Noro Bowls

"You're going to knit bowls? What can you put in a knit bowl?" Said everyone (except Kelly!).

You can put almost anything in a knit bowl!

I saw these in a Noro magazine a few years back and then kicked myself for not buying it. Enter Ravelry and I found where I could buy the pattern, Felted Bowls, even though the magazine was out of print. Thank you Ravelry!!!! I also have a serious love for Noro. Those colors, I just want to fill my world with those colors. Specifically its Hitsuji, a big squishy, seriously wooly stuff. I forgot where I bought it, but I had to get it online because not a lot of people seem to stock this stuff (at least when I got it). The yarn was a Christmas present from my wonderful in-laws, thank you Pam and Jim!

The pattern was easy, but I didn't quite trust I was doing it correctly at first. This was also my first time felting anything (on purpose), which was slightly terrifying. The bowl on the right is more felted, the one in the middle is the least felted. They were all felted at different times. I think because the felting was so inconsistent, I didn't get the nesting effect that the pattern shows. I'll probably one day felt that middle one a bit more.

Shaping these wasn't the easiest thing in the world. You might able to tell the middle of the knitting circle isn't the middle of the bowl. Kind of like an off-center belly button. I have a slightly off-center belly button so it makes me feel better about myself. Lol. When the bowls are filled, who cares where the center is located? That's a deep thought man.

So what can you put into a knit bowl? I have one of work, I toss everything in there, pens, candy, hand lotion. At home, house keys, headbands, change, lipgloss. Great for keeping my messes contained!

Sashiko!

Sashiko has shown up a few times in blogs, but its so crazy beautiful its not getting the love that it deserves. I picked up preprinted sashiko fabric, some thread, and needles while on vacation in Hawaii thinking I'd have something to do on the plane back. Instead I drank way too many mai tais in celebration and spent most of the flight focusing on not projectile vomiting on the poor people three rows in front of me. Take my mom's advice because I didn't: being on a plane while hungover is something you will strongly regret. Sashiko waited until I was comfortably back in the mainland.

Now I want to make beautiful garments with sashiko accents. This has been done in sewing blogland a couple of times, notably by Kyra Clark's beautiful Archer and Reves Mecanique jacket. Sashiko also showed up at Balenciaga in 2010. While not traditional sashiko stitching, it appears as if the designer was inspired by it.

Balenciaga Fall 2010

Quilt #4

Quilt #4 is done. Jesus, it went faster than that last behemoth of 1000 pieces. This would have been a better a third project, but I'm a cocky little garment sewer and have no time to worry about silly little things like difficulty ratings. I've sewn silk, bitch!

The pattern is Hanami from quilty, Winter 2012. I wanted something that would feature the large patters and the pattern also worked perfectly with the amount of fabric I bought. The patterned fabric is Lizzy House Constellations and the solids are Kona cotton. Comparing these fabrics to the fabrics from the last quilt (which were all random Joann tone-on-tone prints), the quality is totally noticeable. Feels better, doesn't burn, you know, quality-ness.

I bought the fabric on a whim from Grey's back when I permanently lived in Bostontown, but have since realized that it isn't my style. I decided once I pieced the front that this is going to a children's charity so I quilted the living crap out of this puppy for longevity. This was the first time quilting with my walking foot (and after starching it, starch smells gooood) and it was amazing. It went so so so smoothly. Go buy a walking foot if you don't have one, they are worth their wait in gold and on top of that, just plain fun to watch! Next time I want to try out basting spray as well, but I'm not terribly comfortable adding chemicals to the world so it would have to be amazing.

The binding is also machine sewn on but from the control the walking foot gives, you can't see the stitches. Also, my corners are damn sharp! I am already feeling my preferences for various quilting methods and I like 2.25" binding whereas this is 2.5". I used bias binding because its stronger and I want it to last, but I also really wanted to try out the method for making continuous bias binding. It was a blast! And pretty easy, although I drew the cutting lines on wrong at first, whoopsie. Easily fixed!

All corners met pretty well and I had to press seams open because of all that white fabric. Pressing open made my garment sewing heart happy. You might notice the fabric framing the light blue, constellation fabric is uneven. I didn't have enough fabric to make those blocks as large as they were supposed to be and I didn't want to make them smaller because the fabric is so doggone-it-stinking cute, so I just adjusted the border to compensate.

I hope someone will enjoy this!

Quilt #3

I made my first quilt when I was about 10 and quiltmaking spread like wildfire through our sewing classes. After that I had no desire to quilt ever again. It was kinda like the time I got it into my head I wanted to make a teddy bear. I ended up gluing his arms and legs on. Over it.

