We've been to the lake. Not just any lake. The lake that makes me happy and calm and the very best version of myself. If we could figure out a way to live there I would be gone in a flash. Seriously. Even in the winter when it's -20, I'm a happy clam. Or I suppose I should be a happy fish stuck under some ice while those annoying folk up above dangle treats that I shouldn't eat right in front of me.
That's the boy and I getting back from some skiing on the lake - you can see the ice fishing huts over my right shoulder. It was only -10, so by the time we had been skiing awhile we were both overheated. Look at all that knitwear at work! That's my Turn-A-Square hat and my Birthday Cowl. And my Squirrelly mittens are in my pockets. Excellent. A lovely time was had by all, except for moments where my daughter was concerned, but that's par for the course.
So what did I do in the last couple of weeks? Where shall we start? How about before we left? When we are at the lake in the winter, there is usually a day or two where getting dressed seems highly inconvenient. A pajama day. We actually do these at home when things get too busy and everyone is going in different directions all the time. Nobody is allowed to get dressed. Usually I just hang out in flannel pants and a sweatshirt, but I wanted something a little more feminine this time. Something that would highlight the good parts and gloss over the not-so-good parts. Enter New Look 6572.
Project: Pajamas for the lake - and when we get back.
Pattern:New Look 6572
Fabric: Pinstriped Grey flannel for the tunic and pants and purple wicking knit for the camisole.
So this seemed to fit the bill. Three pieces that work for this kinda thing.
First there are the pants, which are really wide at the bottom. Really wide. And they are much more attractive on a body than they are in that picture. I am not nearly that wide, and neither are they. I changed the drawstring waist to a straight elastic one, since I tend to do up the drawstring, then never undo it anyway (have I mentioned that I have no ass, so that is actually possible?). Other than their wideness, they are standard elastic waist pants.
Then we move on to the tops. First, the camisole:
This is view b from the pattern. And it's pretty. I don't usually go in for pretty, but this is pretty. I didn't follow the directions, and got into my usual snafu. You are supposed to sew the bodice together, then sew the skirt together, then attach the two (the wrap is a mock wrap), using that seam allowance for a casing for the elastic. That's what I did for the grey shirt (which I actually made first). But I was listening to a good cd, and thinking about my girl (chaos in a ten-year-old) and before I knew it, I had put it together like it was an actual wrap top. Only a problem when you try to insert the elastic. I had already decided that I didn't want the elastic in the back seam, since it was hanging nicely over my asslessness. So I inserted elastic through the whole casing, tacked it at the beginning, cinched up what seemed like enough for the first wrap side, tacked it down at the side seam, left the elastic in the back un-cinched, then tacked the other side seam and cinched up the other front. Then, since I didn't want to be bothering with buttons or anything, I tacked the two sides of the wrap down. So I ended up with something that looked like the picture by going around the back and coming in the side door. Go figure. Here's the back.
Looking at this reminds me that I had to take 2" out of the back of both tops the whole way down. Apparently I didn't really care about lining up that seam where I couldn't see it.
Then we have the grey top:
Since this was to be the outside layer, I sewed the wrap shut so as not to have any non-g-rated moments while lounging. Other than that, I followed the directions that came with the pattern. And they worked. Go figure.
While we were at the lake, I started recovering the furniture that is there. My mom bought this wonderful rattan furniture when they built the house a few years ago, but the upholstery on the cushions was very dark. The whole room is brown. So there has been talk and debate for the last year or so about what to recover them with so the place will look less like a hotel - everything lovely but very neutral. The dithering was making me a little crazy, so before we left I went and bought a mountain of fabric in bright colours without asking anyone's opinion, thinking that it would be the perfect solution to everyone's problem. The decision would have been made and it would be done without any fighting or discontent. (let me add here that my parents both have really good taste but that they occupy opposite ends of the colour spectrum. My dad likes bright clear colours, and my mom likes soft neutrals a la Martha Stewart. And they both care about how the place looks, so the battles have been legendary.) Well, we got there and I covered one cushion with one of the fabrics that I was most confident about, and it looked like crap. The two others looked quite good, so I covered one chair in one, one chair in the other, then left the couch and the ottoman with a note on it, saying that a decision would be good. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures before we left. So you'll just have to trust me.
One of the nice things about the trip to the lake in the winter, is that it takes 8 hours and my husband drives. So I can finish things of a knitterly nature:
Project: Socks for the Girl
Yarn: I can't remember. I started these for myself during the Superbowl (need long bouts of stockinette during such a stressful time) but somewhere along the way they ended up being for Kyra. They are longer than I make for myself because she is a fan of the kneesock. So they got finished during the drive to the lake. Along with a hat, that got started and finished.
This is supposed to be an interim hat for the boy. I asked him a couple of weeks ago if he would like me to make him a hat and he responded by requesting the most complicated hat known to mankind. So this hat was supposed to keep his noggin warm in the meantime. But it's too small. Even though I had him try it on repeatedly and everytime he said it was good, perfect, etc. Three days later he admitted that yes, it was indeed too small. So another interim hat is in order. Either that or he just continues to wear the red toque that you saw at the top of the post. We'll see. I did some other knitting while I was there, but (surprise) no more finishing. I was looking around when we got back and realizing that I have an alarming number of projects that have been started this winter only to be abandoned when they require any attention. Apparently I should have started a blanket back in the fall that required gigantic swaths of garter stitch, since that seems to be all I am capable of. Ah well. Time to focus on one project at a time again for awhile and get some of these unfinished things off my plate.
Find some sun somewhere, cause spring is coming.