Introducing: Westwood

Now that I completed my squealing with excitement over being physically published, I thought I'd share some of the details and design inspiration behind the Westwood Blouse.

I was initially attracted the Knitscene call for submission when I came across the "southern comfort" prompt. My brain started thinking of hanging moss and Gone with the Wind and I ended up looking at a bunch of photos of corset covers, which, along with a tank I had from Banana Republic,  served as the starting point for the design.

I was specifically drawn to the blousey shape and sometimes embellished necklines.  I ended up choosing this very simple openwork (two-sided lace) pattern and starting thinking about construction.

This top couldn't be easier to knit. It's knit in the round to the armholes and then split at the armhole to work the lace and then seamed at the shoulders into a boatneck. Even if you've never knit lace before, the stitch pattern  is an easy two-row/ four-stitch repeat that gives a lot of visual bang, for a small amount of complexity buck.

The swatches above where done in Quince & Co's Lark, but the final design was done in Kollage Yarns Riveting Sport, a recycled denim yarn. I'm always a bit wary about recycled yarn, but I found this to be lovely to work with. It's not splitty and very light.

I will note that the yarn is machine washable/dryable, but my gauge information was based on a swatch/sample that was hand washed and blocked flat, so if you have plans to machine wash/dry your final garment, do so with your swatch and adjust needle size as necessary.

The magazine is currently on newstands or is available as a digital download from the Interweave store. Eventually the pattern will be available as a stand-alone download in the Interweave store (presumably after the magazine is off shelves).

You can also queue it up on Ravelry.

Bow Blouse

Not this weekend, but the one before, I squeezed in some time to sew, and churned out this blouse, which I decided I also need to make in a swiss dot someday.

The pattern is the 1960's reproduction pattern Simplicity 2154, and I even bought a bunch of yardage of linen to make the rest of the suit (which strangely enough, about the same number of total pieces that this blouse).

I love the fabric, which is a sturdy cotton from Lotta Jansdotter's line that I picked up at Z Fabrics. My only two mods to the pattern were extremely minor: 1) I decreased the seam allowance along the hips, and 2) I did the "Mena Test" of Sew Weekly fame and omitted the side zipper.

The top is sleeveless, but it was way too cold/windy to bare arms on the day I took these photos, but they're finished off nicely with some bias binding.  The whole thing is pretty simple to sew and I can't get over how nicely the collar lies.  Yep, I definitely need at least one more of these!

Thoughts on being a Lenten Vegetarian

On Sunday I wrapped up my 40+ days of vegetarianism with some french toast and bacon, but I thought I ought to do a wrap up of sorts.

Over the course of this year's experiment I got a lot of questions about it from people, mostly the real vegetarians in my life, so while I don't really have any new photos for this post, I do have a Vegetarian Q&A.

Q: Did you miss meat?

A: Yes and no. No, in that I never at any point was craving meat, as in "man, I need a burger," but I did miss it when substitutions were less tasty to me. Like my attempt at making falafel was less successful than my ability to make chicken gyros, or when my substitution of veggie stock in risotto made for a very odd tasting meal. But in other cases, the vegetarian option was just as good or better (like restaurant-made falafel). I also missed meat when some restaurants had a limited/poor selection of vegetarian options (Ri-Ras, I'm looking at you!)

Q: Did you feel better/healthier?

A: I didn't feel better, or less sluggish or anything physically, but mentally I did feel that I was introducing better food choices into my world.

Q: What was the hardest part?

A: Cooking without a doubt. I'm not a great and/or particularly enthusiastic cook to begin with, so there's that. But mostly when I started this whole thing I didn't have a much of a vegetarian cooking repertoire. So there was a big shift in having to change the way I grocery shop, and find recipes, and trying out 2-3 new recipes a week, with mixed results.  Though I wouldn't say my repertoire is huge now (I had more failures than successes methinks), but I do have more options, as well as an ever expanding Pinterest board of recipes to try and an expanding feed-reader full of vegetarian cooking blogs, so I expect that to continue to grow. I did find that when all else fails, make a pizza.

Q: What was the best part?

A: Discovering new foods. I'm particularly a fan of quinoa now, which I'd never had before, and I forgot how much I like spinach. I like veggie-burgers. And I'm surprised at the number of recipes that called for parsley, which I had always thought of more as a garnish, but no more!  It also made me look beyond the same old some old at the grocery store and on menus. I could still expand my range of vegetables though.

Q: Would you consider staying a vegetarian/doing it again?

A: I don't think that I will permanently be a vegetarian, I like keeping my options open, and for me, it's about health more than any moral imperative. But I would like to continue to incorporate more vegetarian eating into my diet going forward.

Q: Any favorite recipes?

