Breaking silence?

Couldn’t get into blogger yesterday.

Something like an update.
a good thing.  I got the all clear from the hospital that my eyes 👀 have healed fine from the cataract surgeries.
However ... I am still seeing double. Advice: see the optician.
Another good thing. Optician is very thorough with all sorts of tests.
Diagnosis: I can’t remember technical terms, but basically one eye is seeing lower than the other. “Look at the dot.” “There are two of them. One above the other.”
This was consistent throughout. So, she’s had them do some magical things like prisms and other things about astigmatisms.
In the meanwhile...
Seeing double. New glasses ready on the 18th February.

Thus why I have been avoiding the computer. It harder than the phone. But I haven’t worked out how to resize photos on the phone.

But I did help my friend to find buttons from my stash for the new cardigan she knitted!

One colour looked good on its own but not in multiples. The other colour was the same. And only a subtle difference. So we decided to alternate them! And you really can’t tell when looking at the whole cardigan with its lovely stripes. 😄

I am managing the bead project with plenty of lighting and even magnifying glasses. I expect because I’m not looking in one place for a long time. 

So, counting the days to the glasses! 🤓 and also sunglasses 🕶! But she did say it will take some time to get used to the prisms. So it will be a bit longer before I can drive.

Green t-shirt to cardigan

It is starting to get warmer - wonderful! Sometimes though it is still chilly around my house. I had this green long sleeve t-shirt. Green isn't the best colour for me unless it is broken up a bit by other colours.

So I thought it would make a good spring like cardy. So I cut up the centre front.

I added a flowery trim on both edges and then on the sleeve hems to pull it all together.

I didn't realise til I put it on that it works with this blouse!

Jumper/Cardigan refashion

I had this Jumper which didn't fit right. Taking inspiration from some of the refashions I have seen, I decided it would work better as a cardigan.

I marked down the middle rib with pins.

Pinned some dark blue eyelet ribbon into place on both sides of the front. Stitched it down.

Cut up the centre, turned the lace to the back - folding the ends in, and top stitched it down. Now it works like a facing, but one you don't mind showing now and then.

Yes! Result.

I have been wearing it all week.

Fleece Refashion

So, I had this black fleece with a hood. It was a pullover. The only reason I got it was because I had to have an MRI and needed something without metal on it. and as the appointment was at 7:00am, I knew I would need something warm.

Here is what it looked like on.
Flattering - not!

So, keeping in mind I may need another MRI at some point, I decided to make it so I could actually use it this winter, but keep metal off of it.

I had some lovely tartan blue/green/purple fleece, so I cut a strip from it. Then I cut the fleece open to make it more like a cardigan, I removed the edging from the neck and hood part...just cut it off. Then covered the edge with the tartan fleece. It had a kangaroo pocket, but I had chopped right through it, so putting the edge on, closed it up on both sides.

Then tried it on. Okay, long arms. But, it was mostly because the shoulder was too big. So I pinned where my shoulder was, took it off and added about 2cm more to that for shoulder length. Then I cut it up from the point where you would generally find the front notch, but through both layers. you can see that it has removed a wedge.

Then I cut the wedge off, and inserted a folded strip - like flat piping. Here is the strip pinned in,

and the result of it stitched into the shoulder.

I had a bit more strip left, so I put it on the edges of the pocket.

The arms were still slightly long, so I chopped off the hem that was there, and bound the edge with more of the the tartan fleece.

And here I am! Much happier. It is warm and the black doesn't make me look like death warmed up.

I cut a few scraps into squares and stitched them on the front for decoration.

Refashions

Sorry in advance - fuzzy mirror photos. No time for a photographer because I was going out. Tomorrow I will tell you about that!

Here is the dress turned blouse being worn. edit for a better photo!

Here is the Cardigan not so easy to see black, but it fits and feels nice.

And a detail of the button beads treatment on the lapels. (Thankfully not a mirror photo.) Subtle but interesting.

Refashion

One of the things I have wanted time for was to do a bit of refashioning. Actually I have a pile of things that aren't quite right. I have given several bags of things to charity that I know I won't be able to change or won't wear. But now I have a bit of time to do begin this pile.

The question was...where to start! So, finally I settled on this dress.

Which you may recall I made earlier in the year. Looks fine standing up. But when I sit down, I am very uncomfortable with how far above the knee it ends up. I got a brainstorm the other day. Rather than trying to think of a way to make it longer...just chop it off and wear it for a blouse.

Much better. I will try to get a photo wearing it tomorrow and will add it onto this post.

The rest of the day I was getting ideas for sorting out this cardigan I made from a remnant of t-shirt fabric. I originally copied a cardigan I already had.

Only there wasn't enough to do the sleeves on the lengthwise grain so I did them on the cross grain. I seldom work with knits and it wasn't till I tried to get it off and all the sleeve seams popped that I realised the stretch was not around the arm, but up and down. So, I used some old shoelaces to sew on the seam as stay tape. That was fine, but at the time, the sleeves still were quite too snug.

also I was trying to copy a refashion idea I saw where someone opened up a t-shirt into a cardigan and put lace on the edges. Their's worked...mine...well it was a bit too twee.

I dug it out of the cupboard thinking to chop it up and use it on something else. Well, in the meantime from making it, I have lost weight and the sleeves aren't snug! So, I have unpicked the lace and have been auditioning ideas for what to do instead. I still feel it needs a bit of something. I think I have found the answer, but as I had a meeting tonight, I will need to stitch it tomorrow and show then.

Do you ever revisit garments you have made? something isn't quite right and eventually you think of a way to go in and do something so you are more likely to wear it?