Crafting 2023 Update #4

I haven't done a lot of crafting in this last quarter and definitely not much of the projects I had originally planned to do.  Specifically, I haven't worked on any of the use-up projects, but at least with those projects I have everything I need to do them and can just pull out when I want to.  To be honest, it's mainly because I've been distracted by other things, but as I had no real goal for this year, crafting-wise, I guess it doesn't really matter.

Christmas Cards /Quilling

This is where most of my time has been spent when I have been crafting.  I thought that this year, for the Christmas cards that I make, I would try quilling again as it was something I enjoyed doing as a child.  It probably wasn't the best idea as I ended up putting off making these for quite a while as I suddenly got nervous about them, thinking they would be too complicated.  However, once I got started it actually just clicked and I was able to get into a rhythm.  I did make some other styles of Christmas cards as well for items that were travelling a little bit further than the UK as I wasn't sure how well the quilling would hold up in the post for that long.

The Maggie Jumper

I have started my matching jumper to Ed's star jumper, but the size of the needles and thickness of the yarn means that this jumper is probably going to take me a very long time to make.  I'm also not able to dedicate that much time to it and just pull it out once I've completed everything else I need to do.  This means I'm only doing about two hours of knitting a week at the moment.  However, I should hopefully be able to give it more time now that all the Christmas cards are done.

King Cole Double Knit Shawl and Jumper (2793)

These are now complete and sent off to their new owner.  I really liked how they turned out and they were quite enjoyable to make.  It's always difficult to determine what the right size is at the best of times, but even more so when it's a baby that hasn't even arrived yet.  Hopefully, they'll work well once needed.

Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Society Hat

I of course brought some wool when we went to the National Wool Museum a little while ago and was looking for a project to use it on.  I had found this pattern on Etsy from the shop Swan Avenue and this was actually a hat I've been wanting to make since watching the movie.  It turns out that I'd brought exactly the right amount of yarn to do this, but there is some left over though not enough to make anything else so I'll be looking for more so that I can make matching mittens in the future.  No rush on that though.  I really like how it's turned out and I'm expecting to get a lot of wear out of it.

Fixing Ed's Trousers

A pair of Ed's work trousers ripped along part of the waistband, which they shouldn't have done as he hasn't had them for that long.  Rather than throwing them out and having to buy more, I decided I would just fix them using some of the leftover fabric I had stored away.  It's not the neatest fix ever as the original fabric was fraying everywhere, but there is no longer a big hole in his trousers, the joint is not particularly obvious when he's wearing them, and he should hopefully now get quite a bit longer out of them.

Field of Fucks Cross-stitch

I still haven't started this yet even though I had planned to.  I might try and start before the end of the year, but it's most likely going to be something that I start next year.

And that's everything.  Not a huge amount of projects completed and there are quite a few I had planned on doing this year that I never got around to doing.  However, that's fine as these crafts are things that I do to help me relax rather than because I need to make them for any particular reason.  I still have quite a long list of items I want to make and I'll just work my way through them over the next few years, depending on what we can afford.

Crafting Goals 2022 Update #2

I wasn't expecting to get too much done this quarter as I had decided to take a little break from crafting after the wedding as I'd done quite a bit for that and I didn't want it to turn into a chore.  However, I actually returned to it a lot quicker than I was expecting.

Vivien Fair Isle - Style Jumper

I decided to do this jumper next as we're in summer right now and this is more of a summer knit.  I couldn't get the wool recommended in the pattern (from the Knit Vintage book) and so had to buy a slightly different kind which had a different gauge. This means that I am using different needles from the recommended and I'm not sure I've gotten the tension right so I'm not certain it's going to fit quite how I originally planned, but I still like the look of it.  I've also slightly changed it as I'm knitting it in the round rather than doing each section separately.  I didn't actually start it all that long ago, but already I've gotten quite far as it's been quite enjoyable to make.  Something I wasn't expecting when it came to doing colour work.  The wool is 100% Alpaca by Drops Design and it is ridiculously soft.  I can't wait to wear this one.

