No longer MIA

Sorry it's been so long since I updated. I've been pretty busy, and actually have some finished projects to show!

First, I want to show off some new jewelry. These are creations of Lauren at Cult Designs. Aren't they adorable?

Kissing Kiddie Earrings


Message in a Bottle pin


I just adore them!

Now, for the things I've been making.

First, for my mom's Christmas gift, a hat and scarf set. The scarf is, I think, Paton's Pebbles. The hat is crocheted in good ol' Red Heart, and edged with the yarn I used for the scarf.


Scarf and hat set for my sister-in-law. I don't recall the name of this yarn, but it is so soft and cuddly. It was hard to give away, but worth it!


I finally tried my hand at making cards. I did some Christmas cards, for Dusty, his parents, and grandparents. I used cardstock, those cute lil scrapbook thingys, and construction paper. I printed words out from my computer. Sorry the pictures suck. I am a poor photographer, and I always seem to have trouble with things reflecting the light from the flash.


This is the one I made for Dusty's parents. I think it's soooo friggin' cute! Yes, I'm that modest.


I did this one for Dusty's grandparents. I just love that Santa!


Here's the one I made for Dusty. I am very happy with how it came out!


I loved making the cards... cute, fun, and not very time-consuming. I can easily see how they COULD be, but these didn't take me too long. I need to work on things to put on the inside of the cards. I had no ideas for that, so I just cut some of the background paper, printed out "Merry Christmas" or the like, and wrote a note in them. I definitely want to make more cards in the future... though I will still buy cards from the store as well.

For Dusty's mom's Christmas gift, I sewed this purse. I think she was pretty happy with it. She didn't realize I'd made it until Dusty told her, so that's good!

The pattern is Indygo Junction's Metropolitan Handbag. I'll review this pattern at PR, and link to it when I do. The fabric is an Amy Butler print I thought would be perfect for her. The fabric flower tutorial can be found here. I love the flower... so cute and easy to make!




Of course, I had to make something for myself, too. I used the cloche pattern from Lion Brand, written specifically for this yarn. Now, I don't know if my head is small or something, but the hat, knit to gauge on the specified needles came out WAY TOO BIG. I wish I'd taken a picture of it... it was really funny! I decided to be lazy, and instead of undoing the whole thing, and re-knitting it, I decided to try felting. I know, stupid. I should have realized that the added structure felting would give would be a bad thing for this hat. Anyway, I felted it and it still sucks. I thought it would be super cute, but it just looks super silly. I think it looks better in these pics than in real life. I have an idea on how to save the hat, but it will be very different from this style. We'll see if it works... nothing to lose now! That will be awhile, since I'm leaving for Kansas soon and didn't bring the hat with me.





I'm still working on Gatsby Girl, and since I only brought that and the Pomatomus, I should start really making some progress on it.

Edited to add: The link to the pattern review is here: Bag pattern review.

Edited again to add: I got the AB fabric from Fabric.com. Has anyone else had problems with their design wall? I got another fabric to use for the band originally, but it turned out to not be a match at all, though it looked very nice together on the design wall. How dependable is it really?

Fabric Questions

So, let's say you had the pattern for this dress and you wanted to make it. What fabric would you use? I am really planning on making up one of my vintage dress patterns soon, and this may be the one. I think it's just fabulous.

No update on the knitting progress, as there has been very little. I did start on a bag for Dusty's mom over the weekend, but I'm not completely happy with it yet, so it's not finished. I'll have pics of it when I do finish, though... fortunately, I never have to worry about her running across the blog, since she doesn't really use the internet. hehe.

Choosing Colors

So, I raved about the Venezia Sweater. We all know it's gorgeous. I've been thinking of it since I got the IK mag with the pattern. There are a few problems about knitting it, namely: 1) I don't recall how much it would cost for me to make the sweater in the yarns called for, but I do remember that it was much more than I can fit in my tight budget for quite a while, 2) That's a lot of colors, especially to someone who has done no colorwork, 3) I don't really wear those colors, and though the sweater is beautiful as is, I wanted to knit this sweater in colors I'd wear often. I wanted to use Knitpicks' Palette, but it didn't have enough colors, and I have no idea about matching/changing colors. Anyway, Superstitch at the Craftster Knit-Along posted the chart she'd revised to fit the colors and yarn she'd wanted to use, fewer colors than originally specified. So I messed around with her chart, and tried out some color combinations I usually like, to see how they'd work in this. I tried to keep my colors as close to the Knitpicks' Palette colors as I could. Not all of these combinations I really love, but here are some I fixed up, and I'd like to hear opinions on whether any of these work. Suggestions are welcome, too. I definitely want the pink in there, as I'm sure is obvious, since pink is the color that flatters me best. Note that these are not in any particular order of preference, and are rather in whatever random order blogger chose to put them. I have been particularly obsessing over pink and brown together, and pink and gray, but I am not sure how they will work in this sweater. The others are just fun color combos I was messing with, and didn't expect to work, but thought they actually looked pretty, at least on the chart... I don't know about a sweater. So, let me know what you think, please!

What would you attempt if you knew you would not fail?

One of my friends posted that quote in her journal a couple of days ago, and I've been thinking about it since. Probably a lot more than I have.

Speaking of attempts, I forgot Christmas gifts! Actually, realizing it's Dec 1 made me realize I have only a couple of weeks to make my Christmas gifts, and I haven't even started yet. Yikes! So now I have to attempt to make Christmas gifts in a hurry.


I posted this at Pattern Review already, but not everyone goes to that site (though they should!). I love this coat. Unfortunately, they don't have it in anything near my size. Does anyone know of a pattern that I could use to replicate it?


Also, I fell in love with this bag:

I think I've posted about it before, but I couldn't find the post, and I can't find the site it was at. Anyway, I remember it was around $300 so there was no chance of my buying it, but I thought I could try something similiar to it. I love the print the most, but of course, I've never seen anything very close to it. I did find an Amy Butler print that reminds me of the fabric, which will work. Then I found this sewing pattern. The shape of the first bag is pretty similar, though I'm sure it's much smaller (which is ok, since I usually prefer smaller bags). I think it would be possible to use that pattern to replicate this bag. I just found the pattern today, so I haven't purchased it yet.

I also want to make the Amy Butler Weekender bag, and I found a great fabric for it, but it's one of her quilting cotton prints. Could I use that for the bag? I like a couple of other of her bag patterns if not.

Gatsby Girl has hit the point of "Omg, this sweater is taking FOREVER." I know it will so be worth it, but with the 29 degree morning, and 44 degree temperature right now, I wish the sweater was already finished!