...And Thursday

Spring has sprung in the hearts of fashionistas around the globe.  Anything and everything from television adds to magazines spreads, even bloggers are sharing the latest spring pieces.  But as most know, spring can be a difficult time to dress, one second its sunny and the next it is blowing rain in your face, and messing up your hair, uggg!  Pieces that are just a bit on the warm side are perfect for spring and summer evenings. A perfect transition into summer is a knit dress, good with tights, leggings, or even jeans now, and great for summer evenings later.  Enter on of my favorite free knitting pattern blogs out there Pickles.  This is the third Pickle's pattern I have featured, so you know I must visit the site often, I do.  When I am there I usually stop over at the store to droll over the yarns too.  Someday when the amount of yarn I own can fit in just one SMALL box, I will buy from the store.  I really recommend their yarns, as buying the yarn helps support the free pattens, plus they are reasonable in price and the colors are amazing!

But back to the dress...

Is is a sweater, or is it a dress?  It can be anything you want.  Since your are knitting it you can control the length, a little longer if you want to wear it as a dress alone, a little shorter if you are short like me, or super confident, or plan to wear it as a tunic style sweater. Another great way to make this fun dress perfect for spring, knit it up in the nudes and pinks that seem to be everywhere. One tip when choosing colors, if you are fair stick with pinks, roses and warmer colors, if you have tan or olive skin the lighter cooler colors work like gray, and if you have dark skin think bronze when choosing yarns or any nude pieces for that matter. Knitting the trim in a black or navy would be a great way to get a pop of dark in the dress! Another idea, you could knit it in two colors, color block style, with the change at your waist and then belt it to exaggerate the color block style. The possibilities are endless.  Have I convinced you yet?  Simple stated this dress is quick and simple to make and sure to become a spring favorite! Click here to visit Pickles and the sweater pattern!

Fashion Forward Wednesday

I couldn't think of a better title for the post. Lame I know but here we go-

Welcome to the second week of Fashion Forward Wednesday!

This week I thought I would mix it up and feature a knitting pattern! If you have been reading this blog, or my twitter feed for very long you know I love the site Pickles! I really really really do! They feature free patterns all the time and have great yarn at decent prices. Knitter heaven!

Head on over to pickles to pick up this pattern, free in a size large, or if you need a different size you click over to the store and buy the PDF file. Make sure you click the British flag for the store to be in English. In case you didn't already figure it out, the lovely ladies who run Pickles are from Norway!

Wild Vest

So why should you knit the Wild Vest pattern? I don't know if you have noticed but the menswear thing is still happening. I still see people in suit-style vests all the time. This vest works from that style in a slightly softer knitwear version, that is extremely wearable and customizable. You can pick what ever color you want, and the single color daisy stitch adds nice detailing; fun to knit and pretty to look at! Another great feature is the bottom ribbing, the ribbing is knit on smaller needles and with 31 less stitches than the body of the piece, this keeps it from ridding up and creates a more open vest look. I don't want to ruin all the surprises but the body is also knit on size 13 US needles, making this a quick project once you get a hang of the daisy stitch. So go grab your needles or head to your local yarn store and cast this puppy on! Its a great piece to grab as the days start to turn warmer, and perfect for a cool summer night! Also check out their store with the yarn they used for this and other projects. Really wonderful stuff, I promise!

Happy Knitting!

(Pictures Via Pickles)

Mind Wandering Weakness

I love to start projects. I have many many many projects that are cut out or bookmarked waiting for me to start them. It is finishing projects that I have a hard time with. Once the mystery of how to make something is gone, and my hands or needles or sewing machine are on autopilot my mind begins to wander to the next project. It really is an illness, one that certain motherly figures will likely never let me forget.

The short list of unfinished project sitting around my house? One half finished baby sweater knit in primary colors, a knitted quilt with lamb blocks, my Lady February Sweater, one finished glitten ( A Christmas Present still waiting to be delivered...) Numerous hats that just need ends weaved in and seams sewn, a huge CD organizing project, a yellow eyelet skirt that just needs hemming, a pair of Banana Republic cords that I want to turn into carpi's.... really the list goes on, but is all I can think of off the top of my head.

