bat KAL?

Head on over and vote!

Indie Designer Day

Designer: Astrid Schramm
Rav ID: attimania
Some Great Designs: attimania's Rav Designer Page

The wear-ably geometric style of this week's indie designer seems perfect for this cusp-of-the-new-season time of year.

Pictured is Moni, a slightly oversized shrug. Very fashionably so. Check out the other photos of the piece from the back. It's got some great drape, and is the sort of piece that you can just throw on over a simple dress (or t-shirt and jeans, as in the photo) and immediately complete the outfit.

Rhinia may be a simple cardigan, but it's structured, gracefully intertwining cables make it yet another one of those outfit-finishing pieces.

Finally I'll point out Cami Chickadee, which is very cute and summery, once again including interesting geometric elements (this time with the texture of the garment).

Check out her designer page on Ravelry - there's so much more to see!

Me Made May 2013

I'm a twitter kinda kid. I dig it.

And on the twitters, my feed has been flooded as of late with beautiful projects from people, hastaged #memademay13 (or something to that effect).

Here's what it's about: but basically, make stuff in May!

I'm sort of automatically doing that, knitwear-design-wise, but this whole discovery of Me Made May (MMM'13) seredipitously collided with my SPRING FEVER. Srsly, I have never been so alight with excitement for spring. It's ignited a desire for pretty me-made dresses.

And that is what I'm hoping to do with my MMM'13.

It's challenging for me, as I'm not a big sewer. I mean, I have made the odd costume, but that's a costume. No one will fault you if your hems are wonky (or, you know, held up by copious safety pins).

I've been picking up kickass vintage sewing patterns from the second hand shop for years now. The sewing desire has been laying dormant for quite a while.
Here you see some of them.

My vintage patterns - with a contemporary Cynthia Rowley one thrown in there too!

I'm hoping to chronicle some more sewing adventures this MMM'13, because, you know, I like to keep busy people!

Here's the first piece I've finished (though technically I've been working on it since April. Not sure if it really counts as MMM!)

An Ode to the Hinterland; The Design Process

This is the fifth in my ongoing series, documenting the design process for my upcoming collection, Hinterland.

Sneak peek at one of the patterns in Hinterland.

The process of producing that tech-editor-ready pattern comes in a bunch of steps.

Pen to Paper
Gotta sketch! Very loosey goosey at first, picking any major elements, stitch patterns, etc.

Swatching
Something which I've come to love more and more. Still not my favourite part in the process, but very important. This math/idea testing provides you with the ability to accomplish the next step.

Designing
Referring to the info from the sketches and swatch, a garments schematic is drawn up, clarified with decisions related to any parameters imposed by stitch patterns and sizes. I write up a pattern, then, with my hypothesis of the grading. For it is a hypothesis, and in some cases, needs tweaking after the next step.

Knitting the Sample
Here is where I get to play with the yarn, for real! I usually try to churn out this step as fast as possible, but unfortunately I've found that my right wrist gets easily aggravated, and have to limit myself to only a couple of knitting hours per day.

Testing
There's a variety of opinions out there when it comes to testing. Some say it's important, some say it's not worth the time, money, and hassle. A professionally produced pattern has to go through due diligence. This (for me, and it seems is mostly the general opinion) is, at the very least, having it professionally tech edited. In the case of this collection, there are testers lined up. I'm very excited to work with them!

After knitting up your sample, gathering all the info from your testers, and adjusting the pattern if necessary, you're ready to send off that first version to the tech editor.

For further information:
I've found Craftsy to be a wonderful teaching resource. It has classes that reinforce professional standards in knitwear design, many of which complement and reflect what I've been saying here, including Handknit Garment Design, How to say it: Pattern Writing for Knitters, and Sizing Knitwear Patterns.
There is also the fantastic Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design, which covers topics mentioned in this post and many beyond. It's my rule book.

Indie Designer Day

©ashkearns

Designer: Ash Kearns
Blog: Ash Kearns Handknitting
Rav ID: ashkearns
Some Great Designs: ashkearns' Rav Designer Page

I love this designer's work. She describes her style here:

"Because My Man is a stone mason, I compare knitting to building walls alot. I see my creations in my head in 3D (“tubes in space”)"

And yes! I'll point out a few to you, but there's tons more if you just clicky the link above.

I haven't been able to get the Lempicka Headband Hat out of my head since I first saw it. Just look at that hat! Virtuoso knitting. Wonderful structure, interesting shaping and texture. It's just so beautiful, and I might even go so far as to say it's the most beautiful knit hat I've ever seen.

