which means time for other crafty projects.
And time to research sewing machines. I’d love to hear about yours! What do you use? What do you love about it?
I need some advice. I’m looking for a sturdy “work horse” but nothing high-end. Just the basics.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
It was a good year, I do believe!
I finished putting buttons on Emily’s jacket and made her a hat from yarn scraps. It kinda matches. She might not like it… I mean, what kid likes wearing coats and hats? (I just found this particular exhibitionist-of-a-kid stripped of all her garments and hiding under a blanket, for goodness’ sake.) But I’m going to wrap it up and give it to her for her birthday anyway.
And a doll. I bought her a Ballet Barbie, but Evan and I felt a little guilty. So I returned Barbie to Target and decided to make her a doll instead. I made one for Christmas last year (see above). This time I’m going to make one with outfits. After all, isn’t that what makes Barbie so awesome?
I think so.
Here’s the crafted gang from last year. And here’s sweet Emily (and Jacob) last year:
We’ll probably be celebrating on another day due to health issues. But I hope you all have a blessed Easter!
So I was making all these clothes. Shirts, actually. And somewhere along the way I got over-confident. I decided to design my own shirt. And that’s where I hit the wall. Over the past week, I’ve come back to this shirt half a dozen times, trying to figure out why it wasn’t working.
(It’s inside-out, in case you’re wondering.)
I’ve been comparing it to actual pattern pieces to try to get the armholes right.
The kinks are mostly worked out, so I’ll show you the finished product as soon as the armholes and hem are finished.
(Unless something disastrous happens.)
Meanwhile, here are some necklaces (hanging on the wall) that I made while think-thinking about the shirt.
Here’s to a new week with fresh inspiration… Happy Monday!
I actually wrote this a few months ago and don’t know why I never posted it. Hmm. Mysterious. So when I say “last night,” I really mean many, many nights ago. :)
Fabric stiffener. Well, it works. It’s not my favorite smell ever, and it left me a little worried that I had ruined an otherwise lovely creation. But it worked.
I tried this little holey vase in various places throughout the house, holding different objects for a day at a time. This lasted for 2 weeks.
It now holds the pens on Evan’s desk.
Much to his surprise.
Last night he picked it up and said with wonderment, “Where did this come from?”
“I made it,” I replied.
“Oh. That’s really cool… You should blog about this.”
And so I am. :)
When I crocheted this (pattern from Uncommon Crochet), I checked the base to make sure it would fit snugly around a cylindrical glass. Then, I just followed the directions on the bottle of fabric stiffener, slipped my creation over the bottom of the plastic-wrap-covered-glass and let it dry upside-down overnight.
Apparently, Japanese crafty-types like to make their own scrubbies for the kitchen sink. And the bathroom. And their faces. And everything else!
1. DSCN4111, 2. Japanese tawashi book, 3. Bear Tawashi 2, 4. Tawashi scrubbies in cabin, 5. 978-4-7747-5118-4, 6. 978-4-05-605157-5, 7. 978-4-277-17210-3, 8. tawashi flower, 9. Tawashi - scrubbies, 10. 978-4-8347-6460-4, 11. tawashi, 12. 4939459804029
I was alerted to this trend in the latest issue of Craft. And so… I now present…
My Very First Tawashi!!! (Extra exclamation points make this feel more authentic, don’t you think? And I’m not sure how to pluralize “tawashi,” but I actually made two…)
I made a plain blue one and an orange one that was begging to have a leaf added to it. They now reside prettily on the windowsill above the sink. And are just aching to get egg and cheese ground into their fresh, acrylic fibers.
These were quick to make and quite satisfying. Thanks again, Narumi!
Clearly this is staged because my mug is never empty. ;)
I just wanted to show you a potholder I made last week. Things have been kind of quiet here with sick-ish babies and a sad documentary on our minds and hearts (Please be aware that this documentary is the most tragic thing I’ve ever seen. If you watch it, be forewarned that you will weep. And weep. And weep some more. And then get angry. And then do something.).
So it feels a little strange to blog about a potholder after that. But sometimes you just need to get your mind off the serious. Right?
The pattern is from Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts: Lacy Crochet (From the awesome library here that ordered it upon my request). I had to modify the pattern when I realized my potholder was going to be Huge if I did any more rounds. I then lined it with white muslin to give it more structure.
The tablecloth was thrifted with the tray I showed you recently. It was less than $3, and very much awesome. It has branches with birds and flowers on a very large repeat.
And the mug was thrifted in the summer. For 48 cents.
Another piece of happiness: I got my 12 Square fabric from Turkey Cookies on Saturday.
The theme is simply “Autumn.” Hmmmm.
This is a little crocheted granny-square-ish bowl I made to corral all the plastic container lids. They drive me nuts. But, alas, they are necessary. So now they have their own special place, and they are still easy to grab in a hurry.
I’m thinking about embellishing this with a little flower. I think it needs some bubblegum pink. :)
Also, I’ll probably use fabric stiffener on it to help it maintain its shape. I’ve never done this before, so does anyone have any experience with it? Anything I should know?
On the cooking front (you know, what the kitchen is actually intended for… one might suspect that all I do in there is decorate), yesterday I was aching to make something apple-y, and I came across this Apple Crumble Cake recipe. I added cinnamon and replaced some of the white sugar with brown sugar. I also used a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose flour. Unfortunately, we baked it a little too long (about 50 minutes), and the cake part was not very moist. But it was still delicious served with vanilla ice cream. And it was even better a few hours later when all the syrupy goodness had settled a bit. Mmmmm.
Sorry for the perhaps negative vibe of yesterday’s post. This past week has been extremely tiring, but it hasn’t been bad. I did consume much caffeine yesterday to get through the day, but we all have days like that, right? Today, I’m keeping it to one cup. Promise.
And taking a nap.
The picture is a timeline of stuff I’ve knit or crocheted over the last few years to keep us warm in the winter. My first completed knitting project is the scarf on the bottom. You can see notes on the picture here, if you’re interested.
