The knitting bag, and her little after thought companions…

My 2012 project list included sewing a pocket tote bag (pattern (Jen Giddens) and materials picked up at Fancy Tiger) to serve as my knitting carry all. The one place to store the basic supplies, easily (and stylishly) carry around a current knitting project all the while tackling another sewing challenge. I received a project bag for Xmas, and have been using and enjoying it, and made a few several weeks ago as a gift for Nana’s birthday. I had some basic supplies on hand and while working on the tote bag, I figured it would be fun to make a few project bags to go along with it. Using the left over material from the tote, I tried my hand at sewing scraps together to spice up the project bags a bit. With my husbands requested vest in mind, I made one larger one with the intention of it being good for larger project such as the vest or a future sweater, and a smaller one to fit projects like a little hat (I’ve got this one here on my needles) or monthly motif project (its time to tackle Motif 4!).  Speaking of the vest, the yarn in the pics below is what my husband picked out for his vest – and I do intend to get going on this sometime soon. Although given that it is already March coupled with the amount of time he spends in the UAE – there isn’t a real rush to get it done.

This was one of the more complex project I have done so far, and also my first time using the interface lining. There were a lot of similar techniques from the kids messenger bags I made for Christmas which made this a lot easier. So, here it is – my fancy new knitting bag and her little companions.

I am thrilled with the outcome, and wishing today had not been a snow day, as I had grand visions of carting my little craft tote down to the coffee shop to make progress on the project on my needles. Alas, a few inches of snow and a school cancellation later, my bag has yet to be put to use.

Finished Motifs 2 and 3

I’m all caught up on my learn to knit with Katie monthly motifs. I’m looking forward to seeing what challenge she has in store for us next!

Motif #2

Motif # 3

While finishing up these two motifs, I’ve also been working on a little knitting bag set up which I’m pretty excited about.  Looking forward to sharing that project soon!

Hey girl. I made you a gift.

I have been amusing myself with the Ryan Gosling Hey girl images, especially the handmade ones. My random outbursts of laughter got my husband wondering what I was up to, so I have shared a few with him, including this one here….

image source

Anyhow…my sister just celebrated her birthday this past weekend, and in preparation I was perusing her etsy faves list looking for gifts and ideas. I noticed she had a few fabric infinity scarves on there. I received a knit jersey infinity scarf two years ago from a friend and absolutely love it, wear it ridiculously often and have wanted to make one. I’ve saved a few tutorials on making circle scarves to my favorites over on CraftGawker. So, when I saw her list, I got a little excited and called my husband over to get his input. With enthusiasm I say “check it out, she likes these infinity scarves. what do you think? I could totally make something like that” and he said “Hey girl.”

I laughed. A lot.

So despite his teasing, I decided to go for it – continue with the handmade gift giving – and make her some infinity scarves. I picked up some fabric, used the the tutorials here and here, and got to work.

This was my first adventure in sewing with knit jersey. I looked around online for some advice, and noticed mention of using a walking foot. It just so happens that I purchased one when I was starting on my curtain project. So, I got fancy, busted it out and went to work on the jersey scarf. I also made a second scarf from a bright and summery floral print. I thought it would be a fun way to spice up a solid tee or tank this spring and summer. I had just finished up making a set of knitting project bags for my MILs birthday, and as I had more material lying around I made a little gift bag to put it all in.

Here is the finished project.

Happy Birthday Sista…I hope you enjoy your handmade gift!

February Sew Along Project: Barnaby Bear

This month for the Fabric by Fabric One Yard Wonders sew along, the corduroy Barnaby Bear was selected. My girl and I ran up to the fabric store, where she picked out a lovely dark purple cord, and a small piece of striped fabric to use as an accent. Today we tackled the project and she was a big help, especially once we got our communications dialed in. She was stationed under the table operating the presser foot for some part of the projects, and there was a lot of “don’t stop”, “yes, you need to still press” and of course … “stop, stop stop”.  She also assisted with turning body parts right side out, stuffing them with filler and made key design decisions – most notably the inclusion of a pouch or pocket on the bear’s backside. That girl loves her bags, pockets and pouches and it always stashing, stuffing and storing her things in little places.

All in all the project went well, and was pretty quick and fun for us both. I pre-cut the pieces, so today we just did the sewing and final assembly. We had a few snags – I accidentally poked the first eye through both the front and back of the bear (oops), but we rectified that will a little while heart applique on the back of its “head”. The second challenge was in sewing closed the hole I used to pull the fabric right side out. Simply put, it just not neat and pretty. I’m sure there is a technique that would go a long way to making the area less obvious, and exercising patience and resisting the urge to rush would likely help as well.  However, little Miss K is quite pleased with the teddy, and it was fun to do something together. Her brother arrived home from school just as we were finishing up, and immediately wanted to know what project he and I could do together. When asked what he had in mind he suggested a dinosaur…

Pinterest here I come – looks like there may be another softies in our future…

Monthly Motif 3

I’m making progress on the 3rd monthly motif, a linked lattice.

New Things

I haven’t spent much time on the photography part of my mission. Well, there was the small task of photographing each classroom and putting together a slideshow for my daughter’s preschool…but not on my goal of capturing our family moments. I rely heavily on my iPhone, never taking out the dSLR since I have the phone with me most of the time. With my mission in mind, Santa surprised me with a tripod for Christmas; and I picked up a remote trigger for my camera – neither of which I have had the opportunity to play with yet. So, when I finished up the Lattice Lace Cowl, I decided to bust out the camera and tripod and try my hand at a few self/cowl portraits. I must admit the whole self portrait process had me feeling a little silly – I guess its a good reminder of how the folks I’m trying to photography may feel with the camera pointed at them.

The cowl is great – unique, versatile and cozy – and completed in the nick of time as snow flakes begin to fall here in CO this afternoon.

The project was quick and fun. I used the whole skein of Cascade Magnum on 35s, and it only took a few hours to work up – that is my kind of project! I wanted to be able to wrap it twice around my neck, which makes it a bit long when worn without the wrap.  I’m sure with a bit of messing and play, I’ll figure out the right way to rock it long too!

If interested, you can find the pattern for the cowl here.