March!?

Time flies by when you are having fun! The shop is going to be one year old on March 31st! We are going through prep for the “birthday party”. At the same time, we are working feverishly on the shawls/patterns/photos for the LYS tour (Local Yarn Shop Tour) that will be happening in May (but the patterns have to be done by the 23rd of this month! Then I have a custom order to finish (knitting a dresser scarf and night table covers!) and a custom spinning order to finish, not to mention teaching classes in between!

Oh boy! I do know what I am tired of at night!

Pictures? Sure! Hang on.. The shawls can’t be shown until the yarn tour, but the rest I can put here for you all to see

A new shrug! Pretty and happy in orange!

 

 

A new hat! WOOT WOOT! I really love this hat!

I don’t think I have shown you the cable wrap yet! That got done as well and is getting tested now!

 

 

I made owls (the pattern is already available! )

 

I re-fahsioned a turtleneck into a tank-top:

 

 

I sewed 5 pillowcases (well I cut an pinned, my daughter sewed) and then crochet around the edge:

 

I made a headband inspired by the one in French girl knits:

 

I wrapped cardboard letters in yarn together with my daughter (these were for the shop window in February, I knitted little banners for this month and Callie embroidered ”happy birthday” on it, I will show you that one soon):

The dresser scarf won’t be shown until it is done as well and the spinning will be shown in a future post. It’s for a giveaway for the shops birthday and a custom order of sock yarn! (you didn’t think I had forgotten about you, did you, Alice?)

PHEW! All caught up! What do you think?

Nest up: another book review! So stay tuned!

One more time!

Since the other skirt worked out so nicely, I thought I could do the same to a pair of short-ish jeans I had. They were not really shorts, and they were not really long.. they stopped right at the ankle. I call them high-water-pants. *snicker*

Needless to say I never wore them..

I opened the seam, pinned, tried it on and sewed this morning. Now I have a new skirt! YAYYY! Lookie here:

I made the seams purposely lighter in colour then the original seams, since they are right middle back and front. I did want to keep that “DIY” feel though and left the little “point” up front in the middle… The back has a slit and the the bottom hem will fringe out nicely after washing it a few times, I only zigzagged the edge there. I think it works.. specially with my hand knitted top! I’m liking it and so does DH. (Specially the rear view! hahahhaaha

)

I have one more pair of pants I want to do this too and then it is on to tops! Wish me luck!

I like how you can have a totally new wardrobe with just a few seams!

Some more refashion This time for me!

I went through my closet and sorted out some of my close. The only ones I could part with did have holes in them or stains that did not come out, so I don’t think donating is the right thing for them. I don’t want to make cleaning rags either, since they are nice clothes.. so Refashion was it!
First up were some unsightly Gaucho pants! WHO EVER CAME UP WITH THAT? They look horrible on most people!!! I got them from someone a long time ago and kept them around, because I thought I could maybe sleep in them, but I didn’t… I guess my aversion for them goes DEEEEEEEEEP.

Today was the day to figure out how to make them wearable! I was determined to make them into a skirt! Skirts are cute!

I took the leg seams out, then laid them out flat to make an A-line. Now I had to add some fabric to cover the triangle that was created by me adjusting the legs into the A-line. I had this really cool Old Navy T-shirt. I loved it! It had this goddess figure on it! I also have had it so long, there were worn spots on the bottom seam. So I took it apart and Alabama Stitch style sewed it into the triangular shaped “hole” in my “skirt”.
Presto! LOVE at first sight! It still needs to be ironed! But my iron fell and it broke the tip clear off (halfway down) so I can’t use it right now. So please imagine it ironed! : D I will love you for it!

What do you think?

The back has the triangle too, and I am fully aware that it will be an arrow pointing at my rear, so I plan on wearing it sideways (So the triangles are on my sieds, instead of in the front and back… )

I have one more of these and lots more T-shirts that I sorted out, so I can have one more cute skirt.

Re-fashion…

This pillow….

….used to be this jacket:

It got felted. Not by accident. I wanted it a bit fulled and then forgot it was in the washer! *rolls eyes*. Then it got banished to the back of the closet until I had the guts to cut it up.

Today was the day! I cut it up and made a pillow our of part of it. I still have a bunch of it left to make other things from (Thinking a coin purse, and a pin cushion). But that will be another story for another time.
I also made pie today! Strawberry, raspberry and blueberry pie! It’s delicious with a bit of vanilla ice cream and a drop of heavy cream poured over it. No recipe, just mixing the berries in a bowl with sugar and flour, then pouring them into the pie crust and baking it. Presto! Yummy pie!

 

Finished project and Review: Alabama Stitch Book

It has been quiet around here. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t do anything!

I have been knitting, I have been volunteering, I have been reading, I have been cleaning (although this was not as much fun as the rest, by a long shot) and I have been sewing!

I have had the Alabama Stitch Book for almost two years now. I pull it out now and again, read, look at pictures and put it back on the shelf.

This week I finally decided I wanted to make something inspired by the book. DH donated two of his T-shirts to the cause and off I went.

