Tag Archives: beading

Jun15

Sewing day!

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Sewing day!

I blitzed the house yesterday, went out and got my tire fixed (it had a screw stuck in it), watered my plants and basically got myself all caught up so that today I could just sew.

After a bit of yoga and sunbathing, I retreated to the sewing room. I had a list of potential projects to work on and what I ended up doing was…

PJs for #2 son
3 receiving blankets
Adult bucket hat

All of these fabrics were in my stash. The plaid was a little short so I had to be creative and put my pattern piece opposite ways and refold the fabric carefully (did you notice the pattern runs the “wrong” way on one leg!?). The paper pattern is one I created from an old pair of PJs ages ago.

The paisley flannelette was one I bought years ago just because I liked it. And now I have a friend who’s going to be a grandfather soon.

And the bucket hat is made from quilt cottons and a little interfacing. The pattern is from Sweet Red Poppy and it’s a free download. My printer produced it a bit bigger than it was supposed to – I made the adult hat, forgetting that fact, and it’s big on me. Still, this was the ‘test run’ from which I learned that, yes, I still dislike sewing circles and cylinders together. There were a few frustrating moments with this hat, such as the time that my spool AND bobbin ran out at the same time and it was the perfect shade of pink and I didn’t have any more.

I added a couple of eyelets at the back to cinch it in with a short piece of ribbon.

Another small and quick make from earlier this week is this seahorse set. These are beads I gave myself in my Advent collection last December.

And while the tire folks were fixing my tire yesterday I used the time to walk to Michaels and have a slow browse around. I found these neons which reminded me that I still want to make a sweater with a pop of neon (ideally I wanted pink and green, but these’ll do).

These babies were only $2.99 each as all yarn was 25% off.

So now it’s almost bedtime and I am working the next four days so you can see why I wanted to pack a lot of crafting time in today!

Nov4

Saturday shopping spree

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OK, it’s Monday now, but I did mean to blog at the weekend to talk about  my SEX (Stash Enhancement eXpedition) at Michaels. I went in there to look for beading supplies actually. I am signed up with a group on Ravelry to do a Christmas swap, which entails filling a toilet paper roll with fun stuff to make a cracker. You have to put in something that you knitted or crocheted, a handwritten joke, and any other little gift-type things that will fit. Then you wrap it up beautifully and send it to your swap partner. Beads are tiny, right? So if I make some earrings or stitch markers they will fit inside easily.

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I did buy some beads – black ones, clear ones, turquoise ones – and some ear wires, pins and bracelet attachments. But I also had to check out the yarn while I was there. And even though my self-discipline has been very good this year, I found clearance yarn that I have seen at Michaels a few times before. I was able to resist while it was regular price, but on clearance? I fell off that darned wagon!

Six little bundles of Loops & Threads Meandering Minis in three colourways. These skeins are 25 grams each. AND…

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Three bundles of Caron X Pantone Bamboo as well.

Now, in theory, the Caron yarn is acceptable as I allowed myself, when making my New Year’s Resolution, to buy yarn that has some plant fibre content. So I wasn’t really being BAD! However, the Meandering Minis are totally synthetic, which goes against my ‘rule’ of stashing down the 100% man-made stuff and not acquiring more. Oh dear! But they are just so pretty!

I feel a bit zombified tonight. Maybe it has something to do with the clocks changing yesterday. You wouldn’t think one hour would make that much difference. But I was working today too, and eight hours on my feet is tiring. What a great feeling it is to come home, change out of my work clothes into my Hello Kitty onesie, eat a big bowl of risotto with kabocha squash (I had the forethought to make dinner this morning before work) and enjoy a large cup of tea. I was watching Ross’s podcast (Smells Like Yarn) and I could feel myself sinking into the couch and feeling so brain dead that I don’t even feel like picking up a crochet hook this evening (though I seem to have found the energy to write a blog post).

So I shall love you and leave you, as they say, before my eyes droop.

 

 

Jun19

A sewing day

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A sewing day

There was nothing on the calendar for today and I was excited that I’d be able to spend a few hours in my sewing room. I did end up having to pop out to collect some plumbing parts so that Tai Chi Man can fix the bath, and I will probably go grocery shopping tonight, but the fabrics were calling.

I followed two different You Tube tutorials and made a total of three bags. One was from The Crafty Gemini for a triangle pouch. The first one was a bit bigger than hers as I cut my fabrics 8 x 16″ for a finished bag that measured about 6.5 inches tall.

This is a lime green cotton fabric with balls of yarn printed on it. I used some medium weight interfacing and added an octopus charm.

I also made a larger version with a contrast lining but no interfacing, as I didn’t have enough left at this point.

The fabric was cut into 10 x 20″ pieces and the bag turned out about 8.5 inches tall. I plan to make two more in these same fabrics, but in different sizes, just for fun.

And this bag is from a pattern/tutorial called Easy Cosmetics Bag by So Sew Easy. You can print out the template from a Craftsy pattern but I just drew it up on a sheet of paper closely resembling the one in the pattern. I like that the base is a little wider than the top. It’s just as well this one is for me as the print is not quite lined up on one side and one of the little side tabs is wonky.

Not sure why my screen is giving the photos a blue cast. I was outside on my deck on a bright day so hopefully clicking to see the full size photos will make them look better.

Recently, I bought some lobster clasps and sea-themed charms from Michaels, along with a tool for opening split rings, and I used some, not just for zipper pulls, but also for progress keepers on my crochet.

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The beads are ones I’ve had for years. In fact two of the above were already made up as earrings, so I took off the hooks and put on the lobster clasps instead.

It’s snack time and then I shall have to see if I feel like sewing some more.