Dresser Finished

 Yay. I finished my dresser a few weeks ago. So shiny.

 Wood. I also learned that it was my dad's dresser when he was growing up (crazy.)

I had to remove my indie-pop upsidedown cat doodle I drew on the side of it probably in 2005ish.

Swim Swim

A few years ago (was it last summer, or the summer before?) I started sewing a swimsuit.

It is a vintage sewing pattern: Simplicity 5696  Really it's a swim dress, and could easily be a tennis dress in different fabric. The suit is not super form fitting though it is fully lined. Fabric was found at Mill End in their flatfolds.

I got part way through, took a break and then this summer decided I needed to get it finished. What was left was shortening the shoulder straps, hemming it, and making the shorts. I bought a second pattern to make shorts that I thought I would like better. (See figure B). The shorts fit well with no alterations, I just added elastic at the waist and legs. I bought a strapless bra type of thing you can sew into a dress/swimsuit. This summer I decided instead to sew an old bra into the suit. I think it will work much better and be more comfortable.

Anyway, I'm very happy with the result, and I'm pretty sure I will be wearing the suit tomorrow on my vacation! I don't swim much, and I have not had a real swimsuit for like at least 6 years. (sad but true).

Overall, the fabric was not to hard to sew. The machine did not like it if I tried to use zigzag stitch, but straight stitch worked pretty well. It is sort of a heavy suit because it is fully lined and it is a dress, so there is a lot of fabric. Anyway, I am really pleased with it, and I would recommend these patterns to intermediate sewers who are interested in trying out something new.

I researched off and on for shapes I liked and I think that if I did another suit some day I might make the back not so high necked. Yes it does have a zipper. I know, right?!! Just makes me think of the vintage suits we tried on at my grandma's house when we were kids.

a few links:
Glamoursplash a cool blog about vintage swimwear, etc.
Popina buy vintage inspired swimwear in Portland.
Retronaut Vintage Jantzen ads  Jantzen is super cool, with its history in Portland, and there are lots of vintage suits for sale if you want to spend the money.
I also spent a while on Etsy looking at vintage suits, and also just looking at vintage photographs.
Etsy link 1, Etsy link 2, Etsy link 3

Summer Projects

 Today I finished stripping the last 3 drawers of my dresser. I started last summer, and it feels so good to be making progress. I love real wood, and hopefully next week or so I can tackle the rest of it. I think I will stain it maybe a medium tone, or maybe even a red of some sort.

This is the first of my Afterthought Heel socks. I'm very pleased with them, and the whole process was much faster than usually when I make socks. I will start the next one soon. The yarn is Heritage Paints sock yarn by Cascade.

Tonight I also finished up knitting the felted red slippers I am making. I just need to seam together the soul and felt them. Today I also cut out triangles for a black and white quilt I have been planning for some time. The last time I tried to lay out the quilt I got overwhelmed by the pattern. There's supposed to be darks, whites, and then like a dark "gray" and light "gray" of values. Each piece's value is relative to those around it, so I kept moving pieces around and then gave up after a while. I have a few more fabrics added now, and I'm also contemplating making the quilt smaller, like a twin perhaps just to help make it less overwhelming, and also to have room to lay it out on the livingroom floor.

Vacation time!

 I went on vacation over the weekend and finally got to meet Oscar! He is a very fine (yet a little wild) cat.

 While there, I did not get much knitting done. It was soo nice to have a break and just relax. I did finish hiding ends in one of my red slippers from this pattern everyone has done. I still have to do the second one and then felt them. I also started an Afterthought Heel sock from the pattern by Laura Linneman. I'm pretty excited about it, it was a perfect project for movie watching and driving. I just got past the first heel placement marking and I will be driving a lot tomorrow, so I will try to keep working on it.

(Ignore the dirty windshield.)

Pictures from the last few days

 Veggie Pad Thai - Friday

 Brownies! -Friday

 Estate sale games -Saturday

 I sewed PJ pants. Not super flattering on the hanger, but i think they are pretty cute. I love the stripes, and they are capris. - Monday

 Today I bought sock yarn. I'm hoping to use an afterthought heel pattern, i think i will have a higher finishing rate, if i do the heels last. I'm not sure which color i'll start with. I'm trying to finish the baby sweater and red slippers i am knitting first. (Which i still need to get pictures of!) - Wednesday

I am going on vacation on the weekend, so hopefully i will have lots of photos.

Blue and Purple

 At my grandma's house on the 4th of July

 On my walk today

 In the backyard Super Blue

 Purpley

 Green

Purple blue

August.

I guess it is August.
I'm realizing that I just am not taking many pictures any more in life. So I will try to change that! After all, I have a decent camera, and I love documenting things.

I don't really know that I could commit to taking (and posting) 1 photo a day. But, I might be able to at least take a photo a day. (And post once a week, or a few times a week?)

