The French Boardwalk Blouse - A Poisongrrls Knit

Oh, hey.

Here's another Poison Grrrls pattern by Amy Appel, the Boardwalk Blouse. When Amy asked me to test knit this one, I didn't hesitate. The crop! The stripes!

I knew right away this pattern needed the French Girl treatment, so I set out to knit it in red and white CoBaSi. I did not exactly get gauge, so while I followed the numbers for size large, it came out smaller than intended. A-ok by me, Ms. Negative Ease.

So this yarn... HiKoo CoBaSi is truly amazing. Light and drape-y, but also stretchy. It's dreamy, because I live in LA where it's hot, and we all need knits like this. Plus light summer sweaters are my jam, since I work in a cold office, but somehow still sweat a lot.

Maybe I went overboard with the styling...

But probably not! Because when is a beret "overboard"?! You know who loved berets? Prince. We should all strive to be a bit more like Prince.

Andi's Outfit-Along: My Plans

Another summer, another Outfit-Along with my girl, Andi. I like knit-alongs because they provide deadlines, and I'm a Virgo, so I need structure in order to let my neurosis fully  thrive. Andi has provided us with a double-whammy of deadlines: a time frame in which to both knit AND sew a piece, making a super cute outfit. 

This is only my second year participating (last year I inexplicably gained weight over the summer - not the ideal time to sew myself ANYthing), and I'm super excited to jump in. 

For my knit item, I will be ripping this bad girl:

That's my ill-fitting, never-worn Salal cardigan (pattern by Andi! This entire post is just my love letter to her). I knit this cardigan last fall with a Salal KAL, but had to rip out my first iteration and knit it a size smaller. It's still not working for me. Or the yarn is a bad match to the pattern. Either way, it's getting ripped and re-knit into a Julgran, another Andi pattern. 

Yes, I am knitting a Christmas sweater this summer.

For my sewn item, I'm drafting a circle skirt with pockets and sewing it up in that plaid fabric. 

So there we go: a Christmas in July outfit. 

Autumnal Project #2 - Halloween B5895

What's that you say? It's no longer Autumn? In fact, it's pretty much Summer Time!?

Fine, whatever, I suck at blogging. I, like so many of us, am completely, totally addicted to Instagram. I rely heavily on it to connect me to the online community of makers. But it's June, and that means I just finished Me Made May, an entire month dedicated to wearing one's home made clothes. This year, I dragged it all out - including this seasonally inappropriate shirt.

I finished this baby last October, and frantically wore the shit out of it for the month leading up to Halloween. Since then, it's been languishing in my closet, but I pulled it out for Me Made May, and here we are: older, wiser, redder-headed.

It's my third version of B5895, sewn in a quilting cotton from JoAnn's with no adjustments. Look, I'm not advocating sewing clothing out of quilting cotton, however: if you find an adorable novelty print that you just *have* to wear, buy two yards of it and sew up this pattern. 

I mean: LOOK at those kittens! They have pumpkin hats on!!

I got a few questions about B5895 on Insta, and I will say this: it's not a pattern for beginners. The way the collar goes into the shirt is very finicky, so you might want to start with something more straight-forward. 

I'm planning a fourth version of this top for summer-lovin', sewn out of a palm print with shorts to match. So stand by. I'll try to blog that before 2019.