My goddaughter turned four this spring, and I made her a pencil roll. I’ve made one before using the same pattern. Now, with the help of a rotary cutter, I cut the time it took to make this in half.
This case has 12 colors, plenty for a four-year-old still learning color names.
I especially like the measuring tape ribbon, bought years ago from Superbuzzy.
Thanks to my goddaughter’s mom for the pretty pictures.
I recently made a laptop sleeve for my new MacBook. It figures that I have no pictures of it yet despite using it all the time. However, I do have pictures of the iPad case I made for someone else using the same pattern – because they took the pictures. So, here goes.
The pattern is from Elisabeth from Oh, Fransson!. It is based on the actual measurements of your device, so I could adjust it from the laptop down to the iPad. The hardest part was getting the lovely birch trees on Lara Cameron’s fabric to match up on the different layers. I included a pocket on the backside with room for a charger and earphones, according to the recipient’s wishes. It closes with velcro, just like the main compartment. The lining is a lovely greying blue woodgrain print from Lush.
Spring is here, finally. To celebrate, I sewed a new bag. The pattern is Birdie sling by Amy Butler.
The fabrics are all from the same Lotus colorway I’d stashed away years ago. I love the deep inside pockets.
This is actually my second sling, I never got around to blogging the first one. Here they are side by side. As you may notice, the first sling is true to the name (Drawing room fabric by Anna Maria Horner).
The first sling has been a trusty companion on many trips, from cities to beaches. Time will tell where the second one will go. Today it came with me as I voted in parliamentary elections.
My mom turned 60 this fall, though no one would believe it. I knit her a scarf from the silky wool fingering weight I’ve been dyeing with assorted natural dyes. 3 mm needles work just as fine as 2.5 mm, and it goes a lot faster! More than 25 different colors in this one.
My nephew celebrated his first birthday in January. He received a car play mat, fashioned after instructions from Fiskars. I also included two wooden toy cars: a red race car and a blue tractor, his favorite. There’s an apple orchard, a car wash, a gas station and a pond in the four scenes. Most fabrics are some type of wool felts. The printed fabric on side pockets is from Liberty of London scrap bin.
Here’s big sis helping him fill the tank for another round!
From left to right: cashew nut brittle, rum marshmallows, chocolate-covered fudge, christmas crack, peppermint marshmallows, and maple-cinnamon nuts.
I moved out of the city in the summer and got an extra room: a glazed balcony almost the size of my bedroom. I wanted to have a low table to hold flower pots, slushy drinks, books, and the occasional dinner plate. I had a coffee table from Ikea that I’d since replaced but held onto, and I figured it might do the job.
But the table was white, and bruised, and in desperate need of color. Which color? I couldn’t decide, so…I stole almost all the paint sample chips at the local hardware store and went to town, inspired by some awesome creations.
A few layers of mod podge later I had this to show for my hacking:
The color range the chips came from features a descriptive name for each shade, written on top of the chip. My table includes, among others: cupcakes, llamas and sunrises. It has held up nicely, and the balcony was my favorite place during the hot summer, and still is – amidst all the snow – as an occasional hangout after the sauna. Just long enough for me to sit down on the bench and lay my apres sauna drink on the table!
Yesterday we celebrated the christening of my nephew. I’d started his present back in September which turned out to be a wise move. I set to quilt animal outlines, picking the critters at random. But my fingers and hand quilting do not seem to mix: I managed to do about 2-4 shapes at a time before my skin broke.
In the end I’ve got calluses to show for a 41×41 inch square quilt! It’s exactly one width of the fabric, no piecing work involved here. I did not count the shapes quilted, they must be in triple digits though.
I really like how the animal outlines look on the Miller Ta Dot backing print. The binding is a 3/4 inch wide Perla cotton. I was with my foxy friend at the local fabric store, cursing myself for forgetting to bring a sample of the front print when she happily announced that this solid teal would match. Of course she knew, having used the same fabric for a baby quilt. Isn’t it great to hang out with people who can instantly match any fabric it seems?
I’m glad I did this by hand but it might be a one-time thing, just as his special day. I might use hand quilting as a feature in a mostly machine quilted piece though. Much appreciation for those who do quilting by hand!
Oh, and the name? Suits him. :)
Happy year 2010! I’m glad to announce the arrival of my nephew. In addition to a grateful and excited family, he was greeted with the following:
Quilt made from my treasured fabrics of the Aviary line of Joel Dewberry. I’m still holding onto a full quilt’s worth of the pink/green colorway. The pattern used on this tiny quilt is Nest by Tula Pink (for her Nest line). I modified the original block size down to 11.5 inches. The binding is My folklore by Lecien.
Here’s the back of the quilt, together with Wave blanket from Loop, knit with three colors of fingering weight merino, two strands held together.
Now, I wanted the baby boy to have some toys for comfort and play to come. First I made the Scotty dog from a mix pack of Anna Maria Horner scraps in home dec weight. While it looked delightful it seemed a bit large for a newborn’s cot. So I made its companion bunny.
I hope the wee one and his family enjoys these humble offerings. For future notice, all may be machine washed at 40 degrees.
On the homefront, I upgraded my sewing machine. While my partner hoped I’d choose one “with a bigger tv” (an embroidery machine with large screen) I got a Quilt Expression 4.0. In the plans: stippling and larger quilts. As soon as I learn how to maneuver it! See below for practice runs: appliques for t-shirts for the bigger kiddos in my life.
Two of these ornaments are flying with me across the Atlantic in 10 hours. Some gift delivery has been outsourced, too. Happy holidays! P.S. Look at that apple up there!
I haven’t knitted in ages. These socks were finished sometime this fall. The yarn is The Unique Sheep’s Tinsel Toes in the colorway Spiced Apple. Very fitting for this time of the year, no?
The pattern came from a blog but I’ve misplaced my printed pattern, can’t seem to locate the pdf and my googlefu is failing me miserably. I’d like to give credit where it’s due so help me out. What pattern is this? It’s a cleancut two by two zig zag rib and I think the eye of partridge heel was my addition. Maybe it’ll come to me…
Here are some of my souvenirs from Vancouver. Fleece Artist Nova socks and Hand Maiden Casbah (colorway Hemlock). Not even intended for knitting yet, just admiring. I think all pretty yarns should be put on layaway for a while so you can decide on a pattern and cause worthy of it.
Not a lot of light around. I can feel the hibernation mode coming on. I’m ready to be snowed in!
