DIY week recap

Whoops! I feel like I didn't provide a nicely fitted bookend or commencement to DIY week. Immediately the following day my fall semester began; now I'm up to my elbows in books that have horrible titles like The Program Evaluation Standards: a Guide for Evaluators and Evaluation Users, Utilization-focused Evaluation, and Process Evaluation for Public Health Interventions and Research. Aah!

Well, speaking of interventions and evaluations, I thought I would stop in here for a bit of sanity and a little evaluation of sorts.

How did your craft week end up?

I have two finished objects to share from DIY week.

First, I was really feeling a bit cheap because I never lined my blue suede skirt. (If you're wondering--what blue suede skirt. Please see here).

Materials used: An old, cotton, button down, cast off from S's closest. It feels nice and soft on the toosh. I hope it will end up being a good long-term choice.

Second, I picked up a sweater at a thrift store in Northern MN last summer thinking I could frog it for the yarn. Turns out it was produced row by row with separate strands of yarn--not really worth the time. Unfortunately I didn't take a before picture. The basic structure of the sweater looked something like this number.


Except, of course, it is orange, has long sleeves, and lace edging. The lower front of the sweater had a pattern that looked something like this.

Overall, the sweater was too long for me, the bust line was, um, too high and I wasn't interested in the lace pattern covering my stomach and then some. Anyway, it was on it's way out the door until DIY week inspired me to take another look. I thought about it for a while and realized. Aha! I can unravel the front bottom half of this sweater, take off several inches in the back and convert it into a cardigan. And, wallah!



The lace edging on the lower half of the sweater was originally attached along the hemline. As a final touch I sewed this edging on to keep with the pattern structure on top. If you notice there is a different texture on the bottom portion of the sweater because the yarn is recycled and I broke a knitting rule. Yikes, I tied the yarn strands together in knots. Yep, I know, send me to the dog house now. Frankly, I like the subtle differences in texture.


With leftover yarn to spare, I made an I-cord and branded my sweater with a wooden button from Charlottesville. It's nice to have the option to wear it open or closed.

The basic construction of the sweater was already done. With my simple conversion this turned into a perfect project for DIY week. The question remains, is it worthy of posting on ravelry since I didn't make all of it? What do you think?

ps Please note: I'm still wearing my six items underneath. Today is the last day. I'm excited to wear different clothes tomorrow.