After about 3 weeks off, work kicked my behind this week! I should have figured it was coming.
For reference, I hold 3 jobs, office manager at my cousin's rocking dance studio over in Oshawa, which involves regular travel between there and home in Toronto (evenings, and not counting dance competitions, which are coming up bloody fast!), Virtual Assistant for the Management Consulting firm I once was full time Executive Assistant for (went home office, this rocks) and bookkeeper for our friend's used bookstore over on Queen West here in Parkdale. Which means, sometimes everything falls on my lap at the same time and makes things a little....hectic.
Example, we are currently prepping for the dance competitions this spring, filling out entry forms, finalizing routines and costumes, that sort of thing. On top of the start of year end recital preparation (ordering the recital costumes, a pretty involved process, and we haven't even done the hip hop costumes yet!) and the regular scheduled stuff. Then, a massive proposal for a municipality came down the pike from the consulting firm, plus I have to make a quick run down to the bookstore to pick up the accounting to get that done!
I did manage to get the pieces cut out for my new dress using Simplicity 5914 from 1973, however I have not yet had the opportunity to run down to the Fashion District to pick up interfacing and I can't find the damned zipper I bought the same day I bought the fabric. I'm hoping to get both those tomorrow, cross your fingers! I really can't wait to get this dress done and on!
(Also, using Christmas money, I picked up Amy Butler's Style Stitches and am DYING to make two of the bags in this book.
Take Flight Handbag and Blossom Handbag
Aren't they amazing? So, I guess when I run downtown tomorrow, I'll be picking up materials for those two (and rooting in my stash in the morning).
I also have a whole upcoming list of sewing projects to share with you, probably this weekend.
If dance competitions and proposals and bookkeeping doesn't drive me insane first.
Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Let's Try This Again
Ok, seriously. I set up a blog and then ignore it? What kind of person am I?
So here's to a new year and hopefully a resolution I will stick to. To regularly update and actually USE this blog! Since I have so many projects on the go at all times, this just might help me keep track of it all.
Ok. First up. Ultra Long Stockings!
I found this knitting book from 1973 (the year I was born) in Value Village and I had to have it.
Full of early 1970's looks, some good, some, well.....not so good. I instantly fell madly in love with a pattern called "Striped Stockings"
I love long stockings. Store bought, hand knit, even hand sewn (yes, I do have a vintage sewing pattern for stockings. Will show that off in another post). So I knew I had to knit these....just not how the pattern originally is! A gal has to modernize ya know!
During a last minute, pre-Christmas run to Romni Wools , a favourite yarn shop of mine, I stumbled across Supersocke 100 Wellness III Color (stumbled across....HA! I gravitate towards the sock yarn section at Romni. It's the honest truth. I knit alot on transit! Socks are easy and portable and don't take up any room beyond my personal space). I chose colourway #1318, a lovely mix of pink, grey, red and black. And used this yarn to knit Diana Biggs' Striped Stocking Pattern.
The original pattern calls for 4 different solid colours, original yarn in the 1973 pattern is Sirdar Top Line Nylon DK. This yarn is unfindable in an online search, and given that the pattern is 37 years old, it's safe to say it's long been discontinued. The pattern is simple, a 1 x 1 rib all the way through, switching colors every 27 rounds and decreasing every 12th round after the first 45 rounds down from the original CO of 86 sts to 58 sts at the ankle. Basic heel, basic toe. I maintained the rib, the decrease, did a slip stitch heel flap (I admit to being rather partial to a slip stitch heel flap on a simple sock) instead of the basic St st flap in the original pattern.
Here is the first stocking, finished! (second is on the needles)
The striping on the second stocking isn't going to match up to the first (it could, but I can be lazy that way), so I think I'll call these Pippi Longstockings!
Next on the agenda is a sewing project, pattern from 1973 found at Value Village. (I think I may have a soft spot for that year!)
Simplicity 5914 (note the original price on the pattern? $1.00! Canadian! I paid about $0.69 at Value Village, most patterns at my store run that price, a handful for one reason or another are $0.99.)
Went to The Workroom down on Queen West in my 'hood (Parkdale) and picked up some fantastic cotton fabric!
Will be doing View 2 with the contrast collar & cuffs shown in View 1. The purple print is the main body of the dress and the peach will be the collar & cuffs. Might make a matchy matchy bag if there is enough fabric left over. Still have to pick up some interfacing, then I can get started!
So that's what's on tap at this exact moment. Well....not really. Have a pile of other projects sitting around. Need to sort through them to tell you all about them! And show the finished Pippi Longstockings once stocking #2 is done and they're on my legs. And show off the dress during construction and after!
See you soon!
So here's to a new year and hopefully a resolution I will stick to. To regularly update and actually USE this blog! Since I have so many projects on the go at all times, this just might help me keep track of it all.
Ok. First up. Ultra Long Stockings!
I found this knitting book from 1973 (the year I was born) in Value Village and I had to have it.