The Wrap Top

I'm using the top section of the Butterick B6554 wrap dress to make a wrap top.  This is partly because I want a wrap top and partly because I want to practice this part of the dress as it's going to be the most complicated due to fitting it around my chest.  I've measured the back and front in different sizes to fit this and then I'll need to work around fitting the two together.  Unfortunately my back is actually needs pattern pack which is a size down, but I don't want to buy another pattern just for that so I've picked the smallest size in this pattern and I'll just have to make that do.  Once that's done I can transfer the changes to the top half of the dress when I make it.  I'm reusing the fabric from the culottes I made a couple of years ago but don't wear anymore.  I really do love this fabric so I want to get as much use out of it as possible.

Lord of the Rings /The Hobbit Cross-stitch - Riverdale

These types of cross-stitch always take a while to do.  That being said, I've made more progress in this than I was originally thought I would.  I really love how it's looking and I know it's going to look great beside the Hobbiton one.  This craft alway takes a back seat to the other craft work I do and I haven't worked on it for a few weeks now, but I'll pick it back up again soon.

Once these are complete I'll have the Maggie and Coddy jumpers to knit and the wrap dress to sew.  I also picked up yet another project when we were on Guernsey, and that was making a Guernsey jumper using the 5 ply wool that unique to the island.  Whilst we were there I saw the Guernsey jumper which is made using 5 ply wool that is unique to the island.  So I brought some of their wool and was kindly given a free pattern, which I'm going to use to make Ed yet another jumper.  The poor guy will soon have more jumpers than he's ever had in his whole life.  It's especially humorous as he actually runs hot and so doesn't actually need them all.  Oh well, at least it's keeping me busy and that'll probably be the last one I make anyway - famous last words.

Crafting Goals 2022 Update #1

This is quite a satisfying blog to write as I've managed to get quite a lot of crafting done despite having a lot going on at the moment.  It obviously helps that a lot of the crafting this first quarter had to do with our wedding.  

Making the Wedding Invitations

This obviously had to get done pretty early on in the year so that we could get them out to people on time.  I think they turned out quite well.  Unfortunately we didn't have time to make ones for everyone and had to concentrate on those we were inviting in person.  However, I wanted to add something home made to these as well and made some origami hearts to put in with these.  I do love origami.

Making My Wedding Outfit

I completed my full outfit, including a shawl for when I'm outside, a matching tie for my partner, and matching face masks just in case.  I've already written blogs about the sewing parts of this outfit (skirt, petticoat, overskirt, and top) so those can be looked at if you want to know more.  Now that I've made it all I have to admit that I'm not 100% certain about the way the top looks, but I'm still quite proud of myself for making this none the less.

The Dottie Cardigan

This was a really enjoyable item to make and I love the outcome of it.  It was a nice break from doing all the wedding stuff and it gave me an opportunity to give my brain a rest from all the other thinking.  The wool is from Holst Garn and was the first time I actually used this wool.  I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of it, especially at the price, and you can order by the bolt not just the ball or skein.  I actually ended up ordering way too much, but I have plans for this extra wool so that's fine.  I really love the colour as well, so I'm glad I ordered something which was a bit out of my comfort.

Lord of the Rings /The Hobbit Cross-stitch - Riverdale

I've only just started sewing this project, but I'm really looking forward to making this.  I'd already brought the thread for this so that meant I didn't have to put this project on hold whilst our finances are tight and I am very happy about that.  This cross-stitch is part of the LOTR series I brought from Country Magic Stitch on Etsy.

I haven't started the other projects yet and, with our finances being the way they are at the moment, most of them might have to wait for a little bit longer.  Out of all of them I will be able to work on the wrap top as I already have the pattern and the fabric for it.  As for the wrap dress, I could theoretically use the fabric I have left over from my wedding outfit.  However, it is a little lighter than I had originally wanted so I'll need to think about that first.  I have to admit that I am looking forward to not using the sewing machine for a little bit, so maybe I'll leave these until after April.  As for all the other knitting projects, they'll have to wait until I can justify the additional expense.

