2019: The Final Quarter

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I’m in about the same #2019MakeNine place as I was when I last posted, except I finished my Courage Shawl. The Kelly Anorak is still waiting for me, I still haven’t brought myself to make an FBA for the Farrow Dress, I haven’t even thought about the Lou Box Dress, and I still have no further ideas for which blazer/jacket I want to make, although I have decided that I want it to be with two-sided fabric. But all that non-progress on my official Make Nine doesn’t mean I didn’t make anything in the last few months!

So, what else did I make from September — December?

Other things that happened this quarter: I got a new job, I started teaching an online class, and I took my final online class for the post-Master’s Knowledge Management certificate I’ve been working on — so it’s safe to say this was a really busy semester for me, and my making-plans went a little sideways.

I also started having trouble with my wrist, so even though I started a Seven Wonders sweater in the most amazing Farmer’s Daughter Fibers tweed that I’m super pumped about, I had to put it aside for a while because it was too much stress on my wrist. I’m still not entirely sure I can pick it back up again regularly, but I think if I take it slow I’ll be okay. So, instead of knitting the last three or so months, I’ve been sewing more and starting another new hobby — cross stitch.

A circular embroidery hoop with a cross-stitch poinsettia pattern.

Junebug and Darlin makes amazing cross stitch kits, and I picked up three of them when she was up at Urban Craft Uprising in December. This poinsettia wreath was a perfect starter and an equally perfect gift for my mom, who loves poinsettias. I’m already working on my second — Be Bold.

A white woman wearing a very cozy quilted jacket.

This fabric is absolutely amazing, and even though it frayed like anything it was really fun to work with and I love how cozy my third Wiksten Haori is. This time I made the mid-length, and I lined it with a nice toffee colored tencel. I even have a bit left over that I think I can make a top out of!

A white woman wears a spruce-colored skirt with side pockets and a brown hand-knitted sweater.

This is the only picture of my Gypsum Skirt — I’ve been trying to find ‘good’ places to take outfit photos at work, and this spot usually has a reasonable amount of natural light, though you can see I still have some work to do on angles. I pushed this up my to-make list when I found this amazing spruce-colored silk noil. I’ve been layering it with leggings and sweaters (especially my hand-knit sweaters), and it’s been perfect for our Seattle winter so far. Plus, it has extra large pockets for yarn and snacks.

I’ve been thinking about my plans for 2020, and I’ll post about those soon.

My #2019MakeNine: Round 1

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The List

It’s September, which means that the year is more than half over, and I’m almost (but not quite) halfway through this list. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been making things — I have 10 knitting projects finished so far out of my challenge of 15, I made another Dress #2 (always), I went through a tank-top-making phase in the early summer, and I made Sew Liberated’s newly released Estuary Skirt out of this amazing clay-colored linen. My main goal with this project (as with many new things lately) was to be more intentional about the things I’m making - am I contributing to a cohesive and multipurpose wardrobe, or am I continuing to add a mishmash of things to my closet? (I think the answer so far this year is both, really.) So, you’ll notice that I made some updates to the list, but I think I’ve held true to the underlying goal for each make.

✓ Rose Cardigan
☐ Farrow Dress
✓ Palisade Pants
☐ Kelly Anorak
✓ Wiksten Haori
✓ Some Other Pants Estuary Skirt
☐ Teroldego Shawl Courage Shawl
☐ Lou Box Dress
☐ Some Sort of Blazer/Jacket

The Makes

I’ve blogged about the Rose Cardigan and my second Wiksten Haori before, so I’m going to skip those. The maker of the Palisade Pants is unfortunately problematic, so this is probably the last time I’ll talk about this pattern by name.

My new Estuary Skirt, on the other hand, is one of my new favorite makes, and I already have a second and third planned. I still have plans to make more pants, but as my #memademay adventure showed, I don’t have a lot of bottoms, so I think swapping this out on my official list doesn’t change the intent that much.