Then while persuing the magazine rack I saw quilty, specifically quilty winter 2012, specifically the quilt 'Burgoyne, with Red', and I was mesmerized. Seriously, quilts are beautiful pieces of art, decorating your life AND keep you warm. I'm now completely hooked! I have every quilty since that issue and a few other magazines, follow quilting blogs, am starting quite a collection of quilting notions, and even bought a quilting class on craftsy. Bring it on, baby!

Quilt #1 was that little thing I made when I was 10. Quilt #2 was a wall hanging I made for my amazing in-laws last Christmas which was more of an appliqued horse and quilted landscape picture. Quilt #3 is the first proper quilt, piecing, backing, and binding.

The pattern is 'Hello, Handsome' by Nancy Downey from quilty, March 2014 and might have been a bit ambitious for my first proper quilt, but hell, it turned out ok. The second, nay, the MILLISECOND after I quilted it I ordered a walking foot because quilting it was hell.

  

That's the only picture of the back you get because the quilting blows. I added some extra blocks to the back, I'm not sure if I like the effect.

 I've already learned a lot about quilting so despite my incredible lack of quilting acumen, most of my points lined up! There were only about 3 majors misalignments. I decided to do stitch-in-the-ditch quilting because piecing is so pretty that I worry that putting thread all over it will mess it up. I need to get over that fear fast!

I ended up giving this to a person who did me a huge favor for me, but I'm going to make it again because I love it so much. And here I swear: every point will line up and I will be more adventurous in quilting.

The Luxury Throw

The Luxury Throw was born from a moment of madness. I wanted to make something pretty for my mom and while flipping through my newly acquired Twinkle knitting books and showing her the projects, she mentioned that the wrap was pretty. In my head I thought, I'll make her that, but I'll make it BIG. I always seem to go that way: big art, big plants, bigger is just more striking. Bigger here was the wrong decision.

The Luxury Throw uses the Lilac Mist Throw pattern from Twinkle's Weekend Knits in Rowan's kidsilk haze stripe. I only know which yarn I used because I have one ball left that I couldn't bear to add to the throw. I hate mohair. How did I forget that? I sticks to everything, especially itself, it knots, its like knitting with spiderwebs. Like the angry ghosts of spiderwebs. The pattern itself is fine, I like repetitive knitting and knitting is one of the few parts of my life where I don't like to challenge myself.

Want to hear the kicker? This behemoth took almost two years to knit and has been to South America THREE times. Its huge, but can fold up and fit in the tiniest purse. It weighs significantly less than a potato, but after being under it for two minutes, you'll be warmer than you ever thought possible. Its super strong, but snags like a bitch. This is The Luxury Throw of contradictions.

Now why am I calling this The Luxury Throw. I gave it to Mom on Christmas and she asked me what it was. I struggled with that same question starting about halfway through this creation. Too big for a wrap, too light for a throw. That was until I saw on the Pickles website, a giant mohair throw similar to this under the heading: Luxury Throw. I'll stick with it.

Christmas present!

Since finishing my awesome jacket that I wear every chance I can get, I'm been working on a super secret project, my Mom's Christmas present and I can finally post it! Here's the story.

A few months ago my Mom sent me a package in the mail and wrapped some things in old napkins that we have. Napkins that we've used since I can remember using napkins and these things were holey. I mean more hole than napkin, you could put your entire face through them. My Mom deserves awesome napkins, and while I was at it, my Mom deserved awesome placemats. I wanted to give her something that was casual, but could be gussied up, something mix-and-matchable, and I wanted to give her alot of whatever I was going to do.

12 placemats, 12 napkins, 4 of each color. I backed the placemats with oatmeal colored fabric to add to the mix/matachableness. The thread is oatmeal colored and used on the napkins too. I used 3.5 spools, that machine embroidery takes a lot of thread! There is the thinnest batting I could find in the placemats that gives them just enough loft. And its real linen!

Ah, perfectly mitered corners.

My Mom loved them. Merry Christmas Mom!

New home dec!

We did a couple more home dec projects!

My amazing boyfriend had some 12"x12" blank canvases left by an ex-girlfriend who fancied herself a burgeoning painter and I fancy myself a burgeoning crafter so I took them and spent the last 2 years trying to figure out what to with them.

This is what I did. I wanted to honor where we come from and where we are together (yeah I'm a huge nerd). I love the personalities of (most of) the American states and their shapes and from there, got this.

I painted the borders of the canvases so when seen from the sides, you see the colors. Its an extra detail that I love.