All in all, it's been a pretty good quarter.  I've managed to get three out of the eight projects completed, with the fourth started.  At this rate I'll have finished this year's craft goals by the start of the third quarter.  I'm sure I'll be able to find other things to do though if that ends up being true.

I'll be on my honeymoon next week so I probably won't post a blog, but will just be enjoying my time away.

Making my Trousers: 1940's inspired

This is a very long overdue blog that I was actually meant to have written at the end of last year, but I'm finally getting round to it now.  I've wanted a pair of 1940's style women's trousers for a very long time, but could never find a pair that was in the style and fabric I wanted that also fitted my body shape and was in my price range.  That never happened so, in the end, I decided to just make them and found an updated vintage pattern, Simplicity 8447.

I decided that as this pattern also makes overalls I would make the top of the overalls as well, but have it so that it was detachable from the trousers giving me two garments in one.  I'm not going to lie, as this was my first time properly using a sewing pattern I was quite nervous about starting this and kept putting it off.  This wasn't helped by the fact that I knew I was going to have to make some changes to the pattern to get it to fit my body shape and that I'd already read through the pattern and confused myself a little bit. 

As I was intending on wearing these trousers quite a lot (they're basically the only everyday trousers I own) I wanted to get quite a hard-wearing, but relatively thin fabric so I went for a wool suiting fabric in a lovely navy colour.  The amount I planned, and actually do, wear this item meant that I also decided to bind the seems, even though you don't normally have to do much with wool fabrics as they don't tend to fray easily, using bias binding.  This did add quite a bit more work and a little bit more of a cost to my project, but I am glad I did it.  

Of course, I couldn't be all serious about the decisions I was making and the buttons I'm using for this project have smiley faces on them.

Once I had gotten used to the language in the pattern it actually went quite smoothly, though it did still take me a few days to get it completed.  This was mainly because it took me a while to accurately get the modifications to the waistline right.  I had had to start the pattern off with a much larger size so that it fitted around my hips, and then work on the side seams and darts to get it reduced enough to fits my waist comfortably.  Thankfully I didn't have to also add length to the waist of the trousers like I did with the shorts.  I've left the extra material in the darts in case I need to increase the waist size in the future, but for now, it fits perfectly and there's something really nice about having a pair of trousers I don't have to wear a belt with.

Once I had finally worked out how much of a reduction I had to make for the waist it was a lot easier to work on the top section as, again, I had to use a larger pattern to fit the chest and then bring it into the waist.  This time I did make the waistband a little bit larger so that it could fit comfortably over the trouser waistband when the two are joined together.  If I'm being completely honest I still haven't quite gotten round to adding the attachments which would then allow me to wear the two pieces together, but I'll get round to that soon.  With the weather being the way it is at the moment it would probably be a good idea to get that done very soon.

I really like these trousers and I've worn them a lot.  In fact, I've worn them practically every day that I've been off.  Apart from some spot cleans, I've also not had to wash them very often either.  Which is a joy seeing as laundry is a never-ending task I'm very happy to reduce.  The only thing I might possibly change about these is the turn-ups at the bottom of the legs.  They are a little bit thick and I'm not sure how I feel about the size.  I might reduce them a little bit or even get rid of them altogether, but that's still up for debate at the moment and I'll wear these a little longer before I make any final decision.  I've also cut another strip for the waistband but at a larger size, just in case I need to expand these.

Now that this project is complete I'm glad that I pushed through being nervous about starting and just got on with it.  I really like the outcome and it's given me a little bit more confidence to try out other patterns for items of clothing that I want in my wardrobe.   Which is just as well as I do have quite a lot of sewing planned for 2022.

