It was cold, oh so freezing cold when we took these pictures. We left the kids in front of a movie and nipped out the front door of the little cottage we were staying in, to take photos in front of the house across the road. I loved the black and white backdrop but felt a little self conscious posing in front of someone looking out their kitchen window (in front of me) and had to leap out of the way every time a car zipped up the road. Needless to say, it was a quickie photo shoot…

But, I’m totally loving this Outfit! You can’t see them, but I wore black lacy tights and black leather ankle boots with it. Not quite bare legs, but it felt like it!

I enjoyed knitting Jane Richmond’s lovely cardigan along with the other “trulygrace” knitters. If you fancy joining in the Knit Along, there’s still time! It wraps up on April 15th – but you don’t have to be finished by then. Just get started, tag your project and give it a good shot…

Details about my cardigan can be found on my Ravelry project page. The generous gauge gives this cardy great drape and I love how it sits nicely, even unbuttoned.

My t-shirt and skirt seemed to take forever to get going. I’d dyed the fabric for the skirt and had everything ready to go but it took a weekend of sewing to actually get them done. I’m pretty pleased with both. Remember I twisted up my skirt to crinkle it? Isn’t it cool? It just lifts it from an ordinary flouncy skirt into something a little more fun. 

In the end, thanks to suggestions from BillJones on Ravelry, I hand-picked the neckband and sleeve cuffs of my t-shirt to match my hand-picked zipper on my skirt. The non-stitched fused hems just didn’t sit well with me and Bill agreed :) So, he told me about the “catch-stitch”, a criss-cross hand-stitch that wouldn’t break when stretched, and sent me a picture as a guide.  I also looked it up in my trusty “New Vogue Sewing Book” circa 1964 and there it was too. “Catch-Stitch: for finishing hems on non-frayable fabrics and for tacking facings. Work from left to right taking a tiny stitch in hem or facing, then in fabric as shown”. It wasn’t tricky, and anyway, I love hand-sewing. The result? A next to invisible hem of tiny stitches on the outside and a pretty crossed stitch inside. Thanks Bill!

I wondered today, what do I love more, cardigans or bags? In the end I decided bags, although it’s close. I especially love little handbags that swing over my shoulder. LOVE THEM. 

I’m having a hard job wrestling this cute bag off my girls. It was in action the minute the photos were taken and they’ve tried to “help” me by flinging it over their shoulders ever since…

The brick-coloured linen/cotton lining and brick zip work really well with the tangerine yarn. It still “pops” but the darker colour tones it down just a tad. Inside I’ve included a pocket for my phone, and if I was making it again, I think I’d pop another on the other side too. My strap is about half the length suggested in the pattern, and about twice as wide. I’ve also inserted a tube of lining fabric up into the handle and secured it at either end when I stitched the yarn handle shut. I’ve included all the details on my Ravelry project page.

Finally, my necklace. Oh goodness, what a wonderful world beading is! I’m quite hooked now. Rest assured, there will be more. My lovely local bead shop even runs classes!

So there you have it. Ta Da! Outfit 3! 

I’ve been doing a little sock knitting between finishing Outfit 3 and starting Outfit 4 … I’m one sock down but with such little bursts Mr Myrtle’s socks are going to take until Autumn to finish! In the meantime, it’s time to start Outfit 4. It’s going to be a little different … and I’ll tell you all about it soon.