Knitting. I have been listening a lot to the Knitmoregirls podcast. I love starting at the beginning of podcasts (like I started listening to the 2008 podcasts and am working my way to the future - currently in spring 2009.) Also with Knitting Pipeline, I started at the beginning and now have caught up (and now I have to wait for the new show to come out every other week).

I have been working on a baby sweater out of baby yarn. It's navy blue and after the 3rd time starting it I'm finally making progress!

Meanwhile. I took apart a ribbon "sweater set" that my grandma gave me. I love my grandma, but it is something i would never wear. It was made of white ribbon yarn, along with rainbowy novelty yarn that looks like this except imagine it in rainbow.

The sweater was knitted and put together in a way where the pieces were individual pieces sewn together. So, I was able to unravel it all, and get pretty big balls of wound up yarn. Then, I searched and searched on ravelry for the perfect shrug/cardigan pattern (I even considered some top patterns- though i don't wear too much white, so i figured white as a cardigan would be better). I finally today decided that maybe i should just go with the baby sweater pattern (the yarn is bigger, and so are the needles). The baby sweater design is just a top-down raglan, so I cast on with the ribbon yarn and I have done about 2 inches today. The unfortunate thing with ribbon yarn is that i'm not sure if i love the texture. It is cool, which is good for summer, as I'm trying to make a good summer cardigan. I have no idea if i will have enough yarn. so far I am using the yarn double stranded. I assume since the original sweater was a cardigan and a tank, that I will have enough to make a short-ish cardigan (that will go okay with dresses, etc) with possibly short or 3/4 sleeves or something.

I sort of doubt that I can make this cardigan in a little over a week. I'm going on vacation then, and I think it will be very hot, so it might be nice if it was done, we'll see. I'm not totally making up the pattern, but since i'm going off the baby pattern, i will have to try it on as i go, and make sure i know when to separate the sleeves, etc. we'll see. I may hate the texture, or it may just not work at all. But, I have to try, Right?

Sewing:


I had made a Sorbetto top (by Colette patterns) that was black and white gingham. I did bias tape binding on the neck, but hadn't done it on the sleeves. For some reason I just hemmed the sleeves without the binding. That was a few weeks ago. Last week I made another Sorbetto in a crazy yellow fabric that I'm not sure if i love (also it turned out a little big). While making that top, I learned how to sew the bias tape on better. So last night, I ripped out the hem on the sleeves of the black and white top, and finished the bias tape. It is an awesome hot pink.

Also, I bought a shirt a month or more ago. Shirts are all so long these days. I had tried to hem it by hand, but then the hem seemed heavy, and it was flipping up, so you could see the handsewing. Today I just zigzaged it, and then trimmed off the previous hem. So... The hem still rolls a little, but I think it will be okay. it is a raw edge beyond the zig zag, but I hope it won't fray/I can try to figure out what to do about it later.

Okay I guess that it is it for now. I suppose I should take my August 1st photo..! (the sweater photos up above!)

Knitted Rag Rug

I have made a few rag rugs over the years. Braided, sewn, and finally I knitted one! I love rag rugs because they help me use up small amounts of fabric. For this rug I cut strips of fabric that were 1&1/2 inches wide and as long as my scraps were...

The other fun thing about scraps is that I look at them and remember (for the most part) all the stories of the fabric, where I got it, what projects I've used it in, etc. This one had a lot of black and white because I've been cutting triangles for a black and white quilt.

It's sort of small, but okay for a kitchen sink rug, etc. I'm excited because I got some bigger needles, size 15 which means the next rug will not be so tight to knit. Maybe in 6 months or a year or so I will have enough scraps again to make another one. 

Sunny Days

Hello. It's been a while. I'm trying out a crazy new template for the blog, we'll see how it goes. Part of the reason why I'm not online as much lately is that I'm working... at my job, and on projects.

I finished the Giraffe a while ago... Yay! he's so cute and was fun to make. It took a while to sew together, but I'm happy with him. He's from the Itty Bitty Toys book by Susan B. Anderson.

I have also been sewing and finishing up the Dr. Who Scarf. Please bear with me as I attempt to become more regular at posting!

Springtime

I'm trying to work a little more on my website. I know it's not a very exciting site, but still nice to have a place to show photos (even though they're not the best photos). I know it has not been updated that much lately. sad, huh.

Last Sunday I spent a few hours working on my Clothing Book. I started it in 2009, so you know, it should be finished by now. I would love to make some sort of nerdy graph or something about how my clothes have changed from 2009 to 2012. I have gotten rid of a lot of them... specifically T shirts from high school...i had soo many, and now my new goal is to try to make non T shirt shirts, or buy them.

Also I am trying to think of what to do with my Stash. Maybe almost half is quilt squares that are already cut out. I guess that is good...I just need to find time to sew quilts. The rest of my Stash is small-ish pieces. I can use them for small projects but not really enough to make garments I guess.

Here's a project I will probably do:

A Wrist Rest for at the computer. I probably do need one, and it will be good for small pieces.
While I was researching a little bit about stash projects other people have done, I found this site.

