The majority of my order arrived from 123-stitch the other day. I have to put in the order for the metallics for Shimmering Mermaid and then they are pretty much kitted up and ready to go.

This has been split up in Titania, Mermaid of the Pearls (which is waiting for one lot of metallics on back order), Lilly of the woods (waiting for the flower beads on backorder), Midsummers Night Fairy, Waiting for Ships, and Shimmering Mermaid sans metallics (I am really not sure how I missed them!!!).

Now I just need to decide on which fabrics from Enchanted fabric for these.

But before that, the mermaids- all the little x’s are done!!!

Tomorrow backstitch and beading.

I am going to choose Waiting for Ships for my next start.

I am tossing up whether to stitch her on:
Starquest

Or SeaScape

I think she would look good on either. SeaScape is a fat half though, so I am considering leaving it whole just in case I decide there is something big I want to stitch on it… but I am not sure…

I have really been getting into drinking tea again lately and I’ve picked up a few new kinds recently, plus I’ve been trading with my friend Kim as well!

This was my first time ever trying Rooibos tea. The first time I had it, I wasn’t sure what to think, it just didn’t have much of a distinctive flavor to me. But I tried it again today and it’s growing on me (which is good since I have an entire box). And it is red tea, which is a nice variation from my usual greens and blacks.

This is one that Kim gave me and I have long been a fan of Bigelow teas and this one did not disappoint. I tasted the caramel more than vanilla but it was a perfect compliment to those pancakes I had on Saturday

This was one of the best green teas I’ve ever had. I don’t buy the Tazo very often because it is rather expensive (or I’m cheap, ha ha) so I’m thankful to Kim for passing this one on to me. I’m not very good at describing teas so I’ll take this one straight from the site: “China Green Tips is a fresh and lively tea with a light, creamy, vegetative taste balanced with a lingering sweet, smooth finish.” I couldn’t have said it better!

I was so excited when I saw that the Yogi teas were on sale for $2.99 at Kroger! This one jumped out at me first because who doesn’t need stress relief? This tea has a very rich flavor and isn’t too sweet or fruity, which is what I expected for some reason. I also love the little messages that come on each string, this one said “Mantras you shouldn’t say: I don’t know; I’m not ready; I can’t do it.”

I’m usually not a big fan of fruity teas but this Pomegranate Raspberry green tea (from Stash) was just mildly fruity and not too sweet, which is why I think I liked it so much. I just realized that I don’t have a bad review to give about tea, at least not the ones I’ve tried recently. Hmm…not necessarily a bad thing!

Do you like tea? Tell me your favorites!

First of all, thanks so much for your offers of getting the thread I need for Sapphire Star, it’s greatly appreciated.  I have decided, however, to make a small order with Stitching Bits & Bobs as they are showing the thread in stock (or at least they sell it, can’t say it’s actually in stock really).  As I have a couple of Rainbow Gallery threads that I need, I thought I’d order the others that SB&B stock plus a few bead kits while the Superbowl sale is still on (at least I hope it’s still on!) … and I just might have to fall off The Wagon for this little beauty, compliments of Nashville new releases … OMG, I’m drooling all over my keyboard!!!

This is Snow Queens Slipper with Accessories by Carolina House Designs … {{sigh}} 

I’ve decided that seeing as I’m not really celebrating my birthday this year (although I may decide last minute to go to the movies on my birthday night) I thought I’d make myself a little birthday gift of this little beauty … well, I have to make the postage cost worthwhile right? LOL.  Then it’s back on the stash wagon once again (there really is no hope for me, is there?) ;)

Thanks also for your comments about my fabric cutting experience over the weekend – I had a blast, and have started stitching one of the little freebies already.  With luck I should get it finished in time for Sunday … maybe …  I should show you a list of the other projects that have had their fabric cut up for a while now (when everything went into storage 2 1/2 years ago) – there are some stunning projects in there, and over the last two years with a small number of exceptions that’s what I’ve been pulling my stitching from.  There are still loads in there yet (um, probably twice the number of the list I added over the weekend), but some of the projects are quite huge and time-consuming.  There are also loads of needlerolls, so I really should get back into gear and start stitching some of those up – I have the fabric cut up for pretty much all the Sweetheart Tree needlerolls, and they’d look so pretty in a basket with my others … ah, so much stitching, so little time …

And on that note, I’d better jump in the shower so I can go do that thing that makes an occasional stitching stash enhancement possible … work!

