Wild summer sewing

When classes are in session, I tend to stick to standard sewing projects, usually things like shirts and handbags. Now that school's out (for the summer!), however, I'm trying to get a little more adventurous in the world of fiber crafts. In terms of actual projects, that includes a brown-and-orange paneled, paisley-patterned cover for the living room sofa (yes it does look good, thanks), a pair of "wearable art" pants, and a macramé-decorated sheer vest.

Though the macramé vest is currently on hold, it's the project I've been most excited about, in part because the macramé netting consists of half-inch sailor's knots. When I was little, I always felt that learning how to make sailor's and bowline knots would be an essential part of any adventure. It's true that characters like Frodo Baggins and Artemis Fowl never had much need for sturdy knots on their adventures, but that seemed to me more a result of authorial oversight.¹ (And I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks so: the Dangerous Book for Boys includes the bowline knot in a list of 5 knots that every kid should know.)

My vest, however, doesn't quite exude the spirit of hardy adventure that I used to associate with the term "sailor's knot". The loops are made of finely coiled Egyptian cotton thread, and the delicate (yes, delicate) brown netting has a distinctly lustrous sheen to it.

That said, I'm pretty happy with how my chocolate-coloured Egyptian Cotton is turning out, and hopefully I'll have a picture of the finished vest to post on here soon. In the meantime, though, I'll be using this blog to record my other summer sewing adventures.

^{1. Actually, in The Lord of the Rings Sam Gamgee does make use of strong knots as he, Frodo, and Gollum belay down the various cliffs near Mordor, but the types of knot aren't specified.}