Full of early 1970's looks, some good, some, well.....not so good. I instantly fell madly in love with a pattern called "Striped Stockings"
I love long stockings. Store bought, hand knit, even hand sewn (yes, I do have a vintage sewing pattern for stockings. Will show that off in another post). So I knew I had to knit these....just not how the pattern originally is! A gal has to modernize ya know!
During a last minute, pre-Christmas run to Romni Wools , a favourite yarn shop of mine, I stumbled across Supersocke 100 Wellness III Color (stumbled across....HA! I gravitate towards the sock yarn section at Romni. It's the honest truth. I knit alot on transit! Socks are easy and portable and don't take up any room beyond my personal space). I chose colourway #1318, a lovely mix of pink, grey, red and black. And used this yarn to knit Diana Biggs' Striped Stocking Pattern.
The original pattern calls for 4 different solid colours, original yarn in the 1973 pattern is Sirdar Top Line Nylon DK. This yarn is unfindable in an online search, and given that the pattern is 37 years old, it's safe to say it's long been discontinued. The pattern is simple, a 1 x 1 rib all the way through, switching colors every 27 rounds and decreasing every 12th round after the first 45 rounds down from the original CO of 86 sts to 58 sts at the ankle. Basic heel, basic toe. I maintained the rib, the decrease, did a slip stitch heel flap (I admit to being rather partial to a slip stitch heel flap on a simple sock) instead of the basic St st flap in the original pattern.
Here is the first stocking, finished! (second is on the needles)
The striping on the second stocking isn't going to match up to the first (it could, but I can be lazy that way), so I think I'll call these Pippi Longstockings!
Next on the agenda is a sewing project, pattern from 1973 found at Value Village. (I think I may have a soft spot for that year!)
Simplicity 5914 (note the original price on the pattern? $1.00! Canadian! I paid about $0.69 at Value Village, most patterns at my store run that price, a handful for one reason or another are $0.99.)
Went to The Workroom down on Queen West in my 'hood (Parkdale) and picked up some fantastic cotton fabric!
Will be doing View 2 with the contrast collar & cuffs shown in View 1. The purple print is the main body of the dress and the peach will be the collar & cuffs. Might make a matchy matchy bag if there is enough fabric left over. Still have to pick up some interfacing, then I can get started!
So that's what's on tap at this exact moment. Well....not really. Have a pile of other projects sitting around. Need to sort through them to tell you all about them! And show the finished Pippi Longstockings once stocking #2 is done and they're on my legs. And show off the dress during construction and after!
See you soon!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Well hi there!
I'm vampchick21, or Vampy, or just Teri I suppose. I craft. Specifically, I knit, crochet, sew, occassionally paint (not very artistically thought) and conduct other craftly activities that catch my fancy. So I figured, a blog, why not? All the cool kids are doing it, and I'm nothing without caving in to peer pressure.
That and well, I've got so much stuff on the go right now that I figure it'll be a bloody good place to catalogue all my crap.
Now, I've come to the conclusion lately that I spend WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY to much cashola on clothes. Clothes I don't even need at that. Impluse clothing shopper, yup, that's me alright. And I wondered, what happened to me? I used to lurve thrift shopping, I swear I got high off the smell of dust and old clothes, I loved the thrill of stumbling over some little gem tucked on a rack between a mumu and hideous pink polyester pants. Seriously, I once discovered two 100% silk Chinese dresses, handmade ones at that, between the two aforsaid icky items. For $2 a piece. Oh hell yea! I'd raid my parent's closet for stuff they didn't wear anymore (oh how I loved that old brown plaid shirt of my dad's) and lay claim to the items my little brother outgrew. I even took Fashion Design at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, although I didn't finish the course. I made my own clothes in addition to thrifting.
And then somewhere along the way I got horribly caught up in buying the latest, greatest in fashion mass produced buy it now before it becomes soooo 5 minutes ago. I don't even want to think about how much money I could drop in one half hour shopping spree after work.
It has to stop. I can sew. I can knit. I can crochet. And I'm returning to that. Hell, I'm wondering why I bought ten pairs of socks at H&M back in the fall when I can knit my own in a snap!
So here, in addition to keeping track of my creative projects, I'm logging my return to my old, thrifty ways. And I'll be a thousand times more fashionable and myself as I do so. I'm going through my closet, and yes, my husband's. Asked my folks for their old clothes, and to pass on the request. From here on in, I'm going to make and refashion as much as I possibly can.
Undergarments and slinky things to taunt my husband excepted. Sometimes. Because I happen to have a book full of knitting patterns for things to taunt my husband. It's called Naughty Needles, I highly recommend it. :)
Ok, so here's some of what I have on tap right now.
This is a top I bought last spring at Suzy Shears. Suzy's is a fave store of mine since it's actually quite cheap. However, the top did NOT flatter me at all and it languished in the back of my closet. But I love the fabric, so I pulled it out and decided to make a bag out of it. So I got my hands on NewLook Pattern #6425, and modified View D. I used the straps of the top, sewn together, as the strap of the bag. I still need to add snaps to close it, but I'm very happy with the results.
