A flowered tabby cat with green stripes, a pink suede nose and blue buttons for eyes. This is the cat pattern I was designing the other day. I feel like I finally got it right. I was looking for a good balance of angular and round. After many test cats with way too big heads and super skinny legs and seams busting open, here’s the one that worked!
I finished up my new fall scarf. I used this pattern for a multidirectional diagonal scarf and my yummy dazzle yarn. Now that it’s finished I’m not sure if I like it. You think I’d notice this while working on it but I have a weird “project in progress” blindness that keeps me from determining if I think it’s working until after it’s complete. isn’t that handy? I liked the way the dazzle looked in stockinette stitch better than garter stitch, smoother, while this is definitely nubby. But I’m sure I’ll love it to death in about 5 minutes. Like I said yesterday, I’m a fickle pickle.
There’s a beautiful afghan in my Mom’s living room that is referred to as the “20 year blanket” because that’s how long it took her to finish. This is my great white whale, the 10 year quilt. I promised Tim I’d have it finished in 10. I started it last Fall so that’s one year down, nine to go!
The pattern is grandma’s flower garden and the method I’m using is paper piecing. I cut out each hexagon of fabric, sew it to paper, sew the pieces together and then remove the paper. When I’m done piecing it together I’m going to hand quilt it. Maybe 10 years isn’t enough! Very time consuming, but it is the relaxing, do it while watching tv kind of crafting, like knitting. I love all the different varieties of the grandma’s flower garden design. I’m often tempted to cut all my fabric scraps into little hexagons and just commit to that design for the rest of my life. But I know I’m a fickle pickle so I stop myself.
Time for a Fall sweater photo shoot. I finally finished George last night! Of course I was sewing up the final edge as Tim was putting Oscar to bed so I had to wait til this morning to see how it fit. It was worth the wait, he’s adorable in it! Oh where is this Fall they’ve been talking about? Time to sweater up the boy!
I was so excited to knit this sweater because it was out of my new favorite baby knits book by Jaeger. I used Jo Sharp Soho Summer in Umber which was a great yarn to work with. The pattern was easy to follow it just took forever. Most likely because I’ve been so distracted by other projects but also it was one of those patterns that never ends. Those huge raglan sleeves and then when you think you’re done because the major portions are finished there’s seaming the whole thing and that collar in the cable and rib and then the pockets! And then sewing on the pockets! And then, well then it’s done! Hooray!
aha! Look what I found when I was reorganizing my yarn stash. I knit this little helmet (as the pattern refers to it) from a vintage Patons magazine last Winter for Oscar. I wasn’t very pleased with it because it seemed so big and boxy and, well, helmet-y. But I wasn’t taking into account the fact that his head would grow! Now it fits perfectly and looks pretty darn cute. So I finished off the tassle and ties last night and voila, instant gratification.
Since I started making dolls and stuffed animals I’ve been wanting to make something more abstract. This is what I came up with. I was inspired by the Omiyage I made. Also by this tiny round clay doll from a book at Kitty’s Oriental Craft Shop on ebay. I was also very inspired by the army of cutie birds by Jill Bliss and the beautiful dolls Rosa Pomar creates out of such stunning fabrics and trims. I really envy her wool/cashmere blends and William Morris fabrics! The medium I chose to work in is cut up grungy kids clothes from the 70s.
I filled her with heavy lentils on the bottom and then clusterfill to puff her out. The lentils do the trick! She’s perfectly weighted for tossing around. Just ask Oscar.
I made this quilted bag last night and I’m really happy with it. And not just because it’s pink! I had the outer fabric and lining picked out, the flower made, the shape cut out and then at the last minute it occurred to me to quilt it. yeah! I’m all jazzed up to make a hundred more now. Next time I think I’ll splurge on one of those fancy magnetic snaps, put some batting in the straps as well and maybe make the shape deeper.
A captivating gang of 24 huggable, lovable creatures to sew—from classics like Margot, a topsy-turvy doll, and the button-jointed teddy bear Bjorn Bjornson, to irresistible Evelyn, a wool felt inchworm decked out in mod glasses and a kerchief, and Koji, a fiercely cute spiked softie monster. There’s something for everyone here—from kids to grown-ups and from beginning sewers to advanced dollmakers. Published by STC Craft, August, 2010.
