Category: sewing

  • Monday Sights and Sounds

    snowy monday

    snowy monday

    It’s a good day to stay in and work on laying out a new pattern.

    purse sock

    I haven’t knit Dale a new pair of socks in awhile, but these ones have seen some good action lately by living in my purse. They’re Malabrigo Sock, which I know doesn’t hold up well – I’ve knit 2 pairs in it before, and have darned each individual sock twice! They’re so so soft and pretty though.

    so many triangles

    Trying to get some progress in on my triangle quilt. I finally pulled out the batting and figured out how many triangles I need in each strip, and then of course I realized that I had cut nowhere near enough.

    As for the sounds, here’s a local band I’m kind of obsessed with! Saw them in person back in November and bought a tape, yes, a cassette tape! We don’t have a tape player in the house, only in the car, so I don’t get to listen to it much. Cheery and poppy for a snowy Monday.

  • 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!

  • sewings-on

    This triangles quilt is…not going very quickly. I seem to have lost a bit of my quilting mojo! My favourite part is handquilting, so maybe I need to start doing whole-cloth quilts or something. Just can’t seem to get going on the piecing. I’ve been making pairs, but maybe I need to start sewing the pairs together into larger sections to see how it’s going.

    triangles quilt

    quilt seam

    My skirt has kind of stalled out too, with one side seam done. I did French seams using this tutorial, it was a bit confusing at first but definitely worth it!

    pocket

    side seam and pocket

    I’m feeling a bit aimless at the moment, flitting from project to project without deadlines or anything. It’s fun for awhile, but I really need to set some short-term goals so I have something to work towards. I just finished that snowflake-sleeved cardigan and it’s in the wash, so that’s one thing I can check off! Today I will sew the other side seam of the skirt. It’s a start.

    While I’m working away back here, how about a cheery PATTERN SALE? 20% off single, self-published patterns totalling $5 or more, through December 25, 2013. Check it out on Ravelry!