smunch

little lamp

2012-02-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Remember this great little piece of fabric from my last What Cheer? trip in Providence?
Now it's a lamp shade!

I used this tutorial from Pinterest on how to cover a lampshade, and well, this worked out much better than some other things have recently...

I couldn't decide on a color, so this blue I spray-painted on the base could change in the future. I guess it matches the nautical theme, but I don't like things too matchy.

That table and those curtains are hopefully up for remakes in the future as well. And maybe one day some trim on the lamp?

I made a board on Pinterest called "pinned it and did it" with all of the Pinterest inspirations I've made into reality. Not sure why but I guess I like to take inventory of things. And wouldn't you know, that board's already got 30 pins.

something's not quite right

2012-02-07T22:08:00.000-05:00

Lately, I've been trying things that don't seem to work.

I've been itching to sew some clothes, so I set out on saturday to sew a Wiksten Tank with sleeves (inspired by Kristina's top).

So I promptly cut the pattern for the Tova Top. The Tova Top is not the Wiksten Tank. I realized after cutting the front and back. Then I walked away.

Then I bought one can of spray paint that lasted me only so long (this turned out ok; more later).

And then Meredith. Oh my goodness, Meredith. This sweater has given me more grief than all knitting and sewing mistakes of mine combined.

I started this sweater in fall of 2008. An 11-color fair isle is not recommended for a first sweater. I tend to be a little "sink or swim." I'm sinking. There have been either 3 or 4 iterations of this sweater over the years as I have pulled it out completely multiple times due to incorrect gauge/poor fit (I do think the shape of the pattern is strange and made adjustments anyways). After a 2+ year time out, I pulled it out for 2012, and thought I had it figured out. Well, here it is compared to my nicely-fitting humanoid knockoff.

My gauge is off by two stitches per four inches (28 instead of 30). But I also knit down to adjust the waist-shaping, knitting an XS after the initial waist decreases.

Against my better judgement, I am determined. But I think I need to do something drastic. Either I am pulling it out for the final time and adjusting the stitch count drastically according to my own calculations and keeping the gauge that I can't seem to adjust or... do I do something crazy like steeking?! As scary as steeking sounds, not knitting this a 4th (or 5th) time sounds nice. So do I just chop off those sides? I don't know... I know nothing about steeking.

I also have a hat in the works that also is not working how I planned but I might just finish it up anyways. And one small house project up next that did work for the most part. I'm one for five so far?...

new shelves

2012-02-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

repurposed planters for $1 each at a yard sale in providence...

our new shelves.

i wanted to take pictures with some flowers in that vase, but let's be real. this blog post would be another month coming if we waited for that.

these are obviously not the decoration renovation that required spray paint. funding is low and therefore spray paint will have to wait. hopefully not as long as that empty vase will.

prints exhibit

2012-01-29T20:36:00.001-05:00

we went to see the special exhibit of prints at the baltimore museum of art (free art museum!) today and i LOVE some of the prints and they make me dream of printing my own textiles. (i apologize in advance for my stinky pictures with my dirty grainy camera with lots of glare and reflection. excited to browse further now?)

these prints were made in 1930 by sonia delaunay, a french artist. i would love to make some dresses with textiles of these prints. i'm not going to try to be all art history or art critic or something, but i love the blocks of color and the patterns and movement.

these really struck me too, prints by a russian artist el lissizky, made in the 1920's. they were intended for a russian futurist opera based on "the ultimate triumph of modernism and technology, wherein the sun is replaced by a man-made source of energy." the meaning behind them are as powerful as the images. they remind me of metropolis by fritz lange.

and these are by a contemporary artist name julie mehretu who describes her images as "a little world that went beserk." i love that. i love these.

and these i liked before i even found out they were made by etching an ant's path around a box for hours.

it's going to be forever and ever before i can afford a real camera and i will probably continue to complain about that in every post. that sounds like fun, right? until then, i should probably figure out how to clean my lens. particularly because i spilled peach juice on it 3 1/2 years ago.

hopefully when i can afford a camera i can afford photography lessons too!

a new old dresser

2012-01-25T10:00:00.000-05:00

before

here's my sad little dresser, bought on craiglist in 2006 for $35. many things got coated in this shade of leftover brown paint back in those days, and i put on some fake-crystal-looking knobs from home depot. those things are junk, as you can see from how many remained on the dresser five years later.

so, with inspiration from none other than pinterest (you're shocked) i did the baking soda and vinegar and steel wool thing and added some beautiful handpainted knobs from buckleberry on etsy and came up with this:

after!

i'm noticing now that i should have pushed the drawers all the way in, but it never looks like that in real life (actually this is pretty good) so, oh well.

i also hung up my necklaces after seeing the odette sneak peak. this corner still needs some work, and one day the scarves might be hung on something other than the blue twine our christmas tree was wrapped in.

by the way, buckleberry is a great little shop and the designer was SO helpful and accommodating, helping me pick just the right color and shipping super fast even though it was christmas time and these were not a gift order. here's the only knob close-up picture i took that wasn't terrible and blurry:

oh and this is funny. much of the delay was due to this $#%#$ knob that would not come out because the screw was stripped. MANY attempts by both ben and i, two different screw extractors, two different tantrums (moving has been stressful sometimes, ok?!) and finally i just drilled the heck out of the hole it was in and hammered it out. that felt good. and here is the little sucker:

i saved this knob for weeks to take a picture for this blog. lame.

another project soon once i find the right color spray paint. ! how exciting.

one line a day

2012-01-22T16:53:00.000-05:00

i know this project has made the rounds of pinterest recently, via design*sponge, via ashley from under the sycamore - but i actually made this over a year ago! i never used it, i didn't think it was the right gift for anyone else at the time, and then lo and behold, perusing pinterest a few weeks ago i saw that my lovely friend kim had pinned it! just the right gift. i surprised her with that one! i will say i took virtually no creative liberties and copied this almost identically from the original. i guess there was nothing to fix.

one reason i never used it was because i got this journal in 2011, and I LOVE IT. and now i am loving filling in 2012 and seeing what was going on this time last year. fun to see prophecies, such as pondering whether or not we will end up in baltimore when we were on a road trip last may, or wondering if elmore was getting sick back in july, a month before he died. wait, that one was not fun. but interesting, or maybe eerie to see i guess.

slowly but surely, home projects are to come...

the first sunrise of 2012

2012-01-05T22:06:00.000-05:00

for the second year in a row, we pulled ourselves out of bed, bundled up with tea, cider, and treats and found a sunrise-watching spot... a little different than last year's spot...

an homage to our new, gritty city. the sun rose over the domino sugar sign! it was perfect, actually.

and bam, there it was! even though the locale was very different, the sun didn't disappoint (as if the sun cares how i feel).

my favorite way to start the new year.

ironically, i guess this would fall under "personal," so soon after writing off the "personal." a couple comments reminded me that the number of comments on a post doesn't always indicate interest, and i've had some reminders that real-life support isn't always what it's cracked up to be... i'm still not sure i feel very satisfied or comfortable writing much "personal" and i guess what i want is for my creations, and hopefully one day my photos, to be more inspiring than whatever news i might have.

that's on me to push myself and step it up! crafty dayeseye's recent post (particularly "eight") and her attention towards growth really inspired me. but i couldn't figure out how to leave a comment!!

just my luck

2012-01-03T18:37:00.000-05:00

right after i posted my mitts... ~~i lost them.~~

~~should i knit new ones? it's 27 degrees right now...~~ good god. or i lost them in the basket we keep hats, mittens and gloves in.

::sigh::

a hundred posts?

2012-01-01T21:16:00.001-05:00

well, this post was supposed to have pictures of today's sunrise, like last year's new years. but i spent all day dueling with technology, forgetting to get the pictures off the camera before ben took off with it until wednesday.

woops.

this is my 100th post. i can't tell if that's a lot or not - i've had this blog for two and half years... in those years i have learned a lot about knitting and sewing, but do you know what post got the most comments? my cat dying. that sucked, and i was hesitant to post anything because i typically avoid personal posts, but it verified my suspicion - that we're all just interested in getting into someone's life.

blogs are not real life, not even close, and i am absolutely guilty of doing the same. i'm not really interested in changing my blog towards the more personal; as much as i love comments too much, posting that stuff here ends up being unsatisfying.

so i guess what i'd like to do is push myself a little more, learn to take better pictures, and start coming up with more original designs.

this is way too much typing without a picture.

i don't really make new year's resolutions, but hopefully 2012 will bring a finished meredith. because 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 didn't. what?! yes, this is a sweater of epic frogging and time-outs. because apparently an 11-color fairisle isn't ideal for one's first sweater.

GAUGE.

these are the before pictures... the back is now unraveled for the 2nd (or maybe 3rd time). i'm starting over. again. i don't think i even like this sweater anymore - it's about having knitting closure!!

mitts

2011-12-29T22:41:00.000-05:00

cabled mittens using this pattern
back in november (catching up with life a little bit here)

lion brand fisherman's wool
gauge was tight, but they fit nicely after blocking
added another cable because i have long fingers, made the thumb longer also (see project page for modifications)

i like them.

a little bunny

2011-12-23T21:30:00.000-05:00

for my favorite "faux-niece" (one of my best friend's daughters who calls me AUNTIE LALA. i love it.) e turned 3 last month, and i got this bunny to her in the timely manner of one month late. i've had a lot going on.

this bunny is the Well-Dressed Bunny - i liked the simplicity of it, as well as the fact that 3 is a good age to dress and undress things. non-human things i mean.

miss e also loves fairies so i fashioned a set of fairy wings (this took a few tries and some experimental wire until i just decided to make stuffed wings).

i used lion's brand fisherman's wool (that skein just doesn't quit) and made no modifications. the whole bunny has a lopsidedness which, fortunately, i think is cute, but was unintentional and a result of poor stitching on my part. she doesn't sit on her bottom very well either! stitching the mouth was hard for me, apparently because i overdid it (as usual). when i got to the eyes, i did about 3-4 quick stitches, and they were just right. will ever remember to go easy?

if there is a soul in the world who cares to know the pattern i concocted for the wings, i will post it, but i figured the chances were slim that there is a need for them!

tomorrow is my first day off in a couple weeks, and hopefully the eve of my return... how dramatic...

l

addendum: did i never post e's gift from her 2nd birthday last year? that is weird because i was happy with it and i usually think WAY too much about posting things. well, here is manti, in cascade 220 superwash, the collared verstion, with blue buttons:

(the third picture i mostly just posted because of those eyes!)

home for the holidays

2011-12-14T21:34:00.001-05:00

smunch is coming back... charlie brown tree and all.

squares square top

2011-11-10T22:44:00.001-05:00

"super easy square top" using this tutorial from cotton & curls

thrifted sheet from salvation army, $1.49

20" wide by 26" long, plus seam allowances (french seams)
slightly curved hem at the side seams; if i thought ahead i might have made this longer and made more of shirttail hem
offset the vertical strip, and matched it to the back (the horizontal stripes are not matched to the back)
made a muslin first (glad i did)
the curve of the neckline took a couple tries; i'm happy with how it came out, but the fabric does pucker a bit. maybe should have made a neckline binding, like the wiksten tank
underarm seams were a little tricky since there is no actual sleeve

super happy with this one, love it

vintage loot

2011-10-29T17:13:00.003-04:00

in between packing and more packing i've made last (and second-to-last) trips to my favorite vintage shops in providence. oh, dear.

