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

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

august gifts and too many buttons

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

 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.

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

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

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!

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.