It's been ages since I've posted here, I've almost forgotten how to blog. No, seriously. How do I post a photo and a link? Here it goes...
I really just wanted to show what I've been making. Mostly napkins and aprons. Click on the photo to be taken to Etsy to purchase!
Reversible, Mix Match Napkins
www.auntwilma.etsy.com
Canning Jar "Grab Bags"
Ruffle Apron
Here's a sneak peek of some work I'll be showing in May. The show will be up all May at Cafe Nomad in Norway. Come get a coffee, some food and enjoy!
The latest projects for Lion Brands Yarnplay Newsletter. Thanks Emily Delamater for the photographs and the lovely ladies at girls night for posing!!
Click photos for the FREE patterns! Each project has an accompanying set of how-to photos.
3 ring necklace
Craft Wheel Necklace Wool & Stainless Steel
Knit Coral
I'm now selling aprons at Cafe Nomad, the awesome cafe in my town where I also work. This is my second batch thanks to the lovely "Main Street Supporters" out there! I'm also selling knitting needle cases at Artful Hands a little further up Main street, but I don't have photo's just yet. So fun to make each one be different.
Rug hooking project in progress
Vintage ballet fabric being made into quilt squares.
Close up of a new duvet cover
It's great to make pals with the antique dealer you walk by everyday. He might just hold a sewing machine a week for you, then deliver it, help you carry it up the stairs and toss in some old feed sacks for free.
Welcome to stop #6 on the Knitting Green blog tour! Like all of the other designers before me, I'm quite pleased to be a part of this book and tour. Knitting Green, by Ann Budd, is a great collection of practical and useful projects mixed with informative essays. Flipping through the pages, I found several projects I want to make, which to me is a good sign! Hmmmm, what should I make first??
The Caterina Wrap?
or the Eco Vest?
The bike basket, one of my patterns, is made of jute and lined with oilcloth. I'm jazzed that it made the cover!
Many people have asked me who makes the the purse handles, but I'm afraid I don't know. I got them at Brooklyn General, but there was no label or info on them at all, I swear! I'm not just a flake who forgets to write things down. I ordered the beautiful oil cloth from purlsoho.com.
The Save the Streams Slippers is also mine and I'm quite pleased with it. The shape is slick and easy to create. It makes use of scraps and tidbits and you can embellish with needle felting, embroidery or keep it simple. I want to make a whole pile!
The blog tour is almost over, but check out the rest of the stops here.
Then head out to your local book store to get your copy of Knitting Green! If they don't have it, check to see if they can order it for you. Most small book sellers are more than willing to special order at no additional cost.
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Soon this pile will become something...
I was quite tired of rumaging for crochet hooks, so...
I based my pattern of one in Last Minute Patchwork Gifts
Canceled stamps & bits from old envelopes
My first attempt at rug hooking
My mom got all handmade gifts from me this year...
The Oragami Organizer from One Skein Wonders
The "Not-Ugly Car Trash Bag" also from One Skein Wonders
A chair cover of my own design
The chair before:
And finally, the Praying Mantis from Amigurumi Knits
Look closely...
Can you spy the awesome, Mod podge Magnum PI container I made mom for her birthday in 1987? Not bad for a seven year old!! Of course, my Aunt Wilma did help. On the back I wrote a very inspirational birthday message: "Have a Happy Time!" surrounded by rainbows. I love that Magnum still has a special spot in mom's room, now joined by a much creepier gift!
Does anyone else have a pincushion that looks like mine? It's just too stuffed and doesn't work properly! I'm always grabbing more than one pin or bent pins and my favorite tiny, vintage pins get lost in the sea. I guess every now and then one must perform a spring cleaning of the pincushion, eliminating bulk and what not, but I don't and certainly don't plan to!
After discovering this problem, I thought I could will myself to put the pins back in a less-saturated way. But oh no... we get in a rhythm while sewing and these pile ups just happen. Over and over I watch myself stick the pin in the same spot, like a small child decorating the Christmas tree!
Another complaint: the upholstrey weight fabric I used was too thick to quickly stab a pin into, so many a pin tumbled to it's death, forever lost to the land of playful kittens, dust pans and unhappy feet.
All this to say that I decided to make a new pincushion and ended up with two extra! I put them in my ETSY shop and if you want one, go get it!!
Did I mention that they're hedgehogs?? Yeah, they're cute little hedgehogs...
Mandy & Myrtle
Mandy & Myrtle aren't spoken for...
If you buy one in my shop and write me a note that says something like... "I read your blog and want a hedgie!!" I'll refund your shipping! FRee Shipping if you mention my blog! Woo hoo! Bargin.
Hop to it kiddos!! Your hedgie awaits!
I didn't do all that much of it in Brooklyn, because it seemed to take up too much space. Also, my sewing machine was a bit too heavy to keep dragging out all the time. In a perfect world, I'd have a room big enough to have the machine set up and ready to go at all times. Of course there would also be a gorgeous collection of threads on the wall to choose from, stacks of beautiful fabrics organized by color and magical 'infinity' bobbins that never need re-winding, but let's get real! Most of the time, my fabric is a mess or I don't have enough for what I want to do. Plus, I usually give up on the pattern early and do my own thing, only to realize that the pattern contained some important information/steps I should probably have paid attention to. (This coming from the girl who writes patterns for a living, duh.) Needless to say, I have a lot of unfinished sewing projects in my possession. These sewing disasters are far less forgiving than my pile of knitting 'mistakes' which can easily be pulled out and re-knit. It's definitely important that I keep hang
Design it Yourself Clothes by Cal Patching on to them though, despite the fact that I will NEVER actually finish them.
Lately, the sewing bug has hit me. Perhaps because in Maine, I've been able to spread out. Or perhaps because I have a sewing machine here that can do more than just a straight stitch plus a mom who works at a bookstore and gets me awesome craft books and doesn't seem to mind me taking over the dinning room table for weeks on end...
It started with Design-it Yourself-Clothes by the wonderful designer/maker/teacher (and my friend) Cal Patch. As someone who has wanted to make her own clothes for like, forever, I was really excited to get this book. I started with the first project, a skirt, and have already learned so much about darts, seams, translating paper pattern to fabric, thinking three dimensionally and on and on. It's such a cute book. The photos are light, airy and inspirational. Her voice is encouraging, humorous and extremely approachable. With each turn of the page, I couldn't wait to get started.
One day I decided to make the little elephant from Last Minute Patchwork Gifts:
Then I got One Yard Wonders and launched into a holiday making frenzy!
I made the car caddy & the origami tray seen on the cover for my mom. For my six year old pal, Eleanor, I made an apron that turns into a little bag!
But perhaps the BEST thing to happen in my sewing life... stumbling upon an unfinished project left by my Great Aunt Wilma: a very "late seventies" cloth quiet book. She had all the pieces cut out, labeled and organized in envelopes. The pages were ready to go and all I had to do was attach everything, which in my opinion, was the easier and more fun part. Thanks Wilma!! There were enough materials to make two books, so I gave one to Eleanor's sister Clarissa, who is the perfect age for it!! From what I hear, it was a hit!
