Blouse, Buster, and Knitting

It's been a busy week. My tutoring job is picking up and I have several new students. With my wrists feeling better I've also be going for knit nights with my friend again. Of course now I work evenings so they have become knit mornings. I must come up with a cuter name then just "morning knitting"... any suggestions?

I've also been sewing a bunch of new stuff for the shop, which will hopefully be posted in a week or two. Somehow I managed to find a little bit of time to sew myself something too. This blouse has been on my "to-sew" list for ages. The fabric is a very light poly-cotton blend which doesn't wrinkle, making it the perfect blouse for to wear to work. I dressed it up a little for knit morning with a hat and skirt/vest combo.  

(I'm squinting since the sun was ridiculously bright!)

Outfit Details

Skirt, Blouse, and Earrings - All made by me!

Vest - Thrifted

Hat - Icings

Blouse close-up. The purple buttons I used are vintage. (I'm knitting a blanket square if anyone was wondering)

The 1940's Blouse Pattern

 Like my new pillow?

Yup, I now have a Buster Keaton pillow. Isn't it awesome? Want to know what's even cooler? I made it myself! I'm stupidly proud of this pillow but I love it so much. I used inkodye and a printed transparency of Buster. This was my "test project", and I have a bunch of other inkodye projects planned. I just adore the effect and it's really easy to do! 

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

That's All.

Knitting

My wrists are finally improving and I've been able to knit a little bit again. It seems my wrist problem is linked to my posture, so if I fix my posture knitting should be fine! I can't tell you how overjoyed I am. The thought of never knitting again was terribly depressing, and what would have become of my rather large yarn stash?! Anyways, I have started a new sweater project on circular needles (less stress on my wrists) and have been browsing knitting pattern books. 

One book I came across in my search was this book from 1908 put out by Columbia Yarns. There are a range of great patterns in this book. These are a couple of my favourites:

You can flip through the book below or use the menu bar below it to open it into a large view. 

I've never actually knitted a pattern from before 1920, but I may have to give one a try. I love knitting from vintage patterns. Any other knitters into vintage patterns? What is the oldest pattern you've worked from?

That's All.

Spinning

Another beautiful Sunday afternoon! I worked a lot of tutoring hours this week, so it was great to kick back this weekend and relax a bit. I spent most of the weekend doing some sewing for me and going out for a coffee in the afternoon. For my usual Sunday jaunt, I wore my go-to grey skirt and a light pink sweater. The sweater was bought a couple years ago at an antique shop. I've seen an almost identical sweater pattern from the 1940s, but I think this sweater was handknit much later. The yarn seems to suggest maybe 80's/90s? Hard to say, but either way it was a steal for $6. 

Speaking of yarn, guess what I've been doing lately? No, not knitting. I'm working on getting my poor wrists fixed, but knitting is still off-limits for a while. Instead I've been making yarn with the spinning wheel my dad made me for Christmas. I have it perfectly adjusted now and it works like a dream. 

Isn't she pretty?

I have some merino/silk blend I'm spinning at the moment. It is the most beautiful mix of blues, purples, and silver. If you want to see the wheel in action, I took a few second video of me demonstrating it. The lighting and sound are a bit off in the video I'm afraid. It's really not that loud in person. 

I do love my little spinning wheel. I can't wait to make something from my homespun yarn.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

That's All.