Masks! – YoP 20/21 – Week 7

Happy Sunday y’all! On Sundays I post about my Year of Projects projects. YoP is a Ravelry group of creative bloggers who plan what they’re going to work on throughout the year and then blog about it! It’s a very supportive group, we all tend to follow and comment on each other’s blogs. My list of what I hope to work on and finish this year is here.

On the knitting front, things continue to move forward on my Sun and Solace test knit. According to Excel, after what I finished yesterday, I am now 50% done! I haven’t worked on my Ranch Coat at all this week, I actually had a few days I didn’t knit during the week, so I barely even worked on the tee, much less had time to switch between the two. I also haven’t done any blanket squares yet this month.

I mentioned last week that I got a bit of fabric to try and start my foray into sewing. And since, I’ve made 3 masks! So I get to check that of my YOP list! For the first one, I used this tutorial because it was the first one I saw and didn’t require printing a pattern (I need to buy ink). It’s not a very good mask, my stitches are definitely wonky, and it seems a bit too small. I also didn’t buy elastic, when I was at the store I figured I’d use this fabric for making a project bag or an apron, but again a mask seemed quicker and I am out of ink, so I used some spare strips I found in my dad’s sewing case because I was too lazy to try and sew straps. And oh man, it took me an embarrassing number of tries to make the straps look good and come from the right place. But, it’s all good, because this was less about making a serviceable mask and more a proof of concept on the whole sewing thing. And I think it’s definitely something I like doing! It wasn’t too much of a hassle to set up the machine on my desk, though the foot petal has to be a bit farther away than is truly 100% comfortable because of the width of my desk, and it’s definitely a weekend activity because I have to move my work computer to have space for it. I was able to load a new bobbin and thread the needle and make sure the type of stitch and width and tension were “normal.” I can definitely see myself continuing, though I need to pay more attention to being careful in measuring and cutting and things like that.

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Ok I wrote that last paragraph on Sunday directly after finishing my first mask, and since then I’ve made some adjustments to my setup. I don’t actually have to move my laptop and it’s stand off my desk, and if I have the power and footpedal coming from the side of the desk instead of the back, the pedal is in a comfortable position. On Monday, I made a second mask, and it definitely turned out a bit better! I was more careful about measuring, and you can see my stitches and pleats are bit more even. I actually looked up how to do pleats, and measured them, so that helped! Though I find the pleats a bit tough to execute. This mask is wider, so I think it fits a bit better! I used this tutorial, which I did find slightly easier to follow.

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For my third attempt, I thought I’d try those “peaked” masks, you know what I mean. I used this tutorial. I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube lately, so I thought I’d try filming the process just for something fun to do with my Saturday afternoon. You can see my attempt below. As I was watching back the film, I do think it is too big! Good to know for next time.

None of these masks are really perfect, or even that good, but it’s all about learning at this point for me. I do think I’m going to continue with my original plan of making an apron and/or project bag (probably and rather than or) before making a garment. As much as I want a teal linen shirt in my wardrobe, I just don’t really feel confident in my skills yet. I figure more practice is better than less.

Hope everyone has a good week! It’s definitely going to be a busy one at work, but I’m looking forward to meeting up with a friend for a walk and doing lots of knitting and reading to relax!