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.