To try and counteract this I am assigning crafting time to certain projects. Since I am going home this Friday for a week, and none of my other friends will be out of school to hang out, I have a whole week with the sewing machine and my knitting needles with nothing to do! SO I have 3 projects I would like to complete start to finish over the week. Its a pretty lofty goal but I know I can finish at least 2, the third might end up as a long term project. Two of the projects I have already talked about here.

Project #1

First I want to finish up this sweater. As you may remember from this post I already took in the sides for a slimmer fit. Step two in the sweater revamp is to change the neckline into a V-neck. I would also love to add some ruffles, but I am thinking that might be too much with the sweater, since it is already striped. This sweater is really just a test run for it's sister sweater in gray that I really love.



Project #2

Next up is another project I have already mentioned here. If you will recall this post, you already know that I am planning to make the shirt that Nina Dobrav is wearing. I have been looking around for a pattern for a modern button down. Considering my sewing skills I will probably make the shirt once and then mess with the pattern to make it more fitted and add the ruffle on my second try. My goal is to make it look like the one in this picture. I will be scouring the fabric stores at home from some cheap fabric for a first try and then hopefully some navy blue for the real deal. I think these two are totally doable projects, since I will have my sewing gifted mother at my disposal as well.

Project #3

My third project will be the most time consuming and and the biggest stretch of skills for me, of the three. For years my grandma has been pestering me to write a sweater pattern for her. She knits A LOT. Like she finishes a huge blanket in a few days. She knits herself sweaters all the time, but they don't fit her. I think I would be hard pressed to find one that did. You see she is the skinniest person ever! EVER!! So she wants a sweater that actually fits. I have never written a sweater pattern before, and I am sure you will all hear my cries as I write this one. However, I don't think it will be too hard considering I won't have to do ANY shaping. Yep, skinny and built like a ruler... Wish I had gotten some of her genes! Spring break will be the perfect time to buy yarn with her, and get her measurements and design specs so I can knit her a sweater and write a pattern along the way. For this project I will have little help though, just books, the internet and my own know how. Well I guess I will have some help afterall, but none from any knitter around here, I happen to be the best knitter in my family, not bragging just a fact, I swear!

So what do you think? Do you gals approve of my spring break of crafts? Just keep your fingers crossed that everything gets done!

Share the Love

Today I didn't do much of consequence in the crafty/bacon, my 2 favorite topics, realm. I thought I would share with you one of my favorite bloggers!

I discovered French Press Knits a while back and since then I literally hit refresh all the time hoping she will post something new. I bet plenty of you have seen her pretty slipper pattern or the slipper themselves on Etsy. They seem to be pretty popular, I can't wait until I have time in my knitting line up to sneak those guys in!

The reason I love the blog so much, is that she loves knitting. I can really relate to someone who loves knitting as much as I do.

In addition she makes patterns which I think is wonderful. I think it takes really skill to write a pattern, let alone post some for free, on the web. I have written a few patterns in my time, usually for my mom, but that's about as far as I get. Having them on the web for everyone to try, that takes guts, and I think a lot of people don't realize that its a big step coming out with your first pattern. Defiantly a leap of faith, in my opinion! What if no one likes it, or you made an error, or no one can understand you instructions. I bet Miss French Press Knits never has the knitting self doubt like me, but I really admire her, her beautiful photgrahs, and her blog. So go ahead and check it out, you know you want to!

Hold Me Accountable

So I was over at Pickles the other day. And they had this amazing free cardigan pattern. It is just lovely. I am sharing this because I want you all to remind me to knit it again when I am out of college and have a steady income. Or when I become a huge success on Etsy!

Here is the picture from their sight -->

The best part? They recommend yarn from their shop and its not to expensive either, even if you upgrade from merino wool to cashmerino. For all you non knitters, cashmerino is a blend of cashmere and merino wool, which is also very soft. Even better, it has a slightly open fabric and a double strand, so it will knit up fairly quickly on larger needles. I can't wait to knit it! So, call to action here, remind me!

If you want to check out the pattern yourself, click HERE.

Add Some Fleece to Your Life

Ever knit a hat that turned out just a tad too big? Or was itchy? Well I certainly have, and the solution is surprising simple. Sew in a fleece lining!

