I should stick to sewing......

I recently finished these gloves after working on them on and off for about a year, and I have to admit they are not my best work. They're warm, and the long length is great in this weather, but they're a bit lumpy and baggy. I just don't have the patience with knitting that I have with sewing, and become too eager to start, therefore neglecting to get my tension just right. But I vowed that this blog would be a document of all my projects, good and bad, so these will be the first on the 'less than perfect' list.

Well, back to the drawing board. I'm going to try these fingerless numbers from The Butterfly Balcony - the finished results look pretty good. Wish me luck!

Check out Dama's giveaway!

Check out La Dama 's blog - she's always inspiring, and now she's doing a cool giveaway:

I want the compact!   X X X X

I need some elves!

As usual, I've decided to take on far too much for Christmas, resulting in scenes like those above - that's me passed out on the sofa, surrounded by a multitude of knitting projects. As well as finishing off my neverending gloves (I think I've been working on them for 2 years), I've resolved to make armwarmers for both my mother and mother in law, a snazzy new dress for Christmas, and my warmest winter coat is on it's last legs, so I'll need to replace it. But for now, it's all about wool!

I found a great site that compiles patterns from all over the web - Knitfinder. Last winter I made these great armwarmers, called Spirogyra, which you can get here. And this is what they look like:

Armwarmers in action!

And they're really quick to make, with no sewing up because they're knitted on 3 needles - perfect! I will sew anything, but sewing up hand knits drives me crazy!

So, as the title of this post suggests - if anyone has any spare elves, pixies, trolls, or even gremlins, send them my way, 'cos I'm gonna need 'em.

Cool Christmas Fair

For those of you anywhere near London, try to make it down to the Bust Christmas Craftacular this Sunday at York Hall in Bethnal Green. I always try to go to their fairs because they are quite frankly brilliant! I always find the selection of stalls truly inspiring, and it's a perfect place to find something for those people on your Christmas list who have everything.

I just hope the weather doesn't take a turn for the worse - they've predicted snow......

Trousers - can one length ever fit all?



Which length?

The Anne Sheridan trousers are done! Well everything except the length. Here I am with a selection of shoes I want to be able to wear the finished trousers with, but I think it will be impossible to accomodate all. From left to right, we have red brogues, blue mid-heel peep toes, 4 inch silver slingbacks, and my treasured 40's style Terry Dehavilland wedges.

As I'm incapable of making a decision without exhaustively researching, I turned first to my vintage sewing books, the oldest of which was published in 1946:

Guess what? No mention of trousers until the late 1960's, and then hardly anything. It doesn't seem that trousers (or 'pants' or 'slacks', as the Colonial publications call them) were decent to discuss among lady-folk until the 1970's. The best advice (and most hilariously stuck up) I found was in 'The Art of Sewing - Basic Tailoring' published by Time Life in 1975:

'Whether the trouser line is cuffed or cuffless, it must fall in precisely the right place. If too low, it may get stepped upon; too high, it will expose a gauche ring of sock'

Just to make sure, I next looked at some vintage fashion plates and some classic Hollywood photos:

It seems long, but not covering the shoe completely, is the most authentic length for the era.

I pinned one leg to suit the lowest shoe:



Trousers with flat shoe



Then I pinned the other leg with the highest shoe:



Trousers with wedge sandal
After all that deliberating and indecisiveness, there was only about 1/2" (approx. 1 cm)difference! Why didn't I just do this in the first place and save myself some time!


Anyway, now the trousers are done and I love them. I won't take you through the making from start to finish, as there are other blogs that do that much better than me, such as Gertie's new blog for better sewing, but here are some of the details close up:

Left hand button closure (with magician's assistant hands!)



Close up of the buttons





Right hand pocket

Until next time - take care!