vintage fabrics from What Cheer? (round one) - i particularly love the funky barkcloth sailing scene and this wool plaid (apparently a half-finished scarf?)

round two at What Cheer? this weekend found me more plaid (i couldn't get this image out of my head when i saw this fabric in the store) and a great 60's knitting booklet. the cover, alone, was enough to get me to buy it, what with a couple smoking cigarettes at a table covered in coke bottles, sitting in two feet of water.

but i want to make this shawl-collared sweater in an oatmeal/brownish shade.

and finally, i found this precious little packet of transfers at Rocket to Mars.

the good thing about having all this good stuff is that i'm newly unemployed and will soon have too much time on my hands (hopefully not for too long). the bad part is that i'm not supposed to buy anything.

also, guess what - the Tideland pattern has just been published - go buy it here right now, because it's discounted until november 6! i can't say enough what a beautiful pattern it is. aren't they great?

photo by londonleo via ravelry

pumpkin tideland mitts

2011-10-23T14:34:00.000-04:00

i just finished this test knit for the Tideland fingerless mitts by londonleo:

this is a beautiful pattern, to be released soon (i'll post when they're released). i used CEY Alpaca Sox and i love this color. it suits my blue and orange obsession (which has kind of evolved into red and blue) although i like it with the army green too.

if i make this pattern again, i may adjust where i start the thumb gusset, as i have long fingers and i like my mitts to cover them more. however, i think where these fall probably looks nicer.

i have a gauge problem and because my gauge tightens as i go along, stop paying attention, start knitting faster, i overcompensated on the right mitt and it's actually a bit looser.

my other issue? it took over 60 pictures before i could get the semi-decent ones above (that's sort of a lie, the one just above is the first picture i took). is that normal? i mean, for those of us who aren't photographers and have a little point-and-shoot with a self-timer? i often don't blog because i don't have the patience to get a good picture.

linen tova dress

2011-10-21T08:59:00.000-04:00

this dress was finished a while ago... somehow when i'm not happy with something i make, i drag my feet to photograph and post it... but i want to post it all, even the mistakes, (an abalone post is also soon to come although long finished for this reason) so....

it's not that bad, but the linen is cheap ($4!) and unimpressive. i've worn it several times and like it enough - in my twisted mind the cheap, faded-out linen has become "vintage-looking."

things to learn from:

don't buy cheap linen.
as soon as i cut it, i realized the length is too short for me as a dress. i had elaborate plans to make a gathered muslin slip with a raw hem to go under it but, eh, the dress isn't worth it. hence the leggings.
i need to do a better job trimming threads when i'm making french seams.
the collar is a hot mess but since the dress, again, was "eh" i didn't worry too much.
i tried pockets, toiled over them a bit, made them work, then took them out because they just made me had demented hips. if i make this again with a more structured fabric i might put the pockets in.

i love wearing two things i've made all at once.

test knit

2011-10-19T21:13:00.001-04:00

for london leo

this is actually the second half, one is complete. love the pattern and this pumpkin colored yarn (the computer and cheap camera don't do it justice). a finished pair soon... because doing a test knit with a deadline is the RIGHT thing to do when you're moving in ten days and have to pack your whole apartment! the packing can wait.

getting somewhere

2011-10-03T21:45:00.000-04:00

it's not that there's nothing going on around here... everything is just taking a little longer. these two have been slow going, but i have a finished tova dress (a dark linen that i wish was more like this one) as of last night and am in the final stages of an abalone. but to post these, i have to get home before dark to take pictures.

since that's not happening anytime soon, i will have to post a picture of the other reason everything's taking a little bit longer AND the other somewheres i'm gettin'...

hey! we're moving to baltimore! (i couldn't find a better picture. while i AM excited about the orioles, there are many other cool things in baltimore).

back from a break and some changes

2011-09-24T21:16:00.014-04:00

i'm {apprehensively} back. i loved that internet break! i was surprised how much i didn't miss it, and surprised at how much time i was wasting. i started reading BOOKS again. and good timing, because i read this one, which kept me inspired.

i've settled slowly back in, reducing the blogs i read by half (uh, because i think i was reading about 40) and not going on pinterest every day. i think spending so much time on the internet was causing me to think for myself less and crossed the line from inspiration into loss of originality.

anyways, enough blabbing. something else happened which i will tell more about soon, but the living room redecorating has to stop early. so, i'm posting what got done so far, and since there are gaping holes on the wall and no curtains like i wanted, i'm posting before and afters so that the afters look more impressive! (please keep in mind that several months or years lapsed between these pictures, so this is an evolution and not an overnight change).

before...

after!

and a closer look at after!

we were stuck on what to hang between the windows, and i have always wanted to display this beautiful frank lloyd wright scarf i got at a vintage shop in montreal. the books and plant started to make it look too snooty, so i added a vintage hulk lunch box. off to the right are a stack of vintage suitcases with art and craft supplies.

before...

after!

after we painted, we wanted to rearrange furniture, but had some limitations to work with. finally i decided to think outside the box and put the couch off-center in front of the "mantle," rather than the more traditional display above. the painting is of new york city, painted by my great-grandmother and the coffee table base is from a textile factory in fall river, ma, and dates from the early 1900's.

before (from a different angle)...

after! (from the opposite angle)

i didn't have a good before picture, but this actually ended up being one of my favorite parts of the new room. it's like a quirky mini library, with more of my great-grandmother's paintings.

and while i was looking through before pictures i was struck by a couple contrasts of my kitchen (which has turned into a 3-part room).

before...

after!

little busy, huh? the kitchen had NO counters so we had to improvise, and now it is also an "office" and a "reading nook" (see below). oh and a bike. and typically, a drying rack full of clothes.

before-ish...

after!

after! (the "reading nook")

i look at these and want to add more patterns! that's going to be it for now though. i wish the pictures were better. no design*sponge sneak peak, but i like it. this internet break made me re-think the whole blog thing, and i'll probably post slower again, but if you're thinking about an internet break, i highly recommend it!

a little break

2011-09-11T19:04:00.000-04:00

i'm going to take a week-long holiday from the internet. remember that pinterest problem? yeah, i think it's an internet problem. i need to cleanse my brain. not that i'm blogging daily or anything anyways, or not like it's so dramatic that i will be off of the internet, but that's where i'll be. i will be, of course, working on a few things,

and i leave you with this sign i passed by today while at the sowa vintage markets.

see you next sunday night!

vintage finds

2011-09-04T15:41:00.000-04:00

we spent yesterday afternoon doing some vintage shopping in boston - i found stuff at two great stores, one of which i had NEVER been to or heard of and can't believe i was missing out, and one which i knew of but did not realize was as great as it is.

i bought this dress at oona's, which was having a 50% off EVERYTHING sale! this dress was $17.50. i want to fall-ize it (like wear it with layers for fall), cardigan, tights, boots.

this little scarf i found at cafe society for $6, which i had never heard of or been to before yesterday. i used to live not too far from there at one point. shame. this scarf might become a pillow.

and this necklace is also from oona's, and $7.50! the chain is kind of short, so it hangs down from your collarbone, which is kind of nice, i usually buy pendants on longer chains. this is almost a choker but not (hello 90's!).

we also went to garment district where i found nothing. and now i'm off to saver's to find an old sweater to unravel and knit with...

i'll regret this in a few months...

2011-09-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

...but i'm getting excited for fall...

august gifts and too many buttons

2011-09-01T19:53:00.002-04:00

three birthdays on two days in august, one day apart...

this was ben's birthday loot - i made this little bag out of a map of bar harbor using this tutorial. this might be my favorite thing i made!

every year i try to make him a gift (except last year! i couldn't think of anything!) but it's getting harder to think of things to make. the first year i drew him pictures of three of his favorite musicians (one of which is in my first post) and the next year i made him this shirt, which was quite an undertaking for that point in my sewing timeline. this year he kept talking about needing a wallet, so i made him one from [kids] wallet tutorial.

i thought it looked a little too kid-ish and i was worried the slots weren't deep enough for the cards, but he says he likes it i used leftover black wool and remnants from his birthday shirt two years ago!

for my brother's girlfriend i made this reversible, adjustable bag. i like the size and shape, but this was the beginning of Too Many Buttons. the tutorial actually calls for 20 buttons (5 on each end, on each side) so that you adjust the strap to varying lengths, but i just couldn't take that many. i did 16 and that was excruciating enough. ok, enough drama, but it was a little tedious because you're sewing two buttons at once each time (which, yes, i know is better than 16 individually).

and for my co-worker i made a little purple mug warmer. i liked it so much that some of you loved ones out there may get these for christmas gifts...! i made another one to get started on that. and thus, more buttons.

i used this pattern and made a dent in some stash yarn. this is quick and easy and i love the smocking stitch pattern. i thought it was genius - is this a stitch pattern that everyone knows about except me? at first i got really excited and thought i would make some really cool hat with it and find my way to modification monday and then the next day i saw a pattern for a hat with the smocking pattern. right.

anyways, i tried a tight gauge and two buttons to make this somewhat adjustable, although the brown is actually too big for the narrow mug it's on and both would not fit a super-big mug. so the warmers need the right mug for the job.

and thank you pinterest because each and every one of these projects i found on that stinkin' website. more pinterest love.

living room updo part one

2011-08-30T21:54:00.002-04:00

so... ordering a new couch led to... painting the walls, which led to... rearranging the furniture, which led to... a new living room re-do. there's still a bit left to do, but i guess it's 75% done, so i'm going to post pictures piece by piece until it's done.

this first section came together by surprise (i was more skeptical than ben), but in the end i like it a lot and it's a nice little way to store his records. this funky structure is actually a 1970's twin headboard i got at salvation army for $15 and the records are in grape crates we found on the sidewalk.

i tried to put together a vintage and modern hodge podge (since i love the vintage clutter) and i LOVE how the old map of my dad's new hampshire hometown (in 1867 and 1967 - there is little difference between the two maps), the handpainted birds from a french book, and ben's old pittsburgh pirate's pennant all came together. my grandparents dancing in the 1950's, dried roses from ben on valentine's day two years ago (they were not dried when he gave them to me, that's obvious though, right?), and my mom's high school picture adds to the charm and the family memorabilia. oh she's gonna kill me for posting this.

yes my picture is off center. i'm still learning. by the way, take a look at tidytipsy's thrifted decorating. i'm telling you, i'd swap homes and clothes with her in a second.

i have a pinterest problem.