The Crew does like the brown with the camo on these.  Stash always does some fresh stuff!

The Nike Air Force One AFX returns. Stash will be at Concepts on Saturday, February 13th, 2010 for the re-release of the AFX digital camo “ReConcepts” version. Extremely limited quantities. Comes with a matching digital camo phone case. Available only at Concepts.

Concepts
37 Brattle St
Cambridge MA 02138

via Highsnobiety.

2010 laeuft bei mir bisher ganz nach dem Motto “Nutze was Du hast” und in der Ravelry-Gruppe “Stash Knit Down” ist die Rede vom “Personal Sock Club”. Zum Zusammenstellen der Sockenwollen und Mustern bin ich nicht wirklich gekommen, aber ich habe ein Paar Drachensocken in 6fach gestrickt und entschieden, dass ich einfach jeden Monat einen Strang Clownk*tze aus meinem Stash aussuchen und schlicht & einfach in glatt rechts verstricken werde. Das Leben ist gerade kompliziert genug, da geniesse ich einfaches Stricken.

So far my 2010 has the motto “Use what you have” and in the Ravelry group “Stash Knit Down” there are some threads about a “Personal Sock Club”. I didn’t have the patience yet to go through my stash and pick sock yarn and patterns for my own club but I did knit a pair of simple stockinette socks in Drachenwolle and decided that instead I will choose one skein of clownbarf sock yarn from my stash each month and will knit plain socks. Life is complicated right now, so I enjoy simple, mindless knitting.

Garn / yarn: Drachenwolle 6fach, Winter 2008/2009

Groesse / size: European 39 / US 9

Nadelstaerke / needle size 3mm

]]> http://blondeknits.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/cold-weather-accessories/ Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:50:21 +0000 maryheather http://blondeknits.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/cold-weather-accessories/

Two of my most recent FOs are the Boneyard Shawl for me, and the Pismo Hat for Jason.

For this project I used almost an entire skein of Chameleon Colorworks Twinkle Toes in Briar Rose – I believe that I procured this skein of yarn on our travels to Seattle last year, but I didn’t write down the name of the store where I purchased it – It is driving me crazy not being able to remember!!

I followed the modifications that several others on ravelry did – instead of M1R and M1L I opted for the YOs – and instead of the garter stitch edging I chose the Picot bind off – This was my first time to do a knit picot bind off so I was concerned the entire time that I would end up using up all of my yarn too early and therefore RUN OUT! I got about 1/4 of the way through the bind off  and was convinced that this very scenario was going to play out, so I endured the very frustrating task of ripping out my last section and carefully adding all of the stitches back onto my needle — only to end up with 10 grams of yarn left over!!!  I was not a happy camper as I had really wanted to use up every last inch of this yarn…However, I think we would all agree that having leftovers is much preferred to having not enough!!  (I later learned that the battery on my scale was in the process of going bad and all of my weights weren’t accurate!)

Another topic entirely is the seemingly never ending quest that Jason and I have to find him the perfect hat pattern – Jason has been blessed with a lot of brains and therefore a rather large head to accommodate all of them.    He is also rather picky about how his hats fit and doesn’t like it when after a lot of wear they begin to stretch out – even though that is the nature of the beast when dealing with knitted items.  Add in my rather loose gauge problems and there you have it!

This hat seems to mostly be a winner – I used Koigu so it is a nice warm hat that isn’t too bulky – However, it is VERY stretchy and my gauge is a lot looser than I wanted.   But on a happy note Jason says that of his knit hats this one is his favorite so that makes me happy.  I do however have to more patterns to try out for him in the future, another by Marnie MacLean called the Carlsbad Hat and then one by Pierrot, a Japanese company that I have discovered on Ravelry.  I’ll have to brush up on my chart reading for that one tho!!

The modifications on this hat were copied from other ravelers who found that the top of the hat was way too pointy, so I just followed what several others had done regarding the top decreases.  My goal for all of Jason’s hats are to make them 9″ long in order to cover his ears, so I had to write out every line of the decreases so I would know how long they were in order to know how long to make the hat BEFORE I started the decreases – that was a bit of a headache, but it turned out exactly 9″! so YAY!!! It did bloom once I blocked it – and that was really just soaking it in some wool wash and not doing anything but laying it out to dry.

