Over month between blog posts.  That was unintended.  Most of us go silent when life is full-on – either in good ways or in bad ways.  The last couple of months have been particularly intense for me, both with good things and with others that have been and will continue to be extremely challenging.  That is what life is, I think.  It’s full of ups and downs, and they can all coincide.  The older I get – and YES! I turned fifty a couple of weeks ago! – the more that I realise that life is complicated, it’s often very difficult, and it has moments of joy and delight.  Overall I am very fortunate, I know that.  It’s so important to make sure that those people that are important to you know that they are important, and why.  And while planning for the future, don’t forget to make the most of now. Because really, now is what we have.

I sewed this up a couple of months ago – yes, I am that far behind with blogging. Oh for the days when I would sew something and get it photographed and blogged pretty much immediately! The pattern is the Love Notions Canyon Cardigan.  From the website: The Canyon Cardigan is a great, transitional piece for your wardrobe. Three views are included; the skirt portion of the cardigan can be changed while the bodice stays the same. This cardigan is a more fitted style perfect for light layering with subtle shaping at the waist and center back. The three views included: a-line, gathered, and waterfall. All three are meant for stretch fabrics. Three sleeve lengths are included as well: vest, 3/4, and long. Also included are optional pockets and elbow patches.

I have a couple of cardigan patterns that I really love and have sewn multiple times – the Style Arc Simone and Style Arc Coral – but every now and then it’s nice to add something slightly different to the mix.  I chose to sew the long sleeved cardigan with the A-line body.  I left out the pockets.

The fabric came from Super Cheap Fabrics. It’s a knit, with textured self-stripes. Looked at close up it appears to be two layers, with the top layer folded into the self-stripes of different widths that are held in place by the lower layer. I’d love to see the machines in operation constructing this! It’s quite spongy and thick, and is probably highly polyester in fibre content.

I sewed size Large, which was definitely a size too big for me. I’m still figuring out what sizes work best on my fatter-than-it-used-to-be shape. One of the things that I love about Love Notions patterns is that they show many, many sample garments on all sorts of shapes and sizes. It’s helpful to see how they fit and drape on different people. I need to choose the size of my tops mostly on upper bust and shoulder width, and make sure that they are styles that will accommodate my mid-section (or grade them up through the stomach). The shoulder width on the Large is much wider than I need.  I recently has a three dimensional body scan done, and will share my learnings from that with you later in a future blog post. It’s really helpful to properly look at yourself when you’re a sewer!

There aren’t many pieces to this cardigan, and I doubt that I paid much attention to the instructions. Construction was primarily on the overlocker, with the sewing machine used for the twin-needled hems.  I did need to shorten the sleeves quite a bit – and my arms aren’t especially short – but otherwise I didn’t make any changes. I think that it’s a nice style with a few interesting options, and well worth adding to my pattern arsenal, although I’d sew a smaller size in the future.