With Summer coming in big steps, I decided on the bandanna, as a quick first project to get my feet wet.

Here it is half finished!

I have been sewing by hand since I was a little girl, so the sewing part was super easy. The cutting on the other hand not so much. It said to cut the T-shirt fabric so the grain line is going from the tip of the bandanna to the long end, the one you wrap around your head. Does that make sense? Well, my husband wears double X T-shirts (unless it’s a sleep shirt, then it’s triple X) and they were still not big enough to get a Square with 20 inch sides out of it, if you wanted the grain line going that way. I just cut the triangle out of the back of the shirt  and did not care too much about the grain line. The long side of the triangle needed to be 28.5 inches and the short sides 20 inches. This is the only way it fit on a triple X shirt my hubby had (the white one and it was a Hanes too. One of his sleep shirts, he likes them BIG.

Actually, this is the only gripe I have with the book. She said she uses recycled T-shirts for almost everything. Well, I think not even triple X shirts are big enough for some of the projects. (unless you are a tiny person)

Also: I have tried to find some T-shirts with the same colours to make some of the bigger things like the skirts and stuff . It’s just not possible to find T-shirts with the same colour in a thrift store. They come close, they may have been the same colour at one point, but different detergents and wearing habits changed the hue, etc. If you want to make a bigger project from the book, buy Yardage. SPECIALLY if you are “real woman size”, not model thin. ;D

Well.. maybe one more thing: I think some of the projects are a bit too *too* if that makes sense. They are easily enough altered to fit what I think would be more appropriate for grown ups. For example: I LOVE the rooster stencil, but on the chest of a T-shirt I find it a wee bit immature, I think with the right placement (off to the side on the bottom front maybe?) it could be totally wearable.

All right then.. so there is oooone more little thing that really irritated me… she doesn’t give you any yardage… only the amount of T-shirts you need. But she doesn’t state if the amount given will make the super small size or an extra large….

Let’s take that super cute corset for example: It just says “Two cotton-jersey T-shirts (close but slightly different in colour) That’s it. No two XXXL T-shirts, not the yards the two T-shirts need to yield (or in case you can’t find any big enough and have to buy yards of cotton-jersey) nothing. THAT, my friend, is a tad annoying if you want to make a fitting garment and not run out of fabric somewhere halfway to the finish line…

Other then that the book is really really amazing! I love the photography. I love the patterns and projects, I love the writing! I would recommend it, as it is a really nice book to look at and read! The projects are so wonderfully explained, there is little chance of your project not turning out, given that you can figure out the yardage you need. Very nice explanations, with LOTS of pictures! I will definitely make more of the projects from it.

I give it two out of five stars, for the plain fact that I think a pattern book for garments should give you the fabric requirements. That is a gross oversight in my eyes.

Now back to my bandanna!

I used the stencil provided in the book, plus some free hand for the leaf shapes. Cut out the fabric, draw on the shapes, pin and stitch. Presto! I started it a bit late on Wednesday evening and had to finish it on Thursday, but it is definitely a one day project! Easy, fast and super cute! (at least I think so!)

I will definitely make a few more of these for summer!

Here are finished pictures of it:

Weird upside-down shot hahhaha… I left a bit of it on purposewithout leafs…

Excuse the wrinkles. I wore the bandanna to type up the post, then realised I should take a shot with it off my head!

Oh! LOOK! This almost nearly WORKED!

I am super happy to announce: I sewed my very first shirt ever on a sewing machine last night!!!! WOOOT WOOOT!

And it totally almost worked out! It’s amazing! I used a Simplicity “New Look” pattern I got somewhere. Thinking a friend brought it to me from a free pile or a yard sale. It wasn’t totally complete, the instructions were gone, but the pattern bits were all still there and it proclaimed it would be EASY!  (the pattern is labelled: BIN 33 6569 just in case you wanted to know)

“Well”, I thought, “I can just wing the rest!” and I did. I looked at the picture and went for it. First time using bias tape around the edges, first time using knit jersey, first time using a paper pattern for something actually sewn (have used paper patterns for knitted stuff before). I knew how to cut the pieces out and how to use the cut arrows to match the pieces up, but the “gathering” in the front there was nowhere explained. I winged it… I am not sure if I am too crazy about the ruffled part at all… I might leave it off the next one and see how I like that.

My daughter made the pictures, hence the “diagonals” This is again before the bias tape around the arms.

I have to admit: I was sweating it a bit. But I got this knit Jersey fabric for 50% off and another 10% off, because it had a flaw. So for a whopping $3.25 I got 1 1/3 yards of fabric on Sunday. I got it with the express thought of ruining it. I learned how  to spin the same way! I got a pound of the cheapest roving I could find and went for it. Fully intending to ruin every last ounce of it! It worked out in the end! I didn’t ruin the whole pound!

Same here with this shirt! It might not be perfect, but I learned a lot doing it and making these mistakes and I had fun along the way! My husband was super proud of me and said he would take me out in that shirt. Aawwww, he loves me!.. I wouldn’t go out in it though… since the shirt sort of still SUCKS a bit much. Like I said: it was a practice piece!

