Sewing Away II

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Green Kaftan

with black laces 

 It was difficult to capture the entire kaftan on camera ; hence the folds, etc.

When I first stitched this kaftan & sewed on the store-bought lace along the sides, the neck looked quite barren & needed something. (as seen in the penultimate image).
Hence, tatted up a single-shuttle, rings-only edging that I like. It does not exactly go with the triangular peaks of the side lace, but I did not want to take away focus from the side laces. The final result didn’t turn out that bad.

I used size 20 Anchor Mercer Black thread for tatting.

I don’t have the exact source of this edging pattern (it is one from my old collection), but in an earlier post I called it “Dancing Clovers”.

Sewing

For this kaftan, I deliberately cut off some inches from the side of the fabric, in order to shorten the width. Despite a beautiful drape of entire width, the long ‘sleeves’ snag at door knobs !

Secondly, I sewed on the lace at the sides some distance from the fabric edge for 2 reasons :

The lace lost some of its appeal if nichéd along the very edge. The short green strip gave a much better appreciation of this beautiful lace.

And, the extra fabric was folded & seamed in After sewing on the lace, such that the sewing line of the latter was completely hidden within.

Another alteration I made was to inner stitching line. Instead of keeping it straight throughout, I gradually went in towards the waist & back out. Unexpectedly, this has created such a lovely shape, that even though a backing was added at the waist for string/belt (the parallel sewing lines are visible in pic above, shown by white arrow), it is No Longer required ! The kaftan drapes so well Without any gathering at the waist ! And since the neck is broad enough, it is easy to slip on.

Ending with a pic of how I sewed on the "Dancing Clovers" edging to the already-sewn neck line, using an embroidery hoop.

Motif #23 for 25 Motif Challenge

Crochet - I

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Crochet Memory Afghan

Pattern : Floral Fiesta Afghan by Maggie Weldon

Winters mean shifting to wool !

True to form, I have picked up my wool stash to make my 4^th afghan. Except that this time it is a crochet one, not knit.

The free pattern can be found here

It is a 3-round motif pattern, joining as you go. The 2nd round in each motif is white in the original pattern, but I decided to let my fancy choose a different colour for the 2nd round instead of only white.

A great stash-buster project !

I have used all kinds of wool yarn , all plys, (I am not too knowledgeable about yarns)

Wool yarn ranges from pure to worsted to chenille to a tiny bit of mohair ;

Yarn thickness ranges from 2 to 6-8 ply or more ;

Brands include both baby wool & normal wool from Vardhman, Wendy's, Jaypee's, and some odds & ends that I have forgotten.

With this range of yarn, it is turning out to be quite a Memory Quilt ! I have been able to use up bits of wool left over from projects completed down the years ... including some that have long since been discarded or gifted .

Pretty nostalgic.

I have used Crochet hook # 9 (3.50 mm)  because this could tackle all wool sizes. 

Each motif works out to 2.5" x 2.5" (sides) or approx. 3.25" x 3.25" ( diagonals )

I didn’t quite estimate how very useful my earlier post on winding threads, will come in handy :

• By winding yarn around the spectacle case, I was easily able to calculate the length of yarn required for each round :

Round 1 - 8 winds x 6.6" = 52.8" (1.34 m)

Round 2 - 6 winds x 6.6" = 39.6" (1 m)

Round 3 - 25 wraps x 6.6" = 165" (4.2 m)

• The Quick & Handy Yarn Stash Samplers (below) has done it’s job too! I simply choose & clip the pairs of colours required for the next 2 or 3 motifs … And since I wrote down the quantity of wool on each strip, it helps me decide which colour needs to be used more or used less. In fact, I found some short short lengths of leftover wool that can be used for Round 2 in a few motifs, & which are not included in the stash sampler below. So that probably takes the number of colours close to 35 !!! Still wish I had more colours/shades ;-P

Thoroughly enjoyable though a whole lot of ends need to be hidden ; hence the tapestry needle & scissors are a constant companion. I am hiding the ends after each round – better now than a mountain-load later !

Also, as the blanket gets larger, I might start a separate piece & join it to the first piece later. It is easier to handle smaller pieces, and also keeps the project from getting dirty. 

It is such fun to choose colours & placement. I wish I had even more shades & colours …. Love the warmth & coziness of colours during the grey winter days.

I am planning to crochet a black border in the end …. I think it would bring the whole thing together, especially since so many colours have been randomly used. Need to figure out some pattern/edging … Any ideas ?

Related Posts : How to wind yarn, & yarn stash samplers
Memory Afghan ( part 2 )

Books I Read - III

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Classic Aspirations

Classics are always such a pleasure to take up & read . There are times, however, when one wonders about the antecedents of certain characters, or more commonly, What happens to them after a few years. Here are some of my all-time favorites alongside their chronological "partners". 

(This is not a review, merely my thoughts/impressions) 

SET 1.

 Original : Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)

Need I say more ?! Few would not have enjoyed it, and I am certainly not among them.

I have enjoyed not just the book, but also several movies & TV series based on this classic. Always a winner.

Pastiche : Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James (2011)

Then along came PD James’ “Death Come to Pemberley”, which traces events a few years after Elizabeth & Mr. Darcy get married, with crime & murder thrown in.

Can’t say I was too impressed with this book. It had some mystery & a whodunit curiosity, but the 2 protagonists were shown to be very weak, helpless individuals, who just seemed to wait for events to unfold without any control or idea of how to cope with problems. After P&P, it was a let-down to say the least – not in the writing style, but in the characterization. Maybe the fault lies in my own idealization of characters?!

Disclaimer : I don’t remember reading any of PD James’ earlier novels, hence my opinion is no reflection on her greatness & popularity. It is tremendously commendable that she penned a novel at that late age !

SET 2.

  

Original : Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1847)

As a young girl, I quite romanticized this book & it’s characters & have enjoyed the movies & TV series based on this novel. Mr Rochester, however much he is criticized today by ‘feminists’, held a certain fascination for me. For some reason, the most poignant scene in one of the series (probably the 1973 BBC miniseries) was when the now-blind hero calls out in forlorn despair to Jane thrice. And a rags-to-riches ‘Cinderella’ story is always so inspiring, even if only fiction ;-)

Prequel : Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (1966)

A beautiful journey into The Caribbean & thoroughly enjoyed reading about the native as well as Creole culture. I also love the fact that the author traces the life of the mystery woman, Bertha – a lesser, obscure character in the original, rather than the protagonists. Although, like ‘Rebecca’, she was always present in the background. Yes, the ‘original’ hero is painted as a dark man, but the Jean’s use of multiple voices to narrate the story brings to light each character’s emotions & rationale.

Inspired (?!) : The Evil Genius by Wilkie Collins (1885)

Shortly after reading Jane Eyre this time, I took up this book. 

Imagine my utter surprise when the first few pages read Exactly like Jane Eyre !!! The story starts off with almost the same setting, similar characters, similar events ! Fortunately, later events take a slightly different turn & there are discussions on marriage, divorce, domesticity… It was interesting to read the views of those times in relation to the present. The ‘heroine’ seems to be constantly at the wrong end of destiny, naïve, & indecisive. Definitely not one of his best books, but nevertheless, a quick read for a lazy afternoon.

Would love to hear your thoughts & perspective ....

Happy Reading :-)