Last weekend was an epic fail. Sometimes things just don't go your way with knitting and sewing and baking. I'm usually pretty good at planning my projects and having successes. But every so often I get hit with a whammy or two... or four...
First up, a few weeks ago I bought some 100% genuine Ewok fur.
Um. yeah. I had been looking for sweater knits, but this is undeniably better, don't you think? It's faux fur with vinyl/rainwear spots.
Unlike she who enabled me into buying this fabric, I decided that for such an over the top fabric, I needed a simple pattern. Enter Burda 12-2010-101
I was seduce by how simple this pattern is to sew: just a front, a back and sleeves. But, oh my, how (1) boxy on my figure and (2) not so easy to fit! Seams and darts - these are a curvy gal's friends. How did I forget that straight lines are not for me? Sigh.
I graded out at the hips and now they are puffy. Oy.
And I decided I didn't really like the drop shoulders on me; they just looked sloppy. But taking them in led to all kinds of problems...
Binding and pulling. Just not good.
Could I redraft the entire armscye, back and sleeve? Well, yes. But overall, this is how I ultimately feel about this pattern on me/my figure:
Yeah. This gets a rousing meh from me. On someone who is a little more proportional, I think this could be chic. But on me, I think it just isn't going to work without significant alteration, which sort of defeats the point of this being an easy pattern.
Thank goodness I muslined!
Next, I cast on a new knitting project as a palette cleanser.
This is Habu textiles Kibiso silk (L) and silk stainless steel (R) yarns.The kibiso is made from waste silk and the stainless is, well, like silk with a memory wire core. Both very cool.
I was going to knit the Amime top by Kirsten Johnson. You hold the two strands together and knit on a large needle to create the open work.
Anyway, I cast on a bunch of stitches and knitted a few rows for a gauge swatch. It felt like I was knitting with barbed wire. The kibiso is so stiff that all my stitches were uneven. There was no way I was going to get gauge and it was massively unpleasant to knit even just a few rows. I can't imagine wearing it. I lasted three rows and then frogged the swatch.
SO, the next day I went to my LYS to see if I could find a different yarn to pair with the Habu Silk Stainless. A yarn bender ensued.
I bought that big ball of red Malabrigo Rasta yarn to make into an instant gratification palette cleansing scarf. It knit up incredibly quickly into the Uroboro cowl by Stephen West. Doesn't this look chic?
Yeah. I thought so too, despite Ravelry reviews to the contrary. It looks kinda cool when not being worn, but...
Even when I hold it like the model, it is only so-so...
And when I don't...
Yeah. Why did I think I could make this work?
Hubris, my friends. Hubris.
Anyway, if you think that's as much fail as any one person could pack into one weekend, you'd be wrong. My last fail of the weekend was in the kitchen. While all this sewing and knitting was happening, bread dough was rising. I decided it was time to get on board with no-knead breads.
And look at how utterly awesome my bread turned out! Until you cut it open...
It's supposed to have big airy holes through the whole thing, like this. Unfortunately, mine only has holes at the top and is very very dense throughout the rest. I have no idea if this means that the dough was too moist or too dry. I suspect that it was too dry. (Phin thinks too wet.) It tasted ok, but Phin has started flipping through recipes for bread pudding and mumbling about the large supply of breadcrumbs.
I'm seriously the only person who has not made this recipe work on the first try.It's billed as being so easy a six-year-old could bake it.
So, there it is. My epic weekend of fail. Fear not; I am undaunted. I look at this as all my fails in one tidy little blow. And now I can move on to some successes this weekend. Cross your fingers for me.
First up, a few weeks ago I bought some 100% genuine Ewok fur.
 |
| The poor muppets that had to die for my fur! |
Um. yeah. I had been looking for sweater knits, but this is undeniably better, don't you think? It's faux fur with vinyl/rainwear spots.
Unlike she who enabled me into buying this fabric, I decided that for such an over the top fabric, I needed a simple pattern. Enter Burda 12-2010-101
I was seduce by how simple this pattern is to sew: just a front, a back and sleeves. But, oh my, how (1) boxy on my figure and (2) not so easy to fit! Seams and darts - these are a curvy gal's friends. How did I forget that straight lines are not for me? Sigh.
 |
| Drag lines say we need an FBA |
I graded out at the hips and now they are puffy. Oy.
 |
| Shoulder point in wrong place |
And I decided I didn't really like the drop shoulders on me; they just looked sloppy. But taking them in led to all kinds of problems...
 |
| Ouch - really really binding. |
Binding and pulling. Just not good.
Could I redraft the entire armscye, back and sleeve? Well, yes. But overall, this is how I ultimately feel about this pattern on me/my figure:
 |
| Frankenface. |
Yeah. This gets a rousing meh from me. On someone who is a little more proportional, I think this could be chic. But on me, I think it just isn't going to work without significant alteration, which sort of defeats the point of this being an easy pattern.
Thank goodness I muslined!
Next, I cast on a new knitting project as a palette cleanser.
This is Habu textiles Kibiso silk (L) and silk stainless steel (R) yarns.The kibiso is made from waste silk and the stainless is, well, like silk with a memory wire core. Both very cool.
 |
| Habu Kibiso Silk and Silk Stainless Steel |
I was going to knit the Amime top by Kirsten Johnson. You hold the two strands together and knit on a large needle to create the open work.
 |
| Amime |
Anyway, I cast on a bunch of stitches and knitted a few rows for a gauge swatch. It felt like I was knitting with barbed wire. The kibiso is so stiff that all my stitches were uneven. There was no way I was going to get gauge and it was massively unpleasant to knit even just a few rows. I can't imagine wearing it. I lasted three rows and then frogged the swatch.
SO, the next day I went to my LYS to see if I could find a different yarn to pair with the Habu Silk Stainless. A yarn bender ensued.
 |
| All for me!!! |
I bought that big ball of red Malabrigo Rasta yarn to make into an instant gratification palette cleansing scarf. It knit up incredibly quickly into the Uroboro cowl by Stephen West. Doesn't this look chic?
Yeah. I thought so too, despite Ravelry reviews to the contrary. It looks kinda cool when not being worn, but...
Even when I hold it like the model, it is only so-so...
And when I don't...
Yeah. Why did I think I could make this work?
Hubris, my friends. Hubris.
Anyway, if you think that's as much fail as any one person could pack into one weekend, you'd be wrong. My last fail of the weekend was in the kitchen. While all this sewing and knitting was happening, bread dough was rising. I decided it was time to get on board with no-knead breads.
And look at how utterly awesome my bread turned out! Until you cut it open...
It's supposed to have big airy holes through the whole thing, like this. Unfortunately, mine only has holes at the top and is very very dense throughout the rest. I have no idea if this means that the dough was too moist or too dry. I suspect that it was too dry. (Phin thinks too wet.) It tasted ok, but Phin has started flipping through recipes for bread pudding and mumbling about the large supply of breadcrumbs.
I'm seriously the only person who has not made this recipe work on the first try.It's billed as being so easy a six-year-old could bake it.
So, there it is. My epic weekend of fail. Fear not; I am undaunted. I look at this as all my fails in one tidy little blow. And now I can move on to some successes this weekend. Cross your fingers for me.
