January Wrap-up and February Plans

This month was an interesting one...I sewed a total of 8.25 yards and 6 items. The interesting part?

I only sewed Burda magazine patterns this month. This was not intentional! Just...getting good use of my sub I suppose! :)

• Burda 1/2021 top - 1.25 yards (reviewed here)
• floral crepe ITY knit from FabricMart (stash)

• Burda 1/2021 cardigan/jacket - 2 yards (for my daughter, reviewed here)
• Cream/light tan cotton boucle from SR Harris
• D-rings, twill tape, sew-in snap

• Burda 1/2021 cardigan jacket - 2.25 yards (for me!)
• striped cotton blend boucle from FabricMart (stash)
• D-rings, twill tape, sew-in snap

• Burda 1/2018 hoodie - 2 yards
• black polka-dot sweatshirt knit from FabricMart (stash)
• zipper, eyelets, bias tape, cord stops

• Burda 6/2014 jumper - 0.75 yards (baby)
• denim blue jersey knit from Fashion Fabrics Club (stash)
• Cricut iron-on, zipper

• Burda 6/2014 jumper - 0.75 yards (baby)
• Black & olive cotton lycra knit (considered scraps so not counted in fabric total)
• Cricut iron-on, zipper

Favorite: Whew. This is tough. It was a SUPER successful month. If I had to choose an absolute favorite, I'd say the hoodie. I've wanted another (sewed this pattern before, here and here) and it has come together so well --save me managing to not have a 22" separating zipper on hand, buying a Coates & Clark (meh) one from JA and it turns out it was NOT separating,  unpicking it, and then waiting on a new one from Wawak. 

FAILS: None! Woohoo! Unless I want to hold that flub above with the zipper against myself :-p

Accomplishments: I think that I sewed simple projects this month, but infused some life into them. I really love how everything turned out. AND, 5 of the 6 were from stash fabrics/scraps. Can't beat that!

I think I wore my Burda cardigan the day after finishing it! :)

This hoodie is SO epic! 

Literally love everything about it. I'll get the zipper inserted this weekend.

One of the jumpers as a WIP :-D

This month, I purchased 8 yards of fabric:

• 1.5 yards of a Japanese striped knit from Marcy Tilton. I was inspired by Renee of Miss Celie's Pants and her awesome travel wardrobe. I have heard good things about the fabric at M.T., but never ordered. I placed my order on Saturday, January 16th and it didn't ship until the 30th. I wasn't too pleased with that and if Covid is affecting their output to that extent, it may be awhile before I order again. Not saying I don't understand or ragging on the company - *I* don't expect to wait ~3 weeks for a fabric order. 
• 2 yards of a printed cotton woven from Fabric Mart for my travel bags
• 2.5 yards of (amazing!) Brooks Brothers shirting from SR Harris for a birthday shirt for my son-in-law and a matching one for baby.
• 2 yards of boucle woven that was used for my daughter's Burda jacket

None of this fabric will be stashed - woot!

I purchased 5 patterns and 2 Ottobre kids magazines.

• Ottobre really is the best bet for kids patterns.  I paid $28 with the shipping and exchange rate (WEAK US DOLLAR ALERT!) but for $14 each, sooooo worth it. There's some good stuff in these 2 issues, especially for a California baby (hello bucket hat!). 

• I also purchased a tee/bodysuit pattern from Brindille and Twig. I've heard good things but at $7.50+ per pattern, Ottobre is hands down the better option. And now, Bert and other babies that I've made gifts for have worn the garments, and I have a better idea of their sizing. 
• I purchased 3 New Look patterns (I'm a fan of their patterns, the sizing/fit, and the price!)

I also purchased McCall's 6016 for baby as I've seen a ton of great versions and I must've purged that baby shirt pattern that I had in stash (grrrrr!)

I had a machine knitting lesson this month where I focused on learning to use the electronics of my machine - part of the issue is that I have what is technically a KH910 but the board is a KH950. So it has the capabilities of the 950, which isn't in the 910 manual...but it looks like a 910 so the 950 manual wasn't "right". I now know how to use the 950 and 910 manuals together, but there are still things I have to do manually e.g., in the fair isle swatch below, I have to keep track of how many rows to knit before changing colors where as the 950 notifies you of color changes. 

I  feel confident enough to try out a project. For now, I'm thinking something with a bit of fair isle near the hem because I still have to learn how to do decreases while working in a pattern.

A hot tip I posted on IG today:

The phone (in my case iPhone) camera, zoomed in, is an excellent resource for checking needle details!

My January plans from my last post:

finish my cardigan - DONE

knit a cowl for my mom - DONE

make some golf club covers for my brother -   Muslined. He had to cancel our fabric store trip so we're going today. 

make a hoodie - DONE (okay, fine, needs its zipper)

My February plans:

Sew M6044 for SIL

Sew M6016 for baby

Sew the golf club covers

Muslin Thread Theory Fulford jeans for my husband 

Make a pair of plaid, pleated trousers. I'm not sure on pattern yet but I know I did NOT like M7726. Maybe I'll give M7982 a go (previously muslined, never sewed them up). 

Until later!