Category: crafting

  • my (mostly) handmade christmas outfit

    I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season! The ice storm here in Toronto last Saturday really put a strange damper on things this year – my parents’ house, which usually hosts a giant Christmas dinner, was without power (heat, hot water) for over 60 hours! The power was finally restored to them on Christmas Eve, so we had just a small dinner with my immediate family. The 30 year tradition won’t be broken though, as the big dinner is just postponed until New Year’s.

    My house was very lucky in the storm, no power or heat disruptions. I did manage to take a few photos of the ice before it melted. Pretty, but as the fallen trees in my parents’ yard would attest, destructive!

    ice storm

    ice storm

    ice storm

    ice storm

    The storm coupled with our household of horrible flu did give me time to finish up my handmade Christmas outfit.

    Christmas outfit

    Christmas outfit

    The skirt is my handsewn Colette Zinnia, which I think turned out quite nicely! I sewed everything with needle and thread and did all French seams. It’s version 2, without the belt loops, and with a slightly deeper hem.

    I used a 7″ skirt zipper (instead of 9″ invisible, because it’s what I had) and two sets of hooks and eyes for the waistband. I cut the size 16 and it fits quite well, I think! The brown cotton flannel is super cozy. It’s not the most big-dinner-friendly skirt as the waistband is a little bit on the snug side for eating, but it did just fine.

    Christmas outfit

    Christmas outfit

    Christmas outfit

    The sweater is my own design, worked from the top down in Anzula’s For Better or Worsted. Such a beautiful yarn! I used 3 skeins of Teal, 1 of Lapis, and 1 of Seaside. I love the BIG Norwegian stars on the sleeves, and I think the colourwork transition on the body worked out well. I’m not certain whether I’ll be able to offer this one as a pattern, because I chose the colourwork chart based on my particular sleeve numbers, but I’ll see what I can do! The beautiful wooden buttons are from AnnyMay Craft Supplies on etsy.

    More handmade gifts to show off soon!

  • sweater surgery

    I’ve been knitting a big, cozy, cardigan for D., but it’s gone through a few iterations in the last few weeks! I knit up some love set-in, horizontal pockets…but they were deemed too small so I ripped them out (I’ll have to save those pockets for something for myself and my tiny hands!). Then I knit up some nice kangaroo pockets, like those on a hoodie:

    sweater surgery

    And they are good! Except for the fact that the body was then too long below the pocket. Clearly I haven’t been planning very well on this project, just kind of knitting. I really didn’t want to rip all that pocket work again, so I decided on some surgery instead.

    I picked up stitches in a row below the pocket, where I wanted the new hem to start, by using a spare needle and picking up half of each ‘V’ stitch across. You can see that there’s a few inches of stockinette below the needles there, but I want to get rid of all of that.

    sweater surgery

    Then I gave ‘er a snip…

    sweater surgery

    …and separated the old hem from the sweater by picking out that row.

    sweater surgery

    When you pick up stitches like this, it doesn’t line up exactly with the old fabric, because you’re going in a different direction. I lost half a stitch at the beginning and ends of the row, so I had to increase 1 stitch on the first new row. Luckily, I planned a purl ridge on the RS where the patterning switches to garter rib, so it really doesn’t show much! I knit down about three inches then bound off for the bottom of the body.

    sweater surgery

    Now I’m back on track! Half a sleeve and most of the body.

    progress!

    I do have a new sweater idea that I’m itching to get on the needles though, so we’ll see how much attention this project gets this week.

  • Orbital Ornaments!

    New pattern day! I’ve been working hard on these little guys for ages, and I am SO HAPPY to share them with you for this crafting holiday season. (Yes, I said it.)

    Orbital Ornaments

    I really, really, especially love the rocket.

    Orbital Ornaments

    Celebrate the season (any season) with these fun, nontraditional ornaments! These space-themed ornaments work up quickly and are great for your stash of sock yarn leftovers, in all sorts of colours. They would also make a great baby mobile or playtime toys. Embroidered initials would be lovely for personalized gifts – embellish to your heart’s desire. All of the Orbital Ornaments are worked in the round on double pointed needles.

    Check out the pattern page.
    Queue or fave on Ravelry!