Sheet Chic

There have been plenty of sewing projects swirling around my brain, and which I will eventually share when they have moved from the realm of my imagination to the tangible. In the midst of doing cutting and prep for what will be a more time consuming and challenging sewing project, I found myself with enough of the fabric left over for something else.

This pink and white striped sheet was full of holes but the fabric was far too perfect for some candy striped garments to get rid of.

I decided to reuse the sewing pattern I used for the lily skirt, because I liked the fit and the pockets, and it's a quick, easy project. I'm really satisfied by the kind of project you can start and finish within a day if you put enough time into it, which is why I have such a vast collection of knit and crocheted hats.

Using a bit of a coordinating pink fabric from a thrift store sheet for the waistband, I made a new skirt!

Sew Excited

With the heat of summer I haven't been able to muster motivation for knitting and crocheting, given most of the creations I make are designed to keep myself warmer. Knowing the pace it takes to knit a garment, any summery things I'd want to make I would have to start well in the winter in order to finish in time to wear during the appropriate weather. While that may be the perfect reason to start a nice, cozy sweater now (so there would be a chance by winter it might be done), I felt the urge instead to get reacquainted with my sewing machine and start creating even more of my own clothing with some summer appropriate garments. 

I also decided that this would be the start of a challenge for myself and stop buying any new clothes. My goal is to create all of my new clothing, and refashion or refit many items already in my wardrobe. The one exception I'm giving myself is bringing in clothing items from thrift stores intended to be dramatically refashioned. I've started looking for nicely patterned or colored cotton sheets from the thrift store and my old beat up bedding to sew with. This appeals to me on the level of being thrifty and getting a lot of fabric for much less than I'd pay at a fabric store. It is also low risk as I learn different techniques and practice. I also like the idea of recycling and creating something new out existing textiles. 

For my first project of the season, I had some fabric and sewing patterns that I got well over a decade ago and decided it was about time to make use of them. Given just how oppressive the summer heat can become and their one again fashionable status, I opted to make a t-shirt pattern I had in the cropped version. I have sewn a few garments in the past but I am still quite a novice. The shirt didn't come out perfectly, but it came out wearable.

To go along with the top I wanted to make a skirt that would coordinate with it from another pattern I already owned (Simplicity 1970), and went to Joann's to find some fabric, drawn to a quilting cotton patterned with pink lilies. I also found another pattern that coordinated with it very well and picked some up for another top. I also bought a collection of patterns while they had a $1 Simplicity pattern sale, including the pattern for the other top I decided to make (Simplicity 1364).

Here are the finished products:

There are more sewing projects that I will share when I return home to my closet and sewing machine, and plenty more I hope to create in the future.

Stashbusting 2014

One of the things I consistently mean to do is be more productive in various ways, but manage to procrastinate even in things that I want to do. So I am trying to get back into the habit of making more things. I have quite a decent stash of yarn and can make a lot of projects from it, which is one thing I hope to start working on more.

This past week, I have been on a crochet kick. I think because it's still a newer craft for me than knitting it holds some interest in getting to learn new things and experiment with the different forms it has to offer. I'd like to delve into some knitting techniques I haven't tried before more, as well. For now, here are some of my creations.

For this hat, I used this Gumdrop Slouchy Hat pattern. I only had one ball of the main yarn and was running short so decided to use some coordinating gray yarn for the last few rounds around the band of the hat. (Also I am wearing the Mario shirt made by my friend Amanda at Dustbunny Paradise).

This next project I started a few months ago and sat unfinished, so I decided to pick it up and complete it.

This pattern is the Brain Waves Beanie. I like the result of this pattern and may end up using it again with different yarns and colors.

Finally, I made this hat from pattern Phannie. I liked the original red of the hat in the pattern and had a skein of red Ella Rae classic wool in my stash that was perfect for it.

I have been up to some more crocheting besides that as well, to be shared at another time.

New Year, Old Blog

With new years come new goals and inspirations, with people making all sorts of resolutions which often come to nothing. That is one reason I've never really bothered making them. If I want to do or change something, it shouldn't wait until some arbitrary change in the calendar. But if that's the kick in the pants that it takes, maybe it's time to go with it.

I remember a year ago, as 2012 was turning to 2013. I had done a lot that year. I had gone and studied in London, where I had dreamed of going since I was a little girl. I graduated college. I moved back to Vermont, which had been planning for years. And I spent the last moments of the year feeling miserable, lost, and confused.

I knew that I needed to change things, and I'm so glad that in 2013 that was able to happen, even if it completely strayed from the path I had originally intended to follow. The proverbial "they" caution you never to say never, so by being so adamant that I would never return to Utah, it's only natural that should be what happened. Of course, falling in love seemed like a pretty good reason to do so, and it has served me well so far. While I miss Vermont and my family and friends there, I ended the year in a much better emotional place than I started it.

