January 20, 2017 · 1:44 pm

Blank Canvas and Pride and Prejudice

Blank Canvas Progress

I have been away on holiday – to Rottnest and the best thing about Rottnest is that there is not much to do, so you have time! I finished another pussyhat and as you can see above worked on my Blank Canvas. I have made it to the point where I start increasing (after all the waist decreasing).

While knitting I have been watching Pride and Prejudice this version

Pride and Prejudice 1995

I do like this version who can forget such memorable moments as Mr Darcy in the bath, Lydia running into Mr Collins while scampering about in her undies, Mr Darcy’s wet shirt? And the costumes – I do love beautiful period costumes. I have the book The Making of Pride and Prejudice, which is full of fabulous information about the production and has a chapter on costume, hair and make-up.

Mood Board for Mr Darcy and a design for Caroline Bingley

There is also a Making of Pride and Prejudice documentary you can watch – it is on the DVD and Bluray.

I am amazed and intrigued by how these productions come together.

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January 10, 2017 · 2:55 pm

A Hat (for the pussyhat project)

I made a hat! For the pussyhatproject – I used this pattern because I wanted to be able to knit in the round. The yarn is Cleckheaton Country Aran 10ply  in Colour 4016 (magenta).

Now I just have to make another one, and another one because I am confounded and distressed about what the election in the US and Brexit means for the rest of the world (and what it says about people in general).

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January 6, 2017 · 5:44 pm

A finished Object – Nowhere Cowl

Finished Nowhere Cowl

I finished my Nowhere Cowl. This was a great pattern  – easy, but interesting. In the end I did seven repeats of the pattern.

It is a fabulous squishy soft yarn – Misti Alpaca Tonis Carnival (colour is symphony blue) – perfect for a cowl.

 

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January 4, 2017 · 1:25 pm

Blank Canvas

Swatch for my Blank Canvas

I have lost track of the number of times I have started to knit this yarn! It is Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk Dk in Tease. My latest effort is here – I just seem to lose concentration and it all goes pear-shaped.

I decided to knit something without a pattern/texture/stitch design to see if I could get the basic jumper shaping thing sorted.

I did what I am calling a cheat’s swatch in the round (instructions were here) – I managed to get gauge (both stitch and number of rounds – miraculous! I am sure my swatch is lying to me) with the second set of needles I tried, so now I just need to get on with it.

One further concern is the volume of yarn required – I stashed 1394m and the pattern tells me I need 870m, but I have lost a bit of yarn in all of my previous attempts.

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January 1, 2017 · 2:03 pm

2017

Finished objects from 2016

First, happy new year to everyone!

So 2017? For me this is the year to be more thoughtful, to take on fewer projects, but to spend more time on each one – thinking about the process and the product. I aim to spend more time doing the things I love.

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December 29, 2016 · 4:19 pm

Holidays

How great are the days between Christmas and New Year?

Knitting, wine and reading (Jane Austen: The Secret Radical)

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December 20, 2016 · 12:20 pm

Selvedge – the Decorative Issue

Cover of the Decorative Issue

I love this magazine, but I rarely buy it for a few reasons: by the time it gets to Australia it is expensive (plus it is hard to find) and I am not always taken with every article (it costs a lot I need to read every word). However, this issue is perfect. There are articles on sequins, costumes, Opus Anglicanum and embroidery in literature and what that means (combination of two of my loves reading and embroidery).

Cosprop Costumes

 

Alice Archer – she is a embroiderer (machine) and fashion designer

There is a profile on Alice Archer (here is another article) – check out this skirt…

And I want to visit this store (I need to go back to London – an entire store devoted to ribbons!)…

VV Rouleaux

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December 18, 2016 · 11:38 am

Zipper Pouch

Finished 5 by 7 Zipper Pouch

I made one of the zipper pouches from my Craftsy course – Miss A did ask me why I keep making things brown and I think I have fallen into the trap of not wanting to use my ‘good’ fabric on a practice.

It came together pretty smoothly. A few things I need to remember for next time:

  • the design needs to be rotated 180 degrees as the hoop attachment on my janome is on the opposite side to whatever machine the designer used.
  • don’t iron over the labels if you have used an erasable pen!
  • there is a lot of wasted fabric and I could cut the pieces much smaller.

Next up I am going to try the 6 by 10 version – as this one is slightly too small (getting my phone in and out is a bit painful).

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December 13, 2016 · 10:57 am

A Finished Object Plus Some New Projects

Little Houses, Favourite Scarf and Nowhere Cowl

I finished my favourite scarf – it is currently blocking on my outdoor table. I am not too happy with the kitchener join – I think I should have had the pieces abutting each other rather than wrong sides together when I did it.

On the left of the image is the start of one of my Little Houses – I have to say working on the plastic canvas is surprisingly fun.

On the right of the image is my Nowhere Cowl – I don’t know if you can read it in the image, but there is quite a nice message about how the chart seems daunting, but is really quite easy. So far that does seem to be the case – it is quite easy to remember each row as I am doing it.

Craftsy – In the Hoop Gifts

I have also been watching my In the Hoop Gifts craftsy class – just the lesson on making zipper pouches. I do like the instructor – Sue O’Very -I am going to have to go and buy labels! I like how she has constructed her zipper bag and there a lots of little hints and tips I can use for other projects. Now to just get onto making one.

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December 6, 2016 · 7:57 am

A New Project – Little Houses

Little Houses

Little Houses

I know another new project – does anything ever get finished around here?

I found this project in the Christmas edition of the Family Circle magazine. I thought it might be something that the girls would like to do. You can find the project sheet here.

I have purchased supplies (I have no idea if my plastic canvas is the right size, but it was all I could find), wound the DMC thread onto the cards and now I am ready to go.

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