New Year Post!

Happy New Year!

Start as you mean to go on I say, so - more knitting, sewing, sticking, baking. Actions speak louder than mumbled resolutions too so the first thing I did this morning was to bake some delicious breakfast muffins which filled the house with the aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg. 

These are Nigella’s Christmas muffins and I had wanted to bake them for Christmas morning but that never happened..

Next I headed out to my making space - the large tin box in the garden - and gave it a good sweep out to the strains of Cab Calloway. And a second breakfast muffin (they are moreish).

I’m using up some wool from the stash to make a small wrist bag from a vintage pattern. I’m a slow knitter and this will probably be ready by next Christmas, but the act of knitting I find very useful as ‘mulling time’ where ideas drift about in one part of my brain whilst another part worries over sl1 p2 k2 yadda yadda..

I’ve also been inspired by so many other people’s making blogs in the past year and I’m always desperate to try new projects. Victorian style greetings card boxes are my current obsession and I’ll blog the whole process once I’ve completed a box that ‘works’ - I’m finding it quite tricky to get the pattern shape right, it’s trial and error … and I have the patience of a gnat.

So here’s to plenty more Making It Up in 2011 and I hope to get to some more practical workshops this year. I’ll also be posting the occasional series of ‘Look What I Found On eBay / Etsy / Car Boot’, starting with…

Vintage Bakelite 3D View-master (model E)

I had one of these as a girl - a grey plastic version and only a handful of ‘picture wheels’. I can remember the day when I finally got how to view the pictures in 3D and it was amazing! Apollo rockets hung in star scattered blackness, Mickey Mouse loomed over a child in Disneyland, the Parthenon’s pillars stood out bold against an impossibly blue sky.

The best wheel I got with this vintage model is Flowers of Hawaii - I still find the spooky stillness of the images awesome. If you’ve never held a View-master, go out and try one now - beats Avatar hands down (ahem..).

I Made Xmas Gifts (er.. a while ago)

Christmas crafting was such a long time ago now!
I made a whole handful of these towel turbans for my girlfriends, each with a different colour sequin flower - a very simple make. Two pieces of toweling stitched together with an elastic loop at the back for securing the towel once your wet hair is fully under control.


I was determined to get some Jeanie B labels made up for the Xmas gift giving season, these came with only days to go before Xmas eve .. just the job.


Santa was very kind to me!
The wonderful Flib bought me this knitting bag from Knittiotherapy.




I worked out eventually it was for socks - it's quite a stumpy little number and my regular knitting needles are too long for it. Now I had to learn to knit socks.

On a crafting outing last month I visited Loop for the first time - a pick and mix knitters paradise, Flib guided me in my sock yarn quest and I cam away with some Jitterbug (how appropriate) and a pack of double pointed needles.


After one sock tutorial - this is how it's going! Can be a bit like grappling with an unruly porcupine at times, but really not as hard as it looks.



I have a bit of a crafting frenzy going on at the minute (just as the day job starts to pick up .. avoidance tactics eh?).
My sister and I both bought each other a Cath Kidston book for Xmas.


We hadn't planned it that way - we just looked at our identical xmas wrapped packages and said "Oh!"
I have great applique plans, watch this space.

I Made A Bolero

So to the contents of my knitting bag - behold the circular bolero. This pattern caught my eye on Yesterknits free patterns page and has been translated by this talented crafty blogger.


It was a dream to knit up, although my version seems roomier, must be a tension thang. But such lovely soft yarn and such an easy pattern, I rarely got my needles in a twist.


I’m wearing it with some swing pants I made up many moons ago (in the archives somewhere) - they’ve had a new lease of life with some buttons from Roman’s vintage giftbox (see archives).


I bought a new pair of Lindy dancing shoes the other week, the pants will swing very well with them I reckon.

So now I’m lost without a knitting project to hand - I’m not very skilful but the act of knitting something is sooo relaxing. Anybody got any fave quick knits I could try?