So sorry that it took me so long to get our first totals post up.  We’ve had a stomach virus that swept through and all of us have been in bed sick the past week.  But, we are all better now.   Ok, just post in the comments section like this:  Total Items Made=

                                                                                                               Total Yards Used=

You’ll be adding to these numbers each week.  It is your responsibility to make sure that you add them up.  You will want to keep them updated because there will be prizes throughout our challenge as well as at the end.  Be looking for mini challenges!

I’ll be a couple of weeks behind you guys as I get back on track from all of the sick

Although we didn’t get dumped with the snow that our friends to the south saw this weekend, we did get some of the white stuff – and since none was forecast, it was a surprise!  We’re wondering if that’s why only two girls showed up for Rowen’s party today. But they had a blast and that’s what counts!

Nick’s party yesterday only saw slightly better attendance, with three of the five invitees coming. The boys seemed to think that just meant more for those who were here!

Arden also joined into the fun, especially with Rowen’s party. The girls invented a game based on Arden chasing them – great fun for all! He got going so fast, he nearly walked himself right out of his pants, LOL!

I had some fun with baking and judging coloring contests and the like, but the mailman made me especially happy when he showed up with Beth’s I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm chart. I won my choice of Beth’s charts in a Facebook drawing she had a few months ago, and she was sweet enough to wait till we got settled in here before I had to make my choice. This one was just so perfect for our situation here -  not to mention that I simply love the design!

Speaking of cross stitch goodness, don’t overlook the amazing sale that Mary-Kathryn has going! I’ve managed to resist so far, but the sale runs through Monday….

After a bad start with the earflap hat i tried to attempt, I hadn’t been doing much knitting wise had a couple of day rest to refresh myself from knitting i finished off the scarf that i had started on the 30th of January

http://fluffywelshsheep.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/its-been-a-couple-of-days/

Here is the scarf now

It’s a little short but ideal to uses as cravat

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A very generous gift from Ana Luisa!

Our Postie was much earlier than usual this morning (he usually gets to us some time between 10am and 1am, but he was here by 8.30am) and through my narrow letterbox tumbled an unexpected package. It had travelled to me from across the sea and contained seven skeins of DMC floss in various shades of green (which is my absolute favourite colour, by the way!) and a very long length of red aida band with metallic gold edging.

This bounty was sent by Ana Luisa, who is a very talented crafter of stitching and crocheting (take a look at her blog and you’ll see what I mean – gorgeous stuff!). Thank you so much, Ana Luisa! I will certainly look forward to allocating my lovely gifts to new projects. I suspect some of the green may well be put to use in my Bibliophile Bookmark, which I plan to stitch very shortly, and more of it to go towards the Cross Stitch Forum Band Sampler SAL. And I plan to design a beautiful blackwork bookmark design especially for some of the red aida band. Watch out for the photographs as I stitch my projects!

Thanks again. It was such a lovely surprise this morning and it really made my day.

The Yarn Harlot was posting recently about her personal sock club; she’s matched yarn from her stash with patterns, bagged up the patterns and yarn and is going to choose a bag at random every month and make those socks. This struck me as a very good way to make some inroads on my stash and also make myself get round to knitting all the patterns I’d looked at and thought ‘I must make that sometime!’, so I’ve spent the last couple of hours up in the spare room bagging up yarn and patterns of my own.

I only have seven projects in my club, mainly because I could only lay my hands on seven suitable bags (leftover mailing bags from yarn purchases). And rather than limiting it to socks I’ve gone for anything that can be knitted with 100g of yarn. In the end I have three shawls, one scarf, two pairs of socks and a hat in there, all but one in a hand-dyed sock yarn of some kind. I’ve put the bags in a big paper carrier bag and every time I want a new small project I’m going to ask my husband to pick one out. Also, every time I start a project I’m going to go through the stash and identify another yarn/project combination to take its place. I’m not sure this will do very much about the size of my stash, but at least it will mean that the older things get used instead of staying there forever!

