Pairings

There is nothing quite so satisfying as a successful pairing, be it food and wine, yarn and weave structure, or two fabrics that were meant to be together. I've had some utter failures with all of the previous pairings, but also some great successes. Most recently, another little capelet.



 I had been saving this barely one yard piece of Italian wool herringbone for almost two years.



 I love it that much but was unable to find anything that remotely matched it's odd peachy/taupe or deep eggplant brown hue. So it sat. And then a roll of silk arrived one day at Fabric of Vision and (you can imagine a drum roll, and enough light bulbs going off to power a carnival), I just knew I had found the perfect pairing for my wool.





 Not only that, I had already done the perfect pattern and enjoyed wearing the style. Over the weekend I did some slow sewing. I pressed and steamed and got it all just right.



But wait, there are some other pairings going on up here at Runamuck! Monday night I stepped onto our deck and what should I spy but Mr. Fox and not just the Mr. but it would seem there is a Mrs too! Two lovely Grey Foxes, full and fluffy, that have found each other this winter mating season. They will stay together all through the spring and summer, raising their litter of kits and then the family will disperse in the fall. Kits and parents all going their separate ways until next January or February, when the cycle will repeat itself. I am hoping we will be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of those kits when they are old enough to accompany their parents. This year, summer can't come fast enough!

Back on the sewing front, I have started the duffle coat. Since it is a new pattern and while well checked in a tissue fit on Rhonda, I decided to do the lining first. There are a couple of reasons behind that decision. Number one is making sure there are no obvious fit issues
and number two is a practical measure on needle sizes. The lining is quite thin and I'm using a small sharp size 10 on it. For the outer wool shell, a size 16 jeans needle. There will be some thick seams and of course, a fair amount of simple top stitching. Pairing the needle to the fabric weight and content is always a consideration for good results. With lining complete I can change out the needle to the larger size and be good to go for the rest of the project.

Finally, Robin has provided me with some great pairings this week. The most surprising is some serious bonding with Dandy. Believe me, it was quite mutual.  I will let the pics speak for themselves. Consider them all Parting Shots of great Hello's!