Crafting and Copycats

Busy busy and trying not to be busy…

Bump’s due any day now so my version of nesting involves hiring a cleaner to blitz the house and busying myself with sewing, knitting and crochet projects instead.

This is my Victory Jumper, an attempt to use 9 balls of Debbie Bliss Rialto 4ply in one pattern… Desperately hoping I don’t run out of yarn as this is supposed to be stash-busting rather than stash-swapping.

 

This is my last-ditch effort to challenge my husband’s tolerance and mental wellbeing. Needless to say, he is not impressed but I LOVE it! Lovely pattern from the Royal Sisters blog here.

 

Pretty top for post-baby tummy hiding, with fabric from the gorgeous Flo-Jo Boutique in Bristol and run up quickly one day from a now-discontinued McCalls pattern 5388.

Finally, a speedy sew-up job to duplicate the below Boden skirt in a denim ticking fabric I’ve had in my stash for years. Duplicated the pleats onto a facing and put in a metal side zipper. I won’t know if I look like a pitchable-tent until post-baby as this doesn’t come close to closing around my midriff at the moment.

I’ve also be dying yarn and playing with cable patterns on a pretty hat in the hope of getting my stash down even more before little man arrives. As it’s actually his due-date today, I’m not holding out lots of hope,but at least it’s keeping my hands busy while my abdomen remains resolutely inert.

Hey ho! Back to the craft room…

2013 – IntSweMoDoDec in review…

Last year I vowed to join and complete the IntSweMoDo challenge… that is, to knit or crochet 12 adult jumpers/sweaters/cardigans in 12 months to a wearable state… aka; The International Sweater a Month DoDecathalon.

Happily, I can say that, despite a rather horrid 6 weeks of inactivity due to pregnancy-induced RSI, I completed the challenge and now have a lovely wooly wardrobe full of hand-stitched delights that I look forward to wearing once my bump has dissipated later this year!

I thought I would bring all my stitchy work together in one place to bask in my knitty brilliance!! So… here goes…

Sweater Number 1: Harris Gaia by Kristen TenDyke

 

3 skeins of Harris Tweed yarn gifted to me by a lovely friend = no cost

Sweater Number 2: The Jan Sweater by Susan Crawford

7 balls of Rowan Wool Cotton = £34.50

Sweater 3: Pineapple Cotton Jumper for Mum

6 balls of King Cole Bamboo Cotton = Mum purchased so no cost to me… but cost £34

Sweater 4: Kingfisher Buttercup

9 balls of Stylecraft Merino Wool = £3.50 x 9 = £31.50

Sweater 5: Holl

13 skeins of Jamieson & Sons Aran = £27.50

Sweater 6: FairIsle Yoke

5 skeins of Jamieson & Smith 2ply Jumper weight (@£2.75) and 4 skeins of Supreme Jumper Weight (@ £8.26) = £46.79

Sweater 7: Peggy Sue

One cone of charity shop wool yarn @ £2

Sweater 8: Tea with Jam & Bread

11 skeins of Jamieson’s Shetland Heather Aran = £48.40

Sweater 9: Owls

 

7 balls of Artesano British Wool = £29.50

Sweater 10: Simple Lace Shrug

3 balls of Filitaly Lab-Sirio = £15.00

Sweater 11: Safire

6 balls of Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller @ free from yarn swap

Sweater 12: Maui Shrug (with attendant bump in the bottom left of the shot!)

4 skeins of Rowan Alpaca Soft and one ball of Austermann Palia @ £3.99 + £4.99= £8.98

The Statistics:

Total Cost: £278.27, (but £244.27 to me) which averages out at £20 per sweater…

Yardage: 11,000 yards of yarn knitted or crocheted (6.25 miles or 10km of yarn)

Hours: Oh hundreds…

Pleasure: Immeasurable…

Smug-factor: High

Something tells me that were I to attempt this another time I may just have to get rather better at photographing my knitwear as well as making it. This seems to be a roundup of rather fuzzy phone pictures with little visible attempt at styling… Though I promise I TRIED!!

Moo! Goes the Birthday Girl!

It’s been four years and my precociously fabulous daughter turned four last week…

And what does a precociously fabulous 4 year old request??

 

A Cow Cake of course.

 

A bit of sugarpaste, a bit of chopstick action to support ears and horns and done!

 

Tasty too, if I do say so myself!

Mini speedy commission...

November and December have been busy months with classes and commissions keeping my hands, machine and mind busy! 

We've made cushions, bench seats, a Princess Leia costume and a nativity chicken costume for Homespun Livings own daughter too! 

Most favourite mini-project for a good friend?

Felt+blanket stitch...

Ikea gets its craft on

 

A recent trip to Ikea found me impressed by (and not a little bit expectant of) the range of crafty nods throughout the store…

 

The powers that be have noticed, it seems, that their various storage solutions are perfect for the home crafter – and have also increased their stock of specific craft supplies too…

 

Raskog kitchen storage repurposed for craft materials…

 

 

A budget sewing machine – not for the major stitcher but a fun tryer-outer for little people, perhaps – SY for £45

 

Mock craft room in a bureau – Hemnes storage combination

Tastrup rug with buttons on!

 

 

 

Decorative crochet patches applied to a plain cushion…

Me, I wasn’t alone, then in my quest for crafty bits and bobs, and came away with two lots of mini drawers to sort out my craft cess pit *ahem* room, and a little something to have a go at re-crafting soon, too….

RSI of the Wrist

Realise stash increasing

Reduce stitch inventory

Reading Stories instead

No hooking/knitting/hand sewing around these parts for six weeks. 

Rather sorry individual. 

Clover Mill Retreat

A short break with the wonderful Julie during her 'soft opening' this summer. 

Yoga with children is never ideal in such a setting (find me one child whose world is either 'tranquil' or 'elegant') but we somehow managed it due in large part to her patience and excellent cooking!! 

Maybe preschoolers do their own version of zen...

A beautiful stay at the indulgent retreat: www.theclovermill.com