Ant Apron

How cute is this apron?! A year or two ago, I received a surprise package in the mail from Allison. She is so thoughtful and has sent me some of the cutest presents! When I opened this package, it turned out Allison's MOM had purchased an apron kit for me - she's a fellow sewer. So sweet!!!! I put it in my fabric closet and recently came across it as I organized the closet. I thought it would be a fun middle-of-the-summer project! It came with muslin to line it but I subbed a blue cotton that I had in my stash. I can't wait to wear it this weekend when I'm grilling. Thanks again, Mom!

NL6829

Here's another top I recently finished. It's New Look 6829 done in a lightweight woven cotton blend , originally purchased from JoAnn's. The skirt is cut on the bias and I added a tiny snap to keep the neckline from gapping too much. It was an easy sew. More details at Pattern Review, if interested.

M6028

7/27/2010 - Edited to add additional photo of dress. (hair flipping is due to scurrying to beat the camera timer!)

Ok, first of all, I turned on comment moderation due to the number of random Asian comments I was getting. For some reason, I thought I would get an email when I received comments but I was wrong. So for those of you who commented on my last post, Thanks you so much! And I'm sorry it took me so long to "approve" the comments.

My blogging will continue to be intermittent. I love having a blog as it connects me with so many nice people and keeps a great record of my projects but my schedule has been too full to keep up with it as much as I like. I have lots of projects to blog about but it will take me some time to get to them all.

I'll start with a dress I finished a couple weeks ago. I needed a dress to wear to a funeral. My dear friend Jen had gifted me some lovely black linen a year or two ago and I thought it would be perfect for a summer dress. I used a silk lining purchased a few years ago from Fabric Mart when they had some Anna Sui silks for only $4.99 a yard (see the black stripe with fuchsia flowers in lower right corner.) I chose McCalls 6028 and decided to embellish it with some purchased trim. I considered black on black but decided it was TOO understated and went with an ivory trim. It gave me the look I wanted - sedate enough for a funeral but not so somber that I can't also wear it to work or for other occasions. On the hangar, it doesn't appear to have much shape but it really does accentuate the waistline. I thought it might be inappropriate to ask someone at the funeral to take a photo of me so the hangar photo will have to do!

A local yarn store, Lambikins, branched out into fabrics a year or so ago but unfortunately, due to unforeseen personal circumstances, the owner has decided to discontinue the fabrics and return to a yarn only store. I was lucky enough to purchase some gorgeous batiks at 40% off. I plan to use them to make a dress or two, some jammie pants and maybe a top depending on how much I can squeeze out of it.

Pattern Giveaway

I ended up with two copies of the same pattern - McCalls 5931. If anyone is interested in this pattern, I'm happy to send it to the first commenter (no charge - but within continental US only). It's the smaller size combination - 4-6-8-10-12

Edited: Judi, please email me your contact information. bonnie_crocker [at] yahoo [dot] com

Valentine Sweater

My friends, Jen & Allison, and I decided right after Christmas that we all wanted to make sweaters. And in our competitive way, we quickly decided that a competition was in order. We decided to use the same yarn, Sublime Yarns angora Merino (pink for me, purple for them) but we each chose a different pattern. Mine was the Vine Yolk Cardigan designed by Ysolda Teague. Here is a photo of the finished sweater (excuse the hair; contrary to how it looks, I did not just roll out of bed in this photo!)

The goal was for all of us to finish by Valentine's Day but whoever got done first won a prize from the other two. Speedy Jen was the winner, completing hers in early February. I finished mine a week or so ago, just in time to wear to dinner with Allison in San Francisco!

We dined at The Boulevard and we all agreed it was a fantastic restaurant - food was terrific and the building was beautifully designed and decorated. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting the city.

It was so great to see Allison again! I wish we lived closer to each other!!

Derby 2010

Two Knitting Projects complete

While on vacation last week, I finished not one but TWO knitting projects. Hooray for me - the queen of UFOs!! The first is a pair of Uggs-inspired booties; I fell in love with this pattern and just needed a baby to make them for. Fortunately, my dear friend cooperated and had a beautiful baby girl in August so she will get these booties for an early Christmas gift

.

