Knitting/Sewing Swap

My lovely Mum and I have a deal.  She knits for me and I sew for her.  I CAN knit, but I only like knitting flat and she is so much quicker than me (I am also easily distracted and start too many projects at once!).  Likewise my Mum CAN sew but with her lifestyle it is easier for her to pick up knitting in the evening than sewing.  So far I've come off better from this deal but I have passed on a few of my makes which don't fit me as well as they fit her.

Recently I really wanted a Marion cardigan by Andi Satterlund but since this is completely not my style of knitting I asked Mum if she would oblige.  I chose Cascade 220 wool in Butter from Wool Warehouse (I am also using this wool for my next project and it is really lovely to work with).  I posted the wool out to Switzerland and lo and behold on my arrival I was greeted with a lovely new cardigan!

I am really happy with my choice.  My only reservation is that it is shorter and tighter than I would normally wear but I chose the size based on my measurements.  I think next time I would ask my Mum to go up a size for comfort but since I have worn this at least 5 times since I took possession of it I am obviously not that bothered (and I am wearing it today!).  I have actually asked her to design me a cardigan to my exact specifications since I can't find what I want so I am looking forward to that!  Mum has a Ravelry page but there are only three projects on it at the moment.  She does ask why she should update it and I can't think of a better reason than "because I want you to"!

There are some very odd effects going on in this picture, the back doesn't have stripes down it!

For her part of the bargain, my Mum chose some Kokka fabric from The Village Haberdashery and we used the free pattern that came with issue 3 of Love Sewing Magazine (which my lovely friend Kara gave me for my birthday - thank you!).  Going by the pattern's measurements and given the amount of ease in the pattern we decided to sew the Medium size, but this is still quite loose, which is fine for a summer tunic.

As I forgot to take the magazine itself with me which included the pattern instructions I did have to wing the construction of this.  However it is very straightforward and I don't think I did anything differently with the exception of top stitching the facings down as I hate flappy facings.  I didn't interface the facings as this fabric is slightly stiffer than what the pattern calls for.  Also, there is only one pocket as we ran out of fabric to pattern match them.  

I am really pleased with how this tunic turned out.  Although I didn't pattern match at the side seams I did make sure the pattern was running at the same level across the front and back.  This was a very simple sew and lovely project to do on holiday.  I have another top planned for my Mum when I have cleared my current backlog of projects (probably around Christmas!) and I just need her to choose some more fabric for it.  I will leave you with her fantastic poses she did for me while I was taking the photos!