Life on the Ranch

Just before the Dancer and I rescued a goat from getting his head stuck in the fence,

we found a baby snake on the lanai.

Vogue 8151, Leafy Knit Top

I love the feel of this knit. The pattern is a pretty straight foward knit top. I added length, as is typical. I took in sides for a little waist shaping, and did not like the high neckline at all. I had used the same fabric for the neck band and did not like it either. I cut the neckband off, lowered and narrowed the neck, then applied a solid black knit neckband. I cut the strip 1 3/4" wide, folded it length wise in half, stretched it very slightly, and serged it around the neck edge. I then top stitched so it would lay nicely and give it a nice finish. I used my coverstitch machine for all the hems. A simple pullover top that I will make again now that I have altered the pattern to fit. A TNT for sure.

Butterick 5562 Slinky with Draped Collar

This top ran huge on me. I made a medium, and took a lot out of the sides and moved the shoulders in. I also raised the underarm up a little, and took a little fullness out of the upper arm. I tapered the waist in for a little more shape. I got so frustrated with it that I had to put it aside for a while. It was driving me crazy. It is a slinky knit that my serger hated. I've never had so much trouble with skipped stitches.

To put the elastic in the side seams of the draped collar, I zigzagged over the elastic and pulled it up to the desired length. I did lengthen the top so that it came past the fullness of my hips. I really like the top now that it's done. I especially like it with my hair.

I would like to make it again, with a different fabric for the summer. If I do, I will definitely make the small.

Sidewalk Shawl

My version of the Sidewalk Shawl is a lovely, light, and airy shawl. Perfect for Southwest Florida.



This shawl took less than two weeks to make. I used ten balls of Brisa by Katia, 67% viscose and 33% acrylic. The color is a pretty tangerine. I used a size G crochet hook. The pattern can be found free at Ravelry.com or StitchNationYarn.com.

Coco Chanel the cat, Coco for short, likes it too. I hung it over the back of my couch where I was going to sit to put the fringe on. That was a mistake. I put it on the floor to take pictures, and she thought it was a lovely kitty bed.

I may make a long white gauze tiered skirt, pair it with a white camisole, and wear the shawl over it. In the meantime, it will be great with black or white, jeans or nicer.

Vogue 1197 Christmas top turned Valentine's Day

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I cut this top out before Christmas, and it was another piece from the clearance table at Joann Fabrics. This stable knit has a bit of a corduroy look. It cost about $4 total.

I meant to make it to wear over the Christmas Holiday, but ran out of time. It made a nice Valentine's Day top.

I really like the sleeves, which I lengthened to my elbow. I started with a size 12 to a 14 at the hips. I also lengthened the top by a couple of inches.

When looking at the pattern envelope, it seems that the cowl collar should lay so that the folded edge meets the seam where the collar is attached to the top. It doesn't. The instructions have you interface the cowl, but I decided not to as my knit is stable enough without needing the extra body. I'm so glad I did not include the interfacing. The cowl lays just fine without it. I serged the entire top, and used my coverstitch machine for the hems. Looking at the pictures, I look like I have football player shoulders, but I really like how it makes me look so slim from the waist down.

Vogue 8138, Long Slinky Jacket

It was a beautiful day here in Southwest Florida! I have a gorgeous oak tree in my front yard.

This pattern is already out of print. I bought it when it first came out for $3.99. I cut the fabric before Christmas and made it just after the new year.

Fabric: Red slinky from Joann Fabrics from the clearance table. Paid $2 / yard. I think I bought 2 1/2 yards. Total cost of the Jacket: $9.99 if I never use the patter again

I made no alterations except to narrow the sleeves below the elbow. I have very skinny wrists. The fabric is heavy and stretchy, so the weight makes it longer than in the photo on the pattern envelope. There are no shoulder seams so I can not stabilize. This means the shoulders want to slide, and I feel like I constantly want to pull the jacket back on right. I pleated the CB neck so that it would lay nicely. There was a lot of fabric and it wanted to slide down the back and kind of look like a horizontal fold between my shoulder blades. I did a double fold hem all around the edges. It was just much easier to do that than using my coverstitch machine.

I like the jacket and got compliments on it the only time I have worn it. The only dislike is that I can not do all the different styles and looks because of the weight and thickness of the fabric. If I tied the knot in front, even just a fold over, I would have a big bulge right in front, and that is not a good thing.

Love, Love my booties! Scarves knitted by my very talented mother.

McCall's 5248 PJ's, Baby Bedding, & Butterick 3846 for Little Girls

I have made 10 pairs of pajama pants since right before Christmas, 3 of them today, and the dancer (youngest daughter) made 3 pairs for herself. All but two are made with 100% cotton flannel from Joanns. Two are made of cotton quilting. I made three for the artist just before she left for Boston for New Years. These are super fast and super easy. We love them.

Below is the bedding I made for my nieces baby. It was finished in November. No patterns were used. I looked online for crib measurements, but the bumper was large and I had to redo. I also had to shorten the bed skirt. It was a fun project. I wanted to top stitch the quilt in orange, but restrained myself and stitched in blue.

Earlier in the summer I made Butterick 3846 for my nieces daughter. They were a little large, so hopefully she won't outgrow before summer 2011.