What to do? - part 2 -

Today I played some more with the problem jumper: joined the sides higher up, straightened the buttons in a vertical line from that point, added a belt and a scarf. This is what I do when I'm confused: add stuff, rather than follow the principle of less is more.

To what result? Well, I think this might work provided that the belt is finer and of a colour that actually matches the buttons. This one belongs to a chunkier jacket and that shows. The bow in the scarf could sit lower and be slightly smaller. It is rather a fluffy bow too, but then a scarf of a stiffer fabric would show through the knit...

As you see , I am still looking for ideas and exploring possibilities, and I haven't made my mind about what to do...
Let go, it doesn't fit - it's been suggested in the comments section of the last post. Maybe, if I decide there's nothing that can be done about it. It could well be the less painful option on the long run. 

On the other side, the obvious sadly eludes me sometimes, and I have a propensity towards sweating a lot at trying to make something work before I do give up. Which means waste of time and energy...but what can I do if I'm a mule!

However obstinate I may be, the shoulder/underarm area clearly needs work and perhaps of large enough scale...so a chat with mum is coming next, to see what the options really are.

What to do?

What you see is the - so far - result of a rather less successful knitting attempt in the series of projects I keep boring you with, made in the same mohair and silk blend as used in my last post. Going a long way, this yarn proved to be more than enough for the blouse you've seen previously and a jumper that I am yet to show. The one shown today was made from spare yarn, and there is still enough left for a skirt, all this from less than1 kg of yarn.

And now to the troubled bit: I wanted a cardigan along the lines of the one worn on top above, so a very simple knit I thought, so simple I didn't think necessary to be very specific when discussing it with mother. So much for not taking the trouble! I ended up with this (ignore the buttons for now, they are an afterthought):

To say that I don't like it is an understatement... It's looks too big everywhere, it falls all wrong, it's too bulky as it was knitted in 3 - mum wanted to make sure it wasn't too flimsy!!! And it is a lot worse when it it's fully open. Such a shame, as the knitting itself is nice and even with lovely yarn definition on the basic stitch employed. It feels lovely on and very light - but looks heavy and shapeless...arrgh!! I am wearing it here with a vest and long sleeve t-shirt underneath, but even over something more consistent, it still doesn't look right.

So I started fooling around with it and wrapping it more around me into the shape below. With the ad of a set of buttons I tried to create a feature where there was none, and went for the asymmetrical fastening so popular in the 30's. At first I wanted to use some butterscotch yellow buttons for a typical 30's contrast, but I only had 3 of those, so settled for the ones you see, and put on lots! Perhaps too many?...It's all for decorative purposes of course, as the actual fastening is hidden underneath.

examples of various asymmetrical closures

Then the thought occurred of rearranging my plentiful buttons so they go around the neck and perhaps ad a belt matching the bronze-grey of the buttons to help further shape this jumper in the way I crudely attempted to draw here.

Yet apart from these cosmetic issues there may be a need for proper intervention as the underarm area still looks bad regardless of how much the sides cross over...Perhaps a re-work and narrowing of the back? Unless I manage to sew - invisibly?!- the excess in all around the arms to make the shoulders fit better and pull up the sleeve too..

Let me know your thoughts and ideas.

Triangles and paprika

Here is the next one in the project pile, a blouse in paprika/rusty red and blue mohair. I have no idea what the original colour scheme was, I image something a lot tamer (pale yellow plus brown, or perhaps pale green plus dark green??), but I thought my choice was positively vintage, if  rather intense. 

It should suit an Autumn, but I must be careful with the blues. 

I long for blue, probably because I can't wear it much as most shades look disappointingly bad on me. Still, I thought I could risk an accent. In retrospect I am not 100% sure it was the right shade as the contrast seems particularly vivid, but I think it works overall. It kinda has to, now.

What about the comparison test? The original is crochet, but mothers talents and current eyesight don't go that far. Due to the texture of the mohair, my blouse looks bigger/heavier when in fact it is light as a feather. 

I would have like the blue triangles better defined and only stitched down on the one side, closer in that to the inspiration source, but for some reason mum decided to proceed otherwise.

They are not coming down either as much as in the 30's pic, this is partly to do with insufficient yarn (the blue being a remnant from another project) and partly with the fact that the waist line is really high on this blouse. I felt it was a bit too high to be correct as it sits right below the breasts, empire like, nearly mid way through the blouse. We usually encounter the opposite problem of not being able to place a waist high enough, but not this time :)

I wish I had taken pics without the belt for this to be more apparent - and to check if indeed it looks the way I see it in the mirror!. In any case, in order to correct what I believe to be a departure from the original style I used the belt - produced for a different item - and placed it slightly lower, at the base of the current waistline and where I think the waistline should be. It does the trick, but creates a bit more ruffle around.
The sleeves are slightly longer, and I had pulled them up to create puffiness around the upper arm, but they had slid down again by the time of taking the pics. All in all, it may not be perfect to a "t" but I am pleased. Hurray again to long distance knitting!

 Outfit:

30's inspired top, knitted in a blend of kid mohair and silk - 

the blue one is Debbie Bliss Angel in the shade 08 

(this was called anything from Denim to petrol, air force blue and soft navy !!!!)

70's wool pleat skirt, etsy;

70's rust suede shoes, bought at a vintage fair, because I love this shade 

and the style looks to me very 30's/40's.

Lollipop

Each year the same story: I find winter OK in December, try to be reasonable about it in January - after all it is only mid season -, somehow bear through February, and by March I am at the end of my tether. Simply can't take the cold and greyness any more. As much as I love spring, this isn't exactly it. So far we had 2 or 3 sunny days in March, and for the rest what I call "cement weather". 

Today started pretty much along those lines, but for some shy rays making a weak statement mid day, however the afternoon turned out positively sunny. So I pretended it was warm enough for short sleeve (it wasn't, my sore throat is the proof of that) and took some photos of the latest knit projects completed by mum. 

Here is one of them, in a lovely pink and cream Shetland wool. 

The idea of this project dates a while back, and but the time it was finished I had forgotten how the original pattern looked like. 

I notice now I didn't do my collar up like in the original image - I shall try that next time I wear the blouse, to see how it sits. 

I am pleased with this, it's a sweet little blouse, if anything I would have liked the waist band tighter - mine just hangs there, as opposed to really hugging the waist, but hey, I think I'll live with that. I believe it was a happy choice of colour too, and if anyone thinks I look like a lollipop, so be it. At least I said it first :)