To get the states on there, I printed out the outlines of the states and then cute them out and outlined them in pencil. Then my amazing boyfriend carefully painted them, what a good guy. We'll likely have a life where we live in a few more states (countries?) so we'll add to them in the future.

except its not purple :(

I've also really wanted a magnetic chalkboard for a while. When I was little, I had a chalkboard outside my bedroom and my Mom and I would write messages for each other whenever we passed it and its one of my very happy memories. So I hunted all over New England and looking for the largest possible piece of magnetic sheet metal. It was very disappointing running around home improvement stores with my sad little Lord of the Rings magnet that wouldn't stick to anything and have it pathetically fall to the floor. When it finally stuck it I was more elated that I should naturally have been. I left it to my amazing boyfriend to prime and paint it. I wanted to paint it with purple chalk paint, but I let the boyfriend win with the black paint. He did a good job, except got cat litter stuck to it. Seriously. We used mirror hangers to hold it firmly against the wall. Now I just need chalk pens in pretty colors, like PURPLE, and to make some nifty magnets. I just need some super glue and super strong super tiny magnets....

Nice rack!

New home dec! I live in an apartment and compared to all my apartments, its the clear winner, but that doesn't mean that there is a ton of cabinet space. This is my pots and pans cabinet.

When you try to take one out, they all fall in an avalanche. So frustrating!

So inspired by not wanting to pay $130 for a Crate and Barrel pot rack as well as the work on this site, my Amazing Boyfriend and I decided to make one ourselves.

First we got a pegboard and painted it. Home Depot has pegboards in giant'xgiant' or 2'x4' so we got the smaller one. Also bought some semi-gloss paint in obscenely bright red-orange.

Not lying about the obscenely bright red-orange.

Because we want the pegboard to be off the wall by a little, so we got some 2"x3/8" cut a little bit shorter than the rack will be wide and screwed them into the wall. Speaking of screwing things into the wall, replastering everything once we leave this place is going to be a real beast.

Next, and this part is easy because the pegboard already has holes all over it, screw the pegboard into the wood.

Boom! It was a pretty easy project with a great space saving result!

Upon putting everything up and admiring our handiwork, my Amazing Boyfriend said, "All I can see are things that could have been done better." I said, "All I can see is orange and we only use three of these pots."

Little did I know that Home Depot has a small but ample selection of pegboard accessories. Those little baskets are going to hold some sewing stuff! Whoho! Nefarious purposes!

Some home dec

I've been working on a few of super easy peasy home dec projects.

1. The shower curtain

 About four years ago now, I made a shower curtain for my bathroom back at my amazing parent's amazing house. I believed this shower curtain would change the world, or at least the aura around my shower. And you know what?! It did! It made my bathroom look amazing! Even my dad, who may not fully appreciate pink fabric with flowers, and birds, and a giant ruffle at the bottom, was super impressed. I made a plan to do the same with my apartment's shower. Here's the result.

The print is from Hart's Fabric, the green solid Joann's.

What do you think? I originally wanted the fabric placed horizontally, but that didn't fly with the print so vertically it went. I love the colors and design, its just so happy. Its also appropriate for a bathroom that a man shares. Manly. Grunt. No giant ruffle. Double grunt. Mommy and baby woodland animals. Awwwwwwwww.

Cause I know you wanted to see the shower curtain that changed the world.

2. Wall hanging

Fabric from Hart's Fabric.

I can barely call this a sewing project, more like an ironing project.

But I can call it wonderful. I'm a born and bred Californian and since I don't live there at the moment, my California pride is especially aggressive. Sure Cali has its problems, philandering ex-governors, the Lakers, no water, but it rocks baby! This is a reproduction vintage tablecloth that got trimmed down a bit to fit on the dowel, sewed in some casings, and hung up. Easy peasy! Great decoration for our guest/cat room.

Some places that I've lived and worked are on here!

3. Pillows

Wood fabric from Hart's Fabric no longer available but this one's cute! The grey tweed is from Gorgeous Fabrics, but its not available anymore. The circle pillow fabric is from Hart's Fabric as well. The stripe fabric is also an Alexander Henry, but I got that one from fabric.com.

I've made all these pillows. My pride and joy is the log pillow. My Amazing Boyfriend got a free neck roll/bolster pillow with his mattress when he bought it months before he met me and never, as men usually do, got around to beautifying it. Waiting for me I guess. I found the perfect wood grain fabric, sewed it up, and thought I was the most cleverest person in the world. Then I googled 'log pillow'. Damn.

The gray pillow is a silk tweed leftover from a skirt I made 3 years ago, the star pillow is inspired by Domiknitrix and my first (high successful I might add) shot at intarsia, I loved the colors for the fabric on the striped pillow so I threw that together one day, and I loved the colors and print on the round pillow, but was tired of square pillows and a major lack of ruffles in my life (see above).

