you may have noticed that my twitter feed lately has been filled with the doom and gloom of apartment hunting in NYC. it’s probably the WORST time to be looking to move (what with all the recent college grads coming to make their way in the world) and i was feeling pretty low last week. it’s a long story which i can’t get into here, but the good news is that we’ve worked something out to let us stay here till october. looking for a new place in fall will be much easier especially with all of this advanced notice. i feel so relieved! i also think that i may have lost about 5 pounds with all the worrying. now i can get back to my regularly scheduled program.
i have two FO updates to clue you in on. first is a skirt that i finished two weeks ago.
madras skirt
i’ve had this madras print in my stash for almost 8 years now! i remember buying it when i first moved here and i was living with my grandparents in new jersey. now you remember my last skirt and the issues i had with it? here’s what i did differently.
- redrafted the pattern bringing in the waist an inch, the hem up two inches, and the rise the same both front and back. i also drafted another piece to make facings for the waist (sorry i don’t have pics of those. i will do better next time!)
- i used this tutorial (via green kitchen) to sew the whole thing together (minus the darts bit.)
- yes, i even did the glue stick zipper thing and it was awesome. worked like a charm.
- the only thing that i’ll do differently next time is to rip out some of the seam on the zipper before sewing because i could not move the zipper down to sew around it without doing that. ripping while in the midst of sewing is near impossible. i’ll do it before hand.
- i did end up using this technique to sew the hem and it also worked like a charm!
all in all, i love it! i’m going to do the exact same thing on my next skirt, whenever i get around to it.
so i’ll confess that there was a little bit of secret knitting going on which is why my updates were pretty sparse last month. i participated in the circle of friends blanket for our fellow spider, amanda.
amanda’s baby blanket
she really loves it and we were so happy to make it for her!
amanda loves the blanket!
katie has a funny picture of us weaving in the ends before the party. i think that i’m saying “no pictures please!”
progress on flair continues! it’s really my only active project right now and i’m almost done with sleeve #1. i should be done with this thing before we go on vacation june 7. can’t wait to get south and enjoy some beach and reading time!
claire
yay skirts! so cute, good luck with the apartment hunting. it is always something I think will be so fun, but the reality is so not. the right place always turns up though!
May 20, 2008 @ 10:05 PM
Seanna Lea
I love the skirt. That fabric works really well for it!
May 21, 2008 @ 7:12 AM
stacey
cute skirt! perfect for spring! good luck with the apartment hunting – at least you have a bit more time now!
May 21, 2008 @ 8:06 AM
brenda in toronto
lovely blanket – and kudos to you guys on the weaving-in-of-ends! seriously.
May 21, 2008 @ 11:24 AM
femiknitter
What a cute summer skirt. I love how there is such a steep learning curve with sewing–it can make it really encouraging. Vacation soon? Sounds great!
May 21, 2008 @ 9:11 PM
carrie m
oh, thank heavens you don’t have to move!
May 21, 2008 @ 11:26 PM
Elinor
Mkay, I’m definitely going to bookmark some of those links. I’m terrified of sewing for me. You give me courage! Your skirt looks great. Even better that you didn’t have to buy new fabric!
May 22, 2008 @ 12:16 AM
Veronique
Whew! Although, like I said before, you are a very organized and determined person, and if anyone can find an apartment in NYC, it’s you!
Cute skirt! I have fabric for quite a few skirts, I just have to follow your example and sit down and do it.
May 23, 2008 @ 11:27 AM
mamie
when i do decide to try a skirt i will be referring back here. very cute.
glad to hear the home woes have died down. i lived in the LES during my college years and out of curiosity i googled the area for apartments. our street has gone from a 2 bedroom being 975 (yeah, that was our rent back then) to 2250. yikes. that is twice our mortgage payment.
how is the nut? we haven’t heard from her in some time. has she gone to one nap yet?
May 23, 2008 @ 11:39 AM
schrodinger
So glad that the panic of trying to find an apartment at such a horrible time of year is over – now you get to focus on the good stuff.
May 24, 2008 @ 10:37 PM
Stephanie
Great summer skirt. I love how much more affordable it is to make one than buy one. And the blanket is adorable.
May 28, 2008 @ 1:45 PM
Jessica
Wow, what an adorable skirt! Am very impressed. You are making me want to sew!!!
May 30, 2008 @ 11:32 AM