4 Comments Awakening from the Spring Slumber. Hopefully

SO... Massive apology to anyone who's been waiting patiently for my next post (since I do have a couple of pending projects up my sleeve – I remember them all, and I promise I'll get better at keeping you up to date!). And just a regular apology to those who simply ended up here in this blog and would like to read a bit more about me or what I do.

I'd be lying if I said I was busy that whole time, although I kinda wish I had a bit more going on in my life than I already do. Truth is, I just couldn't get myself to blog either having nothing to write about at hand or simply finding myself too busy with other random stuff I do. 

On the bright side, I've been making clothes ceaselessly since my last post, and now I actually have quite a few pieces to share with you. What I plan to do is to shoot a couple of OOTDs with the items I made within the next couple of weeks or so and maybe do a little mix-n'-matching to show their versatility. 

There is one tiny problem though... The spring just wouldn't come here! Namely, it's been snowing (!) here in Moscow for the last two days, the weather steadily keeping at the level of a miserable mush. Although it's not the typical weather for this season per se, it is still pretty discouraging from going outside, hence I did very little picture-taking. The only hope now is the weekend which promises to bring some sun and warmth around.

Meanwhile I'll be finishing off some of the pieces, planning and hopefully shooting some looks already, and the posts should start flowing some time at the end of this- beginning of next week :)

Until then, let's play a little guessing game, shall we? Here's a picture of a lovely viscose blend crepe cut in a candy shade of pink. It is now a finished piece of clothes, and I'd like you, my lovely readers, to guess what I have turned it into. 

Perfect colour and texture for spring... IF IT WOULD JUST COME ALREADY!

Now, let me know what you think I made of it in the comments ;)

E.V.

2 Comments Can't Quite Contain My Excitement, or Floral Vintage

I am excited, as it follows from the title of this post, and I would much like to share with you why. After about three weeks of hectic [at times] reading books on modelling clothes, trying to model some basic forms and then designing a dress I only ever saw as an illustration on Pinterest (this one) from scratch and without any substantial guidance, I finished The dress!

Close up of the front tie detail

The overall silhouette and the front tie detail I took from the image, as you can see, but the required measurements and proportions between different parts of the pattern I had to estimate, and I did improvise with the back of the dress, since you can't quite see it from the picture. The fabrics was a birthday gift from a friend, and it is a Japanese cotton with grey background and vintage flowers.

The dress features a boat neckline in the front and a moderate V-neck in the back, which turned out looking very elegant. The top of the dress is made as a crude probability distribution curve (I do hold a BSc and an MBA, after all!), with darts being transferred into soft pleats around it. The back has two regular darts that match those of the skirt. The front ties are sewn into the side seams, and serve more as a decoration rather than have any practical purpose.

Mirror selfie in the new dress is a must!

The back of the skirt is a regular pencil shape with a tall kick split, while the front has darts gathered at the waist, making it puffy in the hip area. To be perfectly honest, I expected the skirt to be a little bit slimmer, although it does look good and vintage'y as it is. The dress fastens at the back with a 50cm/20inch concealed zip.

The overall look for the night

What I am most proud of in this dress though are sleeve gussets – an essential element of vintage dress-making, particularly in the 50s. A one-piece gusset like the one here is a diamond-shaped piece of fabric that goes into the opening under the arm and allows extra arm movement in more fitted kimono sleeves. Ah, so pretty!

Here I'm showing you how the dress looks as part of a whole, with recently made coat and evening hair and make-up. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised that the dress was so comfortable to wear – and gussets do indeed allow proper arm movement while maintaining close fit. Although I would probably let some time pass before I attempt to model another dress for myself, it was too exhausting and time consuming!

Well, I do hope you guys like it, too. It took some time and dedication to make it, but all the hassle was well worth the result :)

See you soon!

E.V.

0 Comments Spring in Lilac | OOTD

This winter here in Moscow was dull. It wasn't the regular cold, but rather mildly negative temperatures mixed with March +3ºC throughout the whole three months of winter, more or less. This means there was snow, which then got stained with fumes and dust, which then melted halfway and turned into dirty mush, only to freeze again a couple of days later. Repeat.

