I have a lot of things to take photos of – my pink jumper, a shawl I finished and blocked over a fortnight ago, socks…and a polka dot top and my kilt, shown below.

I’m happy to have indulged my kilt whim as I learned far more than I expected from it! The top I have looked forward to making and it was a fun, quick project. Looking forward to showing both.

I also sewed up a muslin for my Mum’s blouse. Sorry about the poor light, it’s been dismal weather.

I need her to fit it on before I cut out the actual fabric. I measured it and it should be in the money but best to be sure! And so that we’re all on the same page, THIS is the fabric (not the other one, Mum).

Nice, isn’t it? It’s a polycotton I got in Murphy Sheehy’s last summer but couldn’t find a pattern ‘perfect’ enough for it. I’m training myself out of that. Sometimes, you should just use it. Anyway, this works out in Mum’s favour! It’s definitely her colours.

The other thing I have to show you is this funny little thing I’ve been meaning to make since I got Bertha (my bike). I finally found clips in Hickey’s the last time I was there and made this up in about ten mins.

It’s a piece of elastic inside a cotton casing, attached to two clips…and it works like this…

It keeps my coat over my knees when I’m cycling, with still enough leeway to put my foot on the ground when necessary. In windy weather, my coat flaps open and when it’s raining, results in a very wet lower half. I’ve been using it constantly and it works perfectly. The clips were about €3.

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Down through the years, I’ve made a fair amount of small things for the house. For living, really. Napkins, tray cloths, kitchen cloths. They get used and abused and I love them.

I have knitting to show you. I have a new embroidery book that I want to share and I have endless ideas for summer sewing!

Enjoy your Friday!

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This hat has a little history. I knit the first one, in grey Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, for Alb. I’m not sure why – it’s a woman’s hat and we both agreed when it was finished that it was too girly for him to wear. So I’ve been wearing it whenever I haven’t been wearing the balaclava on the bike.

The pattern is called ‘Faye’ and I bought it as a Ravelry download. I really like it. It fits great and I love the short row shaping in the ribbing to give fit around the back of the head. It’s a bit dark so I thought I would whip up another for spring. It is still pretty cold here some days.

I used Cashmerino Aran again. It took just over a ball for the hat and then half a ball for the pompom. I made no modifications and will probably knit it again sometime!

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Whilst on holiday, I started reading a book that Alb was reading called The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. It’s about procrastination (particularly in creatives but it applies to everyone I think) and overcoming it. It is a little gimmicky and drawn out but the essence comes down to old truths. It didn’t teach me anything I didn’t already know but it is nice to know that my kind of procrastination is nothing new. Unfortunately, the book dwells a lot on defining one’s enemy (usually yourself) and not a lot on overcoming that. Thankfully, I wasn’t really reading it for that reason; more out of curiosity. I have quite the larder of experience when it comes to tricking myself into doing something.

Anyway, it provoked me to consider why I was feeling a bit worn out and not like I was accomplishing anything. Inevitably such thoughts lead to making a long, long list of all the tiny things I have been putting off – little pebbles adding up to very large stones in my pockets. Since our return, I have been busy. Setting up roaming on my phone, organising the many facets of opening an Etsy shop, ordering little bits and pieces I kept remembering but not tracking down, cleaning, purging, sorting – the spring clean we all need at least twice a year.

My little reward today was flowers. I do love flowers. I’m too much of a sometimes gardener to grow my own and anyway, I like being able to choose my fancy at the florist.

Pictured also are pattern pieces for a pair of pants. There is a ridiculous story to go with these so I’ll save it when I have something material to show. The photo below shows the skirt I’ve been working on.

I cut it out before we went away but didn’t get around to it. It came together very quickly even with obsessive line-matching. Only the lining to hem and then it’s done. And I’ve been using up my leftovers from the cotton doilies. Somehow cotton doesn’t seem quite right in my hands with the temperature outside hovering below 5C. I’ve been working far more on my pink sweater since getting back and have already completed the body and started a sleeve. It fits great.

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Things are busybusybusy here as we get into competition and concert season! Alb and I are also busy counting down to Easter because we have had a little getaway planned for a long time. Of course, with holidays comes sewing for holidays so here are my plans for the next few weeks.

The green print is a cotton with some stretch that I bought in Murphy Sheehy’s last spring. I bought enough for a dress but never had the guts to sew it up. Dear readers, its time has come. It’s going to be a Cambie Dress. Given my previous success with just the skirt part of this pattern, I think it’s time to sew up the whole thing. The solid green cotton was a long-searched-for match. It is peculiar how the texture of a fabric can affect colour matching. Anyway, it is for a bolero. I looked through all my patterns and many online before finally settling on one that I have had a long time but never made: the cropped blazer from Salme patterns.

The black hole on the top of the photo here is in fact navy stretch cotton for a pair of pants. I bought this Burda pattern after seeing a few peoples’ successes with it, it seems like a good match for the cotton. The print is a light voile for an Airelle blouse. I will probably omit the collar given my track record for making blouses with collars that do not fit over cardigans!

And that’s it. I think two outfits to bring with me and still get wear out of afterwards is a good, achievable aim.

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