The Summer Blues - On Snoods & Sewing Disasters

Hello my dear readers ... It's been a month, but I am still here, just severely lacking in motivation at the moment.  I tend to get a bit fed up and worn out at this time of year, and I think finishing my teaching course has left me even more tired.

I am well past owing completed snood photos, but fear not - I'm more than happy to oblige!  Here is my version of Hilary Hunt's Holy Cowl pattern (free on Ravelry!):

Apologies for the photo in a mirror - I really need a dedicated blog photographer!

I really enjoyed knitting this one - knitting in the round was less scary than I thought it would be and once I got the hang of the pattern it was pretty simple.  I've been wearing it loads, too - it's warm and comfy and the crazy colours kind of go with everything!  I'm super pleased with it, considering it's my second knitting project.

Remember that first knitting project?  Well that's finished, too, and my Gent has claimed it as his own, so it can't be too bad (or he's just too kind!).

Which is more than I can say for my attempts at this pattern:

It's such a pretty pattern and only a size too small ... so I thought I'd attempt to alter it to fit on Dolly ... how hard could it be?  Well it was a bit of an epic fail.  Thankfully I was just playing about with cheap calico, but it has still left me feeling a bit bummed and unmotivated.  Meh.

So I'm now trying a different tack - I got this book the other day:

Some of the designs are awesome, some are not so great, but the main pull for me was the chapter at the beginning that shows you how to draft your own basic blocks from your own measurements.  The rest of the book shows some pretty cool ways of adapting those patterns for different designs and I think will be a good companion to 'Make Your Own Dress Patterns' by Adele P. Margolis, which I already have, but is a little intimidating for my first foray into pattern drafting.  Little Green Dresses looks like a more gentle introduction and gives the instructions on how to draft that initial block that Margolis' book requires.  Score!

Anyway, I think I could use that block to draft a bodice in my size for that vintage Butterick pattern (such a pretty neckline!) ... I think ... We'll see!

And I might be getting ahead of myself, but I'm really loving this owl jumper pattern on Ravelry - I want!!  More realistically, I'd like to do The Newbie and the Knitter knitalong hosted by Kristen Makes, but I don't really have the money to buy that much yarn at the moment (boo!), so I'll have to read the posts and knit it up later.  Looks like it'll really help anyone learning to knit.

Anyway, hope all of you are well and that has given a little bit of an update.  

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