finished: fabric pumpkins.

When I first shared the pictures of these little guys' they were still in progress but I thought that they deserved a proper FO photo shoot. The fabric was perfect! I saw it on Etsy and bookmarked it long before making the pumpkins, but I had always sort of had them in mind. I knew that if I had made them out of anything else I would have been disappointed, so I bought the fabric and I couldn't be happier! It's all vintage and I got quite a lot of yardage; this is going to see me through quite a few holiday projects.

▲▼▲▼▲Project Particulars▲▼▲▼▲
Inspiration:
♥Fabric Pumpkin Tutorial by Danielle Thompson
Materials:
♥Vintage Fabric from Etsy seller D'lish's Designs♥Polyfill

♥Yarn

♥Doll or Tapestry Needle

Time:

♥Twenty minutes to a half-an hour (each)

Final Thoughts:

I loved this project! It was super simple and I could make them while watching TV. HOWEVER, the doll needle is very sharp. I was making some white ones to sell at a event and I stuck the needle through my finger, drenching all but one of them in blood. Totes gory, right?! I hate scary things, so I threw them out.

What are you working on?

<3

Robbie.

Coming up...

-the finished Bird Mask.

..

-MORE Vintage Halloween Inspiration

-A Haircut

-and maybe a finished sock?

...Stay Tuned!!!

WIP: Fabric Pumpkins

This is just a sneak peek of some pumpkins I'm making using Danielle's tutorial.

I'm not much for scary Halloween decorations. I tend to like really cute "autumnal" sorts of things. I'll give you all the details when these lil' guys are finished, I promise!

Have a fun Tuesday night!

<3

Robbie

Coming up...

-A Work in Progress: Bird Mask.

-Vintage Halloween Inspiration

-Finished Fabric Pumpkins

-Punching (ANOTHER) Rug.
-A Haircut

-and maybe a finished sock?

...Stay Tuned!!!!

The (Finished) Black Apple Apron!

I finished the apron!!!!

There's nothing like twelfth hour crafting. I was pinning and sewing up until 6:30 today, knowing I had to have this gift ready for 7:00. I was so excited to wrap it and give it to Jaqi of Il Filato Dolce as a going away gift. Jaqi and I have recently developed a pretty close friendship (and at lightning speed) after knowing each other for more than five years. I hope her journey to Portland goes as planned, and that everything is perfect in her new home!

In addition to "the apron that launched a million migraines", I also gave her a copy of David and I's favorite cook book, Apples for Jam. The photography is stunning and the recipes are so simple and rustic that they would make anyone feel like a rock star in the kitchen.

What is your favorite cookbook?

I'm sure you all want the real dirt on this project, so here it goes:

Apron Pattern: "Cafe Apron", Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotter.

Embroidery Pattern: "The Black Apple" for Sublime Stitching.

Rick Rack trim Inspiration: "Farmgirl Pillow", Stitched in Time by Alicia Paulson.

All components, with the exception of the embroidery, were vintage and found on Etsy.

I hope you all love this FO as much as I do!

<3

Robbie.

Coming Up...

-Connor the Clown: His Journey Begins-A Work in Progress; The Bathroom.-The First Roll of Film From My Diana Mini

-Book Discussion; The Life of Pi

...and much more

A Work In Progress; Black Apple Apron

Hey!

I have an embroidery marathon ahead of me on this long holiday weekend! This project has a deadline (kinda), so I have to move fast. Yesterday, I cut the pieces for the apron and pressed the seam allowances.

Today, I've already embroidered five little trees; I have five little houses, a banner, and some quick sewing to do. I'd like to have this finished by tomorrow night.

Wish me luck!!

<3

Robbie.

Coming Up...

-Connor the Clown-A Work in Progress; The Bathroom.-The First Roll of Film From My Diana Mini-Planning and Prepping: A Braided Rug

-A Trip to the Zoo with Il Filato Dolce

-Book Discussion; The Life of Pi

...and so much more.

Project Planning: Making an Apron.

I have a final for my summer course tomorrow, so this is all that I really have the energy to share. I like to plan out my projects with little collages, to see how all the pieces fit together.

What do you think so far? How do you catalog your ideas?

<3

Robbie.

Coming Up...

-Connor the Clown-Our Bathroom; A Work in Progress.-The First Roll of Film From My Diana Mini-A Braided Rug-Tuesday Night Knitting Club
...and so much more!

