I am still on these adorable dresses. Same pattern, Simplicity 3808. Different fabrics this time.
I haven’t added buttons yet because my plain-jane craft type buttons just don’t seem to cut it for these vibrant fabrics. These are my favorite versions so far and they deserve special buttons. Also, I appear to be out of snaps. Must purchase more.
Geez, my pictures suck hardcore today. The ambient light from outside is nonexistent thanks to some soupy fog, so this is the best you get. These are some little dresses I sewed for the baby using the Simplicity 3808 pattern. Very cute, easy, and fast. Instead of sewing button holes I made the buttons decorative and just used snaps. I think those will work much better.
These leggings are super-cute too. It was my first time sewing with the super-stretchy jersey, which is why the legs came out so lopsided. However, I like them anyway because they have awesome pirate skulls and the baby won’t ever realize how janked they look.
Cute bird ornament from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts
So I ended up making some bird ornaments first. With bird print fabric, no less. These are really adorable and I think I may construct an entire flock with which to adorn our Christmas tree. I’m not such a big fan of the sewn loops on these, though. I think some gold twine would be more appropriate for future birds.
OMG, the pins!
Yeah, these require a lot of pinning. I tried handsewing them in order to avoid the pins but that didn’t work out so well. My seams just looked really shitty. There were some people on the flickr forums for this book that thought the belly piece was too long and shortened it. I think they were either not pinning aggressively enough or trying to utilize two fabrics of different weights, because I had no trouble with the belly at all.
Until we get a tree...
I checked this book out from the library yesterday and have been poring over it ceaselessly. I am definitely “color challenged” and am fascinated by the delightful way Joelle Hoverson combines color and print to make absolutely gorgeous items. I have always had an interest in sewing in general, and patchwork quilting specifically. However, I have really just been drifting aimlessly, starting and then abandoning projects because I lack the skill set necessary to make them a reality. I realized recently that I need to just start small and simple, so that I don’t get overwhelmed and frustrated and give up. My past failures haunt me, and I would like to eventually stop repeating them.
My sewing ventures have pretty much all resulted in failure except for things like curtains, duvet covers, and pillows. You see the the common element here? That’s right: squares. Things that are square I can do. Projects like clothing and intricate patchwork have not enjoyed the same success.
Example 1. Kaffee Fassett-inspired baby quilt
Seriously, what was I thinking??
Yes, that’s right. High off the fumes from a Kaffee Fassett book, I decided that I too had the magical ability to combine seemingly random and mismatched prints and colors into a cohesive piece. Boy was that a rude awakening. Despite being hideous, this project was a success in that I pieced it incredibly well and the finished item is as flat, straight, and square as can be. That, and I won’t be upset when the baby shits all over it because it will probably end up being a little picnic/outdoor blanket anyway.
Example 2: Music-themed quilt
Ugh, I just realized I arranged those blocks all wrong for the picture so use your imagination. On this piece, I fell victim to poor planning and excitement. I didn’t buy enough fabric initially, and I didn’t prewash any of them so I am afraid they are going to bleed. The whole thing (even when laid out correctly) is not as visually stimulating as I imagined it being. I am thinking I may buy enough of a single print to do wide borders around the blocks (you know, to stretch them out) and just settle for a twin/small queen quilt instead of the behemoth I originally envisioned. If anyone has any suggestions on a way to utilize these blocks into a usable piece, I would love to hear them. At this point I just want to be done with this. I have 34 8″ blocks completed, and enough fabric to make about 34 more but not nearly enough for what I planned.
So, in the interest of starting small and manageable, and because I mod and participate in Swap on a Budget on Ravelry (rav link, need to be a member to view) and I need some quick gifts to include in my latest package I think I will start out with Kelly’s Pincushions and the Puzzle Ball.
I’m not really sure about the puzzle ball though. The first thing I thought when I imagined someone giving it to me as a gift was “cat toy” however, she doesn’t have any cats. It looks like fun to make though.