My name is Jen and I am a kit addict. There – I’ve said it. There’s nothing I like better than a shiny new craft kit, complete with instructions, materials, fabrics and everything else I need. Now don’t get me wrong – I love the challenge of sourcing a pattern (free or purchased from the internet, books, fellow crafters etc), then hunting-and-gathering all the bits and pieces I need. I have a fabric stash that would make Moda weep, and so much habby that hubby despairs.

But sometimes, a well designed, original kit is just what you need – whether it’s to kick-start your crafting, give yourself a quick fix or save time sourcing all those You-Will-Needs (I urge my authors not to make their YWN lists feel like the twelve labours of Hercules!). The newest addition to my collection is The Cavernous Carpetbag Kit from the genius Lisa Lam at U-Handbag. LOOK – everything I need magically pops through the letter box! Just add one whole sewing machine, a sprinkling of pins and stir . . .

As all good kits are, this one is inspirational, informative, easy-to-follow, empowering and FUN! All of her kits fulfil this criteria, and the fact that each one is a limited run, each kit collated and packaged by Lisa and her team, adds that personal touch. So if you clicked on the link for the bag above and it’s sold out, check out the other kits in her shop.

Just in case you’re still not convinced…

MY TOP 5 REASONS TO LOVE KITS:

1. Convenience and value for money

2. The perfect way to experiment with a new craft or technique

3. When I’ve made the product, I still have the instructions to make another

4. A good basis for customizing, so can still be unique to you

5. I can use it now, or stash it for a quick gift or rainy afternoon

Last but not least, other brand new favourite kits by talented designers –
click the pics to pick the kit! :

And not to leave out the kids –
click here for must-visit site Dork Adore’s top picks to keep the little darlings entertained

There are dozens more designers’ kits I could mention – I feel a follow-up post coming on in a few weeks . . . In the meantime, let me know of your fave kits, or if there is a kit that you would love but doesn’t seem to exist – maybe someone will be reading and bring it out. But watch it – kits definitely are addictive!!!

Recently, I’ve been working on documenting the stash in all its glory.  I have held off on creating my own database to do this for now and have instead been recording the information over on Ravelry.

I want to document, as accurately as possible, the color and texture of the yarns in the stash so that I can shop the stash even when I’m not able to be in physical contact with it.  So as part of this endeavor, I have been taking a lot of photographs.  Many, many photographs…  In order to make the task  a little more fun, I’ve been playing around with lighting and angles.

While I think that I’m more than halfway through the photographing process, I am by no means near the end.  The project has taught me a few things so far, though:

1. I have a lot of yarn.
2. Indirect natural light is really good for photographs in general but sometimes distorts the colors of some yarns…
3. I have a lot of yarn.
4. It’s really hard to get the color of heathered yarn, especially in blue and green tones, right in photographs…
5. I have a lot of yarn.
6. Attempting to photograph black (or even dark grey) yarn against a black backdrop is not really the best course of action…
7. Oh, did I mention that I have lot of yarn?

Overall, I have been very pleased with the results of my photo shoots and I thought I would share with you all some of my favorite photographs so far.

First up some simple Knit Picks Palette in Ash:

The photograph reminds me of stacked stones.  I think that this yarn is destined to become my pair of Earl Grey socks from my 10 in 2010 list.

Next, something with a bit more color:

Two skeins of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock Multi in the Edgewater colorway.  I love the way the colors turned out in this one; although, I would have appreciated slightly less intense highlights…

Brooks Farm Duo:

I love the way these skeins pop off the background.  I purchased this yarn on my first trip to Rhinebeck.  I love it so much that I haven’t been able to bring myself to make anything from it.  That’s a silly notion, isn’t it?

Well, its the same notion I have about this yarn:

Fingering Superwash Merino Semi-solid in a colorway called Meadow Grass.  Also from my first trip to Rhinebeck but, this time, received as a present from Andrew.  It was hard to get the color correct in this photograph but I think that I did a reasonably good job.  I absolutely love the color.

Now, some yarn I picked up during my last trip to Japan:

I had to include this here because I really love the lighting in this photograph.  This is some very thin pima cotton from Avril, an awesomely cool LYS  in Tokyo.  I think that it is really intended for weaving but, since I don’t currently weave (although I’d really like to!!), I’ll probably use it to make something lacy…

And finally, a little red:

Little Traveller from The Sanguine Gryphon in the Rojas colorway.  I think the photograph makes it seem a little ethereal…

Well, I think that’s all for now.  I hope you enjoyed the photographs.

