FO: Boo Knits Halloween MKAL - Gothic Angel

It's been a while since I last shared a completed Boo knits project so it might seem like I'm very behind with this year's Boo Challenge, but I have been quietly knitting away and I now have 5 completed unblogged Boo projects.  Life has been fairly hectic recently, I've changed and increased my hours at work, we've all had typical winter sicknesses and I seem to be constantly at kid's birthday parties! I'm going to try and get through the backlog over the next couple of weeks though because I have made some beautiful things and I can't wait to show them off.

This year's Boo Halloween Mystery knitalong was called Gothic Angel and one of the suggested yarns was Dye For Yarn's Tussah Silk Lace.  Despite already having some in my stash I went to have a little look because I loooove their colours and ended up choosing a skein of the Dark Storm colourway.  This is a very inky blue/black, slightly variegated but not obviously so which gives it a lovely colour shift effect.

I paired it with Toho Metallic Nebula beads which turned out to be perfect.  I always find it hard to choose between contrasting beads which stand out from the yarn and complementary ones for a more subtle effect.  I like how these match perfectly but provide little twinkles of colour when they catch the light.

This was a fairly intense knit, with patterning on both the knit and the purl sides plus different charts for the centre section.  It was enjoyable though and I certainly felt like I'd achieved something  once I'd cast off.  The shawl is absolutely beautiful and well worth all of the work, I feel like my very special yarn was put to good use.  I still have a fair bit left, I haven't weighed it yet but I should at least be able to use the rest in a two colour shawl, perhaps with the leftovers from last year's halloween MKAL.

All in all I don't have too much to say about another lacy beaded shawl except that it is beautiful and I love it!  I'm particularly enamoured with the way the longer points in the centre sit when worn with the points at the front, it's very pleasing.

Pippi Pinafore: Autumn Winter edition

Since making my first Pippi pinafore (pattern by Jennifer Lauren Handmade) I'd been pretty obsessed with the idea of making a heavier one in corduroy or denim.  Upon having a rummage through my stash for some reason or another I spotted this black corduroy that I'd earmarked for trousers but decided would be perfect for Pippi.

...aaand now I see my strap is twisted

I don't have a lot to add about the construction of this, I lined all of the pieces with black poplin after I'd been very careful to check that both fabrics had the same amount of stretch.  I'd had terrible trouble with the waistband facing on my first version as the main fabric was far more stretchy than my lining but I had no issues this time around.

For this version I decided to go with dungaree clips to fasten the straps, last time I did button holes at the top of the bib to thread the straps through but it was a bit of a faff getting them the right size so I went with clips instead.  I didn't have any buttons the exact same colour as the clips I'd bought but it's not at all noticeable and I think they look super smart.  My only issue is that the clips rattle against the buttons as I walk so I have to remember my earphones on days I'm walking a long way because it gets annoying after a while!

Pocketsssssssss!

I've found that I wear this dress so much, usually at least once a week.  I have a few different tops to wear underneath, including a black and white Tilly and the Buttons Frankie T-shirt which I probably should have worn when I was taking these photos but I was in a mustard kind of mood so I didn't.  I'm definitely going to be making more of these and I have another couple of dungaree/pinafore patterns I want to make soon too because it turns out this is a style I really love.  It's great when you find something that's just...you.  Happy days!