Couch Update! #3

The White Whale is slowly being reeled in! I decided to take the plunge and carefully use the seam ripper to delicately and carefully remove the bottom cushions from the couch frame. When I went for it though, I realized they were only held on by some thin, interfacing like strips of fabric. So the Amazing Boyfriend viciously took a razor blade to it and sliced it off! I think a bit of the couch came off, but it'll all be covered in fabric in the end. No harm, no foul.

So I covered the cushions and that was that. Ok, not quite that was that. I don't have the zippers I need to properly encase the cushions, ie. I need some LONG zippers, like 30".  So I have raw edges and a completely open edges shoved up into the back of the couch where you can't see them! Let's see the fruit of my work...

Check out that pattern matching between cushions! Its spectacular! I can't even put into words how much I love this couch. There's nothing better than 80 degrees, outside on your enclosed porch, on your fabulous, patterned, cat-hair repelling outdoor couch. I tell Amazing Boyfriend that I'll be in paradise and he knows that means that I'll be on the porch.

Next, the hardest part, covered the main couch frame. The frame still shows, this is just in image where you can't see it, so it has to be covered. That will take a while though since I'm currently 3,000 miles from paradise.

Two things I have discovered, if you are making covers for your cushions:
The best way to make a 'pattern' for your cushions is the measure the cushions, cut a rectangle, and then use a cup and trace curves around the corners. Two things to note here:
1. When I traced the cushion onto the fabric, it invariably always ended up way way way too large for the cushion. When I measure and then cut as noted above, it was always perfect.
2. Curving the corners rather than having pointy corners resulted in a cleaner look. The cushions actually fill the curved corners, whereas the pointy corners stick up like little ears. A sofa with ears is a big no-no.

Previous posts:
Introduction to the White Whale
Progress
Hey, I remembered I made some pillows

Couch pillows!

I forgot I made these. Correction, I forgot I made these for use on the outdoors couch as I've been using them on my indoor couch. I've been trying to up my print mixing repertoire and I love the way these go together. The pillow forms are outdoor safe and the backs are done up with buttons. I love pillowcases with button backs. Charmant!

Fabric from fabric.com

Oh hey, Foliage! Do you approve?

Couch update!

The large back cushions are now covered. I'm really really good at covering cushions now. And attaching centered zippers. Wanna see?

Next is the whole enchilada? Well, AB had an idea. Let's rip off the seat cushions and cover those separately and then the main frame of the couch. But. I'm worried that once the cushions are removed from the frame, I'll discover that the cushions and the main part of the couch share only one layer of fabric between the two and the innards of one of those will be exposed. I'm not really keen on sewing fabric to upholstery. I can cover it all I want. I can't sew onto it though.

Removing the cushions would make the angles of the final cover easier as well as make the final product look neater. What to do, what to do?

Anyway, its going to be a while. The couch is outside and its sleeting.

White Whale

World meet White Whale. White Whale - world.

This is a big project that I though of, oh I don't know, in April of last year. This is my amazing boyfriend's (here on known as AB ie amazing boyfriend) average Ikea couch. And when we moved in together, I decided it would be relegated to our awesome enclosed porch. Oops, we decided it would be out there. Its comfy, attracts cat fur (as you can see), attracts cat claws, and it amazing already bleached since moving it here in September. Since I knew, sorry we knew, it was going outside, I started looking for already made Ikea slip covers but by golly if I'm going to pay more for a slipcover than AB payed for the couch. Unless I make it that is. Then paying more is totally fine. How on Earth does that logic work out?

Decided on an ikat outdoor waterproof fabric from fabric.com that's washable (!).

I got 12 yards cause I've never covered anything before, I was 3,000 miles away from the couch and was on the phone with AB and his tape measure. Its a dream to work with, especially after sewing silky stuff for so long.

Long story short, look what I made!

So the couch is in 3 main parts. Two small cushions at the arm rest, two large cushions for the backrest, and the whole enchilada. I've now got the small cushions covered. My goal is to get all the covers very very tight. I really like tight upholstery. And this cover is as tight as it'll get.
Here's what it looks like now.

They look much smaller now.

I've decided that the cushions will have zipper closures. At first I thought I would have tabs with snaps in the middle of the back of each cushion, but in my first experiment, I realized that the z-dimension of the cushions required some more wiggle room to get the cushions in the covers. Zippers it is. I hate installing zippers. Always have, always will. Anyway the zippers look really nice and they are hidden because they are at the bottom and backward facing side of the cushions.

Next, I'll do the big cushions, and then the white whale. Hopefully it will be done by the time the temperature gets above 70. This year.