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.