I even used the fabric from the top for the lining. I'm eyeing the fabric scaps to make toys for my two cats, since they didn't use the pattern pieces for a bed while I was cutting.
I bought this pair of jeans a while back at Jacob's outlet on sale, but failed to match the size on the price tag with the size on the tag inside the jeans, therefore, the damned things never fit.
These are destined for skirthood. Pics to follow in a few days.
I also have a few knit projects on the go. One that I do have a picture of is a knit bag, the pattern for which I obtained from Knit Today, Issue #17, a British knitting mag. Scroll to the bottom of the link to see the image of this bag from the magazine. I'm using the recommended yarn, Rowan Felted Tweed (a very yummy yarn) in red and in orange, since I only had two skeins of red, not enough for the bag. But I estimate the red should be enough for the front and back panel and the orange is for the handle and the appliqued leaves. Here's a finished panel
And a close up of the panel that I hope shows the cables and the bobbles.
I'm also working on a sweater from Knit Simple, another British mag that gives freebies (I love freebies). Pics in a few days as the pieces are kinda, well, buried under a bunch of knitting and sewing stuff. Actually, this weekend I hope to list all the UFOs I have and put them up here so I know what's what. And I'm making a crocheted rug that I hope doesn't look too much like I threw an afghan on the floor.
Although that might be neat actually.
That and well, I've got so much stuff on the go right now that I figure it'll be a bloody good place to catalogue all my crap.
Now, I've come to the conclusion lately that I spend WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY to much cashola on clothes. Clothes I don't even need at that. Impluse clothing shopper, yup, that's me alright. And I wondered, what happened to me? I used to lurve thrift shopping, I swear I got high off the smell of dust and old clothes, I loved the thrill of stumbling over some little gem tucked on a rack between a mumu and hideous pink polyester pants. Seriously, I once discovered two 100% silk Chinese dresses, handmade ones at that, between the two aforsaid icky items. For $2 a piece. Oh hell yea! I'd raid my parent's closet for stuff they didn't wear anymore (oh how I loved that old brown plaid shirt of my dad's) and lay claim to the items my little brother outgrew. I even took Fashion Design at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, although I didn't finish the course. I made my own clothes in addition to thrifting.
And then somewhere along the way I got horribly caught up in buying the latest, greatest in fashion mass produced buy it now before it becomes soooo 5 minutes ago. I don't even want to think about how much money I could drop in one half hour shopping spree after work.
It has to stop. I can sew. I can knit. I can crochet. And I'm returning to that. Hell, I'm wondering why I bought ten pairs of socks at H&M back in the fall when I can knit my own in a snap!
So here, in addition to keeping track of my creative projects, I'm logging my return to my old, thrifty ways. And I'll be a thousand times more fashionable and myself as I do so. I'm going through my closet, and yes, my husband's. Asked my folks for their old clothes, and to pass on the request. From here on in, I'm going to make and refashion as much as I possibly can.
Undergarments and slinky things to taunt my husband excepted. Sometimes. Because I happen to have a book full of knitting patterns for things to taunt my husband. It's called Naughty Needles, I highly recommend it. :)
Ok, so here's some of what I have on tap right now.
This is a top I bought last spring at Suzy Shears. Suzy's is a fave store of mine since it's actually quite cheap. However, the top did NOT flatter me at all and it languished in the back of my closet. But I love the fabric, so I pulled it out and decided to make a bag out of it. So I got my hands on NewLook Pattern #6425, and modified View D. I used the straps of the top, sewn together, as the strap of the bag. I still need to add snaps to close it, but I'm very happy with the results.
I even used the fabric from the top for the lining. I'm eyeing the fabric scaps to make toys for my two cats, since they didn't use the pattern pieces for a bed while I was cutting.
I bought this pair of jeans a while back at Jacob's outlet on sale, but failed to match the size on the price tag with the size on the tag inside the jeans, therefore, the damned things never fit.
These are destined for skirthood. Pics to follow in a few days.
I also have a few knit projects on the go. One that I do have a picture of is a knit bag, the pattern for which I obtained from Knit Today, Issue #17, a British knitting mag. Scroll to the bottom of the link to see the image of this bag from the magazine. I'm using the recommended yarn, Rowan Felted Tweed (a very yummy yarn) in red and in orange, since I only had two skeins of red, not enough for the bag. But I estimate the red should be enough for the front and back panel and the orange is for the handle and the appliqued leaves. Here's a finished panel
And a close up of the panel that I hope shows the cables and the bobbles.
I'm also working on a sweater from Knit Simple, another British mag that gives freebies (I love freebies). Pics in a few days as the pieces are kinda, well, buried under a bunch of knitting and sewing stuff. Actually, this weekend I hope to list all the UFOs I have and put them up here so I know what's what. And I'm making a crocheted rug that I hope doesn't look too much like I threw an afghan on the floor.
Although that might be neat actually.
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