More Fun With Knits

As a quick followup to yesterday’s post, let me just say that I have seen some pop psychology assessments that describe the current obsession with politics and social justice as a form of religious fervor. Many of those involved have eschewed organized religion or find it lacking in some way, so they fill that need for meaning and purpose with something else. While that’s a very simplified explanation, I think there is a grain of truth to it. I’ll just say that my feeling about any kind of evangelism—secular or otherwise—is the same: Practice whatever belief system you like, just don’t shove it down my throat. Extend to me the same courtesy. And just because I don’t share your same level of engagement or express it the same way, don’t assume that that means I don’t care.

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I had never heard of Liverpool knit, so I ordered a length of it. The Girl Charlee website defines it thusly:

A crepe or bullet textured stretch fabric for accessory and apparel garments constructed of two very lightweight fabrics fused together which gives it a lofty feel. Ample four-way stretch and a beautiful full-bodied drape, this medium weight stable knit fabric is ideal for dresses, jackets, skirts, pants, tops, and more.

The fabric I ordered is 100% polyester, richly textured, with narrow ribs that look like cables (how delightful!)

LiverpoolKnit.jpg

It has a fair bit of heft. I got enough to make a dress, and I think that’s what it is going to become. (It’s a darker red than the picture shows.)

I stopped in at Hobby Lobby yesterday while running errands and discovered a big bin of fabric on clearance. One of the bolts was a rayon/linen/spandex blend knit. The content is 91% rayon, 6% linen, and 3% spandex. That amount of linen is hardly enough to make a difference, but the fabric was only $5 a yard, so I bought a yard and a half to make a T-shirt. I am curious to see how it wears.

And then I found two one-yard chunks of knit fabric on the remnant rack at Joanns. I can get the body pieces out of one yard and the sleeve and neckband from the other piece, so I bought both remnants for a grand total of $8. Remnants are 50% off the current price of the fabric, so if the fabric is on sale, the remnant is 50% off the sale price.

One of my favorite Liz Claiborne knit tops—a knot-front top from several years ago, when they were still making things long enough to fit me—has a hole in it. The hole is such that I can’t easily repair it, so I am taking the top apart to use it as a pattern for a new version.

I’ll have plenty of new tops to wear soon, and as it looks like it may stay warm well into September, I am going to get a lot of use out of my me-made wardrobe.

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Another group of turkey mamas with babies in tow showed up behind the chicken coop yesterday. I can tell this is a different group because these are toddler babies. The other group has older babies. I tossed out a few handfuls of scratch grains for them. I’d rather they eat with the chickens than decimate my garden, although I wouldn’t mind if they ate a few zucchinis.