A Year On.

People are often saying about rav that it would be lovely if people would come back and tell them about how the pattern or yarn is wearing after a few months or a year or so and here I am doing it! Can you remember my Summer Dress pattern? It's from this blog here. Lots of you have made it so I imagine that lots of you can remember it.  I particularly love Lynsey's version in the Bamboo Cotton and remember feeling dead proud when she wore it for a day out together we had a few months ago:

Doesn't she look beautiful?! I enjoy how the top of hers seems bigger than mine - looks like she added some more rows - I think it makes it in a completely different dress. Love people making a pattern their own. :)

This and the Great British Granny Jacket are by far my most favourited and downloaded designs on rav and the blog post introducing the Summer Dress pattern is our most read post by like 100%. :)

That's my design page on rav. You'll have seen them all as they were put up though being the avid blog readers that you are...

I never actually got a photo of it on at the time and I don't know why but I'm wearing it today and Jazz was so impressed with the outfit that she made me photograph it. Look:

Such a good model. Hands on hips. Smile. Hope for the best.On a related note - wow, look at that mess of a shop...

I really love wearing this. It's just so easy. I always put something like a black vest top on underneath and I often wear it with a cardigan but the unusual colours mean that it's always worked best with a black cardigan and my only black cardigan is from Primark about eight years ago and it's falling apart so I am thrilled that it looks good with my Galaxy cardigan. I am also thrilled with the amount of knitting/crochet I'm wearing today. All I need to do it knit my leggings, bra and pants and I am a full obsessive saddact. Fact. 

The yarn, King Cole Cottonsoft DK, is fast becoming one of my favourites. I've had a couple of years on the Bamboo Cotton now and whilst I still love it I feel like I can be more creative with the Cottonsoft because I've not made as much in it. Having said that, in terms of projects per colours available I'm sure I've smashed it out with the Cottonsoft now - especially since the Sophia Loren jumper. Lots of people have told me that they find the Cottonsoft is too fluffy as you knit - I see where they're coming from and I wouldn't be working the the black whilst wearing white (not that I would wear white you see. Messy. Eater.) but fluff disappears once washed doesn't it and, more importantly, as soon as you've blocked the Cottonsoft the fluff disappears off the item you've made anyway so problem? What problem? You're left with a beautifully soft, cool, vividly coloured item with no fluff. Mwahahaha!

I'm also pleased to announce that the band under the bust has not sagged! I was a little worried about this - not too much though because it's nothing that a bit of elastic couldn't solve - but it's stayed in tact just beautifully. I made it particularly tight because I was worried that the thickish DK yarn + crochet + big hook = a chunky feeling garment, so the band was important to keep it all in proportion. Had I made it in Bamboo Cotton I can see that one wear would have been enough to stretch that out of shape and then it would have needed a good wash to get it back. Good choice Cottonsoft. :)

I think that's all I need to say about it really. Lovely dress and lovely yarn. :)

Love Eleanor.