All that left the winter city [and its urban outskirts] looking grey and impossibly miserable. So, when the air first began to smell like spring again and streets began to dry a couple of weeks ago, I knew it was time to bring some colour in! So I figured a cuddly oversize coat in a lovely shade would be perfect to get into the spring mood.

Another reason I needed, or rather wanted a coat is that ever since late October I wouldn't take down my favourite +Uniqlo dawn jackets. They are fabulously comfy and light and versatile, but they sure lack some style and glamour for those occasional fancy moods of mine.

I don't really know anymore which came first, the idea to make the coat or this pattern from Burda Style Classic edition 2013. But as soon as I laid eyes on the picture I knew it was EXACTLY what I wanted to have! And making it would be another pleasant challenge for my sewing skills. Not long after I was already in a store looking at a piece of coat wool in a beautiful shade of lilac, which again was love at the first sight.

Love how the colour matches my dark denims

It took me a few evenings to finish the coat, as I wanted it to turn out as neat as possible. Making it was easy, although handling so much fabric at once was a tiny bit tricky. And, me being me, I still managed to find something to be upset about when the coat was done. Not critical, but buttonhole positions offered by the original pattern turned out to be too far from the edge, which resulted in a fold between the top button and the next one down. Ah, well...

Colourful silk scarf my dad got me from Japan when I was 6 – it's like it was made for this coat 17 years ago!

The coat is of oversize silhouette and features a funnel neck, dropped shoulder and patch-on pockets. It is just the right amount of 'bulky' for my complexion, so it doesn't look like I picked up the wrong size or wandered into a plus-size department by accident. The lining is 100% viscose in tie jacquard ornament, which I got for a ridiculous price of under a £/metre (bin sale in the warehouse of an online store FTW!).

Now, to the Outfit Of The Day part :) Here I am wearing the coat with +Levi's® straight leg Bold Curve denims cuffed into peg leg (which is my favourite shape apart from slims and skinnies), and Poste Mistress heeled boots I bought from Office, London. I accessorised the coat with a square scarf made from hand-painted Japanese silk, and topped it all off with +ASOS cateye shades and massive green amber earrings. Although it can't be seen, inside I'm wearing a thin Primark sweater in beige.

Such a combination is perfect for casual outings like a journey to the textiles store and a simple city promenade. For a more sophisticated look I'd wear a pair of black trousers with a nice blouse, or something more feminine – a skirt or a dress. Possibilities are pretty much endless :)

'Busted' buying new fabrics :p

Anyway, here goes my first OOTD post, which I hope you enjoyed. I am planning to make more of those in the future, and spring/summer season should be the perfect opportunity to explore shooting locations and try different looks more freely.

For now, take care and enjoy the spring!

E.V.

0 Comments The Baby Blue that Turned Out to be Peppermint

Funny story about some yarn now. It's been living in the stash for as long as 6 years – my mum got it when she was buying some sock yarn to make me a pair of nice Christmassy green socks back in 2009, and unlike its green-colour colleague, it never got to any use until now. Those socks were the first time my mum knit anything in ages, and I suspect it was also the last time she ever did. 

Quite frankly, I was squeamish about the baby blue colour of the yarn to use it on anything. I mean, the colour itself is fine, it was just (1) the matter of matching it with the rest of my wardrobe, and (2) there was too little of it to make anything substantial – only two 50g skeins 135m each. 

Serial knitter that I have become, I felt sorry for those sad little skeins bearing their existence in a dark box inside a cabinet, so I made it my purpose (for about 30 minutes) to find a suitable project to use them on. Pinterest to the rescue, as usual.

A cute little pattern came along called Shawlini by Kathy Kelly. It is originally from Ravelry, but I did in fact find it on Pinterest in what to my opinion is the best execution for this particular pattern in candy pink colour. It is also a crochet pattern, and I figured it would be a nice and quick project to use up the long overdue yarn.

So, I geared up with a 5.5mm crochet hook, and was at it the next free evening. And oh wonders! The baby blue yarn began transforming into pastel, almost translucent peppermint as it turned into the shawlette. For some reason, the colour appeared different from what it looked like in a skein. But hell, that was definitely more like it!

