I wasn't sure when I started this jumper how it would end up looking. I thought that I only had 4 100g balls of Sean Sheep Big River, so decided to just knit until it ran out (nice and precisely planned out as usual!)...but, after finding another 2 balls in my stash (woohoo!), I think I finally have a plan :-D
There is enough yarn to make a cropped top similar to this. I really like the layered look, so I might find a thinner yarn to do an underneath top...kind of along the lines of this and this . I prefer the idea of having the under-top sewn in...that way I won't be constantly pulling on the cropped part to make sure it's staying in place :-)
...Soooo...that's the plan ;-D
The nice thing about making clothes for summer, is that they take hardly any fabric, and hardly any time to make :-)
The fabric for this singlet has been 'waiting' to be used for over 10 years! I only had a small amount of each (you know the bits?...too small to make much with, but too big to throw). The navy fabric was left over from when I made my girls some bike pants as part of their primary school uniform...the flowered fabric was from a pair of shorts for one of them, around the same time (and I think she had a hat to match in the same fabric). Again I used a Burda pattern book from the library...(love my library!)...this singlet is not as easy to wear as the last one I made (I need to fiddle with the front cross-over bit to get it to sit right), but other than that, it's really nice to have another summer top, and REALLY nice to finally use that fabric :-)
so?...what do you do on a weekend that is forcast to be 40'C (104'F).... so hot that the weather guys tell you to stay indoors if you can...so hot that the fire crews are on constant bush fire alert...so hot that you decide to cool off in the pool, until you find out that the water temperature is 31'c...so hot that it's too much effort to move let alone breathe...so hot that your car feels more like a microwave on full power..so hot that all outdoor sporting fixtures and events are cancelled?
...you stay indoors and start knitting a winter sweater in the thickest, hottest yarn in your stash!!...(the answer was pretty obvious really, wasn't it?!)
...hmmm,maybe I should think about getting some therapy ;-D
What could be better than reading a novel based around knitting? .... easy! ....a book based around knitting AND set in the beautiful city of Adelaide :-) (thanks to daughter #1 for such a well thought out chrissy pressie xx)
The book by Anne Bartlett is simply called Knitting .... (I was going to say that it was a 'good yarn', but hey, that's even too cheesy for me!!)
On the subject of Adelaide, I just wanted to say Hi to Tracy...another Adelaidian fibre blogger who introduced herself last week :-) ....that's 6 of us I know of now.... Tracy, Joan, Lindsay,Tazzie, Tigers, and of course, me! If there are any others out there, I'd love you to say Hi!... *gives a little wave*
...still in the theme of de-stashing, I found just enough white stretchy fabric to make myself a singlet top...it fits great, cost me nothing (from a bag of offcuts that a friend gave me a couple of years ago), and only took about an hour of my time to make :-D
I got the basic pattern from a Burda magazine (issue7/2006) that I borrowed from the library last week...I altered it a bit...*sigh...i just can't help myself!*... but I'm glad that I did because it now has a lined upper section (smart move, with it being white!), and slightly wider, 'bra strap friendly' straps ... yes, that right *drum roll*, it covers my straps without having to be manually adjusted every 2 seconds, like on my shop bought singlets :-D .....VERY happy with that!
...ok...so can you spot my deliberate mistake!?!
Yep, somehow, my inner flower shape seems to have grown an extra petal :-)
The picture on the pattern said 8, and my crochet hook said 9
...oh well, I guess that just means that mine is in full bloom (hey, maybe it's because it's summer here!?!)
I was asked by Kim (Carolinagirl), over on the Crafster forum, about how I got a wider neck on my top down raglan...I thought I would cross post my reply here, in case it can be of help to anyone else :-)
Hi Kim, I know what you mean about the usual necklines..all of the patterns and instructions I've seen, seem to be tight crew necks...For mine, I did a quick tension swatch..just a few rows to get the stitch gauge (I didn't bother with the row gauge). I then found an online (conventional bottom up) pattern (with a measurement schematic) that had the neck I wanted, and used the measurement given for the front and back necks, and the sleeve tops. I counted how many stitches I had per cm/inch on my test piece, and then multiplied that by the measurement on the schematic. The maths was really easy on mine, coz it worked out that I had 1 stitch for 1cm, hence a 24cm neck became 24 sts and a 13cm sleeve top became 13sts... :-) 
Wow I hope that all makes sense (it sounds right in my head!?!), and I hope it helps :-)