Tools:

• Fleece
• Hat
• Matching thread
• Sewing machine with zigzag stitch
• Straight edge
• Measuring tape
• Scissors

To start: Lay out your hat and decide how wide you want your lining to be. Essentially you will be sewing in a head band, so your forehead and ears won't be irritated by the yarn. I decided that 3.5 inches would be right for my hat. Decide what fits your hat and needs for this step. Next measure the circumference of your hat. This doesn't have to be perfect since you will be cutting the strip a few inches longer anyway. I put my straight edge up against one edge and used a rotary cutter to cut in 3.5 inches. Of course you can use plain old scissors and it will work just fine.

Next place one short edge of your strip at the center, inside, back, of the hat. At this point your hat should be inside out. Pin the short edge in, and head over to your sewing machine. Here using a semi wide zigzag stitch is going to be your best bet. The widness helps prevent the knitting and fleece from puckering. Here is what I used

After you have sewn in the short side, pin the lower edge. Since the hat gets smaller as it goes up the lower hat edge will probably be slightly longer and should be sewn first. After you have sewn in the bottom edge, iron the strip and your hat. This will help smooth out minor puckers from sewing something this thick and stretchy. Now you should pull the strip taught and pin the upper edge of the band slightly tight. This will compensate for the slightly smaller circumference at the top edge of the band.
To help sewing the upper band part, I took off the arm of the sewing machine. If your sewing machine has this capability DO IT!! Very helpful! So after you are done sewing the two lines you need to cut the excess so you can sew the final short side of your band. Cut so the ends ever so slightly over lap each other. This will create a perfect match up when you sew the final side since stitching it down will pull it in slightly. When you are done it should look something like...

And

Now if you didn't do a perfect job sewing some of your lines you can trim the excess outside the zigzag stitch. But be careful not to clip your sewn stitches or your hat! I cut the corners of the short sides so they won't poke when the hat is being worn.

So there you are a wonderful fun hat with an equally fun purple soft lining!
Bring on the cold, right?

Back To School

Monday begins the final countdown until I can rock out to "Schools Out For Summer" for the final time in my life, fingers crossed!! In case you are wondering exactly 4 months from today, May 23rd, I graduate with my degree in finance and minor in economics!!

Tomorrow I will head to the airport and jet back to San Diego. So until I get settled and back to craftin I will not have much to say. Unless you all want to hear about my classes. But I can already tell you they will be boring and I would probably fall asleep at my keyboard typing up the 'lowlights'. But the good thing is I will be back at it right away. I am finishing the flap hat, some glittens and my cousin just asked me to make him a crazy hat as well. So I will have some knitting projects and patterns to share soon. Also before I head out tomorrow I will be lining the knitted hat I told you all about so the pictures should be up for that tutorial soon too!

Sadly I did not have enough time to finish my football themed box, so it will have to wait until I am back in Seattle, spring break probably, since the box is too big to travel with. Sports fans don't fret, I promise some sports projects in the interim. Speaking of sports I am so bummed, tomorrow my flight is at 3PM, so I will be at the airport and in the air during the NFL playoffs. I am hoping the Vikings lose and the Colts win!

Well wish me luck, my last semester of college!! I hope its easy, interesting, and goes by quickly. Can anyone say senioritis ?

Cheers!

Baby Blues

I just HAD to share the baby sweater I recently finished. I have been working on this sweater FOREVER. Literally, I bought the yarn this summer! I finished the back while I was on vacation in August. Then I realized that if I didn't finish it in time for Christmas it wouldn't fit the intended toddler. So while I was at school I struggled through the moss stitch until the entire sweater was done it. Let me tell you, PAINFUL!! Moss stitch is sooo much worse than seed stitch. But I eventually finished all the pieces. So then I brought the pieces back with me when I came home for Christmas. I decided that I wanted to put the pieces together with the sewing machine. I have never done this before, I always sew by hand with yarn. But I was ready to take a step towards a better garment. SO I threaded up my mom's sewing machine and put right sides together and sewed it up.