Now I’m off to daydream about being snowed in with my knitting and an endless supply of tea and baked goods this weekend…

Since it is the end of the week I should probably update ya’ll on my knitting progress. The Liesel is coming along nicely. I figured out that I can knit 15 rows of the pattern in one episode of Doctor Who. Interesting math on that I might add. Liesel is about 15 inches long now. I know that doesnt’ seem like a lot but I’m 2/3 through the first ball of yarn so I’m expecting about 25 inches on one ball of yarn. 2 balls of yarn would equal about 50 inches and I know this scarf is going to block much longer. It’s probably going to get another 3 inches or so wide when I block it judging by how stretchy it is.

That’s about the only thing I’ve been knitting on. The Shetland Lace Triangle has been glaring at me from the end table in the living room since I haven’t been working on it lately. I think I’ll pick it up again sometime soon. The Liesel is easy enough lace to do while watching Doctor Who, so the Shetland will have to wait, though I need to get it knocked out so I can start on my friend’s wedding shawl.

In other news I believe we are getting closer to putting in an offer on a house. The DH and I have been looking for about a month now and we may have found ‘the one’. Mentally I’ve been thinking about where I’d set up knitting space/stash space. There’s a lovely enclosed porch that will become my pet project and probably will make a lovely knitting space 3 seasons of the year. Who knows if I do it right it could be cozy in the winter too! There’s a nice office on the 2nd floor that is small maybe 8 ft long by 5 ft wide that could also make a nice stash space or place to sit and knit. Who knows. When I know more I’ll post it.

Happy knitting!

-AMU

Here we sit in February.  A nice short month.  And having just finished attending a guild planning meeting and a MIMIFI (mend-it-make-it-fix-it) event, I’m looking out the window and thinking, “Is it faire season yet?”

Nope.  Not yet.

First we go to the Renaissance Symposium, a lovely weekend (Feb. 19, 20 and 21) of workshops that teach a variety of skills, history, or tidbits about the life, clothes, fighting, etc. that is reenacted at Renaissance faires.  It’s a fun little whirlwind of crash courses. (Here’s the link and registration information –  http://www.rensymposium.com/ .)  I’ve taken classes in  Scottish Accent (different from BFA- Basic Faire Accent), English Country Dancing (whoops- not my strong point), The Wool Trade (history of the wool guilds and economy), and Costuming for Peasants and Middle Class.  I taught Drop Spinning 101 last year.

This year I’ll be learning about the spice trade, Renaissance pirates/privateers (my character is a fisherman’s daughter in Scotland, I figured I’d be well served by learning what sailors would have been around my family stomping grounds), and how to sew a customized doublet.

Then the preparation begins.  My family will start the faire season in April.  I’ll be pulling out the plastic totes of garb and accessories to check for repairs and airing out wrinkles. I’ll help a new “foster” daughter figure out her garb to join us at faire.  I’ll sort out which spinning projects I want to do for the season. (There is a nice fluffy brown begging to become something.)  I’ll start asking the guild’s dye maven what colors she’s planning on so I can spin up some white yarn for our demonstrations and my home stash enhancement.  I’ll start planning supper menus for the events that allow fire. (There’s a custard calling to me…and I really must figure out what I want to cook on the new guild spit!)  In another couple of months, I’ll finish decanting the liqueurs I’ve planned for competition at faire and for sharing with Rennie friends. (Husby has named the table of cordials brewed in our guild “The Brogue Bar” – his faire accent is much better after a little sampling of the selection there.)  Oh.  And I will be trying to learn to speak with a Scottish accent.  (Heavens help me!)

So as the winter rain falls, I’m already thinking of the summer.  And getting ready!

Magaidh

I wasn’t on a vacation.

I was on an illcation.

You know, when you are ill and all you can do is lay down and sit up for limited amounts of time.

Apparently I got food poisoning from a Subway sandwich the night that Shawn and I were going out for his birthday.

Luckily we bought his cake Thursday and I didn’t get sick until Saturday. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss his cake.

{It’s chocolate everything.}

There’s been no knitting. No sewing. No nothing.

Except for one thing.

There was shopping.

