Monday, May 31, 2010

Crochet queen

I did it!
A while ago I attempted to learn to crochet. Very unsuccessfully. Last week, I gave it another go at the Perle 8's Thursday night session, under the instruction of Mary (who is not only very knowledgeable but also talented in all areas hooks and wool - although she will hate me saying so). So instead of trying to learn by endless lengths of warped single chains (as was my last effort), this time around I got to make a pretty flower! Much better for the motivation and much better having helpful instructions. A BIG thanks Mary!!

Now on to seeing if I can crochet another and begin a new obsession?

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Stitches and Craft Show, Sew it Together, bold stripes and a green sheep...

Its been an eventful week and a bit. I'll try to keep the words short and keep you entertained with a few crafty pics.

Firstly it was the Melbourne Stitches and Craft Show last weekend. I was lucky enough to be helping out Nic at Yardage Design at her stall in the incubator section. It was loads of fun and it was great to see and talk to so many other crafters. The buzz was great.To show off Nic's gorgeous fabrics, I made myself a skirt of red linen, with a panel of the Yardage swizzle fabric which I wore when helping her out. It is a pretty easy pattern, cut on the bias, with a back seam (to give it a nice shape) and the feature panel added off centre front, and top stitched in linen cotton. I changed the waistline and added a 25cm stretch fabric tube, so it could sit comfortably over a growing baby belly. Here's a close up of Nic's lovely feature fabric!
Whilst I was at the show, I also picked up a few things myself, some great Hilco fabrics from EarthGirl fabrics (now on my Internet favourites list!), for making some Ottobre patterns. And this tea towel:
Which leads me to my next topic. Mother's day was lovely and we had a picnic with the extended family and then dinner with my family and sisters. I gave my Mum this Yardage tea towel, which she loved, and my little 17 month old spent all afternoon pointing at it chanting peeeeaaaar - one of her favourite words at the moment.

I also made up a green sheep brooch from granddaughter to Nanna, which is from one of her favourite books. It is green wool felt bought from the Show, stuffed and sewn together with blanket stitch, and embroidered to make the sheep features with some rather wayward legs sticking out. Both Nanna and granddaughter loved it though.
Finally last night was the Sew It Together dinner in Melbourne. Unfortunately I was not able to attend the day's crafting session, but have put next year's Sydney dates in the diary! The dinner was lovely though, and I had a great time meeting so many other talented and inspiring crafters and bloggers, so many that I already knew in blogland, but have now met in person.

Although I don't have picks from the night, I do have some pics of the leggings I wore which I had made a few weeks before (thanks to an Ottobre pattern lent to me by Mary of Perle 8's. I'll have to chase her down to get the pattern issue and post it later). I've been making lots of leggings for my little one, but finally made a big sized pair for me! Made from red/purple/black stripe cotton elastane (I love the fabric!), they were extremely simple to make and turned out well. I was very happy with them and have worn them a lot.
They were even a maternity pattern, so have a high waistline to go over a 7 month pregnant belly! (Sorry if I freak anyone out with the pic below, but I love the high waistline - it is super comfy. I also imagine bold stripes don't do much for the figure but...)
So that's it from me. Phew. That was great to get off my chest, although I'm sure I've forgotten heaps. It's been a while since my last post, but there is plenty more stashed away to bring to light on Pippi Creates. I just have to stop crashing at 8.30 at night so I can actually find some time to do things...

Edited to add: The leggings pattern was No.16 from 2/2008 of Ottobre Woman, they came as maternity and non maternity options. Thanks Mary.