Sunday, May 31, 2015

Outfit Along 2015 Plans

I've decided to give the 2015 OAL a shot! If you're unfamiliar with the concept, you can read all about it here, but to sum it up, you basically have two months to sew a thing and knit another thing, and in the end, you have an outfit, and as a bonus, a chance to win a prize.

I already had the pattern in my stash, and have been really wanting to try out one of McCall's patterns with the sizing by bust cup built in, so I just had to convince myself that I should set aside my current knitting project and start Vianne (or at least, something that can be finished in the two month time period; my current project is Kate Davies' Foxglove, which is not going to happen in two months - especially when factoring in full time work, school, and life in general!) I'm not sold on Vianne as is, because from the front, it's a knock out, but then the back? I'm not especially in love with the look of the mesh, but more importantly, I don't like the sagging-in-back detail. I read on the OAL2015 Ravelry thread that she's considering publishing info on how to do away with the mesh, but I'm not sure how soon that will take place. . . If it's quite soon, that would sell me on Vianne, because again, from the front, it's gorgeous!

McCall's 6887, Andi Satterlund Vianne cardigan, Valley Yarns Longmeadow in 08 Coral, sailboat cotton popin, for OAL 2015

I've selected some navy poplin with a white sailboat print, and I'm currently thinking of combining views of the pattern so that I end up with the flared skirt, the non-cut-out bodice back, and the sleeve option. . . Well, that one is up in the air! I initially thought sleeveless, but then I rather like the cap sleeves of view D.

For the cardigan, I wanted to make something that was appropriate for warmer weather. I've had coral on the brain lately so I knew that was the color I wanted, and that I wanted to try working with cotton or linen. I also needed it to be the right weight of yarn, and to be affordable. The yarn I found that fit all my needs is Valley Yarns "Londmeadow," in color #08. And again, for the pattern, I'm considering Vianne, but it will depend on what I can do about altering the back. . . I'll also want to deviate from the pattern a bit more by shortening the sleeves, to keep with my plan for a warmer-weather cardigan. So here's what PhotoShop and I came up with:

Outfit Along 2015 plans, coral cardigan and sailboat poplin dress

This plan makes me really happy! I can definitely see this being an outfit I will get a ton of wear out of, especially since I have shoes this exact color already. And apparently, I accidentally matched my Kindle cover as well. . .

OAL 2015 accidental matching of coral kindle case to yarn

As I said, I have coral on the brain right now! ;)