2011-08-28T17:04:00.004-04:00

i know there are many who could join me in a Pinterest Anonymous group. i have been spending WAY too much time on it - it's a great zone out, especially lately when i haven't wanted to do or think. in fact, i've spent more time looking at things to make than actually making things (i think there's a pin about that).

but even more, it's exciting to put everything that inspires you into one place, on one screen. i've learned things, like, apparently i love shades of blues and oranges together.

design*sponge via pinterest

thedaybookblog via pinterest

etsy via pinterest

tumblr via pinterest

and oh lord i love my patterns board! apparently i also love geometry.

flickr via pinterest

schorlemadchen via pinterest

and apparently i want a cluttered vintage home.

seenandsaid.tumblr.com via pinterest

design*sponge via pinterest

google via pinterest

this board has come in handy as i redecorate the living room... more on that in the future...

and at first, i was all knitting-snob "i already have favorites on ravelry," but then i found some pins that aren't ON ravelry (dear god, what?!) and realized i could pin things that were not patterns, the knitting board was on a roll. and apparently i am into gigantic knitting.

sense of fashion via pinterest

plaza.fi via pinterest

woolandthegang via pinterest

i have such a pinterest problem that i just made this post a mini-version of pinterest.

oh, and i almost forgot. following the pinboards of the bloggers i love... i could repin almost everything of kristina's from tidytipsy (as if i didn't already know that from reading her blog). and the queue i have going on there. oh boy. if you are in pinterest, tell me your username! i certainly need more boards to follow.

i have used it mostly for good, but i do have another pinterest problem. when i look under "everything" and i see so much "want," "need," "have to have," "yes, please" i get a little uneasy and remember how much were are all too easily tools of consumerism... i am loving pinterest and so far i think it's just been inspiration and not buyneedhavetohavewantgetitnow, but if i start to turn that ugly corner, my pinterest will go the way of my facebook account...

image via google

DEMOLITION!

p.s. (thanks to those who wrote kind words to my last post. it makes me feel so much better when people appreciate what it's like when you lose a pet you loved so much and don't think you're crazy because it's just a cat.)

a sad time

2011-08-23T20:43:00.000-04:00

i said i'd write about my recent pause. we lost this little boy on august 12.

we took him in as a stray, probably around a year old or so, and had him just under two years. actually, i had been looking forward to his september 'birthday' post. he was always a sickly thing, and i kind of knew he wouldn't have a long life, but it was still hard and i still wasn't ready. i still can't believe it.

he got sick really fast and we don't know why he died. i was a mess for a little while and now i'm more at peace, but this is the first time i've looked head on at a picture of him and it's kind of hard to swallow. it really broke my heart.

imogen cowl

2011-08-21T20:27:00.012-04:00

i've taken a little break after something unexpected happened... which i'll write about on another day soon. fortunately for the imogen cowl, knitting was a good coping skill last weekend, and on top of knitting furiously during a recent trip to bar harbor, we're done.

i knit this using rowan cashcotton for a little stash-busting. i realize now why i had such a hard time finding the right project for this yarn (and i don't think this was the one); it has poor stitch definition and is fuzzy, but after blocking the pattern was more visible than i expected.

overall i liked this pattern - it was the first lace pattern i've done that patterns on both sides, so it took a little longer to memorize, but once i did it was pretty easy to remember. the resulting pattern is really pretty and it might convince me to knit another imogen pattern by carrie bostick hoge.

overall a nice little project: take a look at another beautiful imogen cowl just recently finished! (wish i could have done mine in 10 days!)

photo from mrsmurrayknits

i'm loving the quince & co. patterns recently and now that i'm starting to experiment with cotton (and worried about it's lack of springy-ness) i'm thinking about either this cardigan:

or a version/rendition of something like this (different sleeves, oversized and similar neck).

photos from quince & co.

any votes? i've got 6 skeins of gray seedling by classic elite (but can probably get more in the same dye lot if i need to).

i made my own underwear!

2011-08-08T09:07:00.003-04:00

don't worry, i didn't model it.

but i'm pretty dang excited about it! it doesn't look so pretty in these pictures, but it fits surprisingly well and is pretty comfortable. this will help with more ethical choices so i can minimize one more sweatshop corporation purchase hopefully.

these were a little tricky; i used this isismade tutorial. i drafted a rough pattern from a pair i already had, without disassembling those, then made a quick sample from an old tank top so i could readjust as necessary. then using that pair, i drafted another, more precise pattern. i wrote the stitch settings on the pattern because they are very different for the type of zigzag i used. i also made note of the elastic length (20" for the legholes and 23" for the waistband).

now, my zigzag stichting varied from a flatline heart attack to nice and even, so i need to practice a lot more than that. i did not even think about what the grey thread would look like on the legholes until i turned it over - i used white for the waistband, and have to remember to use white from now on. another note for the future is to stitch a little closer to the bottom edge of the elastic, because the elastic kind of flips over when i wear it. other than that, these are suprisingly... wearable.

magic marker socks

2011-07-31T09:53:00.003-04:00

remember my little color dilemma from the 4th of july? i finally sorted it out by casting on 48 stitches and using the simple sock pattern from madeline tosh. well. "i sorted it out" i guess is somewhat subjective, if you call the resulting christmas-elf-striped-sock "sorted out."

i'm easy to please i guess, because i still like them. i happen to think that what they actually look like are white socks that some colored stripes on with magic marker, and for some reason i love that.

however, if i were to tell the truth, i actually wanted them variegated sort of like the heel below, but that seems to happen only if you knit back and forth. very few back and forth sock patterns out there though...

i did use reinforcing thread on the heel and toe and my sob story of the day is that i ran out of thread with ONE INCH left of the last toe! what?! shouldn't one spool be enough for a pair of socks? this was a sunday, and i was thrilled to think i had finished these socks in 10 days. i could not get to an open yarn shop that CARRIED reinforcing thread until the following thursday, and then four minutes later, my socks were finished.

i love foot modeling as much as i love clothes modeling. not a little bit.

knitting breakthroughs

2011-07-23T14:06:00.004-04:00

look at this contraption! a knitting breakthrough. a DIY yarn swift. i loves it.

store-bought yarn swifts are not in the budget, so i used this tutorial to construct my own, easy and good. along with this tutorial from knittinghelp.com (a website that is another knitting breakthrough unto it's own) on how to hand-wind a center pull ball, i'm feelin' pretty self-sufficient.

if you are currently hanging skeins of yarn on chair backs, laptops, and your boyfriend's hands (i may have done some of these) this will change your little knitting life.

a refashion from my nonna

2011-07-21T19:08:00.004-04:00

taking a cue from granny chic week at C+C i pulled out my nonna's handmade dress that i had started and then put on "hold" for 2 1/2 years, back when i was starting to figure out how to sew. refashioning isn't something i'm very experienced with, and using my grandmother's dress is important to me, so i guess that's why i sat on it so long. i got scared.

i forgot to take this "before" picture before i dismantled the sleeves, but they were longer and wider. the theme of this dress was "conservative."

much to my amazement 2 1/2 years later, i did a pretty good job tailoring and waist-shaping, and when i discovered a zipper on one side, it took me a long time to realize i did that way back when. i didn't know i knew how to do that back then! not bad!

this week i finally shortened and narrowed the sleeves and hemmed the dress. the cool thing about the hem....

... is that i discovered this nifty little technique i guess my grandmother used for hems... and i got very excited because i have a box full of this type of hem tape (?) that i found when i was going through her sewing things last year, soooo....

... i thought it would be nice to pay a hidden little tribute to her dress and her sewing legacy and such, and i tried the same in purple! (although my whipstich doesn't hold a candle to hers).

thanks to Lizzie from C+C for the nudge!

useful things

2011-07-18T22:01:00.002-04:00

inspired by this post and a former coworker's idea, i decided to make good use of my scraps and make reusable sandwich* bags.

i machined through them, cutting 7"x7" and 7"x4" squares from my scraps and using ripstop nylon for the linings and velcro for the closure. they are machine washable, but, word to the wise, turn them inside out before you wash them.

i used my favorite fabric (above) and now have a tank top, pillow, sandwich bag, and cat toy from this fabric. i'm unstoppable. i need to take a picture of the ensemble, yes?

* these bags can hold an array of items other than sandwiches.

kakomu

2011-07-11T21:31:00.004-04:00

i finally finished it! look, i'm so happy.

this is kakomu by kirsten johnstone (this is my second knit of hers, i made tetsubou back in february). i knit mine with plymouth earth hillside linen which has such a nice drape to it.

this was a labor of love. i knit the back in one week in april... and i just finished seaming this week. funny story, i've been sitting on about two INCHES of seaming for a couple weeks, and then, this morning i wanted to wear this to work. i grabbed it, a tapestry needle, and some yarn, and finished it up in a meeting this morning and wore it the rest of the day. i guess i needed a little extra push.

i ran out of yarn for the ties, so i switched to the light grey schoppel-wolle i used for these mitts for the tips and i really love the two-toned color combination. other modifications? here:

i knit the armhole decreases in such a way to make the armholes smaller (let me know if you want to know what i did and i will give you more detail).
i knit the neckband much shorter (about 4 inches between the last armhole decrease of the first side and the first armhole decrease of the second side). i probably should have added another inch or so, because it didn't sit quite right when seaming, but fortunately i have no problem doing a hack job in the eleventh hour.
i didn't understand the length of the front, so since i knit my front longer, i made this funny little gather on the bottom edges (see below). i kind of like, it although it does give the silhouette more hips. i guess the "silhouette" would be me.

as you can see from above i've given up on my attempts to a be a brooding, pensive model like other bloggers and i tried smiling. i'm gonna go with it. in no small way influenced by the picture below which makes me laugh out loud every time i look at it.

apparently i'm just a grouchy little girl.

p.s. i apologize in advance if this post comes out jammed together with no lines between paragraphs and many spelling errors. lately blogger will not allow me to go back and edit, if i even get to publish the post at all. blogger really is a &#$*# of @*&$.

kitcheny apron

2011-07-10T08:08:00.003-04:00

i guess most aprons are kitcheny? that is the word this pattern makes me think of (maybe more like kitsch-eny). i LOVE it and have a ton of it, that i already made a tablecloth out of. why not match your tablecloth?

i basically made a 2" wide band and unfortunately had to sew two lengths together because i didn't have enough yardage. mental note for next time. the square of fabric for the apron was something like 25"x 18" and i gathered the top middle, leaving 4" on each side flat. the ruffles were cut on the bias so i could keep the edges raw. i sewed them a little crooked but i kinda like it.

i like it! it is now 5th in my apron collection. i may make a little change though - because the top edges sort of angle up because of the gathers in the middle, i sewed them into the band that way, and i think it wraps around me too much. i may re-sew them not at an angle. does that make any sense?

vintage fabric from rocket to mars, one of my favorite places.

p.s. re: the post below - i tried to add an addendum but blogger wasn't having it. like most things blogger won't let me do. i fully realize that gauge is more important to sizing than making your sock yarn pattern in a pretty way. :) and i found out that 48 st works for both reasons... more to come...

colors

2011-07-04T17:19:00.003-04:00

the closest to red, white, and blue you'll get from me...

i love these colors!! but they're pooling and even though it's in this cool swirly-kind of pattern, the swatch had such a nice variegated pattern, that's what i expected for my sock. this is sock yarn. this should work, right? i CO 60 stitches initially and then, because of the pooling, thought i'd try 56. maybe i should try 64? the swatch was 34 or 36, i can't remember.

non-knitters just went to a happier place about a minute ago. i have a ton of stuff i've been working on lately, so more to post. the biggest obstacle to blog posts is certainly not a lack of projects, but taking the photos. i hate doing it because they never look good or come out the way i want, which i can partially blame on my cheap point-and-shoot camera with peach juice on the lens. since there's no expensive camera in my near future, i have to just keep plugging away and exerting patience. my deepest flaw.

geez, enough bitching now, huh?

out of order skirt

2011-06-16T20:53:00.005-04:00

i made a skirt using this tutorial from out of order. i absolutely love this vintage fabric (i also used it last year for this bag) and it is exactly what i wanted for a skirt. it doesn't have the same fullness as the skirt in the tutorial (because it is a jersey knit, and drapes just like she mentions in the tutorial), but i'm ok with that.

when i was almost done sewing it and tried it on, it felt like it should have pockets. one modification, if you can even call it that, is that i used french seams, so, i ripped out enough of the seams, traced pockets from another skirt, and stitched the pockets sort of into the fold of the seams. if that makes any sense.

ugh. my photos aren't great, as usual. but the skirt's not bad!

reversible bag

2011-06-11T13:07:00.005-04:00

the inspiration for this bag was the bag i purchased from //between the lines//, along with this tutorial from her, which helped a lot wit the clever way to attach the straps. in fact, i traced my own //between the lines// bag because it is such a good shape and size.

another simple good one.

i just can't quit it with the wiksten tanks.

