wiksten tank top

I found some time over the weekend to sew the Wiksten tank top I ordered a few weeks ago. The top came together quickly and the directions were easy to follow. I like that it included french seams as these are always very pleasing. I am happy with the fit and lines of this top and see it easily becoming a wardrobe staple in the summer with a pair of shorts and in the cooler months under a cardigan or blazer.

I bought the fabric as a remnant from Hannah of Hetterson when she was having a fabric sale recently. It cost me $8 and I had just enough for the top. It is a Japanese organic cotton gauze in the most pretty shade of blue chambray and though it is gauze it's opaque and has a really nice feel and drape. I will be making this top again for sure.

weekend project

This project was all the husbands. A freshly painted powder room. The walls needed to be smoothed several times and it took quite a few days.
The color is called temptation by Benjamin Moore.
Now to hang the black and white photographs and mirror back up and it will be all done.
A deep gray with a bit of blue in it (almost black) and it turned out exactly how I wanted.
Fancy that.

intuitive

A charcoal gray hat for me knit with leftover alpaca wool from a baby sweater. Elizabeth Zimmerman's surprise which is also my most favorited knit on Ravelry.
Intuitive designed by Julia Zahle. Slouchy and loose and very easy to wear and in this alpaca so very soft.
Perhaps it will make these last days of winter all the sweeter.

rambled

All of a sudden I have the urge to knit hats so I am indulging my desire and my stash.

Here is the first one made for my boy. I have had the yarn in my stash for about 4 years and it is a Cascade 220 wool but, I no longer have the tag so I don't know the color name. I call it green and he calls it gray. It's such a nice shade and it fits him perfectly.

My daughter has off from school this week and today she is feeling under the weather. We have been doing loads of coloring, playing ponies and reading books. She loves to draw ice cream cones. We discovered finding 'goldbug' in one of her brothers Richard Scarry books which has been a source of great fun for her.

The name of this hat is Rambled. Here is the Ravelry link to the pattern.

butterflies

We visited the Museum of Natural History to see the butterflies.

eliette

This is my first Citronille pattern I have done. I really admire both the sewing and knitting patterns and would love for them to be translated. I have a handful of the sewing patterns but, have been intimidated since they are in French and I never managed to work on last years New Years resolution to learn French. Luckily it wasn't too hard to follow with a few basic translations looked up on the web when I traced and cut the pattern which mind you I did when it was still Autumn.

The pattern is Eliette and I just loved the color scheme of the illustration so I used it. I already had the caramel fabric in a very fine wale corduroy almost like a velveteen. While sewing it I just referred to the diagrams and if you decide to try this particular pattern it was quite easy if you have some sewing experience. I think a stiffer fabric like this works nicely for it.

valentine collage

I made this collage last week for my valentine after seeing the idea on Design Sponge. I chose to use die cut scrap relief imagery that I already had from D. Blumchen & Co. instead of trimming photos from magazines, vintage cards etc. and chose to use fiber board rather then cardstock. I plans to attach this to a backing and frame at some point.

The ampersand is such a great way of saying you and me.

If you are thinking of making one you still have time. It's a fast and fun project.

I have some beautiful red heart boxes to fill with candy tomorrow. And I am dreaming of a bouquet made by Amy.

snuff box

My first snuff box. I am going to start a collection.

Mid 1800s Agate Box, Brass
Size: 1.75 x 1.5 x 0.5 Inches
Condition: Very Good. A couple dents in the metal frame.
Description: A very high quality mid-Victorian agate box- probably a snuff box. The agate specimens are particularly beautiful with rusty carnelian swirls and purple tinted gray crystals.

Yes, like Lord Grantham on Downton Abbey.
Are you like me and impatient to find out things with the show? Even though I've spoiled some surprises I still can't wait to watch each week.

Hope you have a nice weekend.

flukra

Snow has just begun falling outside. We are supposed to get a light dusting which is lovely like everything has a little bit of lace on it. How fitting then that I finished knitting and blocking Flukra today. I started knitting this in early December and first mentioned it here. As I mentioned in the post Flukra means 'snow falling gently in large flakes.' This is the largest lace weight knitting I have done and it was very nice to work with Sanguine Gryphon yarn. Working with nice materials is very important to me. The shawl can wrap around and around or be worn loose. I love the pattern and It is so light on the shoulders and gentle feeling. I really love it.

Oh, and the yarn color is called - Big Bad Wolf.

Happy Birthday S

Today is Scarlet's 4th birthday. At 4:33 PM.

We had a very exciting weekend starting off Saturday morning with a pretend sleepover/pajama party at our house with some of her friends. The party had dancing, face painting, crafts, games, breakfast and fairy cakes. A giant golden balloon, origami butterflies, confetti system garland and balloons. The girls got the surprise balls I said I would make with a ball, bird pin, tiny horse and a chocolate kiss. There was a piñata too.



Sunday was another party here with Grammie, Pop Pop, Uncle Chris and Aunt Kelly and today I visited her preschool which was fun as I got to see her in action. There was music class today and I learned a song about bluebirds flying through the window. The kids hold hands in a circle and then one is the bird and taps another and slowly they all become bluebirds. The children raise their hands for the bluebirds to fly through the window. So cute. Also, more fairy cakes were had.

I am so lucky to have this little girl in my life who is happy, sweet, smart and creative. She has a great sense of humor and is certainly the funniest, lightest one of us all.
Of course, I say all these things being her Mom but really it's true plus she is my best girl friend. I am lucky indeed.

gingham linen pencil pouch

One morning this week I decided to make something whimsical and sweet and pulled out Zakka Sewing to make this bunny pencil pouch. I have had this two sided gingham and dot linen for a long time and thought it would be sweet paired with natural linen much like the bunny in the instructions though that one is made from a black gingham.

It was very simple and sweet to sew. This is a great book if you like trying out different designs with various fabrics and both machine and hand stitching.

It will be nice to carry out in my bag with some pencils for sketching when the mood strikes.

Here are a few other projects I have made from this book

balloon pouch
felt coasters


I am busy getting ready for the party weekend. Have a nice one and I will be back to share more soon.