The second project is a simple roll brim hat using a pattern from Knitpicks. Unfortunately, I decided it is too short so I'm going to undo it and add an inch. The yarn is Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande - heavenly soft!! As I was leaving a yarn store a few weeks ago, I walked by it and of course, as we all do, had to fondle a project made from it. SOLD!

More details on my Ravelry account for both the Uggs and the hat.

Fabric Luggage Tags

I found the cutest idea for a little something to attach to gift packages. I found this fabric luggage tag tutorial and made a few up for some special friends. I have more printed and cut out to make for some family members. I did mine a little different than the tutorial - specifically, I used June Tailor Printer Fabric (a bit expensive but when you use a 40% off coupon at JoAnn's, the price is more reasonable) rather than the freezer paper method and I appliqued the address section onto a coordinating fabric, rather than use the whole printed piece as the back.

I highly recommend this project!

Denim Skirt

I recently saw the skirt on the left in InStyle and thought it offered a cute twist on a denim skirt. A bit too short for someone my age but I loved the separating zipper. I also love what I think is pin tucking or maybe horizontal pleats in the skirt but there was no way I was going to tackle that! I considered using a colored double separating zipper in red but I too frequently go overboard on details and end up creating something gaudy instead of clever so I stuck with a simple black separating jacket zipper.

I decided I did not want a waistband and so I looked for a skirt pattern with no waistband and a vertical seam in the front. It wasn't that easy to find but finally I came across Simplicity 5259 and knew View F would work. I had to redraft the waistband since the front seam was now the opening but otherwise it worked perfectly.

I LOVE this skirt and have already worn in 3 times in the two weeks since I finished it (and shhhh, don't tell but it's not entirely finished - it still needs a hook and eye or some other closure at the top but you can't see it). The skirt is casual but the zipper and top stitching add a little interest. I think I'm going to make another one in black.

Cabin Jacket

I have had this pattern for ages - probably purchased it in the 80's (it calls for shoulder pads!) I've always loved the baseball style and when I was in Hancock Fabric a few weeks ago and saw this cute polar fleece, a jacket immediately popped into my head. The woman ahead of me in the cutting line was buying this fleece to make a blanket and I was holding my breath to see if she'd leave enough for my jacket. There was only 1 1/4 yd remaining. The pattern called for 1 5/8 but I cut the pockets out of some other polar fleece I had in my stash (that actually coordinated!) and was able to squeak the remaining jacket pieces out!

We are going away this weekend with three other couples to stay at cabins in an Indiana state park and I thought this jacket would be perfect for the occasion. So I worked on it all week before work and finished it up this morning. Just in time for our departure this afternoon!

Quant

I started Quant last winter but didn't finished it before winter ended so I put it aside. I had wanted to try entrelac for a long time and when I saw this pattern, I knew it would be a good project for me. This matches the scarf I made last winter. I am getting ready to sew a pink wool coat and I think this set will match nicely!

Full details at Ravelry.

V8305 & A Quick Appetizer

Note to self: put on makeup before taking photo.

I finished up the top from Vogue 8305 a few weeks ago. I bought a pair of pants that needed to be hemmed to go with the top and after the pants sat in my sewing room for a week, I proceeded to forget about the top. So I was happy to come across it in my closet yesterday morning. Even ignoring my terrible photography skills, brown is a hard color to photograph but I think you can get the idea. I LOVE this top and do plan to make one or two more. If I was in better shape, I would make the dress version but I don't need to be wearing a skin hugging dress at the moment! I originally made the wrap intending to wear them as the set but I don't like them together. Too much brown or something.

My friend Jen emailed me a great tip for an easy but delicious appetizer. I whipped it up in 5 minutes before book club last night and it was a hit! It's simply a bar of cream cheese with caramel sauce and granola on top. Serve with apple dippers. Thanks Jen!