2011-06-08T20:58:00.002-04:00

i love this freakin' pattern.

i made this one in one night! (i stayed up late). i was really happy to finally use this fabric i bought last year at what cheer? and i like how it came out.
no modifications here.

short and sweet.

kimono tank

2011-06-06T22:40:00.009-04:00

my lack of blogging has nothing to do with a lack of sewing. i've got the sewing bug lately, and have a lot of projects to catch up on posting.

this is a tank top pattern from twinkle sews and i used a kimono that i bought at a yard sale (for $1 or $5 i can't remember). the fabric is not at all what is recommended by the pattern, but i really wanted a tank top with this fabric.

i'm happy with the straps and how this looks with aidez but i'm not entirely happy with the pattern writing and the fact that several times my iron burned a nice yellowish stain, including on the top right front. mmhmm.

the fabric is quite stiff and i need to take the straps in more, so the top sits a little funny, but for some reason i love it with this sweater, so it works for me.

more to come.

** update** i always forget to post modifications.

1. when i traced the pattern, i added 1/8" so i could make french seams.
2. after sewing it together, i chopped a bunch of fabric off the back because it was too full/baby doll in the back for my taste.
3. i added that little horizontal piece in the middle of the bust because i liked the contrasting stripes.
4. i only lined the top (lined with the same fabric).

ok i think that's it. duh. kind of the point of posting is to learn something.

the babies are coming

2011-05-18T22:48:00.003-04:00

two important friends are having babies any day or month now. like a good faux-aunt (or, faunt, if you will), this is probably the first of many baby projects. i used this mama makes stuff's rockin' baby gown tutorial for this swee' pea gown.

i surprised myself with this one and sewed with jersey without it coming out wavy and woggly and stretched out funny. in fact, the tutorial prepped me for this possibility, and i prepared to be frustrated, and lo and behold, it worked.

not as nice of a result for the sushi roll changing mat and wipes holder i made - i didn't realize that i didn't take pictures before i gave it away, and i wonder if that was accidentally on purpose. i used batting in the changing mat and pretended that if i didn't quilt it it would stay in place, and i washed it and it didn't, and the wipes holder is crooked. i gave them to her anyways so maybe they can be a back up to her back up.

a few things.

2011-03-29T21:26:00.006-04:00

in one weekend i finished a wiksten dress (the dress version of the wiksten tank) and the aidez sweater. i realize that sounds impressive until i admit that i started the aidez sweater a month and a half ago.

the wiksten dress was quick to whip up, and i added a lining because i used a gauzy linen - i did not think i would be able to do the lining well, but it ain't so bad! i love this vintage fabric (which i got for exactly $1 at a yard sale) and i have some more to play with. my only modification was to use the hem of the medium (the dress is a small), which basically added about 1/2" because i am tall.

the aidez sweater, while a relatively quick knit, took me longer because i knit the back all the way up to the armhole decreases and realized it was TOO SMALL. i stopped, put it in time out, and knit the two fronts the next size up. then i ripped that back out (all the while bitching about it, lucky ben), and knit it up again. thankfully cascade eco wool is nice and thick and knits quick.

modifications:

because my gauge was too tight as always, i followed the directions for a M to end up somewhere between an XS and S.
because that meant my row gauge was bigger, i modified all the armhole decreases to decrease a little faster so the armholes weren't too big (and i have small arms). here are the modifications: follow the bind off sts as written, then knit one row even. at the first k2 and/or ssk decrease, do two instead of one. then when there are 6 decreases left, do two again. then when there are two left, do two at once again.
i kept the live stitches on needles at the top of the two front pieces and kitchener stitched them together.
this isn't really a modification, but i knit the sleeves at the same time and i looovved it. i hate finishing one and having to start from scratch with the first one and i always forget any modifications i made because i never write them down. so.... i am starting a pair of socks two at a time now too!

that's it for mods, folks. a really good pattern and it ended up fitting well - i didn't even add length. each sweater i knit so far i like better than the last one! and here is the sunwashed picture i like the best, unfortunately it really doesn't show you what i made...

knitting needle case

2011-03-27T16:54:00.004-04:00

i finally made a knitting needle case for my straight needles (after i've been using a circular needle case for all my needles for quite some time. i did not know that there was such a thing as a circular needle case when i got it). i love this tutorial from the bbbcraft sisters for design*sponge and i LOVE using a drop cloth canvas for the material. this was a super-quick project.

i found mine for $2.99 (benny's!) and used bias tape for the edges, and a vintage ribbon of my grandmother's to tie it all up (that's what i call it but i think it might be old school bias tape or hem tape or something). i wish i had stamps for the numbers, but i might just have to find something i can write them with.

hippo stash-killer

2011-03-13T14:31:00.005-04:00

i made a little hippo for a 2-year-old birthday gift, and took care of some extra yarn stash too. i made the hippo from susan anderson's itty bitty toys. the only modification was obviously the stripes, which i used to offset the fact that i only had two skeins of debbie bliss baby cashmerino, and as usual lately, i came to within inches of the yarn left. the stripes are some type of boucle that i don't remember the name of. i was inspired by this hippo by tentenknits because it has the sweetest face, which i tried to replicate, but....

if you can't see the smile, it has demonic white eyes..... yikes.

my first craft hope

2011-03-09T21:33:00.004-05:00

i finally completed my first project for craft hope, which i've meant to do for a long time. craft hope is an awesome charity that coordinates crafted donations, giving specific instructions for an identified cause. project 11 was a birthing kit for Konbit Sante in Haiti. the "crafting" part was a stuffed animal (see my creepy bunnies below) and a tote bag, as well as an optional receiving blanket, which, due to my procrastinating i unfortunately did not complete. i made two birthing kits.

the unbelievable part of this is the non-crafting contents. look at the list that i had to pack:

1 bar of soap

a 3'x4' piece of plastic sheeting

a 24 inch piece of clean string

an alcohol wipe

hand sanitizer

latex gloves

and with that, a baby is born. WHAT?! one in every TEN THOUSAND Haitians has access to a doctor. Konbit Sante trains birthing attendants (not midwives), and these kits are for them.

sometimes facts like this make us go "ohmygosh" and move on with our day. i think we quickly reference a movie or a photo or maybe a news report, but if you try to imagine yourself as the pregnant woman in poverty, even homeless, in the heat and dirt, about to give birth, on a plastic sheet, with woman armed with a razor blade and a piece of string, it makes you stop a little longer. really imagine it. you can't. you cannot imagine what that is like. or at least, many of us are lucky enough to not be able to.

given that, i am disappointed in myself for procrastinating and scrambling to make mediocre kits. i hope this will make me remember to re-prioritize and exercise patience when i have a dozen projects i want for me, me, me.

better days

2011-03-02T21:41:00.002-05:00

oh, i can't wait.

scrap art and i'm a 6 year old

2011-02-27T10:55:00.002-05:00

we did scrap art with the kids the other day and i was inspired to make a picture of my cat (actually, he is known as "scrapper" at the vet). i haven't drawn in a long time, so here is my little piece of art. i tried to replicate his wide-eyed owl look. i got a little too in to it while i was at work, although i did come back to reality and help the kids too. but i understood why little kids get so protective over their artwork when they make something they like.

the sock bug

2011-02-21T19:14:00.004-05:00

i think i caught it! i knit my first pair of socks for my mom's birthday, inspired by these posts from wikstenmade. i always thought sock knitting was bizarre (a lot of effort for something you put in your shoes) and i knew that was like, knitting blasphemy, but i didn't think it made sense. but then when i heard that the socks FEEL really good, i was intrigued.

my photos, as usual, leave something to be desired. how do you photograph socks? these are olympian socks made from madeline tosh sock yarn. i liked the squishiness of sock yarn, and this was a nice color ("ox blood" was handwritten on the label. lovely). i, impatient as ever, made the cuffs shorter, which looks a little weird off the foot, but i think ok on.

i liked it so much i bought my next sock yarn - quince & co. wool from knit wit in portland, maine (hello, i just read quince & co.'s website and i had no idea they are american-made from american animals and it sounds like they may care about how the animals are treated. i did not even know all this good information when i bought this yarn.) and, this store was awesome too. adding to how much i love portland.

so down the road, there may be more socks... after another sweater and a hippo. and look at this humanoid knock-off from rennes, who posted pictures of MY humanoid knock-off last week!

the no-knit no-sew series: cloth

2011-02-15T20:08:00.004-05:00

before i wrap up my little craft project series, i have to thank julia from rennes for her post on my humanoid sweater! i saw her post a few weeks back about making her own version, so when i completed mine, i emailed her, and i had no idea she would post my sweater! that's so nice! i can't wait to see hers.

(photo and tutorial courtesy of design*sponge)

and for the last of the no-knit no-sew, we have fabric. these argyle sock vases might be the most simple, and probably the coolest thing you've never thought of for your mismatched socks that you can't part with. i saw a similar post way back on the haystack needle too. unfortunately, i don't have socks that cute. it crossed my mind to look at salvation army, but i am not so fond of feet and that thought went fleeting.

(photo and tutorial courtesy of design*sponge)

i love the idea of rubber stamping fabric, and again, it doesn't have to just be on a dishtowel. i was drawn to this particular stamped picture, in fact - i would probably frame it and hang it on the wall!

(photo and tutorial courtesy of poppytalk)

i LOVE this project, another from Arounna Khourannaj from Boukhou for poppytalk. i would probably turn this into a placemat (i know, how many trivets should i really post because how many trivets do you need? i don't even have one). i'm a sucker for things that looked old, weathered, worn, and ripped and this another good repurpose. i like the DIY loom too.

(photo and tutorial courtesy of design*sponge)

this is probably the most ambitious but i think this canvas calendar from design*sponge is so cool. the computer/printing part stumps me a little, but i'm sure if i focused i could get it. you could get super-creative with this one, and if you are more computer-savvy than me, this would be a fun one and you could add embroidery to your repertoire.

that's it for the no-knit no-sew, maybe it will lead to more of these types of projects of my own...

finally a humanoid

2011-02-14T20:00:00.004-05:00

boy, i dragged this one out.

i finally {sort of} finished my humanoid knock-off. a little over two years ago i saw this sweater from garmenthouse (then green olives design) and when i traced it back to the original humanoid sweater, i was super-excited to pull it off. i bought the yarn in july 2009, cast on in october 2009 and sewed the buttons on this past saturday. i guess i got distracted along the way.

happy-ish with:

1. the little holes

2. the faux inside-out raglan seam

3. the front placket

4. the sleeves

5. the sunshine pattern

not so happy with:

1. the fact that i can't take a decent picture.

2. the width and the length (oh, kind of important, right?)