Nearly all the yarn was used, as expected, leaving minor leftovers for some cute and quick crochet gifts. The shawlette, as it turns out, is a narrow but really wide triangular scarf. In my case it is 150cm/4'9" long and 25cm/10" at the widest part inclusive of the shell ornament.

The shape like that is particularly practical when it comes to covering overcoat collars, and it also kind of eliminates the problem of doing something with loose ends – they are thin enough to tie them together and hide under the wider middle section without having a massive bump on your chest.

As per usual, it was only after I was done with it and blocking that I realised I had done something wrong. I am not a very experience crocheter [yet], so instead of using both loops to make a new row I was using back loops, which resulted in textured vertical stripes all over the shawlette. Not that it looks bad or anything, just one of those things you learn once you got to do them wrong first.

Otherwise, the pattern was very easy to read, and making it only took me a couple of evenings including the shell border. The loose stitch here will allow some air through while pure wool will be keeping the neck quite warm – perfect for those spring winds.

I have to say, the colour transformation was pretty lucky. Peppermint should be a perfect match for a lilac light wool spring coat I am currently making for myself (to be shared here once it is finished, of course). Plus it can brighten up pretty much any neutral colour, which is just the kind of spring accessory you want in your collection :)

E.V.

2 Comments Aubergine Goodness

I am tireless when it comes to knitting, it seems. Just recently I finished this ridiculously lengthy project, and guess what? I started another one the very same evening! Crazy me, I know. But I suppose I simply got too used to making something with my hands in the evenings while watching TV with family. Kind of like a newly acquired habit.

So, there goes that. Anyway, you may or may not know that one of the biggest public holidays celebrated here in Russia is approaching rapidly – the 8th of March or International Women's day. This day girls and women of all ages are being shown their appreciation in the shape of flowers, gifts and other possible goodies by their families and friends.

It is also the first holiday of spring, and generally the weather would already have started getting nicer, warmer and greener. So everybody is getting kind of hyped around that time, the happy kind, naturally. Ah, the sweet anticipation! 

Since the weather is fairly unpredictable here during mid-season, despite the spring bloom, and simply knowing that my mother loves her warmers, I chose to make her one of those cuddly rectangular shawlettes/wraps to wear at home.

This lovely "lace capelet" pattern by Tanis Gray was featured in Vogue Knitting SS2010 issue. I set my eyes on this one about a year ago, when I was doing my random pattern browsing on the Internet, and instantly knew I would LOVE to make one of those (damn these manipulative bastards with their sleek and elegant professional photographs!) And now was the perfect occasion.

I took my mum yarn shopping some time back when I was still on my cardi project, to have the yarn all good and ready by the time I was done. She picked some soft 100% wool in a lovely saturated aubergine'y colour (nearly identical to Rowan's Kid Classic in colour 835 Royal). We got a total of four 100g skeins 250m each, and I ended up using up almost precisely three skeins. 

It was a relatively fast knit, I was done with it in about a week working evenings. Patterns are very simple and are well explained, making them practically foolproof. And knitting with 5mm needles was such a treat, too!

The middle lace part and the border are knit separately and and then joined together before blocking. Gathering the two pieces was a bit tricky, mostly because of counting stitches you have to raise, and I hate doing that. I then blocked the finished capelet by gently steam ironing it, going twice on the middle section since the lace motif was stubborn and bubbly. 

A slight confusion was that despite following the guidelines precisely, the finished piece was noticeably larger than stated measures especially in width. Although in my case it turned out even better to have it that way – moar knitted cuddliness! On top of that, made from pure wool the capelet is very warm yet soft. Needless to say, my mother loved it! 

So, here goes the gift I made for my mum. I gave it to her already, because she kind of saw the whole process of making it anyway. I know it is a couple of weeks early, but I was starting it in advance in case it'd take me a while to make. So will need to buy a box of chocolates on the actual day, I suppose :)

I hope you guys like it, too! Let me know what you think in the comments ;)

E.V.

0 Comments Old-School Toffee Cardi

Right, so at least one of my unexpectedly long-term projects has come to an end a few days ago. Namely, I finished that knitted toffee colour cardigan I wrote about some time back. The story goes, I had quite a bit of yarn left from the Wedding Gift project, and brave as I am I decided to have a go at making a cardigan out of ample leftovers. I figured a soft toffee colour of the yarn called for an old-school'ish cardi, preferably in textured knit. 