A: Yep! Here's a few I'm definitely be making again (or already have):

• Vegetarian chilaquiles
• Quinoa Tabbouleh
• Nutty Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa
• Barley Salad with Herbs

There's also a few improvisations, like the aforementioned pizzas and some veggie masala that was quite tasty.

There you have it!

The Postman Cometh

I had all these plans for writing a long post of reflection on my Lenten vegetarian experience, and then the mail came.

Look, it's the summer edition of Knitscene.

With a two page spread of my design!

My name in print!

This hasn't happened since I got a byline as an intern for an article on August Wilson's play cycle in the Jan/Feb 2007 edition of the Goodman Theatre's OnStage Magazine (So totally different).

And there it is again!

I was pretty much doing a little happy dance all night long!

Sunlight and Spring

The light in the evening is coming back in spades theses day, for which this California transplant is grateful. It makes me feel so much for active and productive in the evenings, which is great, because it's been a busy week and it's going to be a busy spring.

Because with all the bright happy sunniness of spring comes new responsibility - probably a day a late and a dollar short, but I've started thinking about all the stuff I need to do to get  vegetable garden in the ground this year, not to mention spring cleaning, repainting the peeling deck, and all that sewing I want to do as soon as it starts getting warmer.

But for today, I'm taking it easy (as much as that's possible on a work day) and not worrying about all the work that's to come.

Deep breaths, and one day at a time.

All photos of Barley Herb Salad from Martha Stewart Living. Which is totally delicious, especially if you add extra mustard.

Decisions, Decisions....

I've made my choice, but which would you choose?

[polldaddy poll=6065271]

Right Now

(to borrow from Soulemama) Right Now I'm...

• nearly a month into this Lent thing and trying out a new recipe or two a week;
• two buttons bands away from finishing up a new design sample;
• into running again, signed up for a 5k and everything;
• enjoying the increasing hours of daylight;
• loving the unseasonably warm March weather we're having; and
• obsessing over a new music find: darlingside

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x95JQFOcuTg]

What are you up to?

Checking In

Mr. Cleaver and I tried quinoa for the first time this morning, we used the Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa Recipe from Chef MD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine via 101 Cookbooks and it was definitely tasty and filling. I'm looking forward to trying quinoa in more savory and salad dishes too.

In other news, it looks like spring is finally making it's way to Maine!

Introducing: Kaeryn

I was pleasantly surprised when I was told that Quince & Co. would be releasing my newest design this week, as I didn't expect it to see the light of day until the fall knitting releases, so while this isn't the springiest sweater, it's without a doubt one my favorite designs.

I wanted Kaeryn to be one of those cozy weekend sweaters that you could just throw on, be comfy and still look good.  I wanted it to be something infinitely wearable and a go-to item. My knitting buddy Karen must have thought so, because ever since I pulled out the sketch for the first time, she was encouraging me to hurry up and finish it so she could knit one of her own.  And since Karen served as my design-approver throughout the process, I named it after her (though I changed the spelling to look more knitting-pattern-y)(though technically, I think the new spelling would be pronounced kay-ren, but I'm cool with however you want to pronounce it).

In many ways, this is a very basic raglan, a-line sweater, but I think I've added a few details that make it pretty special. Perhaps the most noticeable are the moss-stitch panel and its seamless kangaroo pocket.  I also like the clean lines of the turned hems at the collar and hem. I discovered the decrease bind-off while working on this sweater and it's perfect for keeping the hem sketchy.

Also of note are the moss-stitch cuffs, which are decreased into a soft point.

The sweater is knit in Quince & Co's worsted weight Lark yarn, in Frank's Plum.

When possible, I strive to write my patterns for a while range of sizes and this comes in a bunch: 30½ (32¾, 34¾, 36¾, 39, 41, 43¼, 45¼, 47¼, 49½, 51½, 53½, 55½, 57¾, 59¾)”

To purchase the pattern, visit the Quince & Co. website or you can queue it up on Ravelry.

Like I said, I love this sweater and totally want one in my own size, so I'm up for a knit-along nearer toward fall if anyone's interested!

[All photos with model © Carrie Bostick Hoge, courtesy of Quince & Co; all other photos by me]

School House Tunic #3

This is the last one of these for a while, as I've finally run through all the fabric I purchased to make School House Tunics, so I'll be moving onto other patterns in the near future, I promise!

For this take on the School House Tunic, I added 4 inches to the tunic-length to make it dress-length for me; added a series of three pintucks to each side of yoke; and made it short-sleeved, because I ran out of fabric.

The fabric itself is a cotton/linen blend in a color Bristol will want to steal from me, that I picked up at Z Fabrics.

I think this version will get a ton of wear in the warmer months, but for now I'm pairing it up with some tights, boots and a long-sleeved tee.