I bought some Dream In Color Classy for my Tea Leaves Cardigan. (I ordered from Eat. Sleep. Knit. and  I won a skein of Dream In Color Smooshy. Woo hoo!)

{Good Luck Jade.}

And then yesterday afternoon while I was checking my inbox I got a new message telling me that I was exclusively invited to my not so local LYS’ Sunday Sale from February 3-5. Meaning, I get to check out their sale stock first. Woo hoo! (Again.) I picked up some Rowan Wool/Cotton for my Sabbatical Sweater, a few skeins of Glacier Del Cielo for a top for Scout and a few skeins of Rowan All Seasons Cotton for a hat she wants.

And that’s it. I promise. Yarn wise, anyway.

I’ve kept my eye on a few new books,

all of which are going to get me in trouble because I’m already neck deep in projects. I’ve already planned two quilts and some feltie projects. And I have sewing classes starting next week. And I just recently found a little hole in the wall embroidery shop with the most gorgeous designs I’ve ever seen. I might need CA. (You know, Crafters Anonymous?)

The rest of my illcation was spent on sleep. I’ve been sleeping a lot. And you know what? It feels so good.

As for the “Meet Bob and Steve” contest! Our winner is: #4! Alisa! Alisa, email me at iknit(dot)ipurl(at)yahoo(dot)com, with your color preferences and once I get back to the sewing machine I’ll send along your customized kitty. Thanks everyone for playing! I’ll have a new contest up next week.

Til then, I’m taking a nap.

Ah, you have to love yarny parcels in your letterbox. I had two today. And the best bit? Neither of them were purchases.

Before I left for work I discovered this lovely parcel awaiting unwrapping. So I obliged.

This delightful parcel was for a sock yarn swap I participated in. I sent mine away already but it’s not yet recieved, so I’ll show you that a little later on… But mine, oh, mine. I tried really hard to take a picture of the lovely yarn…

But this one is too dark and doesn’t show the lovely semi-solid nature of the yarn terribly well.

I tried inside too…

This is slightly better… but still doesn’t quite express the lovely subtle colourway adequately.

So, you might say I rather liked the yarn.  The cute wee sock blocker keyring and mini sock pattern that was my gift is so cool, I was tempted to put it right on my keys rather than, say, get to work on time.  There is a suggested pattern included, a lovely pattern from Knitty.com, Azure.  It looks like a fun knit. And, while I usually wind my yarn back into a skein after dyeing, this is all wound and ready to knit. It’s calling me… can you hear it?

And is if that were not enough, I had another parcel waiting for me on my return home too! This one was won off a blog competition, at another Kiwi’s blog.  It took a somewhat circuitous route to my house, having spent a several week hiatus stashed under her sewing table (along with a huge bag of other parcels including a bunch of Christmas presents meant for overseas…) So, this is well rested yarn.

Oh, and what a lovely skein of delicious 50% silk 50% merino squishy goodness it is too.  Jolie has got a wee shop on Etsy where she sells some of her productive efforts – this is one of her colourways, called Persephone. Again, this was hard to capture the subtlety of the colours, a lovely semi-solid green mix as befits the queen of the underworld.

and inside…

These beautiful, light colours are such a contrast to so many of the skeins I have in my stash already and seem perfect to knit up in the hot weather we are having right now. Such a delight.  So tempting. I have a lot to be thankful for – and you have to love good mail days.

This invitation from Zoe to join her in reducing an ever growing fabric stash as a new year’s resolution couldn’t have come at a better timing. This challenge is perfect to complement my wardrobe rebuilding project! I work better if I have a goal and if I have a deadline and I know sometimes I need to be challenged into seeing a project into completion. Another plus that I am excited about is this is going to be another good way to connect with other people in the sewing community. It will also give me a chance to also fulfill my new year’s resolution to stop buying fabric unless I use the ones I already have. We have to be practical nowadays, save every penny, you know. I don’t sew as fast as I buy fabric, andI don’t have the time to sit down for long periods in front of my sewing machine, the fabric isn’t moving and it just rests there, being pretty. We are just renting, although the flat is spacious, there is still isn’t enough space to put  the fabric coming in from the stores at the rate it’s being bought. Haha!