And I found a lovely Finnish pattern here, which fit the idea perfectly – it had 3/4 sleeves, crew neckline, button front and pretty lace/aran mix of a pattern. Even its colour was nearly exactly the same as the yarn I had. So, I got myself some fitting needles and started casting on straight away. 

That was more than three months ago. 

I did not spend that whole time knitting this cardigan, but rather I kept putting it on hold to make things like the Onerva shawl,  these fingerless mitts, and a couple of camel wool hats which I probably will be sharing here a bit later. Altogether that took up about a month or so.

The biggest bummer was my own stupid mistake. Remember when I said you shouldn't be afraid to unravel your knitting if you made one here? Well, about two days after that post was published, when I was blocking the body of the cardigan (which, mind it, is a massive single piece comprising of back and both fronts), I realised I knit the wrong size... Chest circumference was too small, so it wouldn't even meet on me. 

*Massive sigh* Loathing myself for not double-checking final measurements of the size I picked, there I sat – unravelling the whole thing until there was nothing left but two balls of curly and tired-looking yarn. 

To keep my sanity after undoing weeks worth of work, I decided to make sleeves first this time around. When I was making the body once again, this time in the correct size, some things I managed to improve. Which is a poor consolation for having to redo it, but still a nice thing. 

I followed the pattern exactly, although I did use slightly smaller needles to achieve the required gauge, 3.25mm instead of 3.5mm. The lace was a bit tricky at first, but once I got hold of it I could do it with my eyes closed. Figuratively, anyway. Also I used a crochet hook to cast off the neckline as well as to hem the cast-on edge, which made the latter look much neater.

Embellished collar: ASOS
Glass bangles: gift from India

You can imagine what a relief it was when it was finally finished and looking so good! The [correct] size fit me perfectly, although because of it being quite structured, the fitting is more like that of a jacket rather than a cardigan. It also turned out to be pretty heavy and warm, more than I imagined it would be, anyway. 

Here I am wearing it on top of a half-sleeve white blouse with peplum hem that peers out from beneath like a ruffle, and slim black pants (sorry you can't see it here). Surprisingly, the embellished collar complements the cardigan rather nicely, and kind of adds to the old-school feel of it.

3/4 length sleeves are undoubtedly my fav, as I might have mentioned here a few times. The knit work on this one for some reason gives me that vintage'y feel of 40's and 50's, but with a slight touch of countryside chic. So pretty and tender!

Because of its neutral colour, a cardigan like that would be perfect to mix and match with many other colours and styles. It can also be accessorised with skinny belts, collars and brooches to achieve different looks depending on the outfit. Can't wait to play around with it!

As usual, let me know what you think in the comments ;)

E.V.

2 Comments Bringing Photography Back into My Life

As you may have noticed, I added yet another tab to the navbar. This time it is photography, which is something I have been very fond of since I was about 15. I got my first and only DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex) camera, Pentax K200D, at the age of 17 during the first year of my stay in the UK.

Since then (and it has been a 'wow!' 6 years already) I have been using it on and off, and in the recent years I only ever used it whenever I went for a holiday. For the most of it I simply didn't have time to go around taking pictures, and when I did I was kind of being too self-conscious to just take it out and start shooting, unless it was during a holiday trip. Because, apparently, it makes a difference!

The final blow was my camera sticking in the AF (auto-focus) mode for as long as two years. 90% of the time I would use MF (manual focus), so without it taking pictures instantly became rather dull. But, a very big thanks to this lovely forum thread, I fixed my cam and am now ready to pick up photography again! 

Testing the heart-shaped bokeh technique

Actually, I even got brave enough to start thinking about participating in Taylor Wessing photography portrait prize competition hosted by London's National Portrait Gallery. I mean, I sure can try – even if I don't win, getting lucky enough for one of my photographs to be exhibited will be winning in itself.

I still have until end of July to submit the photographs, so hopefully I will come up with a concept soon enough to start shooting. Wish me luck!

Have you ever taken up adventurous endeavours like that? Let me know in the comments ;)

E.V.