The Palma Pouch

Hello!👋

Hope you have been keeping well!

I feel like there was a lot that happened creatively this week!

I finally made a start on the Mikal Fleece Jacket that I have been speaking about since Christmas! 🥳

I needed a break from my bag making as I have been working on them everyday for months now!

So I spent a whole morning cutting out the pattern pieces!

It takes me so long because I try to minimise fabric waste by cutting out one pattern piece at a time and adjusting the fabric every time for each pattern piece. I know, patience! 😂

It’s a lengthy process but I have saved a lot of fabric this way and have been able to use them in multiple projects! And future ones to come too!

I feel like I can’t be the only one who does this. Do you do the same? 🤔

I also keep small cuts of interfacing to patch them together whenever I can like this:

I put out a story on Instagram asking if anyone else did this too and to my surprise, many of you do the same! 😀

Back to the jacket… I said last week that I wanted to use a tan coloured fabric for the chest pocket and binding, but I didn’t have any in my stash.

I spoke to my mom this week about not having any tan coloured fabric in my stash, so I pulled a few other solids from my stash so she could help me pick one out.

Out of my available options, we decided that the light blue seemed to be the best match, so I went with it. 

I think it looks really good!

There were a few moments where I was thinking of removing the orange fleece from the jacket and just keeping the pink and blue tones, but it felt a little dull without it.

So I kept the orange in the end. Guess who is not a fan of it! 😂

It is not completely finished yet, but I am not rushing either because I am prioritising enjoying the process and making everything as neat as I can.

I still need to add the collar, elastic at the cuffs and bind the edges.

The seam ripper has come out a couple of times though! 😐

Once because I sewed two pieces wrong sides together instead of right sides together and another because I didn’t like the look of a bar tack I made.

It looks good now though!

I worked quite a bit on my next bag design, the Palma Pouch, earlier in the week before starting the fleece jacket.

I am making this one following the instructions I made to check that everything works out correctly.

There are also a few design elements I have changed and added, so as I go through the instructions, I am updating where necessary.

Ever since I can remember, I have always enjoyed building puzzles, solving mysteries and doing other problem solving things, so working on pattern designing has been a fun process.

There is not much to go construction wise for the bag, but there is still much to do with the instructions.

As for the Roma Necessaire, the testing phase is now finished and I have received lots of good feedback. I am going to spend the next few days going over it all and see where I can make improvements to my instructions. 

Remember last week I bought some knitting needles in sizes 2.00, 2.25 and 6.00 mm!

Well that’s what I thought. 😂

I didn’t actually get the 2.25mm, it was 2.50mm.

I went back to my order to check and saw that I had in fact bought a 2.50mm needle!

Wool Warehouse doesn't actually sell a 2.25mm in the Knit Pro collection I went for. 🙃

I am lucky I don’t actually need this size for my project according to the swatch I made.

These needles didn’t arrive until Tuesday, so I spent about 4 days without knitting and it was taking its toll on me! 😂

I was bored!

My partner just so happened to ask me to knit him a beanie because he shaved his hair off and it was cold out.

Gauge wasn’t mega important for this project because it was a 2x2 rib throughout, so I just cast it on and went for it.

I used a Yarnsmiths Create DK yarn in a black colour from my stash and it was done in 3 days.

Not the most exciting project I have ever made colour wise, but it was a nice speedy one to cleanse the palette!

An exciting one that I did get started with is socks in these fun colours! I am using Drops Fabel for the first time in shades Sunset and Cornflower Blue.

Using my new Knit Pro needles has made all the difference in the world and it feels like the yarn glides off the needles like butter! 😍

I have decided to try and knit two socks at the same time, hence buying long circular needles instead of short ones.

When I made my first pair of socks, you may remember that I said the second pair was a little boring and a drag to finish. So I am hoping to combat this by making both at the same time and also using more colours to keep it interesting.

I also learnt a new cast on this week too for my socks. The German Twisted Cast On.

It is supposed to be stretchier than a Long Tail Cast On, and I need something with more stretch because the last pair were a little tight at the top.

Because of this, I also cast on with a bigger size needle, the 2.50mm ones, and I continued the rest of the ribbing in the smaller needles.

I am using a free pattern from Summer Lee, the I’m So Basic Sock, because I want to get a feel for her instructions before buying her book. (You may remember I  mentioned the book a while ago already.) 

I also planned another knit project to work on in collaboration with Wool Warehouse.

I am not sure if I will cast on for it next week because that’s not how I usually work through my projects. I finish one before starting another.

The plan is to make a sweater trying to incorporate a sort of tartan print in these exciting colours! 😍

I am using their Yarnsmiths Merino Dk Superwash, which is the same yarn I used for the beaded sweater, and their latest release, Yarnsmiths Kid Mohair Silk.

I don’t recall ever working with mohair, so I am looking forward to not only this, but seeing how these colours come together.

And to finish off this week, my house is freezing! 🥶

Our boiler decided to start leaking, heavy leaking, and apparently the water got into the motor that gives the radiators heat. 😑

To fix everything that needs fixing is not worth the money for the age of the boiler, so we have to get a new one.

There should be someone coming tomorrow to put a new one in. I hope they don’t fail us because being in a house where the temperature is around 14 degrees is not fun, and we have been like this for 5 days now!

😎Confidence Corner:

There are never enough I Love You's. - Lenny Bruce

How often do we hold back from saying “I love you”?

Maybe we assume people already know how we feel. Maybe we get caught up in the busyness of life and take expressing our feelings for granted. 

When we say and show love, it has the power to bring people closer, offer comfort and remind us that we belong.

A simple “I love you” can turn an ordinary moment into something meaningful. It can be the comfort someone needs but hasn’t asked for. It can be a reminder that they are seen and valued.

And the best part? Love doesn’t run out the more we share it, it multiplies.

Take a moment to express love freely. Say it more. Show it more. 

There can never be enough “I love you’s”, especially because we don’t know what tomorrow holds.

🧵This Week's Tip:

Knitting: Using a Lifeline

If you're working on a complex stitch pattern or lace knitting, using a lifeline can be a game changer!

Sometimes mistakes happen and we don’t realise until it’s too late or we don’t know how to fix it.

Simply threading a piece of contrasting yarn through the stitches on your needle using a tapestry needle can make sure that you can unravel your work up to the lifeline without losing your progress.

I have had to learn the hard way and had to unravel a project because I didn’t know how to fix a mistake I made in cable knitting. 

To make it even easier, I would note down the row where the lifeline was inserted so it’s easier to continue from there instead of trying to work out where in the pattern you are.

⭐My Favourite Things This Week:

• Completing a project that my partner asked for! 😂
• Receiving new knitting needles and casting on two socks at the same time!
• Receiving new yarn to collaborate with Wool Warehouse on a new project!
• Starting a new make for myself - the Mikal Fleece Jacket from Petite Stitchery!

🗓️Upcoming Plans

• Continue knitting my socks.
• Cast on for my collaboration project with Wool Warehouse?🤔
• Finish the Mikal Fleece Jacket.
• Go through the feedback I received from the Roma Necessaire.
• Make one quilt block 🤔 (Is this ever going to happen? 😂)

🎉Upcoming Events

23rd of February 2025 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event - in Gatley Hill House, South Manchester, 10:45h - 16:15h
Email bianca@beesilva.co.uk and quote reference: SEWBOND014
For more information: https://www.beesilva.co.uk/sewbond014/

More 2025 Dates!

22nd of March 2025 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event
26th of April 2025 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event

Thank you so much for reading it! And if you enjoyed it, please tell a friend about it to allow me to reach more people. 🥰

Bye for now,
B! xx