Lovely Rowan

I recently got this book:


And there are a ton of things I'd like to do. These especially have caught my eye:




And now I just read somewhere that Rowan is going to discontinue their Yorkshire Tweed yarn range (most of the projects in the book use it)! I guess I better stock up (oh, and buy the Yorkshire Fable book as well).

I've been sewing again!

This week I've got to get by without my camera as DH took it with him when he left for a business trip.. But here's a few things I finished and took pictures of before he left.



Apparently, white is a very fashionable color for this spring and summer and this is my take on it. I tried several skirts at different stores but they were all so see-through, so I made my own. I'm always having some problems with attaching zippers, but otherwise, this was quite simple to do. The pattern is from a Finnish craft magazine (Suuri Käsityölehti 2/2006).



This one is inspired by Marie Claire Idees. I bought old jeans from a second hand store (I only own two pairs of jeans and didn't want to cut either of them) and took the top part from them and sewed some cotton fabric on to make an ankle length skirt.

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Trek - Aren't they lovely? They are Dinky Dyes threads.

Fingerless mitts

Just in time:



I finished these during Easter and they are just perfect for the kind of weather we are having here now.

Pattern is from the spring issue of Interweave Knits. I followed the pattern quite closely. However, I did not cut my knitting to make the thumb hole as the instructions have you do. Instead, I left six stitches on a piece yarn and created six more on the next row to replace them and then knit the thumb from those. Oh, and don't believe when it says they are knit from the knuckles down. I did and the pattern is a reverse of the one in the pictures. No big deal, but just thought I should point it out.
The yarn I used is Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk DK. The yarn is absolutely lovely. Warm and oh-so-soft. But I did not like knitting with it much, as I've said earlier. However, it wasn't too bad and I'm now knitting a hat from the same yarn to go with these.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!
(This could also count as an ABC-along post: E is for Easter.)








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Thanks so much for the compliments on my new bag Christine and Nicki :)

Pretty in pink

Here's another project from Marie Claire Idées (I just love that magazine!).



The french insturctions for the knitting part were quite easy to follow (well, it was an easy pattern) but the instructions for putting it all together were another thing! I translated them to the best of my ablity using a dictionary and still could not completely understand them (I think the problem is with my translation rather than the actual instructions). But going with what I could understand and studying the picture, I was able to do it. The knitting was done over a weekend two weeks ago, last weekend I put it all together and yesterday I attached the buttons. The yarn I used is a thin cotton yarn (Novita Kotiväki) held double (I had it in my stash with no particular purpose). One 200g skein was enough and I got plenty left over. The buttons and the cord are just for decoration.
Here's a detail shot:



And, Nicki, thank you so much for the offer! I'll let you know once I hear back from the stores.

Some stitching

Look! It's a peacock! It means I have finally finished part 3 of Martina's Sampler Mystery :) (Don't mention part 4 yet...)

And here's a chart that's gotten my attention:



I saw it in Nicki's blog few days ago. And made up my mind to order it only to find that it's sold out! How unfair :( They are doing a second printing and now I've just got to find a shop that I can pre-order it from. I know Needlecraft Corner is taking orders, but since they don't have a shopping cart ordering from them is not really an option for me (I'm not comfortable sending my credit card details via email). I've emailed some stores I've bought from previously, so I'll wait and see what they'll answer before I panic ;)

One small step

This is the finished right front piece of the lace cardigan I'm working on. Might seem insignificant to you, but this is really a lot of work and I'm starting to lose my faith in ever getting it done, so I just wanted to celebrate this small accomplishment by posting a picture of it.

In other knitting news, the new issue of Knitty is up! I want to knit Anatolia and Hedera.

New additions

Meet the newest members of our household, Olga and Bertil:



Olga is made using the wonderful pattern I found on Wee Wonderfuls (except that I made her bigger). Bertil is my own design.

Bertil really liked relaxing on the soft pillows and didn't want to pose for the camera much.



But Olga, she loved it! She could have gone on and on all day.

Friday evening

DH is out on a work thing tonight, so I have the whole evening to myself.
I'm going to be stuffing these...



...cutting these...



...and stitching, but I can't show you a picture of that because it's a model for a friend of mine.

But before any of that, I'm going to bake a cake.
(And yes, I realize it is already getting kind of late, so I better get moving.)

Apron for April

The migraine has been nagging at me today as well, but for most of the day, I've been able to function normally.

Here is an apron I sewed. I've been wanting to make one for a while now and the final bit of inspiration I needed was the theme for April in Amy's Tie One On: yellow and white. It's been a rather poor spring here so far this year (really, waking up in the morning and looking out of the windows makes me want to cry most mornings!) so I've been feeling the need to surround myself with cheery spring colors more than usual.



I made the pattern myself.
Here's a (bad) shot of me wearing it. I think it'll be fun to wear this while cleaning around the house :)

Planning a new quilting project

I had a whole day planned out. First something fun (shopping) then something important and productive (writing my thesis) and then some more fun (sewing up a few projects, finishing up a few things and stitching). But it wasn't meant to be. I woke up at 3.30 am with a head splitting migraine that still (at 7.30 pm) hasn't completely dissapeared, eventhough I've swallowed a mountain of medicine. So, instead of the new purchases, finished items and new projects started, I'm going to show you this photo of a project I'm planning on starting, probably during the long Easter weekend.



These will become a new quilt for our living room. The ones on the top row are new. I received them last week from here. The ones below them are fabrics I picked from my stash.

Yikes

Thank you so much Pörrö, for alerting me to the fact that my web counter was causing pop-ups to appear to some readers. I haven't seen them in our computer, so wasn't aware of their existence. I have now removed the counter. Please, let me know if the problem persists.

(I hate pop-ups, too.)

Easter arrives

Now, where are these round bunnies and little chicks going?



Why, they decided to come decorate our home for Easter!



(Idea courtesy of a Finnish craft magazine, Suuri Käsityölehti.)
The branches are a random assortment I picked up while taking a short afternoon walk. After Easter, the bunnies and chicks will be removed and I can enjoy them in their leafy glory (hopefully). A bit of spring inside.

Polka dots enter the kitchen

Thank you Nicki and Christine for the suggestions on my previous post! I'll definitely check them out.

Today I realized an idea I've been planning on doing for some months now and it hasn't got anything to do with knitting, stitching or sewing. I've seen this kind of thing done in so many magazines I can't remember them all, but I know at least Martha has had it.
See my cute new serving dish / cake platter?



It's actually a mug and a plate glued together from their bottoms:



I've been eyeing cheap dishes with this purpose in mind for a while now and when I saw these cute polka dot ones (I love polka dots!) today, I just had to take them home with me. The price of the new dish? 3.5 €.

Beautiful idea

I was reading through the archives at Whip Up and saw this picture:



What a brilliant idea for storing your postcards! Does anyone know where I could get one? The ones in the photo were purchased in Japan.

Spring bag

I just made myself a simple spring/summer bag. The handbag I often use is too small to carry magazines and other slightly bigger buys (although otherwise being the loveliest bag I've ever had), so I'm forever lugging ugly and commercial plastic bags or large canvas bags (meant for gorcery shopping). This is the perfect addition. It fits in my handbag when empty and is just the perfect size for some light shopping. As you can see, a magazine fits in very well :)



The fabric is heavy cotton and the lining is light cotton. The pattern is all my own.
Here's a close-up of the lining:



To bring some knitting content in, here's one sleeve-front piece of the Sunrise Circle Jacket. I finished it last night. It has been very enjoyable to knit and refreshingly different. The directions are very easy to follow, so if there's someone out there thinking about it, I say, just do it :)