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...

Baby Blanket

a little elephant (i wish i had a finished photo when he's stuffed!)

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry about the crazy photos, the editor on blogger seems to not want to let me rotate them, which seems like it should be the simplest thing, especially if you rotate them, and save them, and then it still doesn't work.

During the end of the summer/early fall I started making a baby blanket for a coworker. It was before she knew if it would be a boy or girl. I used cottons I have had in my stash forever, and also batting that I had. The only thing I bought was red binding. It was really fun to piece together, and since I had started the blanket so early I decided to try hand quilting. I ended up doing just a basic sort of loose stitch. We had a large hoop, but the quilt wasn't really fitting in it, so it was easier to just wing it. I'm pleased with the result, even though it is definitely not perfect. For the back of the quilt I had a weird piece of printed fabric from a kids blanket I had gotten for free (from a neighbor) years ago. It has a boat with some cute animals in it. It was the perfect size for the project, and I hand embroidered a little on that, just to make it more personal. To cover the whole back of the blanket I added two other panels.

Anyway, It was really great to work with my stash and not have to buy any fabric for it, plus i'm very happy with the end result, and so is my friend! and her baby will be arriving soon, so i hope he likes it too!