xmas shirt

jenjoycedesign© Christmas shirt 2016 (2).JPGEvery  Christmas I make a shirt for Jeff.   I finished this one belatedly on new year’s day, then as soon as I finished sewing on the last button Jeff had to try it on, and then of course… he was so cozy in it … it was too dark to photo…. he wore it to work the next day,  and I never got to photograph it. Now it has been already washed, and being flannel it’s already lost its crisp allure and gotten a little fuzzy ….

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What is so funny is that every time I make one of these Christmas shirts I seem to mess something up badly, if not disastrously.  This year the buttonholes were okay, plackets and collar okay … but….  the plaid was so wavy as it was probably the last on the bolt and warp/weft apparently is terminally twisted, and so the plaid did not/could not/ would not stay square. Thus I did a horrible job of matching up in front (like if I make it match at side seams, the front is wonky). Whatever! Who cares! (except that I kind of do care).  A bit dissymmetric, but I will just let it be what it wants to be.

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Needless to say, since my sewing machine is already out, I may have to sew some other crazy  new-from-old shirts, so watch this space for some fun upcycling!

Tall stack o’ neck ganseys!

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I’ve been a knitting fool with these Fishermen Neck Ganseys… in two styles;  “St Andrews Harbour” and “Flamborough Cliffs”.  I’ve given an armload of them away for the holiday gifts, but seems there are still a sufficient number left to photograph, and show off some new ones, with the most recent addition to complete the colorway of   stone harbour at dawn …

 


The herringbone motif with moss panel or cables, including a simplified easy variation that knits up quick, and of which as of today I have a sample with this little silver darling….
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Also finished today, the simple variation of Flamborough Cliffs in some Malabrigo Rios…

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I am not sure if I am quite through knitting these, as they seem to be a hit with the men (and women) in our family, but with the new year approaching, it really is time for me to set my sights to a new knitterly horizon. I just am really very smitten with these neck ganseys, and so pleased to have this design as my 2016 finale.

Wishing you all a very happy new year!

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I mentioned in a previous post that  I have a new camera (thanks to Jeff), which means a bit of time will be spent to learn how to use it properly, and to catch up to the photographing mainstream.  I feel a great lack of confidence when it comes to technical things, unless the subject really interests me, then maybe there’s potential… 😉  I have never really learned to use (our last) camera’s settings, having been too impatient, having been always always satisfied with whatever happened with minimal fussing about …

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and finally, having dropped it,  (I seem to drop everything!) my recent months of photos were just getting worse.  I now am learning things like ‘depth of field’ which is a new thing to me.  So you might see some bits of non-knitting related things show up here over the course of my learning,  for undoubtedly it will eventually  blossom into the knitting, and hopefully transform the presentation of what I have been working on rather passionately for several years now.

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I am no presentation fanatic,  however although I never before paid enough attention to the modes, menus, knobs & dials on the previous camera,  I learned to photograph paying fastidious attention to natural light, and of putting a lot of importance on background. Come to think of it, that perhaps should be the prerequisite to good photos, but now that I can shorten depth of field, (make everything in the background rather fuzzy and unimportant) I will better be able to show clear small details, as in tutorial photos, which is very very nice.  I am a bit taken suddenly by this whole super duper focus aspect of photography.

But okay, this antique door knob is a really great practice object, but then when I get to looking at it closely ….

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I see motifs for a tam design, don’t you?

So maybe it is entirely knitting related after all.

Another Fishermens Neck Gansey

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Come now fishermen of olden days, lets share a splendid dream together!

Take me in your nets, out to the waves, oh to be unafraid of the elements, exploring harbors of every shore, while facing the bracing melody of the sea!

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Introducing St Andrews Harbour, second of the two fishermen neck gansey patterns…

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I have been working every minute I possibly can to have this project Fishermens Neck Ganseys ( two patterns in one download )  ready by Christmas, and I am happy to say that it is done & dusted!

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St Andrews Harbour is an intrinsic image of the fishing industry of Fife, and the name sake of this design inspired by the Scottish Fleet fisher ganseys of Fife Scotland. The herringbone central motif is the distinctive element this design, in all of the three charts to choose from;  moss stitch, or a variety of cables accompanying, as well as a simple & fast variation of each design.

About to take Emma out for a quick Christmas Eve stroll on the knitting trail , with  shockingly nothing on my needles presently to knit,  hurrying before it gets dark,  while contemplating the joy of the holidays, of being finished the big project of fishermen neck ganseys …

and of fishing in Fife …

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St Andrews Harbour, Fife, Scotland

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