3. my too-tight bind off of the hem

4. my wonky left shoulder collar

over the almost two years that i first discovered this, i've noticed a number of other attempts to make this, all seeming to be inspired by garmenthouse's pioneer attempt. i had no idea it would inspire so many people, but i guess i'm not surprised. i'm sure there will be many others, and hopefully they'll fix what i did wrong (i realize several of my not-so-happy list are fixable, but ugh. i don't feel like it. maybe in another year and a half)

the no-knit no-sew series: wool & thread

2011-02-13T15:05:00.004-05:00

this next group of tutorials offers a chance to work with wool, yarn, and thread without knitting or crocheting a stitch.

(photo and tutorial courtesy of purl bee)

this felt ball trivet from purl bee is a simple enough project that also teaches a technique for knotting that can be used for beaded jewelry. aside from this cute trivet (a good gift), you can apply this tutorial to a lot of other projects.

(photo and tutorial courtesy of purl bee)

i love the stitches on these sampler pillows, again from purl bee. pillowcases are a nice medium for experimenting and this tutorial offers a nice guide for learning stitches that are not as complicated as they might look. you could use these stitches on tote bags, shirts, tablecloths, hand towels...

(photo and tutorial courtesy of purl bee)

in addition to the pillows above, this is an awesome guide to all kinds of needlework, a tutorial i'll be consulting when i start to embroider an antique embroidery pattern i bought at brimfield antique markets this summer.

another simple craft is this "diy necklace" from jenny gordy of wikstenmade for lucky magazine. (wikstenmade is one of my favorite blogs and designers, and i love the patterns i have bought from her). i have started braiding some embroidery floss, but haven't found the right beads - i like pairing of the metal beads with the yarn and string.

(photo and tutorial courtesy of purl bee)

finally, yet another half-finished project i've done! i've gotta get my act together. i started felting some roving for this felted garland a couple days after christmas, so maybe by next christmas i'll have a garland. you could make this any time and use any combination of colors.

.

last of the series will be cloth.

the no-knit no-sew series: paper

2011-02-10T19:15:00.008-05:00

(photo courtesy of design*sponge)

i have been lucky enough to be part of a new weekly craft night full of lovely ladies - three of whom i taught how to knit! (making my total of knitters added to the world FIVE). this group made me think it would be nice to have a compilation of interesting, doable crafts for the no-knit/no-sew crew. hence the no-knit no-sew series.

the first installment, paper.

(photo and tutorial courtesy of design*sponge)

i own a similar scrap-paper journal i bought at a craft show in cambridge a few years ago - i would love to make my own with this recycled paper journal tutorial from design*sponge, from the bbcraft sisters (it looks like there are a lot of good crafts on their blog too). making a nicely-bound journal might not as difficult as one might imagine. mine is made up of old math worksheets, graph paper, and typed lists.

(photo and tutorial courtesy of poppytalk)

i love this paper garland from Arounna Khounnoraj of bookhou for poppytalk - the paper scraps are cut out paper doll-style, and i love the look of magazine scraps. there is certainly room for creativity in this one.

(photo and tutorial courtesy of design*sponge)

i am halfway (or more) through this line-a-day vintage postcard calendar from ashleyannphotography for design*sponge. i stamped every day of the year, but got stuck trying to find the right container! that, and my backordered one line a day journal arrived, although i thought there was a chance that this calendar would be a nice gift for a soon-to-be mom i know. a line a day could be a realistic goal to track memories while you chase around a little one over the years.

(photo and tutorial courtesy of design*sponge)

this is yet another cool paper tutorial from design*sponge (can you tell they have a ton of wonderful diy tutorials?) i wish there was more letter writing going on in the world, but maybe this could be encouragement. although this requires more "equipment," i love the stamp-making.

next up: wool and yarn

the positive side of snow days

2011-02-04T21:37:00.005-05:00

sharing company with extra sleep and long hours in pajamas, plugging through a pile of knitting and sewing is one of the perks of a horrendous ice/snow tangle. i had such a great snow day on tuesday! i hadn't gotten on the sewing machine in quite some time and LOVE my new slippers:

these are recycled sweater slippers from sewing green. i love them so much more than i thought i would - they are made from an old yard sale sweater that i machine-felted. the only modification i made was to make the toe a little less pointy and elf-like.

they are so warm. i guess they should be if you're basically wrapping a wool sweater around your wool-socked feet.

and my favorite part is the striped denim fabric i used for the soles - i love how it looks with the taupe slippers. everything was stitched with contrasting red thread, but it only shows up in the close-up of the soles below.

to add to my repurposed clothing collection i made two "quick fix grocery bags" from this wonderful tutorial from the blog //Between the lines// (who last week received much deserved credit after good housekeeping originally posted this as an original tutorial of theirs. what?!)

this one has become my new lunch bag.

and this one is hard to see the slits because of the pattern, but i love the pattern so i don't care - this will probably turn into a beach bag this summer. this far, far away summer.

tetsubou

2011-02-02T09:38:00.002-05:00

continuing on the theme of risky knitting (knitting without knowing if you really are going to have enough yarn to finish - the thrills!), i ripped the crown out four times before reaching the right balance between a decent length in the hat and the amount of yarn i had left.

this is tetsubou, a design by kirsten johnstone, whose blog i follow and where i first saw this hat. i love here designs and her photography. her tetsubou is much nicer than mine.

felted tweed was so-so for this project. i don't hate it or love it. my favorite part of the hat are the flaps, although the second flap was tricky to get straight, picking up the right stitch from the right column. i did not knit the full 7 inches of the hat and can't remember what i did, but wish i could have knit this a little bigger and a little longer.

in order to maximize my small amount of yarn, when i was getting close to the end, i unravelled my little ball of yarn, and made the i-cord on that end, and left it on the ball, so that i knew how much i needed for the i-cord. know what i mean?

and i also love the twirling star pattern of the crown decreases.

wow, snow days really help me keep up with this blog. and let me craft with reckless abandon. more on this soon too.

rapid gratification

2011-02-01T13:04:00.002-05:00

different than instant gratification, this is what happens when you knit with big chunky yarns, especially when you haven't done so in quite some time...
and you get a warm, cabled, earflap hat in less than 24 hours!

and my favorite part was that i was able to knit this just so.... that the yarn pictured below is all i had left! i love that!

the hat is 18 seconds to sunrise, knit with a locally grown/spun yarn from "west elm" with the following modifications:

CO 60 sts (my gauge was a little bigger than 3st/in)
i used 6 st cables instead of the 8st cables in the pattern, so i started with k6 p4
i only completed rows 1-16, then 1-3 or 4, since the hat was long enough and that's what i had enough yarn for. somehow i modified the decreases, but don't really remember specifics
i knotted the i-cords instead of tassels, and they are my favorite part of the hat.

as for another quick knit:

cottage slipper socks, technically my first socks (but more to come later). the only mods i made were to CO 24 instead of 28 so that they were shorter (and so that, again, i had enough yarn). i like these a lot and both of these have already gotten a lot of use this cold january, but unfortunately i didn't take a picture of the socks before they already started to look quite worn.

the theme here is adventurous knitting, aka knitting while realizing you may be running out of yarn very soon... more on this in the next post.

a little corduroy pouch

2011-01-14T19:30:00.002-05:00

i made these little pouches - sort of a miniature version of this bag - and gave the one on the left to my brother's girlfriend for christmas (they are here visiting right now!) they kept coming out not-quite-right in my opinion. the one on the left was made first and i wasn't happy with the shape (too tall and narrow) so the second one was an attempt to fix that - i cut a polygon rather than a square, with the top longer than the bottom before pleating. i think the shape of the pleated section came out well, but i wish i had made the top panel thinner. maybe i'll try a third one.

i didn't take pictures of the linings, but used a vintage replica barkcloth-like fabric (that i also used for our stockings last year, which i guess i never blogged) for the smaller one, and a lightweight white cotton with turquoise dots for the larger one.

wrap me up

2011-01-03T20:25:00.004-05:00

i've made myself a few things to wrap myself in... allow myself to introduce myself...

this is kaiju, a norah gaughan pattern from the same booklet as kaari. this was a nice, simple knit and i like the rustic quality the fishermen's wool adds to it. i actually like it better than i thought i would (why was i knitting something i didn't think i'd like?)

this was a quick scarf from that lovely vintage flannel i made my dad's heat wrap in. i don't have enough of it to make pajama pants or a top, and i wanted to put the softness to good use against skin, so a scarf it is!

more to come if i can keep taking a decent photograph.

a new tradition and some overdue pictures

2011-01-01T18:44:00.004-05:00

this morning we watched a mindblowing sunrise, the first of 2011.

i think this is going to be our new tradition - i'm about as into getting drunk and screaming at midnight as i am into a turkey dinner. well maybe it's not as bad as a turkey dinner. so instead, we'll celebrate the dawn of day in the new year. i loved it! and we enjoyed these jelly donut cupcakes from veganomicon as well. two each at 7:00 am. oh many i love that cookbook. home-style potato roll dough rising as we speak. type.

oh yeah, and there are a slew of projects i hadn't photographed and posted. christmas presents:

basket rib bath mitt for a handmade comfort gift basket i made for a work raffle. forgot to photograph the basket for the second year in a row. another tradition too, i guess.

another pair of pajama pants, this time for my mom.

heat wrap for my dad, in the softest vintage flannel (more of this later) with lavender-scented rice.

and another heat wrap for a coworker for secret santa (along with some slippers i forgot to photograph. and a mug, hot chocolate, and a can of frosting. to each person's comfort their own).

more to come, including a long-awaited project.

2010-12-29T21:28:00.002-05:00

Whoa! Look at this! What a beautiful drawing, even if it is of me! You'd never know what a stinky photo it's from too. So cool!

Long time since I've posted, but so many sewn and knit objects to post actually, hopefully I'll get my act together soon. Taking a good photo is always what trips me up.

tova top

2010-12-04T09:40:00.005-05:00

hey, i made another wiksten pattern! these patterns are so incredibly well-made. the only modification i made was to adjust the pattern to use french seams because i don't have a serger. and i actually can't believe it turned out ok - it's just my second time doing french seams. the only thing i screwed up was not clipping the corners on the front placket, so the seam is thick and the gathers in front are a little funky. doing gathers with french seams was a little tricky.

i want this vintage fabric to be some kind of awesome wool blend, but truth be told, it's probably polyester. meh. and the save the day story? when all i had left was the collar, i burned the right shoulder with the iron! what?! i was a little heartbroken, but kept my cool and went straight to bed. the next day i cut out a piece of fabric for a yoke in back like a western-style shirt and i Saved The Shirt. and then i forgot to take picture of that. maybe i'll add it later.

look at this dorky picture. i need modeling lessons.

oh, i give in

2010-11-30T21:39:00.005-05:00

i'm blog-crazy, i'm tired of it, i'm back. who knows what i want. but the tumblr thing wasn't working for me - i really don't know how it works and how to format it the way i want. although that's true for blogger too. which is why those two pictures above are actually supposed to be at the bottom but i can't seem to move them today. perhaps my return to blogging may again be short if it's as much of a pain in the $#5 as it always was. anyways, i've been busy knitting and sewing and never seem to want to keep my big mouth shut, so i'm back. and here's some of what i've been up to (thermis above):

manti size 3 but with a smaller gauge to turn out a size 2. she's so cute, it really doesn't matter what i knit. really happy that it fit and hope it can also be worn by a future sibling (or two?...)

i have more to take pictures of and post... among other things that make blogging difficult, is the fact that i really can't take a decent picture of myself wearing my creations. pictures of garments lying on my couch are only so interesting. some combination of crappy camera, uncomfortable model, no good backdrop and not home during daylight hours make it challenging. but i have a knit obi-style belt done, a tova top, and i'm closer to a humanoid knock-off...

tired of this blog.

