the 'I am bored with UFOs' Scarf

this past week the temperatures in Brisbane climbed to 42 degrees Celsius (107 F), so what better way to commemorate this all time high, but with a scarf :-)

For Christmas, I got a seven remnants of all different fabrics that I had never tried before from The Fabric Store, a store that is a little out of my price range normally, but I got a discount voucher and it was for Christmas ... so yeay. Amongst the loot was a piece of linen gauze in cornflower blue (this picture was taken indoors in the evening and it does not do it justice).

It's very loosely woven so I did a rolled hem on either side before washing it and just look what it looks like after washing it ... all crinkly and nice. It has some residual stiffness from the linen, so it'll be interesting to see how it behaves through the washes.

This is my absolute favourite colour and if I can think of a way to make a dress from this fabric I will. It's probably nice for cardigans and cover-ups for the beach, not Australia of course, the sun is far too strong here, but not really sure a dress would work.

 

 

I had to wait till yesterday when the temperatures dropped a little to take the pictures, but once winter comes it'll be a wonderful addition to my wardrobe.

Monday mending

I have realised that a big part of my stash problem are clothes waiting patiently to be mended, shortened, or fixed in some other way. You know what it is like ... you find something in a thrift shop that only needs a seam restitched and you are going to do that the very next day and then it just sits there waiting and waiting and then 2 years later (or 4 ... sigh) it is still sitting there. Well, not anymore ... I shall spend each Monday in July and August fixing those things up, provided I don't get side-tracked too much ;-)

Today I mended a duvet cover for the kids (seam ripped 18 months ago), I fixed a dress for my little girl (been waiting for this one 6 month ago), and sewed a vent shut in a jeans skirt (bought 12 months ago) that was so indecent it could have given Sharon Stone a run for her money in Basic Instinct.

It was a nice beginning, but my crown jewel so to speak, was the refashion of an old flannel shirt from my husband into a scarf. It is sooooo soft, exactly what you want to wear in bed when you are sick and vapour-rubbed. I cut the shirt into squares - 3 from the back, 1 from each front, 1 from a sleeve, sadly the other sleeve was too ripped. I then sewed the 6 squares together, folded it lengthwise and sewed it, and lastly finished off the ends ... voila ...

Over the weekend I also whipped up another Cowl 4.2 (you can't imagine the joy it gives me to say whipped up, cause usually everything lingers a little longer in the Giggles' household), this time in dark blue. I still have some black yarn as well, but I really need to be concentrating on finishing the top, so maybe later.

the Cricket Scarf

No, don't worry, it's not a scarf worn by either cricketers or the people watching the cricket. We're not that crazy here in Queensland ... yet ... the heat gets to us all :-)

It is a scarf that a mother with little interest in the game knits whilst watching her son's training and junior games. Go supportive Giggles ... I even stood on the side of some field in the middle on nowhere, watching in the pouring rain, wondering whether my car would make it off the strip of grass it was parked on since it is not a four wheel drive, cause Junior cricket gets played regardless of the weather.

It has been finished for a while, but somehow I never found the time or weather to take the pictures.

It's a teal cotton/soy mix I picked up at the fabric-a-brac almost a year ago and my own pattern. It has a 5 stitch garter border and then alternates 5x5 stockinette and reverse stockinette stitch.

I loved knitting it and I adore wearing it. It is so soft and beautiful. The colour is not coming out in the pictures with the white background, it is more vibrant in real life. Happiness and joy :-)

a cloak fit for a princess

I have put myself on a fabric diet. I will not buy any more fabric until I have used up a substantial part of my stash. It's not that I regularily spent lots of money of fabrics, but I frequently pig out on remnants, because at 2m a metre, who can say no. Well, my bedroom reflects that inability to say no. It seems like there is fabric EVERYWHERE. There are also clothes that need to be altered and a crochet blanket that needs the ends to be stitched in and some yarn for another two scarfs and so on. In short it is a mess and that is actually more depressing then inspiring to sew.

In an effort to stash bust I have made a costume for my little girl out of 2 pieces of stretchy panne velvet. It frayed and shedded like mad, so there is pink fluff everywhere now :-)

It has a cloak - I am really proud of sucessfully drafting and attaching the collar

a skirt - I intended to just make a gathered skirt with a light pink trim, but I didn't have enough light fabric for that, so I made a panel skirt instead

and a little scarf - I tried out making a lettuce edge without an overlocker (serger) and it worked, yeay

She is very happy with the results of 3 days sewing and has refused to take it off for the last 3 days. I call that a sucess :-)

After this I have the greatest admirations for the mothers, who regularily create costumes for dance recitals and other competitions, because the material slips and slides and sheds and it takes time and effort to be percise and accurate with it. Onwards to the next remnant ...

lots of little flowers

I had originally planned to make a flower scarf for my little daughter using Japanese flowers, but I hadn't realised how big the flowers actually were. So, after a length searching on Ravelry (twice, because obviously I didn't bookmark it the first time and then couldn't find it again) I found a little flower scarf that was just adorable. Fifty little flowers later and a scarf emerged :-)

I have rarely felt as positive about a project as I do about this scarf. It is just so cheerful and bright.

In fact, it's positively gigglicious :-)

The pattern can be found here and later this week I'll post a photo tutorial, because they are just too beautiful and should be shared xxx

Baby, it's cold inside

no that is not a typo, I meant to say inside not outside. Outside it is a balmy 19 degrees (Celsius) and a light breeze. Inside it is a not so balmy 11 and my hands are shivering whilst typing (note to self: get some fingerless gloves).

The only heated room in the house is kid's bedroom, so not a lot of sewing has been happening since the sewing machine lives in the dining room and that is the coldest room in the house (currently measuring at 9 degrees Celsius).

Instead I have been knitting and crocheting in the kid's bedroom. One blue ruffle scarf to replace a rather ratty looking one a bought 5 years ago.

It looks a bit feather-boa-ish, but is snugly warm and it is the first time I have knitted with 'novelty' yarn. I have been knitting for years, but I have never been very adventurous so I essentially I just stuck to the garter stitch and that was it. Last year I made myself learn how to purl and surprisingly the world did not end and I quite enjoyed learning something new. I still prefer to crochet, but I do like to knit occasionally - variety is the spice of life and all that :-)