One tip- Make sure you iron your pieces before you start sewing. I checked the sides I was about to sew to make sure they were the same length before I started pining and sewing. With an iron you can stretch or squish the pieces so the lengths are equal. Taking the time to iron your pieces makes your finished product SOOOOO much better. I promise it is worth the time. Make sure you press the seams open before you sew another seam that goes through it. This happened when I sewed the sleeves and the sides. First you sew the shoulders and the sleeves in. You sew the sleeve in but they are open, not a tube yet. When you sew up the sides and continue to sew the sleeve together you sew over the shoulder seam and the arm seam. But if you press the first seams open it works a lot better. I pressed all my seams open, just to make it a bit more comfy to wear. Unlike a regular sewn garment, I did not sew the seams open. That wouldn't work well on hand knitted pieces.

WOW why hadn't I done this before? It was faster, stronger and better than anything I have ever sewed myself. So here is the final reveal....


One feature I really liked was the blanket stitch around the edges. One part I didn't like? The hood comes to a point. I thought it looked insane, but everyone else loved it! If I were to knit a hood again, I would try something different. You might also notice I didn't put on any buttons. He is in a chewing phase right now and I was afraid he would chew them off! Finally that moss stitch, I really like the way it turned out and the moss stitch is part of that. However I probably won't knit something in moss stitch for a while!! I need a break!

Can you say exhausted?

Well I certainly can! So where have I been since my last blog post? Having the time of my life? Sleeping? Watching TV? Nope! I have been working! And finally some of this is ready to be revealed! I have my first listings on Etsy! I cannot even contain my excitement. Today I listed three valentines themed candle holders, a larger yellow candle holder, and a blue vase. All are handmade and one of a kind. All the candle holders can also be used as vases. Just a little add for myself and here are some pictures to wet your appetite!

Pretty Right? Well I think so. To check out the rest and more pictures click HERE.

So what else have I been working on? Lots and lots of projects that I am almost ready to share with you here. First I am working on a football themed Mod Podge project. It would have been up here already but I cannot find quite enough extras. But I will give you a hint! The top is covered with a calendar page that has one of my favorite University of Washington players on it. I am quickly discovering that calenders make great inspiration and have perfect images to Mod Podge with. I will never throw a calendar away again! I already have a panda one saved, I love pandas!!! Can't wait to see what that turns into!

What else is on the horizon? A new knitting pattern! Yep a while ago I knit a hat for a friend of mine and now I am making a pattern of my own. The ear flap hat is coming your way soon!! Here is the one I already made and the inspiration for the pattern I am working on now!

An Action Shot!!

After that a tutorial will follow with instructions on how to line the hat with fleece in case you made the hat a little big or used a itchy yarn. The hat from above was a little itchy so I will use it in the tutorial. I have one more big project, actually a gift up my sleeve as well but that's a secret for now. All I have to say is, inspiration strikes in the oddest of places!!

Well that's all for now, but a lot to look forward to in the coming days! Talk to you all soon!

A Favor For a Friend

So a while ago a friend called me up asking for some Glittens. Having never heard of this new term I asked and found out that glittens are all the rage in the cold parts of earth. Part gloves part mittens they are the perfect combo for fluctuating temps and easy finger access to text like we young people do ALL THE TIME.

Now said friend asked for a warm oatmeal color yarn, slightly hard to come by in Southern California, where it was still pretty warm. I went to my favorite craft, yarn and sewing store that is near my college, The Grove. Here the lovely lady helping me pointed me toward this beauty.

As you can see it knit up quite nicely. While she may not have received the requested oatmeal colored glittens I was pretty happy with how they turned out. See for yourself.

~Non Knitters Turn Back Now! Knitting details to follow...~

I used this pattern I probably found on Ravelry. The pattern was pretty easy to understand and I did fine until the part you flip over. I picked up the stitches called for but didn't use my head and started the decreasing right when the length covered just the finger parts. Well I didn't think that the fingerless tops are quite short compared to actual fingers so I had to rip back and make the tops a lot longer to cover the tops of fingers comfortably. If I were to do the pattern again? I would make the flip tops wider by a couple stitches. It was kind of tight on even my little hands. I also omitted the button and loop contraption from the pattern, per customer request.