Now, I don't know what will happen in 2014 and I don't have grand plans and schemes--I know their tendancy to fall apart too well. What I do know is that I would like to spend it doing more of the things I love, with the people that make me happy.

Happy New Year

Read in 11

So, a thread on a forum (LSG on Ravelry) got me thinking about how many books I read each year, and I'm not sure. I decided to try to keep track this year. I have a lot of reading to do for school, and some that I started last year but will finish this year but think I shall include anyway, with a note. I will edit this as I read more--and remember.

Books Read in 2011

• The Golden Compass--Philip Pullman (10, k)
• King Solomon's Mine--H. Rider Haggard (t/lit, k)
• Heart of Darkness--Joseph Conrad (t/lit, k)
• Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself--Harriet Jacobs (aaw, k)
• Things Fall Apart--Chinua Achebe (t/lit, k)
• Passing--Nella Larsen (aaw, k)
• Translations--Brian Friel (t/lit)
• Their Eyes Were Watching God--Zora Neale Hurston (aaw)
• Kim--Rudyard Kipling (t/lit, k)
• The Color Purple--Alice Walker (aaw)
• Zami: A New Spelling of My Name--Audre Lourde (aaw)
• Sula--Toni Morrison (aaw, k)
• Second Class Citizen--Buchi Emecheta (t/lit)
• Beloved--Toni Morrison (aaw, k)
• Cambridge--Caryl Phillips (t/lit)
• A Mercy--Toni Morrison (aaw)
• Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit--Jeanette Winterson (gs)
• The Blind Assassin--Margaret Atwood (gs)
• The Enchantress of Florence--Salman Rushdie (gs)
• The Hotel New Hampshire--John Irving (10)
• Pride and Prejudice--Jane Austen (ja, k)

10=started in 2010

k=read on Kindle

t/lit=transnational literature

aaw=African American women writer's

gs=gender and sexuality lit

ja=Jane Austen class (self-explanatory)

Mraz Hat Pattern

Materials:

· Approximately 196 yards Aran/10 ply or Worsted Weight yarn (2 skeins of Cascade Cotton Club, colorway Sterling 27870 used in example hat)

· US Size 7 (4.5 mm) circular needles

· Cable needle

· 3 Stitch markers

· Tapestry needle

· Scissors

· Pompom maker or cardboard to make your own

Instructions

●Cast on 90 sts. Place stitch marker before first stitch. Join in the round, making sure the stitches aren’t twisted.

●Work K1P2 for approximately 14 rows, or 2 inches. Make sure you end at the stitch marker.

●For 3 rows, work the plain row pattern described below. Work the cable row the one time.

● Work 6 rows of the plain pattern and then a single row of the cable pattern. Keep working in this manner until you have 8 repeats of the cable, or until the hat body as a whole measures approximately 10 inches.

● Cut the yarn at the end of body at least 2 feet long. Using the tapestry needle, string the stitches from the needles onto the length of yarn (making sure to remove the stitch markers as you come to them). When the stitches are completely off the needles, pull the yarn tight to cinch the top shut and tie tightly. Leave some of the yarn for attaching thepompom. After completing that, use the tapestry needle to weave in all the loose ends and trim them so they’re no longer visible.

Plain: Work K2P1 for 8 repeats (24 sts total). Place a stitch marker on the first repeat (later slip the maker). P1, K6, P2 once. Resume K2P1 for 8 repeats (24 sts). Place a stitch marker on the first repeat (later slip the marker). Work P1, K6, P2. Continue K2P1 to start of row.

Cable: Work K2P1 for 8 repeats (24 sts). P1, C3B, P2. Resume K2P1 for 8 repeats (24 sts). P1, C3B, P2. K2P1 to start of row.

Pompom: If you have a pompom maker, you can use that and follow the instructions provided to make a 2-inch pompom (the one on the example is closer to 2 ½ inches). If not, you can make your own following this directions:

1. Cut cardboard into two 2-inch diameter circles (use a protractor or trace something with a 2-inch diameter). Cut a smaller circle in the center of both of the circles to form two rings. Place both rings together and begin to thread the yarn leftover from making the hat through the center hole and around the outside edge.

2. Thread the yarn in the ring until the center circle is filled completely with yarn.

3. Take your scissors and cut around the edges until all the yarn has been cut.

4. Pull the rings slightly apart and take a new length of yarn, tying it around the yarn of the pompom securely. You can tear the cardboard to get the pompom free and trim it, then attach to the top of the hat.

Merry Christmas (Almost...)

It's that time of year again. Already! Bring out the breakable baby Jesus and Friends™! They've been wrapped up in old newspaper for 11 months and they want to come out and play, so don't disappoint them! (Catnip mouse covered in animal spit and Wii controllers are totally traditional parts of the Nativity, just like lobsters and octopi). 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!