I’ve been waiting for this pattern ever since I saw one of Meg’s Instagram posts with her wearing one — and I knew exactly what I was going to use to make it. I bought this linen with the original goal of making a tank top and shorts fake-jumpsuit combo, but that all changed as soon as this skirt came around. I sewed this while visiting a friend in Santa Fe (where I also helped her make some pants!), and the color-material-pattern combo was perfect for a late-July sewing project.

A white woman wears a red skirt with pockets and a black t-shirt with a monster outline on it.

The Plans

My Courage Shawl is in progress, and I changed this one because the underlying goal here was to make something large that I could wrap around myself — which is definitely true of the Courage Shawl.

Farrow Dress: I’m still saving the perfect grey fabric for this, and during my insert-a-bust-dart adventure I figured out what was holding me back - it’s that this pattern doesn’t have bust darts, and in order for this to work as a sleeveless dress, I’d need to go an FBA. Now that I’m more comfortable with doing an FBA, I just have to actually alter the pattern to make this work.

Kelly Anorak: Still have the material, still don’t have the finishing kit, still planning on making it — eventually.

Lou Box Dress: This one has just been on the back burner for a while, but I know I’ll get around to it.

Blazer/Jacket: I think I’m leaning toward a Berlin Jacket with some as-yet-unpurchased boiled wool, but I’m also letting the hint of fall that I’m starting to feel lead me on this one.

My #2019MakeNine

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I’ve never participated in one of these before, though I’ve definitely made nine things in a year (last year I knit 15 projects, and that doesn’t count all the sewing!). But I like the idea of planning out a year and really considering what kinds of clothes and accessories I want to make. Turns out most of these have been on my list for a while anyway, and it feels nice to write down some actual plans, instead of playing by ear!

(If you’re not sure what the “Make Nine” challenge is you can check out the original post from a few years ago and the official instagram.)

Rose Cardigan

I’ve already made a start on this one — in a previous post I talked about being unable to resist a black heart fade kit from House of A La Mode. Not only am I in love with Heather’s colors and the way they fade together, the Rose Cardigan is also the most interestingly constructed garment I’ve ever knitted, so it’s been really fun to knit.

Farrow Dress

I’ve had this one in my plans for a while and still haven’t gotten around to making it, so I’m hoping that writing it on this list will actually get it done! I’ve already made one Farrow Dress and I love it. My plan for this one is to make a sleeveless version with this lovely grey wool-silk blend that I found in a bargain bin at the fabric store. It’s technically not wide enough for the pattern, so I’m hoping that I can play pattern-tetris successfully.

Palisade Pants

I bought some lovely yarn-dyed linen for this pattern, which is my baby-step in to sewing pants (gulp!)

Kelly Anorak

I’ve wanted to make one of these for a while, and bought some amazing twill from La Mercerie. My goal is actually to make two - this one is going to be charcoal and will have naturally dyed & pieced accent pockets, and the other will be something toffee colored with a lining. But before I tackle a lined coat, I’m going to make the unlined version out of the fabric I already have!

(Another) Wiksten Haori

The same day I bought that yarn-dyed linen, I also found a lovely chambray that I just couldn’t leave at the store. I don’t have the exact plans or a lining fabric yet, but I’m thinking a short version of the Wiksten Haori.

Some Other Pants

Assuming that my Palisade Pants are successful, I’d like to try and sew another pair of pants, as yet undetermined. Ginger Jeans? Not-yet-released Philippa Pants? Lander Pants? We’ll find out!

Teroldego Shawl

I actually started this shawl with some yarn that I dyed up, but stopped after a couple inches because I didn’t like the way the colors all went together. So, while this is still on my list it’s awaiting some more thought and color work before it turns into a real thing.

Lou Box Dress

I spied someone wearing this at my LYS and fell in love with it — I have no fabric ideas for it, but definitely want to make one.

Some Sort of Blazer/Jacket

There are so many good blazer/jacket ideas out there! I’m in love with the Berlin Jacket, the Sapporo Coat, the Tory Wrap Coat, and the Fulton Sweater Blazer. And I’m willing to bet that I find even more as the year goes on.