sort of, kind of but not really

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Last fall I picked up a very large stack of wool at the church fair.  I had thoughts of wool jumpers and tights with boots.  Lots of them.  I wanted a closet full of jumpers.  Plaids, black, brown and grey.  I would wear them everyday.  Don't exactly know where I was going, but by golly, I would be in my jumper.
Fast forward to Monday, March 10th.  No jumpers hanging in my closet.  Nope, not a single one.  And then I saw this.  (And this is where the internet makes me crazy).  I stopped everything I was doing, (I guess I was probably reading blogs and doing laundry, maybe a little knitting) grabbed my pattern, the wool, pins and scissors, and became a person with a mission.
I actually wore it to work today.  Probably the only time I will ever wear it.
You see, even though I took my time matching the top to the bottom, trying to line up the plaids, this still happened.
Whoops!  Thank goodness for slouchy cardigans and longish hair.  It actually felt good to wear it once.  I think I got the jumper craze out of my system.  This plaid wool won't go to waste.  I still want to make one of these.

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68 comments

  1. It is so cute! Thank goodness for long hair to cover up mistakes! The bag is cool, too, though, maybe the fabric will get multiple lives!

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  2. too cute. love it!!!
    will you make me one???

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  3. Anonymous3/12/2008

    That is SO awesome. I would wear it again and again. I'm sure people would never notice the little mistake. I know I wouldn't.

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  4. Anonymous3/12/2008

    Oh, you are much too hard on yourself. It looks fabulous on you! I could so see you making one of those cute totes too. Can you come to CT and teach me to sew? Please?

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  5. Anonymous3/12/2008

    Yea for you! It definitely looked great on you!

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  6. It's so adorable! Maybe it can be fixed somehow? Maybe?

    I love that bag of Erin's too - I have a bunch of squares that she sent me that are waiting to become one.

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  7. I'm with you on the wool jumper thing-----love them!! And I'd probably continue to wear it even if it's just the taddest bit wonky----it's too cute!

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  8. you still rocked it, friend! everything looks great on you.

    the bag will be really cute, too, though, and won't matter if it's the slightest bit wonky.

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  9. "'Scuse me while I whip this out!" OMG, Leslie, you are incredible. Must. Have. Jumper. And voila? Jumper. And cute, too, despite what you see as flaws.

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  10. oh leslie, i love it! you should wear it again. it is hard to get that dang zipper to line up, i have done that too many times. I know no one will ever notice. And the plaids not matching up, doesn't even matter. Really. You did a great job!

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  11. What a gorgeous, flattering jumper! Love it! To heck with the zipper - it'll go unnoticed by any naked eye! Looks great on you! The tote bag is pretty neat too though...:)

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  12. Anonymous3/12/2008

    I love it!! You have such a great sense of style. The little blouse underneath is perfect!

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  13. You are so petite, Leslie! I think I'd need four of those jumpers to cover me. LOL It is lovely - why only wear it once, though? Fun wear and great pictures of it. Mistake? Pish posh - wear it again!!!

    Tanya :)

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  14. ...This is where I wish that I was a B cup instead of a DD cup and that my knees were even remotely attractive...

    I veer toward the perfectionist end of the spectrum so I understand where you're coming from, but I gotta say, that's a damn cute jumper and you look damn fine in it. I doubt a soul would notice the slightly askew neckline. I know you wont listen to me (if I were you, *I* wouldn't listen to me) but that needed to be said...even if you're still going to cut your jumper up into small squares.

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  15. This looks adorable on you--I want one. One of my favorite handmade dresses has the same zipper problem (I installed it while late for a party). I'll still wear it though, it gives it character.

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  16. Anonymous3/12/2008

    Oh, I think it looks great! And as my quilting teacher said "If you can't see it on a galloping horse it doesn't count"

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  17. OMG! You just upped and made that? So jealous! You look so cute! Please, please tell me your house is just a lttle dusty...

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  18. It is so darling, please make a matching one for Libby and matching vests for the boys...

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  19. you are too cute!
    when you get to the bag, i have a tip for you. :)

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  20. The dress, the fabric, everything goes together perfectly! You're lucky you have long hair to hide very minor defects.

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  21. Anonymous3/12/2008

    Oh, I definitely think you should wear the jumper again. It looks great on you!

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  22. Looks very cute, and smart. Funny, a jumper in England is actually a sweater, so when you showed material and said you wanted to make a jumper I did a double take! We would call 'your' jumper a pinafore :-)

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  23. One minor defect....one that I would never have noticed. Still looks awfully cute on you, Les.

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  24. It's fabulous! You did a great job, and who really cares about a perfectly lined up zipper when you pulled the look together like you did! I'd wear it again.

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  25. Good job! It's always the little things that bug us when we know we've made them, but wouldn't notice otherwise. I think it looks great. Which I could pull off that casual jumper-boot-look. You do it so well!

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  26. I love it. So much that I think the cardigan/hair fix is more than enough to make up for the zipper thing. I have some very similar wool to that that I was contemplating a jacket and a skirt with, but maybe the jumper bug just bit me...

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  27. HA! Oops. That was me, that last comment... didn't realize Katie was still signed in to her google account.

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  28. lol - You are so funny. I think it looks gorgeous and if your hair covers the little ooops then i wouldnt even worry about it. I think the dress looks gorgeous.

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  29. You look great - the dress is adorable. I have dress & boot envy!
    It would be a shame to not wear it again.
    Sam

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  30. it's adorable! (that's why long hair is great!) the plaid is so classic....

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  31. But it's still so cute!!

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  32. how cute are you in your jumper? you totally have to wear that again.

    the internet makes me crazy like that sometimes, too. :)

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  33. Very sweet. I'm dying to make a jumper too, but I've been holding off. I've still got a knitting needle case that I owe a friend for a past birthday!