Bengals Capelet

Went to the Bengals game last weekend (enjoyed watching them crush the Bears!) I don't have a lot of Bengals-wear and of course, one cannot attend an NFL event without being decked head to toe in spiritwear. I decided a nice little jacket would be fun. I almost bought the actual Bengals polar fleece but decided it would be too gaudy. Instead, I chose a lovely tiger print because I thought it would be much more sophisticated... cough... cough...

Anyhoo, I made this capelet from McCalls 5985. Or maybe I should say the pattern was simply the starting point. I kept losing my train of thought when I was sewing and so the end result is a little different from the design. For instance, I serged the front opening closed and then realized that was where the zipper was supposed to go. Then I forgot that I was using the hood. Finally, I decided to leave the elastic off the bottom because I wanted it to hang free rather than be gathered at the waist.

All in all, it turned out to be just fine to wear to the game. I actually received lots of positive comments from people at the stadium (I think they were sincere and not actually laughing at me!) in spite of my daughter's comment, "You are NOT wearing that to the game. No Mother, I..... AM..... SERIOUS!" If you can't embarass your kids occasionally, you're not a complete parent!

The guy liked it!














I already showed off the lovely pumpkin hat I made just in case it got nippy. You really have to see them together for the full effect. My daughter got lucky the temperature did not dip below 55 degrees.

"I never win ANYTHING!"

Isn't that so annoying when you hear people say that? I mean... who DOES win?

Oh wait.... ME ME ME!!! That's who!!!! LOL. I arrived home today to find not one but TWO packages sitting on the counter. One from New Hampshire and one from Loopy Ewe. My first thought was I don't know anyone in NH and my second thought was, "Did I order yarn from Sheri and forget about it?"

But it turns out, each package contained a prize I won!!! And Holy Toledo, Batman, these are two fantastic prizes!

On the right is a gorgeous postcard created by Summerset Banks. Most of my blog readers know Summerset but if not, she is a fantastic designer / artist / sewer who makes these beautiful embellished garments that are truly artwork. Each one takes her hundreds of hours and she has won many awards for her creations. Every time she completes an ensemble, she makes a few postcards with a sample of the embellishments and sends them off to random winners who enter her contest. I loved the theme of her most recent ensemble which she entitled Garden Path. I plan to frame the postcard I won and display it in my sewing room which just happens to have yellow walls almost the exact same shade as the postcard. I wish you could see the details she put into the flowers on this postcard. It gives me a whole new level of admiration for her designs!

On to surprise package number 2, which contained a lovely skein of handpainted yarn from an indie dyer called Tempted. This yarn is called Luxe Grrl and is a merino/cashmere/nylon blend. This skein is a lovely swirl of bright jewel tones. I am not sure what I will make from it but I can't wait to try it out. Thank you so much, Sheri for hosting your contest. Oh.... "What was the contest?", you ask? I had to name my favorite flavor cupcake!!! If that's not a contest made for me... Hooray! Sheri described the prize would be full of color - she wasn't kidding!!

What a great ending to an already great day!

Bengals Hat

I'm going to the Bengals game tomorrow (Beat Da Bears!) so I decided I needed a Bengals-themed hat. That was before I realized the forecast for tomorrow is sunny and 60 degrees but I digress....

Anyhoo, I love cables and found a cute and quick design from Picnic Knits. The pattern is called Snappy Hat because it goes together so quick. It calls for a chunky yarn but I found the perfect shade of orange ("pumpkin") in the Lion Brand Woolease Thick and Quick which is even bulkier than a chunky. I simply made the child size hat using size 10 needles and it worked fine. If I did it over, I would probably make the hat a half inch shorter. Full review and details on my Ravelry account.

Now, I must wrapped up my bengal tiger print capelet to wear!

