Well, things have really ramped up here in Victoria since I last blogged.  Was that only two days ago?  Clare is at school today for the last day for who knows how long.  What a way to do year 12.  She’ll hand in some work, sit another assessment, then bring home all of her books and Stella’s.  We’ve kept Stella home, and Dan and I are working from home, if I can find the focus somewhere in me to work effectively today.  I tried to do some sewing over the weekend, a hoodie that was already cut out, and couldn’t even finish it.  I just couldn’t concentrate.  Weirdly though, crochet seems to be working for me!  Maybe because I can just sit in front of the tv, yarn over, hook in, pull yarn through, repeat.  Stella is playing lots of Minecraft, much to her joy.  At some stage we’ll need to find a new structure for our days, but today isn’t the day for that.  Today we’re just grieving all the losses and disappointments that are already behind us, and preparing for the many more that are ahead.  I know that sounds depressing, but we’ve never faced a situation like this one.  We’ll get through it and out the other side, but there’s lots of in between to go.

So, back to sewing. Good thing that I had a few unblogged projects! I cut out this Helen’s Closet Blackwood cardigan from the Super Cheap Fabrics ponte left over from my Lodo dress. I’ve now used up every scrap of the ponte.

This is size 14, in the B cup option. I shortened the sleeves a couple of inches before cutting out. Most construction is on the overlocker.

Those are lovely deep pockets. I really like the way that the top of the pockets is constructed, as a double fold that is overlocked to the bottom half of the pocket. Much nicer than just turning and hemming the top of the pocket. I still did some topstitching of the seam allowances to secure them and add a little detail.

The cardigan is a lovely fit. The sleeves are very slim, and the overall long lines of this cardigan option make it extremely easy to wear. The front isn’t designed to close.  The neckband sits nicely at the back against my neck – and that’s even without a forward shoulder and/or forward head alteration!

Once again, this is way more black than I would usually wear, but with coloured glasses frames and some lippy, along with the low key colour in the print, I think that it works.

I figure that this pattern will become part of my regular rotation, and I’d still like to make the shorter version. This is a time when I’m very grateful for my extensive fabric stash. I’m sure that my sewjo will return!  I am trying to work out what will be my favourite ‘working from home’ outfit for autumn/winter.