Crafting Goals 2022

Last year actually went pretty well when it came to crafting and I'm pleased with the amount I managed to get done.  It did become my go-to relaxing activity and it probably helps that it's something I can do whilst watching or listening to something else, or even when I was too tired to concentrate on anything else.  I have quite a few plans for this year and, to be honest, I'll be pretty amazed if I manage to get them all done.  But you never know.

Making Invitations

This one's quite an important one as they are invitations for our wedding.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to make invites for everyone as I don't really have the time, but I want to try and make them for all the family at least and then add some personal touches to the other invites.  This one is definitely keeping my nights occupied at the moment.

Making My Wedding Outfit

This is another important one and I have almost everything I need to make it.  In fact, I've had most of the stuff for almost a year now, but nows the time to start putting it all together.  It will consist of a slightly modified fantail skirt, an off-shoulder top, and a shawl that I need to knit.  I have about three months to make all of these items, so no pressure.

The Dottie Cardigan

I've already started this and it was in my last crafting blog.  Once the wedding items have been completed I'll finish work on this, which should mean it's ready in time for late spring and summer. 

The Maggie and the Coddy Jumpers

These two jumpers are also from the Rowan Magazine 69 that the Dottie cardigan is in and are a man and a woman's jumpes that sort of match each other.  I really like the styles of these but I also thought it would be funny to make them and then force my partner to wear his with me.  Be one of those revolting couples.

The Vivien Fair Isle-Style Jumper

This is another pattern from the Knit Vintage book I own.  It's a short sleeve jumper and the style was very popular in the 1940s.   I've been wanting to make this one for a while but have been a bit put off by the fact that it's a colourwork pattern.  However, it's time to bite the bullet and give it a go.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get it done for the summer months.

Replace My Wrap Dress

I've had a wrap dress for many years now and I've worn it quite a lot.  In fact, it's the only dress I actually own.  However, it is now beginning to fall apart and I have to admit that there are parts of it that don't really fit me properly.  So, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to make a new one that actually fits my body shape.  I've found a pattern, Butterick B6554, and just need to think about what material I want to make it from.

A Wrap Top

I also want to make a top that's similar to the top of the wrap dress and which is slightly cropped in length to go with all the high wasted trousers, shorts and skirts I have.  This top will also allow me to work out exactly what changes I need to make to the top half of the wrap dress before I start construction on that.  It'll also give me an incentive to make the changes to the dressmakers mannequin I've been meaning to do for the last few months.  I already have the fabric for this so once the wedding outfit is complete I can start working on this.

The Lord of the Rings/ The Hobbit Cross-stitch - Rivendale

Now that I've completed the Shire cross-stitch it's time to move on to the next stop in Bilbo's adventure, Rivendale.  I'm hoping this one should take me the same length as the last one and I'll have it completed by the end of the year.

If I manage to get all of these completed by the end of 2022 my wardrobe will basically be where I'd like it to be.  It'll possibly be a little bit too large still, but I think I'll enjoy having the variety.  Maybe then I'll pull back a little bit on the crafting.  Unless other people start requesting things and, to be fair, I still have quite a long list of things I would like to do.  They're just not all clothes.

Crafting 2021: Update 4

This is a very late blog after a period of no blogging at all for quite a few months.  The truth is that I've been feeling pretty low recently and lacking in energy and decided that, instead of trying to force myself to carry on doing everything and making myself worse I would actually just give myself a break.  So I've done no blogging, had no real interaction on social media, and just concentrated on doing my job well, attempting to be a decent human being, and a few things that I really enjoy.

One of those things turned out to be crafting.  I only got into crafting properly again at the start of this pandemic but it has turned out to be something I love and a great stress reliever.  I may pick patterns and crafting that are difficult and real head-scratchers, but there's something about working them out and the final piece emerging that makes me feel better.  Probably just the satisfaction of working out a 'safe' challenge.  These are what I completed in this last quarter.

Clara Bow-Panel Sweater

This was meant to be just a side project I did now and then but ended up taking over everything else and I actually completed it pretty quickly.  It's from the Knit Vintage book by Madeline Weston and Rita Taylor that I had used for the cardigan previously and I used the Rowan Baby Cashsoft Merino yard they recommended but in the colour Turquoise.

