Thursday 28 March 2013

The Chanel Suit

Gigantic Hanks
The newest pride and joy of my wardrobe is a hand dyed hand knit Chanel suit. I obtained a vintage Chanel suit pattern which was put directly into my mental queue. Upon estimation, I needed 1000 grams. Obtaining all that wool was the first obstacle.

Meditating on my colour options, green was go. Fortunately, Purple Photokitty was kind enough to assist me in this challenging first time dyeing venture. My intended result was a richly dark forest green, but the wool had its own agenda. The end result was a lovely grassy mossy green with very slight variegation throughout. Happy accident indeed!


With the dyeing process complete, it was time to get knitting; jacket first. As a vintage pattern, it was knitted up in pieces. In this case, I like the structure that a seam provides. Emily of Tincanknits was lovely enough to take some photos of me in what is referred to as an epic knit.


Surprise!
The finishing was the most important aspect of this project. It took bloody ages, but this is what makes the difference between a mediocre product, and an amazing garment.

The pocket is the best bit

The skirt was a simple pattern. I added a few things: a zipper, wider waist band and wee slits on the sides. To my delight, I finished it just in time to wear to the Edinburgh Yarn Festival



 
Now I need one in cotton candy pink.

Friday 22 March 2013

Who Am I. Who I Am.

Hi, my name is Jess and I live in Edinburgh, Scotland. I hail from the faraway state of Oregon. All in all, very similar weather to the Burgh, minus a castle or two. I moved to this lovely city in the Autumn of 2010 and the entire country has completely bewitched me.


How can you not fall in love with this beach scene?

More about living in the Burgh later. Let's travel back in time a wee bit, shall we? When I was 12 years old, I was itching to learn the art of knitting from the master; my Nana. As I'm left handed, it was a challenge for her to teach me everything in complete reverse. Many years were spent toiling over simple hats and scarves. It took me some time to become the trail blazing extreme knitty snob I am today.

Currently on the needles I've got a circular blanket made of mini skeins from The Knitting Goddess. You can find her lovely hand dyed products at http://www.theknittinggoddess.co.uk/.



10 Stitch Watercolour
Pattern by Frankie Brown


I'm really pleased with how its coming along. Granted, since it's 4-ply, this project is going to require significant time. But the nice thing about this project is that I can pick it up no matter my mood, and not have to concentrate at all. Plus, it keeps me warm while I'm working on it. Bonus!

So there you have my introduction, and I look forward to sharing a particular epic knitting project in the very near future. Farewell for now.



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