Week Fifty Four

A couple of short updates on cross stitching.

The Love Tattoo is almost finished. Only a few more rows on the bottom edge to go. Then I will get it made into a cushion and will photograph it as a finished project!

This last weekend I started a new stitch project. One I'm hoping will progress very quickly.
I'm already more than half way, after only a few days.

Here it is a bird and a flower. I have done almost everything except for the central of flowers. It too will become a cushion but this will be for my daughters bedroom.

My young daughter is stitching a cushion from the same range. She is progressing more slowly but enjoying seeing the spaniel puppies emerge.

I knit on Annabelle and am now making the sleeves. I need to shop for more buttons as the first set I purchased aren't looking right, now that I have made the whole front.

Week Fifty Three

I made up a speedy dress using Vogue 8319. It was quite a firm fabric so unsuited to doing my usual draped pattern. So I looked through the pattern collection and tried this pattern out for the first time.

I didn't line it because I didn't want it to be too hot to wear on a summer day. (it got to 45degC one day last week!)

The fabric is very cute. Who wouldn't love squirrels wearing party dresses?

Here is the finished dress. I topstitched every edge and seam and overlocked every raw edge.

I am really happy with the way this came together and have worn it twice already.

I think the fabric was called "Little Creatures" and I bought it from Tessuti although it doesn't seem to be on their website any more.

I have plans for a few more dresses using this pattern. I have two stash fabrics which could work well. I also think it would be great sewn up in a tweed and worn with a cardigan.

Tattoo Cross Stitch.

Its now only plain background to finish. Which is a bit boring but I'm trying to do a little each day and hope to have it finished (if i don't run out of thread) in the next couple of weeks.

Apart from the left hand side I still have to put some plain rows at the top and bottom. I held off these in case I ran short of thread and had to continue from another batch of thread.

An exciting craft project is coming!

My husband has just returned from a business trip to New York and brought me back a most wonderful gift. I love nice bags and was very excited when I got this Fendi baguette bag needlepoint kit.

I am just so excited.

The kit includes lots of thread, needles and thimbles. 

The bag is made in canvas and the metal Fendi clasp is magnetic.

There are two straps one in leather and one in matching canvas if I want to continue the cross stitch.

I have lots of ideas for what i'm going to stitch. It will be a progressive work though. I think it would be fun to have small design elements added as little inspirations strike.

Week Fifty Two

Crafting this week was distracted.

But I made great progress on the Love Tattoo cross stitch. I have now finished the design element and its just a lot of background to complete.

I will have to pace myself

My plan is to have this complete for the end of school holidays, when I will have it professionally made up into a cushion.



Next I cut fabric for a summer dress.
I'm adapting my standard cowl necked dress pattern for this with the length and body from my most recent dresses. So it will be sleeveless. Longer and to be belted with a narrow belt.

I'm using this floral crepe de chine I bought several months ago from Tessuti.

Then I cut this heavier stretch fabric. I'm trying out a new pattern altogether. It will be sleeveless but more fitted with a centreback zip. There are raglan yoke/shoulder pieces (not shown, as I pinned this over another dress, so it looks a bit odd). I expect the hem will fall just below the green and black level.

The fabric is very cute, if you look closely you can see squirrels in party dresses.

The kids have done loads of paintings. A new technique they learned from this book.

Having painted and texta-edged the dolphin (and let it dry). My daughter used a very wet paint and then sprinkled salt. The salt soaks up some of the colour making a wishy-washy mottled effect.
Very effective.

The turtle is a beautiful painting.

This has been a really useful book. The Turtle is a close reference to a book example but the step by step instructions gave my seven year old daughter a lot of confidence. It might encourage her to be more adventurous in further works.

We have found a cheap source of canvasses, so we have accumulated quite a few. The corridor to the children's bedrooms is now the family art gallery.

The Original Doodle

On Friday I said good bye to the original Doodle.

She was a brave and very much loved boxer dog. She was almost twelve years old and had been struggling for the last six months. Each time we had conversations with the vet, she showed such strength of will to get herself up and out the door. But there came a time when the accumulated problems were too much and she died quietly in my arms in the vets surgery.

She will be missed xx

Doodle in younger and healthier days.

Week Fifty One

I cast on three new knitting projects to start the new year.

A simple cardigan, Lantana in this buttery soft Aslan Trends King Baby Llama and Mulberry Silk. I have started with a sleeve. I think it will be a useful addition to my Autumn wardrobe.

I then cast on this sublime deep blue Sundara Aran Silky Merino (colour "The Great Pacific") on for a cowl necked sweater. When I ordered the yarn I knew I wanted a cowl necked sweater but I didn't have a particular pattern in mind.

This holiday I realised Rincleau would be perfect. the moss stitch bumps of the cowl are gorgeous with the silk lustre. These are the first rounds of the cowl neck.

Then in what might be folly I cast on with this Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran. I wanted to make Sullivan, but nothing else in my stash seemed appropriate.
I chose this with the idea that a frivolous colour could be cute with jeans and ballet flats.
I'm not yet committed but I'll get a bit further up the sleeve and see how I feel.

I did progress one 2012 project. This is an Annabelle cardigan in Sundara Aran Silky Merino in the colour "Somewhere Out there". I split off the sleeves from the yoke and am working my way down the body. The yarn is hand dyed so I'm alternating skeins and I have reserved some of the yoke yarn to continue the sleeves down full length.

I sewed a dress for my daughter.

Each week we take our little savages out to a restaurant in an attempt to civilise them. My daughter likes to dress up for this and usually wears a tulle party dress with and sequinned shoes and little bolero jacket.

It's the same outfit each time. I thought we needed a variation, not to mention Sydney is experiencing a heatwave and I don't know how she can bear to wear all that frothy sequinned stuff.

I went to the Tessuti sale and bought this embroidered silk chiffon as a small remnant. I dug the stash for some lining silk and made this quick summer dress. She loves it despite not wanting to be photographed today.

I'm not entirely sure about it. It is very voluminous and given the lining added a lot of 'whoosh' I could have cut it with less fullness.

My Tessuti shopping wasn't limited to that. I bought this as a dress length for me.

I also bought this amazing seqinned silk for me. Although my daughter believes there will be some left over for her. (That might be a vain hope)

I also bought some of this. I think I'm going to stash it and make something in time for next Christmas. I also have a milestone birthday at the end of the year.

I did some cross stitch. I completed the 'Love' banner (even though the photograph is a bit out of date) and am about to start on one of the bluebirds.