Oh enough of that, now on to my stash! The first part of the challenge, according to Zoe, should start by presenting the stash you’re going to work with. For this feat, I am going to work with the fabric I bought from Manila that I took with me when we moved here in Singapore. It’s just half of my stash but it is still a lot!! How many clothes do you reckon I can make with these?

My medium-heavy pile: dark heavy denim, light denim, blue denim with stretch and three colors of cotton sateen stretch.

 I emulated Zoe and organized my fabrics by weight and type, I came up with four piles. My medium-heavy pile consists of cotton sateen stretch fabrics in white, black and khaki, a couple of meters of dark heavy denim, dark blue stretch denim, and blue-grey colored light denim. I was originally saving the heaviest denim to make a couple of skirts and a pair of straight cut or skinny jeans like the Anita Jeans from Burdastyle, and the cotton sateen stretch fabrics would be nice for a couple of shorts or a white skirt like this one from the latest issue of Burda Magazine:

Don’t you just love a versatile skirt? I love simple and sleek designs, in not too bold colors that is why I like the skirt. If possible I deviate away from colorful prints, but I’d like to change that in the future. It doesn’t hurt to use more color once in a while.

My next pile is made up of shirting fabrics, some cotton lycra blends in yellow, green and white.

My shirting fabrics - some with stretch and some without. The printed ones, I'd love to make into a skirt.

I’d love to make this top from J Crew  in my yellow or green cotton lycra fabric, but I’m not sure if I can pull-off sleeveless blouses.

J Crew Scalloped petal top

 My light weight fabric consists mostly of cotton silk voiles. I think the reason why I was afraid of cutting into them was because I only bought enough for one blouse of each color, that I was afraid that I would waste them because of my inexperience. They are so beautiful, and so soft! Any blouse made out of them will look so special!

Light weight fabrics - this pile consists of different colors of cotton silk voile and printed cotton voile.

Last but not the least, is my pile of knits. It’s made up of different weights of cotton knits and cotton rayon blend knits.

My knits pile consists of different weights of cotton knits and cotton rayon blend knits.

I’ve been so scared of touching this pile, knits here aren’t cheap you know. Mostly I have been afraid to touch the cotton rayon blend knits. They are so slippery and I had a hard time cutting them. Before I bought my serger, I tried to make a shirt from Wendy Mullin’s Sew U Home Stretch book and the end result was a big epic fail of a shirt! I’m not blaming the fabric of course, because I know it’s because I was inexperienced and I lacked extra knowledge in sewing knits. I know that there is a greater chance of me failing at something that I didn’t research enough for. So when I know more, I would love to make this Old navy top in the future.I have just the right color of fabric for this.

Bubble Sleeve Tops from Old Navy

I’m wishing myself lots of luck, I know I will need it. I hope I get a lot of clothes out of this and I hope there won’t be a lot of wadders! Now, hmmm, from which pile should I start first? 

The creation of this monster involved two firsts for me in the art of amigurumi. The first was that the pattern for this monster is the first crochet pattern I have purchased on line and had sent to me via e-mail. I purchased this pattern and two others from Ana Paula Rimoli’s etsy store. Ana is the author of the Amigurumi World book’s 1 and 2, and, as you know, I have made many amigurumi’s from her patterns. So, I knew that the pattern would be well written and would produce a cute amigurumi. Because of a sale at her etsy store, I bought all three patterns for about $3.00, which I thought was a great price for the patterns plus no shipping charge because she just sent them to my e-mail address.

The second first was the the amount of improvising I did on this monster. When I crochet an amigurumi, I follow the pattern very closely. I try to make my amigurumi look just like the picture on the pattern. As I crocheted the pieces for this amigurumi, I decided to make a few changes. I wanted my monster’s arm and legs longer than what the pattern called for, and I wanted his spikes fatter than the pattern said to make them. Although, I believe that the resulting monster from following the pattern exactly would have been just as cute as mine is, it was fun to make this monster my own and give him the details I wanted. I am very excited about this pattern because I can crochet it again and change it to make an entirely new monster, different from the pattern and this one. I do have to keep one feature the same on my next monster though since I have an extra eye now.

Sorry, this monster has already found a home. My husband named him Bart and he lives on his computer desk with alligator. I think he is secretly hoping that Bart will eat all the fabric in the stash, so he wants to keep him around for a little while.

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