I did slightly change the pattern as I wanted to knit it in the round instead of making separate panels I would then need to sew together as I really dislike that part of knitting.  You think you're finished, but no you now have to do a whole lot of sewing.  I love how it's turned out and I've actually worn it quite a lot over the last month.  It's actually a very warm jumper and the yarn is pretty soft on my skin so it's a perfect winter layer, though there have been quite a few times when it's been a little too warm.

Dottie Cardigan

Because apparently, I can't have a period where I don't have a knitting project on the go and because the cardigan I have already is a little bit too hot to wear sometimes and I wanted an alternative, I decided to start making Dottie by Martin Storey that's featured in the Rowan magazine 69.  You're meant to make it using Rowan's own Cotton Glace yarn, but I wanted to use a wool yarn instead so that it wouldn't just be a summer type cardigan.  I also wanted to try out Holst Garn that I'd heard a lot about it and you can get their yarn by the cone rather than just the skeine or ball.  In the end, I went for their Supersoft Wool in the colour maize and I really like the quality of it so far.  It knits really well and I swear the cone isn't actually getting any smaller.  I'm now worried I'll have lots of it left.  

The yarn is slightly thinner so I've had to slightly change the number of stitches that I use, but apart from that I've just kept the pattern as is and have knitted the panels separately.  This has actually come together pretty quickly as well and I really just have the two sleeves to do now.  I won't finish this by the end of 2021 but I hope to get it completed pretty early on in 2022.

The Lord of the Rings Cross-stitch: The Shire

I had basically put this to one side for the last quarter of the year as I just didn't feel like doing cross-stitch, but it is now finally finished.  I'm not going to lie, there was a moment when I wasn't 100% sure about it, but now that it's complete I'm really happy with it.  It was actually quite enjoyable at the end, filling in the last of the white sections and watching it finally come together.  It does need a frame now, but I can't decide if I want them all to have exactly the same frame or if I want them to have their own unique frame.  So, for now, it just sitting on my crafting bench waiting.

Christmas Cards

I finally did it.  I finally got myself to sit down and paint the Christmas cards in time to have them printed and sent off to everyone.  I'm not going to lie, they weren't great and then converted even worse to actual cards.  However, it is entirely my own fault as I didn't practise doing watercolour work like I was supposed to this year and I didn't really research how you need to do the painting so that it transfers well into card form.  Oh well, there's always next year and, now that I've finally bitten the bullet and started, I'll hopefully be able to convince myself to practise more in the coming months.  Next year's pictures might be amazing.  Unlikely, but you never know. 😂

The Fantail Skirt

I still haven't moved very far on this, but I have finally cut out the pattern and dyed some of the material I'll be using into this very beautiful light blue.  All I really need is one good weekend and I should get through it pretty quickly.  I do want to research adding a pocket as this will be useful to have and should be quite an easy addition.  Maybe this weekend coming as I'll be in the flat on my own.  No distractions, just a lot of sewing.  Though looking at the material just now I've realised I don't have the right colour thread, need to buy that first.  Hopefully, it'll appear in my next crafting update.

And that's it.  That's all the crafting I've done this last quarter.  It's not a large amount but I'm happy with it and the results I've gotten out of it.  I have a lot of things planned for next year, including another four jumpers, some tops, a dress, a skirt or two, and maybe another shawl.  If I do manage to get all those done my wardrobe will be exactly where I want it and then I'm not sure what I'll do in 2023.  I'm sure I'll find something.  There is all that leftover yarn and fabric..........

Crafting 2021 Update 3

It's been another three months of crafting and, if I'm being honest, I really hadn't expected to get that much done this quarter.  However, it has turned out to be the complete opposite.  In fact, I've done so much better than I thought I was going to do I'm almost proud of myself - almost.  Admittedly the two weeks off I had in August with more down time them originally planned probably helped.

