Mustang Daisy dress + Yarn Along

Linking with Ginny for Yarn Along!

First up: I finished the 1940s Twisted Rib Sweater!  (ravelry notes here)  I wore it to church a week ago, and meh.  I realized after I finished it that the color doesn't work well with my wardrobe, and I'm not in love with the yarn (Caron Simply Soft).  A friend at church really loved the sweater when I wore it, so I gave it to her (after washing, of course!)

I seem to have a hard time finding knitted projects that I want to wear when I'm finished.  I did finish that purple soft-shoulder cowl I was working on a few weeks ago, but I made a mistake at the shoulder increases and ended up with an extra steek, plus I wasn't happy with the finished length.  It was too long at the neck and too short below the shoulders.  I wore it a few days to see if it would grow on me but it just bugged me. I pulled it all out and am going to try again and see if I can get it right the second time round.  I do like the yarn I used (Swish Worsted from Knit Picks), so I guess that is something.

As for this sweater pattern, I do like the pattern--it knits quickly, the shaping is nice, the pattern is very stretchy and forgiving on the sizing, and fit pretty well.  I think for a future iteration, I would do full length sleeves, as the 3/4 length didn't really work for me, and I would skip the ribbing at the bottom (or possibly do the ribbing on slightly larger needles).  And choose a better yarn.  Probably something in Swish.  Right now I've cast on a sweater using the Oscillate pattern from Amy Herzog using some stashed Patons Superwash in a lovely Mallard blue color.  I've frogged it once already as I did something wrong with the cable panel after the first cabling, but hopefully it will go smoothly the second time.

So far so good (second go)

Onward!  I finished sewing this dress a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't have buttons or a belt buckle that went well with it, so I was waiting until I found something before I photographed it to show here.  

I happened across a belt and buckle set over the weekend and they arrived on Tuesday, so I sewed up the belt and put the buttons on while re-watching The Wind That Shakes The Barley.  After his most excellent performance in The Peaky Blinders, I find myself on a Cillian Murphy kick.  He's another very interesting actor to watch--subtle performance, a lot going on below the surface.  Plus: Irish. I think I'm sensing a theme here.  

Anyway.  This dress.  The pattern is my TNT Frankenpattern, and I made two changes to this iteration that changed the fit just slightly, but I'm very happy with it.  I made the waist seam 1/4" deeper, which brought the bodice up slightly (my other iterations sit a little below my natural waist; I'm very short-waisted so it looks okay, but I wanted to see if I could get it closer to my natural waist).  I also frenched the central seam on the skirt, which I think may have made the skirt fit a bit closer, but I think it works.  

The fabric is from Cotton + Steel's Mustang line and I love it!  Their fabric is lovely to work with.  It is kind of between lawn and quilting cotton and has a nice drape and hand.  I'm eagerly waiting for the Tokyo Train Ride line to come out in January so I can get the Navy Countryside pattern for another dress like this.

The buckle and buttons are from a 1930s card from the Miss American line. I dislike having buttons left over after a project, and my normal three button configuration would have left me with 3 orphans, so I decided to take a page from The Button Dress and do them at an angle on the sides.  I'm pretty pleased with the result, even if it doesn't show that much under a sweater.  

It was hard to get decent photos today--it is cloudy and cold, and my camera wasn't behaving well, so apologies for the overexposed shots.  I think the up close shots show the fabric well.

This is also one of those outfits that I feel like the boots make it for me.  I'm noticing that about a lot of my colder weather clothing--I feel "off" in something until I put on my boots, and then I'm happy with my outfit.  We are shoeless in the house to keep the dirt down, so I sometimes feel a bit off all day since I'm mostly at home.  You'll notice too that I'm not doing much with my hair these days.  I'm frustrated with it and just want it out of my way most days, so up it goes.  I'm going to my hair stylist on Wednesday to see what she suggests.

Strangely, the back bodice sits a little lower than the front, even though they were the same length when I attached them.  I guess that is a hollow back problem?  It's not very noticeable with the belt, I think.  Also: I'm pretty proud of my pattern placement on that belt!  

I used the daisies on the fabric to line up my buttons so they were perfectly even on both sides. I used white bias tape to bind the neckline, sleeves, and hem, and I'm pleased with the finish.  I can pretty much make one of these dresses in a morning now.  

As for reading, not much right now.  Just wandering through Dragonfly in Amber with Jamie and Claire once again while I wait for the second half of season one of Outlander to air.  I picked up a book at the church book sale on Sunday that I might crack during the Nativity Fast called The Ascetic Lives of Mothers.  Life feels fairly spare to me right now; I'm curious to see what the book has to say.

Details:

Mustang Daisy dress: Emery bodice+Simplicity 1797 pockets+ McCall's 4275 skirt

Butterscotch buttons and buckle card: etsy

Shawl collar cardigan: H&M via ThredUp last winter

Boots: Modcloth

Earrings: etsy

Go see Ginny for more Yarn Along!