How I spent my summer (needle-wise)

Thanks to those who have asked what happened to me after my last blog!  Well, when the weather turned hot I turned to knitting and crocheting and limited my sewing to just making basic items to go with the crafted items.  It didn't seem like I was being very creative in the "sewing sense" but as I look back at my summer's products I feel like it was a fun wardrobe to have as I traveled extensively  (visiting fabric and yarn stores along the way).      

I've realized that it's a tremendous advantage to be able to sew just the right thing to "Make an outfit" with a hand-knitted top, rather than have to search for the right color and fit in rtw. Here are some of the summer's outfits:

This is a crocheted sweater (cotton rayon yarn) from the book "Free-from Crochet". It has convinced me that crochet can look stylish---it's not just about Granny Squares any more! The blouse and pants are just basic patterns but it was fun to look for just the right fabric with pink and yellow in it.

This is a knitted sweater in linen yarn by the designer Maggi Jackson. I really liked the rustic, arty look of it.

This is a knitted top made from hexagons that are attached as they are knitted. The designer got the ideas from some lacey doilies she saw.  It was probably the most difficult technically to make but just the thing for very hot days----thin cotton yarn.

Here's the shawl wrap I knitted as a hostess gift for my friend we visited in Colorado.  It's heavy wool but she was a good sport about modeling it on a hot day!

I'm busy now working on my fall knitted/sewn ensembles ---what fun it is to combine my love of  different types of needlework!  later, peg