Today I started a knit rag rug. I have braided and sewn rag rugs, but never knitted one. It is really hard on the hands and wrists so I will have to work on it in smaller doses.  I'm using about 1 1/2 inch strips of fabric, and size 13 needles. (probably 15s or larger would be easier) So far it has been fun, but I have decided against flannel scraps, as it makes it too thick. It's about 17 inches wide, and I guess we'll just have to see how long I can make it! :)

Seed Stitch

Super simple (if you knit) seed stitch dish towel. I started a few rows yesterday morning, and then finished it later in the day while spending several hours hanging out at Sound Ghost Studios. It's pretty small, only 7x6 inches. Good for a wash cloth, or more likely for scrubbing dishes. I love the cotton yarn. I used size 4 needles.

I've started a second one in a ribbed pattern, but I will show pictures when I am done with it.

Dotted Sorbetto

 Finally I have finished a project! My first top project...yay! I guess these aren't the most flattering photos. oh well. The pattern is Sorbetto, a free download pattern from Colette Patterns. I got the fabric from (i think) a bunch of yard sale fabric from my boyfriend's mom. There were two matching fabrics, one with the polka-dots, one just plain teal. It seems a little bright to me, but I'm excited about embracing new colors and patterns. I had barely enough of the dots to cut the pattern out! I used the plain to make my very own bias tape following this awesome tutorial from Colette Patterns for the neck and armhole edges. The hardest part was trying to sew the bias tape on with a sort-of-straight line. I somehow chose to use pastel pink as my top stitching thread, which means it shows up a little more. But, this is my very first time, I'm sure the next time i'll be better at it.

My mom says when she was a (missionary) kid coming back to the USA from Africa with her sisters, they all had dresses made out of a similar color and print. I will try to find some photos. Apparently there may also be a matching purse at one of my aunt's houses?

I'm looking forward to cutting out a black and white small-ish gingham print for another sorbetto. I have some vintage bias tape in hot  pink that seems fun! I was so happy to learn how to make my own, I think it will be great for many future projects. The best part is using up scraps, and also being able to have stuff that matches perfectly rather than the 20+ colors at the store.

A project update.

I'm so close to being finished with a certain project that I'm excited about. I can't talk too much about it as it is a surprise. Let's just say that I'm learning more about altering clothes. It has been a fun project because I'm working on it with my friend, so we're trying to figure it out together. Anyway, I think I will be done soon. I spent a lot of today hand sewing on it.

I finally finished hemming and altering a shirt for Mike, which is great, but I have three more to work on. It is going sort of slowly, as I'm used to working on stuff for myself, and he is taller and bigger than me, and guys clothes definitely fit differently. The first shirt turned out pretty good, and I learned a lot, and I think the next ones will be better.

I started on a top project, but I'm already worried that it will look like a maternity top. ha. It's probably just not a good style for my body shape, and mainly, like most commercially made patterns, I'm making my size, but it's probably two sizes too big. here's some photos of other ones people have made. I think if I can just take it down several sizes it will look better, but right now I'm a little worried. Most of what I read about it is that other sewers altered it. Anyway, I am making a test one first to try to get the fit right, before I try different fabric.

Today I also printed out (Finally!) the Colette Sorbetto free pattern. I'm really excited about that one. It seems simple, but there are so many different options with fabric. I love seeing other people's designs, and I really really wish there was a ravelry-like site for sewing clothes.

So, I should get back to sewing... and when I finally finish something I will take some photos!

Knitting Dishcloths

 Here's a dishcloth that I made! Yay! This is actually the 2nd one and it turned out way better than the first on. I think mainly due to the yarn (Peaches and Cream) being thicker, so it is not too floppy. I also prefer the colors I guess.

Here's the first one:

Cotton from my stash. The pattern is free and is Here

this week

My plan of finishing a garment in the last week of February did not happen. I managed to get sick, just when I thought I was getting better from my cold, I got a sinus infection with a horrible sore throat. I'm finally feeling better after a couple days, which is so awesome!  I will just have to work on sewing things soon when I have time. I'm also meeting with a friend next week, on an ongoing project. I honestly haven't worked on it much since our last fitting, so it's good to have a fitting scheduled to encourage me to work on it.
Yep. Not a whole lot has been happening, just resting. I confess that I found out that Youtube has whole episodes of What Not To Wear on it.I've watched a few episodes the last few days.  I don't think i dress that badly,  but I am hoping (as i feel like i mention every post) to find tops that aren't T-shirts that I will like, or just have more varied options than my high school T-shirts.

Recycling paper

Making valentines is a great way to recycle. I have too much paper, and have saved odd things for years... sigh. This year I made an attempt in a few short weeks to sort through some things and recycle. I didn't quite get as far through things as I had wanted, but going through it a few times was a good thing, it became easier to just recycle things.

Here's some valentines

Here's some stuff I recycled without having to save them for valentines: from a project i did for school several years ago, probably black and white basic design...