The 1940's Trousers

Not only have I managed to start and complete these trousers, but I've also managed to make the top half the overalls pattern which I plan on adding attachments to so that I can either wear them as trousers on their own or the full overalls.  There was a lot of fiddling I needed to do to this pattern to make it actually fit my figure, but it's been worth it as I now actually have a pair of trousers that fit me properly and which I don't have to wear a belt with.  Unfortunately I haven't actually had much wear out of them yet as the weather's been far too hot, but as soon as I can I'll be putting them on.  I'm actually going to be writing a more in-depth post of this so I won't add anymore here.

Christmas Cards

Oh look at the year zooming past and I still haven't gotten very far with these Christmas cards.  I have given doing watercolours another go when we were in Lundy, just not with much great success.  I just need to put aside more time to practice really and stop being so lazy about it.  Definitely a most do better here.

Lord of the Rings/ The Hobbit Cross-stitch - The Shire

This is at least coming on nicely and I'm pretty close to finishing it now.  I finally got around to removing that dark mark at the bottom of the fabric and am expecting it to be done by the end of the year, if not quite a bit sooner.  It's probably coming along so well as I'm finding it quite a nice way to wind down at the end of the night.  It does look really good and I can't wait to see it on the wall as I work my way through the next one, which I've already brought all the thread for in preparation.

The Fantail Skirt

I have brought all the fabric I need to make this skirt now (as well as the top I plan to go with it), as a mock up and as the real thing.  It's sitting in a big pile on the side of the desk just staring at me.  Whilst I haven't started this yet I have finally cut out the pattern.  The biggest issue was not really knowing how I wanted to final skirt to look and so what changes I needed to make to the pattern, but now that I've finalised it in my head the process can now begin.  I can see this taking quite a few weekends.

Two Pairs of Paper-bag Shorts

I wasn't originally going to make these, but I didn't really like the shorts that I have already which either don't fit properly or were falling apart.  I also have this problem where the waist band rises up to the small part of my waist, taking all the shorts with them and making them a lot shorter than I actually want.  So I decided it was time to make myself a pair and brought the Ellen Woven Shorts pattern which was the closest to the style I really like.  I had planned on making just one pair using the goldfish African fabric I had made the culottes out of, but I liked the outcome so much that I've made another pair (mostly for walking) using fabric that has the map of Middle Earth on it.  I absolutely love this fabric and just couldn't resist getting it.  The pattern didn't quite fit my figure and I had to make some changes before it fitted the way I wanted, mostly heightening the waist line and bringing in the leg width a little, but I love this altered form and am definitely keeping the pattern for future use.

Harry Potter Nightie

I've already written a post about this so won't put in too much about it here.  Only to say that I could no longer use a nightie that I loved the shape of, so I made a pattern from it and have used that to make another nightie using fat quarter fabric in a Harry Potter pattern.  It's turned out pretty well and I've already used it quite a lot.

Ed's Project Bag

After making my nightie I still had quite a lot of Harry Potter fabric left over and, as my partner is the real Harry Potter fan and has no where to put the hobbies he's working on, I decided to make him a project bag and corresponding case with lining to fit all his smaller items.  I think they turned out pretty well, even if I do say so myself, and it was actually the first time I had properly put in a zip - which was an interesting learning curve.

Clara Bow-Panel Sweater

As I apparently always have to have a knitting project on the go at any time I decided to start one of the jumpers I've been wanting to knit in a while.  It's another pattern from the Knit Vintage book I have and where I had originally gotten my cardigan pattern from.  Add to the fact that I found the Rowan yarn I needed in the colour I wanted on sale and it seemed like it would be silly to not start it right away, despite the heat we're experiencing at the moment.  I do love knitting.  There's something so calming about it.

And that's it for this quarter.  I still can't believe just how much I've managed to get done, especially as I really didn't feel that I would have the time to do it all.  It'll be interesting to see how much I manage to do this quarter, but mostly I'm just hoping that I get the Christmas cards completed - that's my main aim for these next few months.