2010-11-01T21:19:00.001-04:00

that's it. so for now i'm justing posting pictures on tumblr: http://littlegraybird.tumblr.com/

pictures of my projects, photos i've taken, and other photos that inspire me one way or another.

happy birthday elmore

2010-09-30T18:22:00.014-04:00

i normally don't post non-craft-related posts, but today is the day we brought elmore home... from the parking lot... and i have so many good pictures of him to celebrate with.

(this picture was taken when we played photo booth a couple weeks ago. he loved it).

most people who have known me a while know i didn't really like cats.... but i love this stinkin cat.

a new couch

2010-09-19T14:24:00.007-04:00

well, not exactly. but new to us.

finally, after living with this for a year... wait for it... *jaws music*

eek! well, to some people. at first i didn't hate it too much when ben had it in his apartment. but we've been well overdue for an upgrade. i love the contrast of orange and blue, so i wanted to tie that into my great grandmother's painting...:

and the fabric i'm using on the coffee table top for the antique "thing" from a textile factory in fall river, circa 1900 (the bottom of the table, not the fabric. the fabric was from the remnants at lorraine. see picture below for the coffee table. i still have to cut and sew the fabric):

pretty happy with the results, although the sewing is far from impeccable. i didn't photograph it, but the backs of the cushions are held with rusty red plastic buttons.

elmore likes posing and likes, uh, helping me too. the lump in the second picture below is my dear cat.

oh my god i almost forgot! total for the supplies used for this makeover: about $25. love the remnants. although i do have about another $14 worth of leftover fabric, but that's whats great about cheap fabric, i can buy too much in case i screw up. which i did a little.

my... "studio"

2010-09-17T21:31:00.013-04:00

i have finally completed my little, tiny workspace. it consists of about a 4'x8' section of my little, tiny bedroom. unfortunately for ben, it's on his side of the bed...
i've lived in this apartment for a year now, and am almost close to being done with the major decorating and arranging. phew. not a quick task with a small budget and the primary source being yard sales and thrift stores. but much more satisfying than a quick ikea fill.

i've collected a few vintage pieces i love, including the antique typography drawer that i mounted on the wall and filled with spools of threads, and the egg-shaped case that holds fo's or projects in time out. i LOVE vintage suitcases and have them all over the apartment for storage/decoration, including the one holding my sewing supplies.

a big source of inspiration is family, including the pictures of my mom that i've blogged about before, a membership card of my grandmother's from 1968, from the amalgamated clothing workers of america, a picture of my father's grandmother knitting in a rowboat in 1917, and a knitting tag of my father's sister. i think about my nonna ALL THE TIME when i am sewing, which is such a great way to remember her.

the last step is a change of curtains. another long overdue decorating project will hopefully be posted soon.

a great memory

2010-09-16T19:41:00.004-04:00

look at this! a friend from my days in fredericksburg still has a gift i gave her years and years ago. i kid you not that i thought about this gift not too long ago - i bought her frames because i knew how beloved her dogs were to her (like mine was to me) and i scribbled little pictures to go in there - i thought i was hilarious. honestly, i was a little too delighted with how funny i thought i was, and jokingly told her that the gift was actually the pictures, not the frames. then quickly corrected myself in case she should actually think for a second that i expected her to like my little drawings. but i guess she did! i don't know whether to laugh or cry. i love it. thanks jen!

tomatoes!

2010-08-31T21:54:00.006-04:00

the tomatoes have arrived.there are four varieties, but i only remember three, amish paste (which, until just now when i looked it up, thought were the little orange ones, but are actually the plum tomato-shaped ones) a beefsteak variety (big boy i think?), and black prince. so i'm not sure what the orange ones are, but they're all good. i made a teeny bit of sauce but mostly have eaten them raw, and that beautiful beefsteak above was eaten sliced with a little bit of salt.

the warmth that radiates from a giant just-picked tomato is amazing.

i can't boast the same about corn. corn is hard! this ear tasted not so great and was pretty much all we got. now the stalks are dry and dead and impossible to pull from the ground.

the animals (and by animals, i mean rats and possibly raccoons) eat the vegetables too fast, so i picked this little bell pepper too fast so i could have it first, and it was tiny and good. there are more coming!

i can't even touch the inside of the pepper and then touch my lips without running for water. these peppers look beautiful but are, wow, hot.

i just pulled all the carrots today and there are finally some legit carrots. two actually.

to add to the list:

successes:

italian roasters and jalapenos

what didn't work:

corn. maybe if we had more space we could make a square cluster and space them a little better. they might like more water too.
green peppers, only because of the critters

for the fall:

pickling cucumbers, broccoli, kale, and brussels sprouts

wiksten tank!

2010-08-24T20:58:00.006-04:00

i think this is my new favorite thing i have made. i ordered the pattern for the wiksten "perfect summer tank" - i was very excited because, for now, that is the only wiksten item i can afford. i waited patiently :) and it came last week! i traced the pattern, cut it and sewed it up and finished friday, but it took me a few days to take pictures and find my camera.

the stripes at the neckline are a little funky, but overall i was happy with my sewing (i centered the stripes and i like how it came out and i accidentally got the pocket to match perfectly). but i was REALLY happy with the pattern - wow, so well-made. and i've never sewn something that was finished so nicely. i had never done french seams before! they were so easy, i'm going to do them all the time.

french seams and armhole binding: (can you believe this is the inside of the shirt?! it looks so nice!)

going to make the dress and another tank.

a burlap bag

2010-08-19T21:20:00.007-04:00

working through the stash... i started to picture the type of bag with two options for handles, only wanting that foldover style without the second type of handle. make sense?

i also wanted a single strap that comes across the body and sits close right under your arm (i guess i miss my timbuk2 bag, or, really, my bike).

i absolutely love this vintage fabric i got for ONE DOLLAR at a yard sale and have been dreaming up many possibilities for it, including a strapless dress, which i don't know if i'm really ready for.

it's not an ideal fabric for a big since it's a jersey knit (it sort of has the quality of kids' pajamas), stretches and pills easily, but it's what i wanted, so it's what i did. i stitched it to muslin to stabilize it and line it since it's slightly see-through.

lining? burlap. a random find in the remnants at lorraine's for $2 and i love the contrast with the black and white. (the inside of the pocket is a checked canvas i also bought in case the burlap didn't work out)

hard to see but i did red contrast stitching on the pocket.

not bad - and materials probably came to less than $5. unfortunately, it's probably not going to withstand much rough handling because of the outer fabric, but i think it will work for what i need it for.

addendum: notes.

stitched on small squares of durable, thick upholstery to the outer fabric before stitching it to the lining where the straps were going to give them a little more durability
lined the strap with burlap - a little itchy, but i was too lazy to stitch the muslin to it as well.
the zipper was a little tough - not sure what the technique should be when putting it into straight piece of fabric (usually connecting two pieces of fabric this way), but i cut a horizontal slit with a small vertical slit on each end, attached the zipper and topstitched all the way around. burlap frays easily so one corner didn't withstand this process very well.

next up... my wiksten pattern tank!

stash bustin'

2010-08-15T16:09:00.004-04:00

since i'm usually a voracious knitter, this isn't much of an issue with yarn, but this fabric stash for an infrequent sewer is a bit ridiculous:very few of these were bought with a specific project in mind... i just have a thing for textiles and love buying fabric, i guess. and sometimes i buy them with an idea for a project that is not really my skill level yet.

i know many sewers have a larger stash, but i'm not really digging into mine, while still actively accumulating. in addition, i have this pile of half-finished projects or clothes to alter:

my sewing "room" is a tiny end of a tiny bedroom. this has to stop. i can't believe i'm actually going to take this vow, but no more fabric. not even if i think i need it to use up something in my stash! no more fabric. not until i work it down so that it is no longer falling off the shelves and the pile in silver tub actually fits in the silver tub.

hopefully this means more blog posts of fo's soon.

pleasant surprise

2010-08-12T22:01:00.006-04:00

i've been knitting this sweater oh so slowly for almost a year with this sweater from Impulse Seattle as my goal:

it was starting to get tedious too soon, so i thought i'd try it on to see if i could get motivated or if it was going in time out, and i got motivated.

like the toilet paper background?!

garden variety

2010-08-07T14:04:00.004-04:00

some garden updates... the jalapenos are AWESOME and this red italian roaster was supposedly amazing, but too hot for me to even consider trying. there are three more curly green ones on the plant waiting to ripen.

we finally got two small eggplants (two more were removed by some creature perhaps, and rotting on the ground, unfortunately). i made eggplant parm with them and they were delicious. the tomatoes have started ripening, including the black prince tomatoes, which i mistook for diseased tomato, and threw the first one away. once i figured out they're supposed to look like that, we've been eating them and they taste pretty good, although i'm still getting used to the color.

i found one of our big beef tomatoes unripened and on the ground before it began to rot and decided to fry it up with cornmeal, flour, cayenne, and garlic powder (i wish i had added black pepper too), and it was so good that i considered yanking off some more unripe tomatoes - in fact, i probably will.

3/4 of the garden has now been removed (dead, unyielding plants and rotting green beans - completely my fault for not keeping up with them, a big disappointment). and we've planted seeds for pickling cucumbers, zucchini, and broccoli. i started seeds for kale and brussels sprouts that i'll transplant when the carrots and lettuce are all gone.

this plot is too small! i'm glad though, rather than too big. we should have some edible corn in the next couple weeks, and hopefully a lot more tomatoes. i may transplant the peppers and eggplants so they can actually have some room to grow.

so to add to the successes:

eggplant
tomatoes

and what didn't work:

green beans - mostly because we don't love them enough to pick and eat that many i guess, although the plants yielded a hefty amount.
carrots - i think the soil is too rocky, because they are too stubby

i wish i was planting cauliflower, potatoes, and butternut squash. no more room.

striped toasty

2010-08-04T21:38:00.007-04:00

these handwarmers were born out of searching for a project for this yarn. what i hate to admit is that i bought the yarn as a gift and then kept it for myself. awful. but i rationalized it in part by the fact that it wasn't a practical gift for someone who really doesn't knit/is a beginning knitter. excuses.

but i really loved this yarn, and mostly love these handwarmers, even though i'm not usually a stripe kind of person. i like even width, narrow stripes, sort of. what i didn't expect was for the lighter gray to look pink. but still ok.

the pattern i used is toasty, with the following modifications (also can be found here):

CO 40 stitches, 2X2 ribbing for 4 rows in dark gray, then striping two rows at a time.
After 32 stripes (not counting ribbing), started thumb hole. For left hand: K2, placed 6 stitches on waste yarn, CO 6 stitches.
Knit 11 more stripes (ending with light gray), then 5 rows in dark gray (so the rolled over edge would be solid).
Thumb: Placed 6 stitches from waste yarn on needle, picked up 8 more stitches, knit 5 stripes, then 4 rows in dark gray (for the solid rolled over edge).

i plan on making a hat with the leftover yarn; something coordinating but not too matchy. thinking of striping this pattern, with the lighter yarn on the knit rows.