I Made A Woolly Neckerchief

Behold the last of my Winter crafting before Spring springs.
This is my fab little Western Neckerchief. I bought the pattern from Loop - very easy to follow and knitted up in red cotton, it didn't take long at all.
The brooch was an old eBay win - I had been looking for stylized Sheriff badge but this fitted the bill.
The little scarf if great with a thin knit cardy and jeans, fits snuggly under any coat, not bulky at all. Y'all.

Fanfare Please!

Behold - the ruffled cardy that has taken me the best part of a year to complete.
To be fair, I only knit on rare occasions - I cannot multi task in the knitting department, I cannot for example watch telly, read a book and knit at the same time like my mother used to, so anything knitted is going to take an age.

The ruffles are wrong wrong. The ruffles look very nice, but they knitted up wrong in some parts giving me a bobbled moss stitch ruffle instead of a smooth st st ruffle. Can you tell? No. Well, there you go! But I probably wouldn't wear it to my knitting group..

I Made A Scarf

Almost a knitted halterneck bra really! - Knitting in chunky wool really speeds the process up doesn't it?
The green cardy has been fully cast off! *FANFARE* and I'm sewing it together (slowly) this week. Started on a nice red cravat in soft cotton yarn, just as well the weather is turning..

More Things To Make And Do

Phew. I've finally sorted through my new vintage pattern stash. There are quite a few patterns that I feel I could handle making up and would actually wear. I'll post these on the blog soon. Quite a few ballgowns and structurally incredibly complex outfits amidst the easier ones too.
These patterns are well loved, I'm sure Roman's mother must have been the best dressed woman in town - did she have a lot of functions to attend I wonder or did she wear that Vogue petal scalloped ball gown to go down the shops?

I did find a lovely little pattern for a bed jacket - I've always wanted a bed jacket, this may be my first make as Autumn is definitely in the air. Of course my youngest found a pattern she fell in love with. We've recently watched Hairspary (original and remake both) and she so wants a 50's frock with a petticoat. I'm going to be busy .. which brings me to this little lot...



The cowgirl fabric has always been a favourite (got a pair of oven gloves in the same stuff) - I had a fixation on all things cowboy when I was studying textiles at college, just can't seem to shake it off! I'll make another swishy skirt in this to wear to rock 'n' roll shin digs around Christmas. I've seen the Jive Aces two years running at New Year - great foot stomping stuff!



The Fan Fabric is divine and it'll be a dress to wear with some great 40's shoes (Garbo by Red or Dead my current fave) and a fluffy Bolero.



My knitting is coming along. Remember back in the days, I started knitting a green cardy with miles of ruffles? Well, I'll happily be casting off the last ruffle this weekend! Ye - Ha! Watch this space.
Knitting takes practice and I've been hob nobbing with (comparatively) expert knitters recently who produce the most beautiful things. In a fit of knitterly excitement I joined a knit - a - long to make this. Unfortunately, I haven't had the balls (ha ha) to start yet. I simply can't decide what type of yarn to get. Woolshops are few and far between around here. I did buy this though in order to run up a little scarf in the meantime.



It's very soft and chunky - shouldn't take long to make and hopefully, if it's any good, my knitting confidence will grow and grow along with the scarf...

I Made A Mistake

 

Darn it!

I'll have to..

I Made A Ruffle

This is the edging of my cardy - time intensive but fun to do. I've almost completed all the pieces, just one more sleeve and then I continue ruffling til the cows come home.

I'm a little worried about the size. It looks like it may fit a small child at this point - but then it is more of a 'bolero' after all.

I've started on the 'swing pants' from the 40's pattern (see previous). They're going to be a fab fit - high waisted and wide, good for jitterbuggin' in. I'm making up a blue cotton pair first, then I'll invest in some light suiting and add the jacket.

I Made A Start

...on my knitted cardy.
I started this before Xmas but it will take me aeons to finish because of the miles of frilly edges.

Watch this space.