Then there's the wonderful Everton Lace Wrap. This piece isn't just a plain ol' rectangular wrap. It has a great little flared neckline, keeping that chill away. Again, fantastic shaping and texture used.Very elegant, just like the Lempicka Hat.

The Replica Reversible Hat is best summed up by the designer herself, "Experimentation is required! Wear with the brim down for a cosy cloche, with splash of contrast peaking out; Or pull up one edge; Or all the way around to show off your colours."
I love its simplicity yet flexible functionality.

Last one I'll show you is the Grommet Eyelet Ridge Cardi Vest. Oh, you had me at "cap sleeved cardigan-vest hybrid that is knit entirely in one piece with no finishing!". Check out the pics. A great knit for this time of year. Just enough to keep a chilly breeze off. Delicately lovely!

Elbie is Famous!; Or, Embarrass the Bird in May

Elbie Jones!
Indiana Elbie!
Something to that effect.
Because the only way you could improve Indiana Jones is to make him into a lovebird.

April, as a WWI fighter pilot.
March, in the rain.
February, tux and tails.
January, in lederhosen.

I love Zen Yarn Garden!

In the works at Canary Knits HQ is another piece in conjunction with Zen Yarn Garden.
Merrily I've been knitting along. Here's a sneak peek, in a very beautiful colourway called Poodle Skirt.

I love it so very much! I can't wait to show you all the rest!

Indie Designer Revisit

© TriGirlJ

Designer: Chris Church
Blog: Pursuit of Fiber
Rav ID: rchrispy
Some Great Designs: rchrispy's Rav Designer Page
Original Indie Designer Post: May 22, 2009

Chrispy is a designer whose love of yarn and fibre shines through her designs.
Switching from an engineering degree to one in art, she has had her dreams realized in designing knitwear.

And this designing career has branched out into tech editing, as well! (to which I tip my hat. Tech Editors are fabulous, and do wizardly things with math and numbers that would make MY anti-mathy-math head go 'splode).

You can see her dedication to the beauty of fibre through the strong use of texture in her work.

In Mon Petite Chou, (pictured) you see how gorgeous ruffles, ripples, bobbles and lace work together to create the most pretty piece of "cabbage" you've ever seen.

In the Early Visits Shawl, the texture is understated, and well-paired with a beautiful hand-dyed yarn that dances across the simple garter and lace edging (incidentally, this piece has a lovely shape, and is designed for the breast-feeding-mama who is interested in covering up).

Pearl Drops are a textural pair of socks that look just so dern comfortable to wear. Squishy came to mind. Not sure why. Again, this is a pattern that pairs very well with the yarn, the all-over lace not interfering with the controlled-palette of variegated yarn.

Finally I'll point you to Squiggle Mittens/Mitts. Unisex, handsome, functional, and perfectly textural. LOVE!

Lady Bat Winner

And the winner is...
Andrea PGN! 

The Random Number Generator has selected you :)
Please contact me with your email address so I can send you your copy of Lady Bat.

Thanks to everyone who participated! 

fyi: Prize to be claimed within one week. If it hasn't been claimed, I'll redraw. 

Craftsy Class Review: Lucy Neatby and Double Knitting

Take this class for 50% off!

Back in August of last year I pondered aloud "wouldn't it be great if Craftsy offered a double knitting class?"

Lo and behold, my friends, they have delivered! The kind people at Craftsy asked me to do a review of the course and share it with you all here.

The class is called Foundations of Double Knitting, and it's taught by Lucy Neatby.

There's plenty of things to love about this class!

Lucy Neatby is a fantastic teacher. This is what struck me most. Her manner, explanations, diagrams, and good humour made an otherwise intimidating topic very easy to see, understand, learn, and retain.
She talks about her early experiments with double knitting as skirmishes (she won my heart with this!), and her illustrations of "happy stitches" and "Australian cousins" are both adorable and informative.

This class also does a fantastic job of convincing you that double knitting is THE BEST THING EVER to happen to knitting. There are so many cool tricks and techniques that you can do with double knitting covered in the class. Cool things like easily adding channels to your knitting for elastic (beautifully seamless!), creating double-sided fabrics, socks, bag handles, and my favourite, pockets. So many cool tricks for pockets!

To note: Neatby starts by saying "This class isn't for expert knitters", and I totally agree. I knew pretty much nothing about double knitting before this class, and now I'm all alight with ideas and cool ways I can use this technique in my own work.
She makes double knitting simple, visual, and easy to learn.
So, if you've been waffling on learning this technique, or just plain scared off from double knitting patterns, or maybe want to learn cool new ways to make your knitting seamless and lovely, then this is the class for you!

Aaaaand, you can take this class for 50% off by clicking this link.  How awesome is that?! Thanks Craftsy!