    Andrea

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  34. Well it looks great to me! The cardigan is lovely too!

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  35. Anonymous3/13/2008

    But it really looks great! And you know I love that Slouchy Cardi! Seriously, no one but you will know that there's that little problem - the whole outfit is so well put together, and it looks great on you.

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  36. Cute, cute, cute! I really doubt anyone would notice the slight unalignment. It looks like a really fun project!

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  37. Don't be so hard on yourself! Wear it again!! It looks adorable on you. I figure anything a slouchy cardi, or longish hair or even an scarf can hide, is no problem at all.

    As for that bag! LOVE IT!

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  38. I have a gray and brown plaid jumper from H&M that I wear with tights and boots...and I have to make myself NOT wear it every single day! I don't know where my jumper craze came from, either. I hope you wear that outfit more than once 'cause I LUV it. :)

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  39. Anonymous3/13/2008

    I think you should wear it! It looks so cute on you! You've got a great figure for it and no one will even notice the little mistakes.

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  40. Anonymous3/13/2008

    Life is full of grace moments and wearing this great outfit again could be one of them. Enjoy the feel & look & creativity of your outfit. Focusing on the minute problems that no one else will notice negates all the wonderful things you've put into it. You're wearing a creative dream come true. Enjoy. Flaunt it a little and enjoy a moment of grace.
    Yomamaknits

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  41. Thanks for makin' me crazy! Now, I want one ; )

    It looks great! The whole outfit is perfect!! Love the Slouchy with it. You did a darn good job lining up those plaids!

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  42. Holy Mackerel!!! That is AMAZING Leslie! If you ever want to make things for my store, you would be a billionaire! Unbelievable...and the plaid matches up, unless you get out your microscope, jeez!

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  43. Aha! So now you know what it feels like to be me... Well, except skinnier and prettier, but still - that is exactly what the sweater I just made - whose name shall not be spoken! - looks like. Except in the front. Where there's no hair to cover it. Also it doesn't look half as cute as the jumper. OK. So you still don't know what it's like to be me, after all. That's probably a good thing.

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  44. It looks great! I would never notice that mistake--I think we look at our own work much more closely than others do.

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  45. You look like a model. :) So stylish in all of your handmade clothing.
    I would never have noticed that little boo boo.
    What I have noticed is a lot of store bought clothing these days looks sloppy in its finishing, and it's sad. I think your jumper/dress is much, much better than anything I have seen in stores these days.

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  46. OMG That's too cute!!!

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  47. it looks so cute from the front! just keep your hair down and your back to the wall if you feel funny about the zipper!

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  48. Love it!!!! What a cute blouse beneath it too!

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  49. gorgeous.... really you must wear it again and again.

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  50. Anonymous3/13/2008

    Very cute. You fared better than I would have, I have yet to sew in a zipper. I have ways to go! I think the plaid would make a great bag, can't wait to see yours!

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  51. Anonymous3/13/2008

    I bought the same pattern in the fall and fabric and it is still not made up. Maybe next fall. It looks great. Love your blog.

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  52. Anonymous3/13/2008

    So cute! I love it! Wear it again!

    I really need to learn how to sew. I have taught my self everything/knitwise but am *so* intimidated by sewing for some reason.

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  53. I just made a dress for my daughter for a colonial Williamsburg project...the same thing happened with the zipper. I was so bummed but she said don't worry mom, it doesn't have to be perfect. Fortunately she has long hair to cover the back and I made adjustments with the waist and the apron covered it.

    However, if you had not shown us the minor glitch, we never would have known...you look smashing walking out the door!

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  54. Anonymous3/14/2008

    That is so cute - What a great jumper and I love the way you accessorized it too!

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  55. Anonymous3/14/2008

    You're popular on Flickr and you're popular on Blogger too. How do you do it?!

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  56. Anonymous3/15/2008

    I think your jumper is cute, and most people probably wouldn't notice the minor flaws that it has. I also think the bag would be a great accessory to go with it!

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  57. Love that pattern... now I have more on my must make list, thank you very much...

    I've got long hair too, and plenty of sweaters, so I try not to left wee little imperfections get me down too much... no one will know, right? Except for all the people I show...

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  58. Anonymous3/16/2008

    Pity not to wear it again. I bet nobody will notice anyway. I used to have the same problem with zippers, but I found a solution, first sew them with wrong sides of fabric and zipper facing outward, then fold back and sew another seam on the "right side", because the zipper is already fastened it does not "move" so easily, then finish the rest.
    Willemtje, a Dutch knitter

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  59. It is so gorgeous, very chic I think. I just realised that I actually have this pattern, bought ages ago and ignored, now I am so envious of yours and I wish I had done something with mine.

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  60. It is so very cute! I love how you put the entire outfit together. I have no idea how you whip these things up!

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  61. I think it is so cute--really really adorable. You make me want to sew.

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  62. You are amazing.I love it and the style.

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  63. Well now that I have read the other comments I understand that when you say 'jumper' you are actually referring to the dress you are wearing. I got a bit confused as we also call that kind of dress a 'pinafore' and a 'jumper' is a sweater. In any case, it's dead cute and so are you! I think I have to do this for a winter work outfit for sure!!

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  64. Anonymous3/18/2008

    If you inspect your store-bought clothes as closely as you inspect your handmade ones, you'll find they're often slightly wonky, too. Your jumper is super cute and it makes me want to make one, too.

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  65. Anonymous3/19/2008

    Oooooh, aaaaah! I think you should wear it again and again.

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  66. If you had not pointed out this extremely small flaw, I would not have noticed. So cute.

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