knitting neels

A little later than intended but here we are. I have been thinking about my Autumn making for quite a few weeks.

First up is the tartan I got in Edinburgh. One of my initial impulses was to make a bottle green cardigan to go with it. I haven’t really worn green since school; it’s just not a colour I gravitate towards. But these two were meant to be together. I’m planning on the cover sweater from the current Knitscene. The pattern is only on the front so it keeps the sweater from being too visually heavy I think.

Aside from matching the tartan, I think it will go with a lot of other things I wear a lot, such as jeans, my black wool Clover pants (photos soon! I’m so happy with them!), my grey wool Ginger, the denim Proper Attire skirt… and so on.

Next is a charcoal herringbone wool I picked up on Saturday for a pleated skirt and a steely-coloured Jamieson & Smith shetland wool. The top I’m planning on is Biston from the new Brooklyn Tweed release. It’s the kind of cardigan or shrug that will go over pretty much anything.

I imagine this shrug will be something I reach for to go with the grey Ginger, my grey wool dress, the black wool Clover pants, and I imagine it would look pretty good over skinny jeans and boots.

I love the wool so much that I am debating getting more for a winter jacket. The last few winters, I have hunted for a well-fitted wool jacket and failed. Oh, they exist but not in my price range. And there’s the thing where if I did pay something like €300 for a jacket, would I be brave enough to wear it? A jacket in this wool is a significant investment of my money and time. It would cost me in the region of about €90 to make, including a silk lining. I am interested in a more long-term tailoring project and am willing to take every precaution to guarantee a successful outcome… should I go for it? What do you think?

So, over the last month or so, I have taken advantage of sales and bargain bins to accumulate some stash for autumn sewing. It looks like a monstrous pile but they’re all folded up so don’t judge!

From the bottom up:
– Almost invisible black cord. It was €6/m on sale in Hickey’s and because it was the end of the bolt, I got 3m for €15. Not sure how that works but it’s good enough for me. Destined for wide-legged pants (I’m thinking Juniper from Colette) and hopefully some sort of skirt from leftovers.
– More charcoal-black wool, the same I used to make my Clover pants from. These are for pants for my mum. Again, it was the end of the bolt so I got an extra 75cm for free.
– Olive cotton drill. At a ridiculously wide width, I paid something like €7 for about 1.25m and shall have another pair of wide-legged pants.
– Blue polycotton and white cotton poplin for blouses. These are deep stash resurrected since I have no plain blouses. This situation is currently in the process of being corrected.
– A smidge of green silk from Rubanesque. I want a posh, simple top with cap sleeves for playing/working/going out.
– .75m olive green cord, 150cm wide so enough for a skirt. Bargain bin at the Cloth Shop, something like €9. I’m thinking of maybe the Moss mini skirt but we’ll see.
– That’s actually a big white sheet that got mixed up in the laundry and then tidied away. Such is the extent of my tidying.
– On the very top is another Violet blouse in a navy polycotton with a white poplin collar.

You may notice an emphasis on plain! There are few white or solid-coloured blouses in the queue. Also, I realise I need some comfortable-yet-respectable clothes for being at home, hence the two pairs of wide-legged pants. I can’t wear tracksuit bottoms anymore, I hate them.

Lastly, here’s a quick shot of a navy wool/cashmere Ginger skirt I knocked together since the weekend.

It was €17 a metre, I bought two and with some cautious cutting got this skirt and another pair of Clover pants out of it. This is my third Ginger skirt so it didn’t take me very long at all. I hope to get proper photos of it soon; the drape of the fabric is just lovely.

Tomorrow’s Friday!