Seriously, I am the least productive knitter of all time. At the beginning of the year when all the other blogs are in their “new years resolution knitting” and projects are exploding out of their asses, I am still in my slack knitting mode. I am lucky to get out a couple of complete projects a year, even thought I start a bajillion and then completely neglect them. I am jealous of everyone else’s productivity.
Take, for instance, my current knitting situation:
I am halfway through a sweater that I would like to wear to Rhinebeck (2 weeks away). The further I knit on it, the more convinced I am it is going to give me all the glorious figure of a sack of soggy dicks. I am discouraged. I have only knit one row on it today.
A winter hat that I knit my husband LAST winter needs to have the top inch or so ripped and reknit. It just looks funky on him. It is not really a big deal, but the poor thing has been languishing in the closet for nearly a year and I have done nothing to remedy the situation.
I have at least three socks that I have yet to complete the mates for.
I gave up and bound off on the pinwheel baby blanket due to sheer boredom. I would have liked the blanket to be bigger, but reached a point where I would have rather hung myself than continue to knit in a circle any more.
My queue is so backed up, I am never going to be able to put a noticeable dent in it. My new years resolution is going to have to be to not be such a slackoff anymore. I don’t even have the excuse of Christmas knitting to fall back on here, I am seriously pathetic.
I finally started listing my stuff in the etsy shop I opened months ago.
Take a look! My shop name is Fiendishchef Knits!
and other acquisitons. The needle roll…
is pretty cool, made out of some fabric I’ve had sitting around forever. I also recently bought ten skeins of Cotton Fine on Ebay, in order to knit myself a bitchin’ sweater to wear to Rhinebeck. Because, you know, all the cool kids show up adorned in their own handknits, and I don’t want to be left out. However, I am seriously daunted by the limited amount of time I have to actually finish the garment. Barely a month and a half until the fair, and I am infamous for my delayed knitting style. I’m tempted to just cast on for a top-down raglan to avoid the whole swatching/planning stage. The potential for disaster kind of frightens me, but I think I’m going to go for it anyway.
So I finally got my lazy basil plants to earn their freaking keep around here.
Delicious foliage
I picked about four cups each of the purple and regular basil.
Mmmmm...
They got blended up into a pesto.
Oh, Snap!
Which was then served on top of the swordfish for dinner. And they all lived happily ever after. The end.
At each and every one of my Ravelympics projects.
The Hamsa laceweight scarf? -I decided I hated the way the yarn was knitting up. It’s Knitpicks Shimmer in Lilac. The more I knit, the more dubious I became about the actual color of the yarn and then it started striping up really wierd. Ew.
The pinwheel baby blanket that only needs like ten more rows knitted on it? – Pure laziness prevented me from completing this project. I would rather lay on the couch in a near vegetative state and watch men’s beach volleyball than knitting a damn circle of stockinette for one more second. Blah.
The cabled raglan sweater that is missing only the last half of the sleeves? -Knowing that I am not going to be able to wear this sweater when it is finished until at least next winter has totally decimated my will to finish this project.
The second Hedera that I wanted so much? -I started knitting a different pair of socks instead. What can I say.
Now the entire world has a complete record of how I totally FAILED at knitting this year. Let the mocking commense. You will never be able to do worse than the things my husband says about all my UFO’s. It is getting really embaressing. *sniffle*
Meh. There is nothing on tv and I am bored with all of my knitting projects. It doesn’t help that I am working on ‘surprise’ projects, so can only work on them when the intended recipient is not present. I just watched Cold Mountain. My favorite part is when the old lady tells Kidman that she is as skinny as a scare crow. Um… that’s the way she always looks. I hated how her hair was always perfect and clean and untangled, no matter the circumstances. I found the implication that Kidman would ever consume salt pork equally ridiculous.
Bah! I have laundry to fold and lunches to pack.
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