Halloween Cuteness

Those of you who follow Stacy's blog know how darn creative she is but my favorite of all her creations is this "Candy Cauldron". She submitted the idea to Sew News and they published it in their October / November issue! I fell in love with it and couldn't wait to make one myself. The design itself is very clever. It was quite easy to pull together and probably took 2 hours total. Originally, I had planned to make one for a 2-year old to use as his Halloween bucket but it turned out bigger than I anticipated and he's just a wee little peanut. So instead, I will be gifting it to my oldest daughter tomorrow. She LOVES decorating for Halloween and I know she will love it. I hope to find time to make another one this weekend to mail off to my other daughter at college. I'm sure she and her dormmates would love receiving a basketful of candy!

Isn't that blue skeleton fabric adorable? Someone gifted it to me years ago - at least 15 years, i bet!


I think this design would also make a cute Easter basket or even a centerpiece for a baby or wedding shower. Thanks so much, Stacy!!

Vogue 8305 - part 1

I've mentioned before that I'm a big believer in the 10/20/30 minute sewing philosophy - i.e. even if you only have ten minutes in a day to sew, take advantage of it. Those small increments add up. Between work, travel and family, I don't usually find large blocks of time to commit to sewing so this works well for me. I love mornings so I like getting up 30-60 minutes earlier in the morning and spending some time in my sewing room before I head to work. The following was sewed over the course of a few weeks by sewing in small increments. (I sewed other stuff in between; I have ADD when it comes to sewing and knitting for that matter and always have multiple projects going to suit my mood.)

A few weeks (months?) ago, someone started an informal "Cozy / Cardi" wrap sew along at PR. I already had this pattern in my inventory so I decided to try one. I used a lightweight poly knit from my stash. I finished it over the weekend. I did shorten it by a few inches as I am a bit vertically challenged and I was afraid I would trip! Ok, slight exaggeration - it didn't really touch the floor - but I didn't need it quite so long. I used Vogue 8305 and highly recommend the pattern. It is very fitted and quite flattering.

I also made the top out of the same fabric but decided I didn't like wearing them together. I'll show the top in another post (after I've made a skirt to go with it.)

Special Day / Special Friend

A year or so ago, a Pay It Forward exchange was making its rounds in the blogosphere. The idea was that you signed up on someone's blog and they would send you a little something in the next year. In return, you agree to "Pay It Forward" by making something for several other people. I "signed up" at my friend Gaylen's blog partly because she makes some really cool stuff and I hoped to be a recipient. LOL.

Fast forward to yesterday. I left my house at 7:15 am and didn't get back home until almost 10 pm after a day of work, errands, dinner with friends. I was exhausted and walked in the door intending to go straight to bed but what do I see... A package from G Marie! I ripped that baby open and out pops the fantastic Colonnade pictured here. Yes, that's right. The Colonnade that I have coveted since the pattern came out and have in my queue at Ravelry. I was not thrilled about the two-tone look and had decided if I ever got around to making it, I would stick with one color. So now I am the thrilled owner of a gorgeous corally pink Colonnade!

I wore it to work today and was immediately greeted with oohs and ahs! Perfect timing, too as the weather has turned nippy here in Cincinnati and just right for an accessory like this one.

G as you already know, I adore it and can't thank you enough for my special gift.

Finished Projects

My friend Robin and her husband Joe recently had their first baby. I finally got to meet her last night and she is a doll baby! I made her a little blanket and some booties to celebrate her arrival. Details on Ravelry for the blanket and "Merry Janes" booties.

About time

Those of you who follow my blog know I'm always right there on the fashion edge. (cough cough, sarcasm intended.) So maybe it took me three seasons to jump on the knit dress bandwagon. And I'll probably be sewing a maxi dress three seasons from now. But better late than never, right?

Anyhoo, I saw this top two years ago

and loved it but could never find a pattern to make something similar. Someone left me some good instructions for creating my own pattern but in addition to being a behind-the-trends sewer, I am also a lazy sewer and that would have required too much effort on my part.

But fast forward to this past weekend when JoAnn and Hancocks both had 99 cent McCalls patterns. #5664 will do very nicely for my top!

Hooray! I may make the three quarter length sleeves since it will be for fall.