What I have learned:

• Do not be scared! Just go for it! Remember: you can always start over, just like in knitting.
• Do not start with the bias tape in the front centre of the decollete! Start some place less obvious!
• Do not try to hurry knit jersey when sewing on the bias tape! It will “wave” and the jersey might not get caught in the tape and it will leave a hole.
• Go slow! Trying stuff on along the way as I did today makes sense and helps to wrap my mind around all the seams.
• I am not as hopeless a cause on the sewing machine as I thought!
• I have THE most wonderful and supportive family ever! (I knew that, but they reinforced my knowledge again today)

This is before I put the bias tape around the arm holes.The pink shirt on top is the one I sewed.

I am so psyched by the obvious almost success, that I am planning on saving up some money and buying some more knit jersey. This time “the good stuff”. It’s still 50% off, but instead of $5 it’s $12 a yard and will make a nicer shirt and not quite so see-through either! Then I will try again!

With bias tape around the arms this time!

My family loves me lots. They are so super supportive, you would not believe it! My daughter saw it and said: Could you make me one like that? Only not in pink? What a compliment from a 16 year old!!!! My husband said: Oh now that you know how to sew shirts, could you make me this one? After you knit those “toe” socks though…” Yep! He wants me to make him a shirt. He has this underarmor shirt he loves to death, but it’s falling apart. I know how to make patterns from existing stuff, so I *think* I might be able to make him one. After I get a bit more practice in!
I am VERY proud of myself, for just jumping off the deep end finally! I have been dreading it and telling myself I can’t sew clothes for so many years! How silly of me! Now I will not only scour the thriftstores for yarn, but for more sheets to make clothes!

I WILL HAVE A HANDMADE WARDROBE ONE DAY!

Cute and Quick fix

I love my reusable shopping bags! My handmade ones specially, since I know they are good quality fabric and well sewn. I know they can get washed and dried and will come out just fine. I wash the bags after every use, so they have to withstand quite a bit. I also got one really nice canvas bag from the place I volunteer at. I washed it once and the seam came undone.

Now, I must have gotten a “Monday Piece” since others had the bags for years and nothing happened to them. Alas, mine broke and I was thoroughly vexed by it, since I LOVED that bag! It was canvas and sturdy and the handles were just the right length and it was big and I use it every Monday when I go volunteering to schlep all my stuff in…

So I had to fix it. Well sewing it with the machine was no problem. I had to “darn” it, since the weave came unravelled a bit.

aawwww my bag!

So what I usually do is: select a big zig zag stitch and strong thread and whoosh, it was done. Sturdy and won’t come undone EVAH! But really it does not look so pretty now, does it?

Humming and hawing and there was the idea! Take a bit of felt, cut it into a pleasing shape and PRESTO! I cut a few hearts (cut from felted sweaters) and sewed them over the rip and just a plain rectangle on the inside. Et voici le produit fin:

Cute, huh?

Pretty bag! I don’t have to be embarrassed to be seen with this little cutie! I had another bag I needed to fix, so I made a few leaves out of green felt.
I made a few extra felt hearts! If you need some, go to my shop and grab them while they are there! Now that I am done sewing mine on, I am thinking I could have embroidered on them first. I think that would have been so cute! But as it is, I will leave them and use some embroidered ones some place else! There will be plenty of uses for these cute little guys!

The green ones.

The white ones.

The turquoise ones.

The blue one.

My Cushion is done!

It was the project from hell! I hated every minute of working on it, but I LOVE THE WAY IT CAME OUT!

If you want one of your own, here is the pattern at Attic 24 Super wonderfully written, with lots of pictures. It’s easy to follow (just make sure you remember it is written using the British crochet terms.)

I love it! I made the back out of fabric though, because I thought it looked better then a crochet one. So here is a view of the back of my cushion. I stitched a little heart on it

the back

Call me Doctor Frankenstein

My Friend has a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Sweetest dog you ever meet. She LOVES toys and playing and ripping them up…. So we were talking about it the other day and she asked me if I could make her some new ones that maybe hold a bit better up then the bought ones.. Oh yes I am sure I can try…

She went and got new fabric, squeakers (toys must squeak.. that makes them more fun) and stuffing, and I went and gathered some of the used toys up and took them home. Today I took a few out and started to tool around. I snipped and sewed. Reinforced all the existing seams and made new ones with a tight zig-zag stitch, so they are nice and sturdy.

Here is the carnage before I started:

CARNAGE!!!!! MWUAHAHAHHAHAHA

and here is what came of it

Just a little rectangle with a chewing rope which I to re- coiled and trimmed the ends off

I made two toys brand new (no before pic of the first one. It really just had all the feet ripped out and the seams opened and no stuffing)

I turned it inside out, fixed the seams and made it into a “ball with a face”, rather then back into the sheep it was. I also added a “handle” for a nice tug of war with the doggie. It holds like iron…Of course there is nothing I can do when the fabric goes lol.

Looks as good as new!