a honeymoon gift or two

2010-08-02T21:38:00.007-04:00

i spent the past weekend with a group of girls in the beautiful countryside of my home state, virginia (not too familiar with this part of va, though) for my good friend kim, who is getting married at the end of august. it was gorgeous out there... this was our view from the backyard pool:

since i didn't get to attend the bridal shower, i thought i would make a honeymoon gift for her, using this "dopp kit" pattern as a basis... and uh, adjusting the pattern after numerous calculations and mistakes because i bought the wrong size zipper. sounds about right.

i packed the bag with some bubble bath, cute unmentionables, and a little vial to save sand from the beach. i liked how the bag turned out and will probably make one for myself. this was the first time i covered seams with bias tape, and i like the results, but the corners were difficult, and don't look very lovely. fortunately, they are on the inside.

little did i know, i would be creating another honeymoon gift, one for which i actually won a prize! the bridal party held a "project runway" challenge in which we chose a simple item of clothing (my name was accidentally not put into the hat, so, picking last, i got a pair of light tan boy short underwear). we were given various craft supplies and tasked with making a winning item to be "featured" at the honeymoon. pictured below is my winning design... look out heidi.

oh, and um, this is the back, not the front. the front i left untouched. don't want to overdesign, per tim.

i'm thinking i should try out for the real deal, whatdya think?

p.s. thanks jenn, for being my third reader! maybe now i can stop counting myself! i'm a reader of yours too and love the colors in your latest painting! and what a beautiful post today too.

inspiration - tie dye

2010-07-23T20:42:00.006-04:00

i really do not make good use of this blog. for my own purposes i mean, since i'm the one of the only two who reads it (thanks mom!). i bookmark and track ideas i like and inspiration, and while i'm not on the internet as intensely as some of the good bloggers, i could be using this space to lay out ideas and inspiration.

i'm going to blame a little bit on blogspot and my ineptness (?) at finding a likeable layout.

i've been intrigued by the rebirth of tie-dye in a modern way. some of the bloggers i follow have taken a class in nyc that i would love to take. while i don't love it all, some of it i think is great, and the seashells above that i found in newport last weekend have a design i'd love to recreate with tie dye, with navy and cream or black and cream.

tank top dyed by Jen from the haystack needle

scarf dyed by Jenny from wikstenmade. so excited that i just purchased this pattern from wiksten that i can't wait to use! (it's the only wiksten item i can afford and another class i wish i could take).

a post of finished handwarmers should have been up here a week ago, but another task i'm working on is taking better pictures (something else i should use the blog for in terms of inspiration). made harder by trying to take pictures of my hands myself.

soon enough.

my first garden

2010-07-09T23:16:00.008-04:00

this is kind of another "finally" post - because i'm finally posting about the garden. this is the first time i have ever gardened before and i'm kind of nutty about it. every time we don't have to buy something at the grocery store because we're growing it in the garden is so exciting. and now it seems like each time i make a trip to the garden i'm coming back with more. this week the green beans surprised me and i came home with a handful of long, stringy beans with the usual lettuce and peas - and a jalapeno and a few stumpy carrots. the picture above is from a couple weeks ago, including the cherry tomato "tree" in the driveway (it's huge) and some wildflowers from the garden.

this picture below is about two months old - a lot of these plants are about three times as large. i'll have to "finally" post a more recent picture of the jungle.

i wished i had been taking notes all along so that i could reference it next year, and then i realized i can use my blog to take those notes just like i do for my other projects.

what's worked:

peas - all of a sudden these exploded a few weeks ago and we've cooked whole pods in pasta, blanched shelled peas, eaten raw pods (with peas in them and without). next year i'd like to plant them a little earlier; i think they're dying now because they're drying out and i wonder if we could have gotten more out of them if they peaked with more time before it got so hot.

lettuce - wow. we overplanted but we've had lettuce for weeks and weeks. i spent the first couple months thinning them every time i went, but once the leaves were a couple inches long, thinning them resulted in salad every time. i would maybe not plant quite so many seeds, but i would overplant again.

green beans - so far so good. we planted bush beans and i had no idea that when i pulled back the leaves they would be crawling with beans. they're a little pale, but they taste good.

better luck next time:

spinach - we got a tiny yield and then it bolted, i think because they were planted too closely. it is a tiny garden.

carrots - they taste great but aren't getting much longer than three inches, i think because they were too crowded and the soil is too rocky. we'll see if the ones still in the ground make more progress.

the verdict is still out for the corn, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. up next for fall: brussels sprouts, potatoes, kale, and zucchini. for starters.

another finally

2010-07-06T21:58:00.006-04:00

a lot of "finally done" projects around here lately... i'm full of excuses. but i finally finished these slippers from ithinksew.com on etsy. {wow, i never went on the website until now - i am going to be purchasing more patterns here!}

anyways, here is my final product:

these feel sooo nice.... the fabric was a little tough to work with, but worth it. i realize the sole is not very attractive, but more functional than satin.

i bought this pattern over a year ago and had trouble understanding, so put the project in an 11-month time out. with a little more experience under my belt, i picked it up again and worked through it. then, i melted the second slipper. finishing the second of a pair is always hard for me (handwarmers to be posted one day), harder when i am almost done and ruined the slipper and the iron.

regardless, i wore the left one for a couple days because they feel so nice. kind of like when i was 5 and had one pierced ear for 6 months because it hurt so bad i wouldn't let them pierce the other one.

so they're finally done and they may have been a record for the longest project so far...

kaari... finally.

2010-06-20T21:30:00.005-04:00

this one has been a long time coming. i put it down for months because of wrist pain. that i think was caused by my overly-tense knitting of the sleeves. i rested them, chilled out a little with the tension and went down a needle size for the neck and pockets, and my wrists are doing ok...

this is my favorite of the sweaters i've knit so far!

modifications:

knitted in the round because i like to do as little seaming as possible
because the swatch did not come out to the gauge it suggested on the tag, i knitted this a size up from what i would otherwise knit, with the plan for it to come out in between a 32 and 36
i added two inches to the body after the decreases (starting the armhole decreases after 18” of length) since i am tall and everything’s always too short
i forget the number of stitches i cast on for the pockets, but it was more because my gauge was smaller

notes:

knit the sleeves on dpn’s. no modifications
one of the side pockets sags slightly more than the others, driving me crazy.
the yarn is just ok - soft, but quickly seems to have a peach fuzz quality

alright. the next project should hopefully not be a replica of EXACTLY the same color/yarn that everyone else is knitting (as a lot of my projects seem to be). i would like to be a little more creative with what yarns i combine with what patterns. and i love this next yarn.

another stash of goods

2010-06-03T20:55:00.004-04:00

the latest installment of yard sale goods from memorial day sales:

painted white wooden corner shelf, one of those serving dishes for chutnies at indian restaurants, a mesh wire hanging basket, a few yards of vintage fabric.

the shelf is up in the living room, and the basket in the bathroom with soaps and towels. the birds resting on it were attached to a desk lamp i also bought (other less exciting yard sale buys included a pillow insert, a nationals hat, and some stuff for work). i would love to make a dress with the black-and-white print.

some gifts

2010-06-01T22:05:00.003-04:00

a couple of gifts recently given... a pair of pajama pants from the same pattern i used for these although i'm a little more proud of this pair. i worked more carefully to sew them nicely. i made a small this time, added longer cuffs than the pattern called for (they ended up being about 3 1/2" long?), and added a loop inside the back waistband to hang them/differentiate the back from the front.quick pictures before i promptly sent them off, forgetting the birthday card.

i also made these as a housewarming gift in a record amount of time (for me) - 30 minutes. cutting the patterns all at once and chain-stitching helped.

more yard sale loot up next.

yard sale loot 4.24

2010-04-24T22:01:00.007-04:00

yard sales are my favorite three season sport. today was opening day! i did pretty well; everything in this picture cost $14. i also got a 2-person tent for $20, and later in the day i was walking to the community garden where i now have a plot (!!!) and i passed another yard sale. i picked up a cashmere sweater and a red metal bucket for $3.

pictured above: long cashmere cardigan, printed halter dress, bedside table, burlap coffee bag, pompom strands, vintage green suitcase, spice rack, individual ceramic spice canisters.

i'm almost finished taking in the sides of the cashmere sweater and will be taking in the dress and taking up the hem.

not too proud of this one

2010-04-20T21:24:00.007-04:00

i made these quickly and poorly. i was really excited to use a vintage sheet of my mom's to make pajama pants from sewing green. i was so excited that i sped through them and the sewing is really pretty terrible. fortunately, no one will really ever see this besides me (ben would never notice) and i am going put a little more care into it from now on.

apparently the quality of the pictures is on par with the quality of the sewing.

however - i like these a lot. i used the edge of the sheet for the cuff/hem, rather than sewing on cuffs, and i added a little length. next time, i'm going to use the smaller pattern size and add another inch or two to the length. the lightweight, broken-in fabric is so comfortable.

crazy coincidence - when i first went to make these pants, i found that the vintage sheet i wanted to use was the exact same one used in the book! then i realized i liked them too much to cut into them and would rather put them on my bed.

overtaking manhattan

2010-04-18T22:32:00.004-04:00

here is my second version of taking manhattan from twinkle sews. i love this one even more - the fabric is a funky version of polka dots on linen. modifications i made include adding length, narrowing the a-line, and removing the drawstring from the cowl. hard to see, but i kept the kangaroo pocket. another $6 shirt and i like this one more than the last one. sorry for the crappy pictures, photography is not my strong point, although i want it to be.

old news

2010-04-15T21:37:00.004-04:00

i made this bag about six months ago or so. woops. i forgot to post it. actually, i made it with the intention of building an inventory of bags to sell, and then realized i like it too much and wanted to keep it. i really love both fabrics and the combo of the two, and even how the green zippers fits into the mix. otherwise, it's just another bucket bag.

up next... catching up on things i've been meaning to post.

something for me

2010-03-25T21:53:00.006-04:00

this is the first article of clothing i've sewn for myself. well, in the last decade. and that is more than a few pieces. and without my mom's help. anyways, i made the "taking manhattan" top from twinkle sews. i like it a lot - i cut a size 4, which ended up fitting me smaller than it is supposed to, but since the top is intended to be oversized, i like how it turned out. this fabric was a nice crisp cotton, and i spent under $6 on it. this is a $6 shirt!

printing and taping together the patterns was sort of a pain but not as bad as i thought, but pinning it to the fabric was SO much easier than tissue paper. overall the pattern was easy but the instructions missed a few steps - i couldn't have made this if i hadn't sewn much before.

up next is another version of this same pattern with some adjustments.... well, it's actually finished except for the hem because i ran out of black thread. like 3 weeks ago.

just a pillow

2010-03-06T23:00:00.003-05:00

nothing too exciting, just a pillow with some fabric from ikea. what i like about this pillow is the opening in the back with these funky vintage buttons from what cheer. hopefully you can't see the yellow stain where i forgot and left the iron sitting on the fabric. i have been meaning to get a fire extinguisher.

swallowtail

2010-02-23T20:57:00.004-05:00

I finished my first lace knit this weekend. I knitted the Swallowtail Shawl for my mother's birthday. I'm happy with how it turned out but unsure how much lace knitting is in my future. I used Rowan Felted Tweed in Grey Mist, which turned out to have a light blue tint to it, and doesn't really look grey. I might have liked the shawl to be a little bigger, but was ready for it to be done too. Blocking this project was fun. You can call me Captain Knitting Dork.

