Week Fifty Eight

Crafting progress this week!

I finished the back piece of my Flo cardigan and started a sleeve. I started with the cuff and then knit up the sleeve. The pattern proposes that the cuff is picked up from the cast on edge and knit at the end.

I decided on the blue kidsilk haze to go with the ink pashmina.
Here is how it looks. I am very happy with the yarn combination.

I also knit a little more on my son's sweater. I finished the body and picked up and knit the raglan button band. Then sewed on the buttons. I just have to knit the sleeves down to the cuffs now.

I made a dress. This is a length of Ponti knit fabric. I bought it from Tessuti sometime last year. I'm trying hard to make 2013 be the year I shrink both my fabric and yarn stash. 

(And resist online shopping!)

I'm not completely happy with this dress. It looks great on the dress form, but the print hits my hips at the wrong height. I don't think its as flattering as it could be. 

I cut this dress slimmer than my previous versions because the fabric is so stretchy. That was a successful modification, so I will be using it as a guide for more dresses in future.

And even though this is a sleeveless dress, the style works well with a cardigan over the top when Autumn starts in earnest. Today (with cold airconditioning) I wore it with a fine knit black cardigan and black ballet flats.

The pattern is Vogue V8319, (out of print).

This is unlined and all the seams and hems are topstitched.

Finally in the spirit of stash clearing. I used this short length of fabric (synthetic?) to make up an extra cushion for the family room.

Its not particularly distinctive. Just a basic greyish brown but practical for the kids.

Week Fifty Seven

I have finished Annabelle.
The yarn, Sundara Aran Silky Merino in the limited edition colour "Somewhere Out There" is magnificent. I am sorely tempted to knit all my stashed Sundara ASM into simple garter stitch cardigans like this. The raised stitch texture is perfect for showing the yarn to its advantage.

No modifications other than increasing the length of both the body and sleeves .

The buttons are enamelled coconut shell bought from All Buttons Great and Small (sidebar link)

I made a dress next.
This is linen in a design from Nani Iro called "Winter Wonderland".
I bought this fabric length from Duckcloth a long time ago. When I received it I realised it  was a heavier linen than would suit my initial idea. Plus the placement of the design made cutting a challenge.

The fabric is mostly white with random shapes. It is not particularly wide. So my dress length could not be cut accross the width. It has two bands of colour striping on each selvedge.

I had a sudden inspiration to cut my most recent favourite dress out.
Firstly I removed the selvedge so that I could reattach it at 90 degrees to form a hem.

Then I cut the dress and assembled it. I top stitched every sewn edge and seam.

The linen creases very badly. I think it will be a useful summer dress, but perhaps not a favourite one.
I am very happy I found a use for this long time stashed fabric.

I picked up a knitting project and hope to work on it and have it finished in a few weeks.
It is Flo by Kim Hargreaves. I am about 75% of the way up the back. The yarn is Madelinetosh Pashmina in Ink

I have still to decide the colour of the decorative frills. I have Rowan Kidsilk haze in Pearl or Heavenly to choose from.

Week Fifty Six

Annabelle Cardigan
I am almost finished Annabelle. Just yarn ends to weave in.
It is a dull and rainy day,  not good for a photo-shoot so I will post photographs tomorrow or Thursday.


Finished Cross Stitch Projects
I took both the Love Tattoo and the Bird and Flower cross stitch projects to be made up as cushions. I chose a velvet fabric and piping colours for each of them. They are due for collection in a week or so. I hope to show finished photographs then.


A New Cross Stitch Project
I started another cross stitch project. It is called In The Frame by Felicity Hall. I'm planning to work on this progressively doing one small framed motif at a time. It will become a cushion.

Here is a picture as I unpacked the box.

I've set it up on my frame, organised and separated the threads. Made a 'shade card' by tying a small amount of thread along the colour key. Then I started with the butterfly in the yellow frame at the bottom right hand corner.

Week Fifty Five

I am suffering with a bad head cold and can't find the motivation to get the camera set up, or indeed to do much of anything. So there will be no photographs this week.

In any case, I have only to report that this weekend (before I got sick) I finished Love Tattoo and the Bird and Flower cross stitch projects. Both will be going to be made up into cushions.

I finished the body of Annabelle and sewed on buttons. I am half way down the first sleeve.

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.