Hiya! Hope you’ve all had a lovely weekend. Chris and I went up to Vancouver for a couple of days to see what’s going on, and I think it might be love. It helped that it was a beautiful couple of days, but man, what a nice place! It reminded me a lot of Sydney – a modern city built around water that’s full of friendly people. We spent Saturday exploring Stanley Park and Gastown, then yesterday we went on a tasting tour of Granville Island Public Market. If you ever find yourself in Vancouver, get yourself on one of those tours. We emerged from it feeling stuffed to Christmas Day levels, but so satisfied. Vancouver: recommended.
I took my latest finished project with me in the hopes of getting some decent pictures, but while it was lovely and sunny outside, it was damn cold too, and this Alex shirt does not lend itself to colder climes. I made it out of this gorgeous sand-washed rayon which I waited ages for. I spotted it on the Hart’s Fabric website over the summer and knew that it had to be mine, but alas it had all gone. I was a little despondent because in my experience, a lot of fabric shops won’t restock once they’re out, but this time my luck was in. They got more a month or two later, and I swooped like a fabric-obsessed magpie.
It was worth the wait. This blush-pink stuff is BEAUTIFUL. It’s soft, it’s flowy and it’s everything I could want to bring my year of obsessive shirt-making to an end. It’s the perfect vehicle for an Alex shirt, lending itself brilliantly to the slouchy look. I began sewing it in November, and then… I left it until last weekend to finish. I got to the point where you have to hand stitch the collar closed and decided I’d leave it for the next day. That day never really came – I got busy with sewing a few things for our trip to Hawaii, and I discovered that knits weren’t so bad after all, and the shirt languished in a pile for a month or two. I know, I’m an awful person.
Anyway, once you stitch the collar closed the end is in sight with this project. It’s just the sleeves, hem and buttonholes left and then you’re done. So, I got on with it and sewed the last button on in front of the Super Bowl. Now, don’t get me wrong, some American sports can be exciting (Chris and I have been to the ice hockey a couple of times and had great fun), but I’m just not seeing it with American football. It was a good job I had something to do whilst it was on, cos I would have been bored to tears otherwise.
I don’t really have much to say about this one. It is my fourth version of the Alex (see here, here and here for previous attempts) and I think I’ve pretty much got it down pat now. I left off the pockets this time, but I did do buttonholes. I don’t usually bother since it’s so loose I can get it on over my head without any trouble, but I might want to use it as a layering piece in the summer and maybe tie it over a dress so I thought it was worth it this time. And for once, my machine behaved beautifully and I had a completely Zen buttonhole experience. Win!
It’s lovely to wear, too. It feels so soft against my skin and the loose fit means I will always be able to have a big dinner and not feel a thing. This fabric was worth holding out for, and I’m glad I’ve finally managed to make it into something that’ll see heavy rotation in my wardrobe.
Yay!