find of the year

2010-02-17T09:21:00.003-05:00

what are the odds? my favorite sweater is a tunic length, oversized cowl by sleeping in snow that i bought at anthropologie 3 or 4 years ago. it's seen better days and i often look at it and wonder how i can revive it, or most often, whether i can knit myself a new one.

well i was in brooklyn this past weekend and stepped into monk (among many thrift stores i browsed that day) and what did i find?!? the exact same sweater, same size, in light grey! what?!?! i couldn't believe it. what are the odds of finding a brand new (it's in new condition) version of your favorite sweater years after you bought the first one? years ago i won a trip to jamaica. i think my luck has to have run out at this point.

old:

new:

i think this also validates my decision to do the majority of my shopping second-hand (socks and underwear aside), which will be a post for another day.

knitting disciple

2010-01-30T23:16:00.004-05:00

a few weeks ago i taught my best friend to knit. this was very thrilling for me, probably more so than it should have been, but i've always been dying to teach someone to knit. being this excited, or maybe because i think i'm the jesus of knitting, i erroneously started to call her my knitting "disciple" one day. i'm quite full of myself. that should probably be something more like "pupil" or maybe "scholar."

nonetheless, the fruit of her labors:

i'm very proud. 2x2 rib in the round for a first time knit. not bad. (actually, i'm also a little embarassed - she is much better than i was when i started).

given and to be given

2010-01-29T18:55:00.008-05:00

a few more from the christmas season (one of which still needs to be given. a christmas present finished in november and given in february. of course.)

i really loved making this bag. i woke up one sunday morning and i decided i wanted to make this for one of my best friends and put it together in a couple hours, which is a record for me. it's gigantic and the pictures don't really show it; when i put it on the bottom falls below my hip, and i'm 5'10". i love gigantic bags. the hat is an unslouchy version of slouchy mama and looks better on my blonde friends with smaller heads (so hopefully it will look good on the recipient, who fits the bill).

get your act together

2010-01-28T21:23:00.007-05:00

well, i'll probably never really do that. but i might try to revive this blog now that it's been good and dead for so long. there have been no shortage of projects to post, so i'll work on catching those up. above is the family christmas list (given, not received).

next post will be the friend christmas list and pretty soon that might bring us to the present tense.

bags for the bride

2009-10-20T19:54:00.009-04:00

Not only was I lucky enough to attend a beautiful wedding this weekend and watch a good friend begin a beautiful marriage, I had my first commissioned "job" for this very wedding! Someone liked my "bucket bag" enough to ask me to make three as gifts for her bridal party, and it was such an exciting project!

A close-up of the fabrics:
The pattern was the same as the one I used for the Great Little Bag, with some new fabrics added in, all of which I purchased in the remnants at Osgood's and G Street. On the inside, the initials of each bridesmaid are embroidered, which was a 2-hour project per bag alone.

The bride and her bridal party seemed really happy with the results, and a lot of people have suggested I sell them. I'm not sure if it makes sense, particularly because I'm still pretty slow and each bag takes about 6 hours without the embroidery. I also don't know if they stand out enough to make someone actually purchase one; I mean I think they are a cool gift, but would you buy one? And how much would you pay for a bag like this?

(I haven't figured out the best way to photograph the inside besides turning them completely inside out).

demi is finally here

2009-09-29T21:19:00.004-04:00

It's done! And I think I like it. I realize that yet another Demi sweater in undyed Fisherman's Wool is the least interesting thing on Ravelry now, but I'm excited to have made it, AND this is the first time ever that once I finished knitting something, I missed knitting it. Usually I want to throw it out the window when I'm done. This was fun and always kept my attention.

Modifications:

I added length to the hem and the overall length of the body.
And I added like 4 inches or something to the arms because I have long arms and I like the sleeves extra-long.
I did a 3-stitch bobble instead of 5-stitch.

Things I Learned:

I love cabling without a cable needle! I am unlikely to use a cable needle again.
Definitely preferred working in the round, and using dpn's on the sleeves, if for nothing else but to be able to try on repeatedly.

Finally, I found these deep cherry-red buttons at What Cheer? (DAMN I love this store) and was psyched because cream and deep cherry-red is one of my favorite color combinations.

This is why I can't model:

a Great Little Bag

2009-08-31T16:27:00.006-04:00

As a thank you gift for a good friend who helped me out this summer, I made a smaller version of the Great Big Bag, using the same outer fabric and a different lining.

The bag is "bucket" shaped, with a rectangular bottom, widening to the top. There is a small (I think 6"x6"?) pocket with a bright contrasting zipper, and this time I attached the straps to the outside of the bag, I guess to be more bucket-like?!

"Memoirs" from this project:

Trim the corners and press the seams before turning the bag rightside out. Duh. This one would have come more naturally if I had made this bag after Ben's shirt.
Stitch the corners of the lining to the corners of the bag, and then baste the lining at the top. Hopefully then it will sit nicer - this lining did not sit as well as I would have liked it.
I've taken to fabric glue. My Great Big Bag is falling apart at certain parts of the pocket, and is the pocket is also filled with stray threads - on the Little Bag I painted fabric glue on the edges of the seams and I hope this did the trick.

Overall, I was happy with it and very excited because I've been commissioned to make three more similar ones as the bridesmaids' gifts for a friend's wedding!

happy birthday ben!

2009-08-27T21:53:00.025-04:00

It's done! I gave Ben his birthday present yesterday and I think he liked it...

I had so much fun making this. I learned a lot. A few things:

I don't like interfacing. The pattern instructed me to use interfacing in the button band, collar, cuffs, and pocket flaps. Uh, I'm not making a tuxedo shirt here, so I made it without interfacing.

This pattern was somewhat of a 90's Zach Morris-style shirt (you know, kind of bloused and baggy - blech. Although, I imagine the hipsters might start rocking this style now that we've evolved to a 90's revival - which other than Zach Morris, I love. I'm psyched about the rebirth of flannel shirts and Doc Martens.) Anyways, so I narrowed the body (front pieces 12" wide w/seam allowances, and the back was 23.5" w/seam allowances). I made the pockets smaller, and placed them higher and closer together, and changed the shape of the front yoke and made it smaller. I also narrowed the sleeves a lot and took out the pleats.

For some reason, the size M collar did not seem to fit. I used a S collar and collar stand and that seemed to work.

I shortened the hem about 1.5"

If I made this again (which I think I will), I would cut the S pattern pieces for a M, I would make the back yoke from one single piece, and I would sew the tag in before stitching the collar on:
More pictures! What a handsome model.

I have to say, I truly cannot stand blogspot and how difficult it is to adjust the layout of text and pictures. I have to investigate other options.

a birthday present & the biggest project yet

2009-08-11T10:07:00.008-04:00

So, I've been avoiding posting this on the off-chance Ben might read my blog. I'm working on his birthday present, and let's face it, he's probably not going to read my blog before then. So honey, if for some crazy reason you're reading this, stop.

OK, here goes. I'm working on a plaid button-down cowboy-style shirt for him, like the ones he always wears. This is quite ambitious for my level of amateur sewing. I swiped one of his shirts to use as an example, which has served me well; however, it is short-sleeved, the shirt I am making is long-sleeved, and now that I'm AT the sleeves, I've reached a sort of crossroads. It just got a lot harder.

Here's what I've got so far:

I love this fabric! Very crisp.

There were a lot of pattern pieces to cut! Oh boy. Not to mention the additional ones I had to cut after deciding I didn't want to use the interfacing I had already fused on some of them. And the new sleeve I had to cut. And I'm sure there will be more.

I was very happy at this point - This was the easy part. I've tried to be very meticulous and I've been pressing everything like crazy which really helps.

Now, the pattern is huge and I'm making a bunch of adjustments. I'll have to post a picture of the stud wearing the example shirt on the pattern. Very mid-90's. Even in this picture, I've made the yoke different and smaller, the pockets are smaller, and although I don't have pictures with the sleeves yet because they're only partially done, I've done a lot of finagling to make the shoulders and sleeves more narrow. I scared myself yesterday because I thought I might have screwed up the sleeves so I put it down and ran away and I might try again later today.

I hope this works...

And because no project is complete without me starting a new one halfway through, here's what I was working on last week during So You Can Think You Can Dance during the non-dancing parts. What is it?

knitting needle case.

2009-08-06T22:24:00.006-04:00

A good friend had a birthday today, and this good friend happens to share the knitting bug with me - actually, she taught me how to purl! And she taught me that you have to actually wind up the hank of yarn, rather than knit with it in a tangled mess. I really thought it was no problem until she made me sit and wind it up while we were at work one day. Didn't that change my life. Well, for her birthday I wanted to make her something and make it something useful for knitting. I thought I'd organize her needles the way she organized my tangled mess of yarn, so I made her a roll-up holder for needles using this tutorial.

These were, perhaps the straightest lines I've ever sewn, and I was really pleased with the way this turned out. Topstitching is still a little tricky for me, particularly in the corners, and particularly when the corners aren't too sharp, like they were when I turned this right side out. A good, quick project and good practice too.

and they're off.

2009-08-04T16:18:00.002-04:00

finally.

demi week one

2009-07-31T21:43:00.010-04:00

Uh, I'm not exactly going to post a week by week update on Demi, but it has been a week and here's where I'm at:

I'm knitting in the round, which I think is much easier to avoid the Ptbl and I'm psyched to minimize the seaming. I don't think the pictures show it, but some of my knitting looks kind of sloppy, which I'm hoping will block out somewhat. All the cables and twists make it hard for me to be consistent sometimes, so I'm trying to go slow and focus on making it look nice - you focus so hard on just getting the pattern at first that it's hard to pay attention to anything else! I've been pulling the bobbles through on the right rather than the left because I think it makes them sit flatter.

I found an awesome tutorial for cable knitting without a cable needle, because, well, I forgot my cable needle, and I think this has made it a lot faster, and probably helps me avoid stretching the stitches out too much when I'm cabling. I think I'll stop using a cable needle forever. Big words in this knitting dork's world.

I really need to send the previously mentioned gifts out too...

secrets & surprises

2009-07-26T10:47:00.004-04:00

I can't quite post anything yet, because everything I've been working on is a gift that I should probably give before I post. One is done and will be given soon, one is 97% done and then I broke my last 3 machine needles trying to finish it last night. Since I'm going to be away from the machine for a week, that's going to be on hold. And the third is going to be started when I get back.

I have started Demi, finally, despite having some carpal tunnel-like symptoms that I'm tring to ignore. And I'm also thinking about this with a great big duvet cover from The Garment District that I'm ready to cut up.

Add it to the list.

inspiration in the family

2009-07-16T21:13:00.025-04:00

So lately I've been looking around me for inspiration and ideas, and I'm obsessed with all things vintage, old - anything with a kind of weathered character. I started digging around in old pictures because the clothes in the pictures always make me excited and I lament that my mom didn't carefully preserve all her clothes for her unborn daughter. I love these hotpants and this flower dress!

In the course of digging, I came across these pictures of my mom "modeling" for a photographer friend. I love the clothes, especially the high-waisted pants, and seeing my mom in her youth during this era really moves me. She looks so classy and beautiful.

Now, the digging began because I remembered getting excited seeing the clothes I'm wearing in my childhood pictures, and wanted to find those for inspiration. When I was a kid my mom made most of my clothes - I'm not sure if she made these, but I wish I had these floral blouses now! And maybe even the bowl cut... (My grandmother's top isn't bad either!)