E is for Etsy!

Everyone loves Etsy.com.

I've been sort of obsessed recently.



These lil' birdies came in saturday-ish? I put them up immediately. I'v been looking for alternatives to paint (we rent) to make it a lil' more exciting. These wall decals from VinylWallArt hit the spot. Check out the Quail, I love it :-)



Adrienne is quite the scratcher! She destroyed her old reflective collar. I had this lil' polka dot guy from theModernPet in my faves forever! I'm so glad no one else bought it before me. The collar is actually pretty well made, and most importantly has that safety clip that pops the it off if it were to get caught on something. (I know the picture is blurry but, it tooks few treats to get her to sit that still.)



Last, but certainly not least, we have BrainScan coffee. I bought a half pound to try it out first. I can be really picky about coffee, I know what I like. It seems Starbucks leaves a strange ashy aftertaste anymore, so I figured it was time to move on. Alex hand roasts organic fair trade beans for the tastiest brew on the block. I'm sort of addicted to her Small World blend (1/2 Sumatra, 1/2 Costa Rican). It's delicious and there is no coffee belly ache if I skip breakfast.

in other news:

-I'm just about finished a pair of socks! They should be done in a few days.

-I've planted some Basil and Parsley, and had an issue with some Tom Thumb pea seeds (cutest thing ever!). Luckily, I found some more and they should be here soon.

-I've been working on a reversible apron for quite a while, and just realized I cut a few pieces on the wrong side!!!!!! I don't have anymore of the fabric and neither does the place I bought it. I may just keep going and assemble a panel or two backwards.



---Miranda July Makes Buttons---

So, that's how buttons are made?
I had no clue until now! I'm not sure if I'd have the patience for that "ferberization" step.



<3
knitxcore.

TheAbsentKnitter rox....

Because, not only did she send me some awesome stuff:

But, she also put up a sweet tutorial on how to make *awesome* star pillows on her blog:

I made this one with some fabric Dave picked out about 2 months ago. I have a few sewing WIP's laying around and I was apprehensive to start something new, but the pillow went super fast, and I already had everything I needed.

I don't really do any sort of patchwork, and I still flew right through this project. It was a lot of fun watching the star shape up. My only regret is that I may not have stuffed it enough. I can always go back and fix that when I'm feeling ambitous, maybe I'll just toss it in the dryer and see if it fluffs up.

To make one for yourself (or just revel in Karen's awesomeness), check out her blog @ TheAbsentKnitter.

WIP Wednesday.

I know I've talked a lot about my Moderne Log Cabin Blanket, but I haven't actually shown the people out there in BloGlAND my progress. It's already huge! I've used about 10 balls of Elann.com's Sonata and I have 10 more waiting in a bag. Unfortunately, that's not even enough. I'm terrible at math, it was one of my first big projects and I thought that 50 grams of yarn was the same yardage no matter what I used. I was wrong.

It's been a pretty relaxing knit, tho. Row after row of garter stitch on size 6 needles really does keep you from punching everyone you know in the face and locking yourself in your bedroom. It's also convenient when watching movies with subtitles, as you don't have to pay much attention to what you're doing.

Look what the KokkA fabric turned into!!!! yeah, it's a doorstop. I'm still in shock that I actually made this. Of course, it's from my new favorite book ever, Simple Sewing. The book is set up into different levels, this project being a level 3. I approached it kind of nervously, since I haven't sewn in quite awhile. I didn't want to make any mistakes because, I'd only bought enough fabric to make it once with no room to mess anything up. So, I was pretty excited that it came out so nicely. If any of you are planning on doing this one yourself, Lotta Jansdotter buys extremely large magic beans from the extremely large magic bean store and 5 lbs. wasn't nearly enough. I opted to stuff the top with fiberfill, thanks to some good advice from The Absent Knitter's Journal.

<3

knitxcore.

Cafe Apron

I finally got around to putting the pocket on my mum's Cafe Apron. You can still see through it a lil' but it was Mother's Day and I didn't have time or fabric to do it a third time. Mum loved it, anyway. I can't go on enough about how much I love this book! I started the doorstop, I'm about halfway through it. I was soooo careful when cutting that $15 a yard fabric. I lined everything up so I wouldn't waste any of it.
I found another AWESOME fabric/notions/yarn site called SupErBuZZy, it has the coolest fabrics and some Japanese yarn called MakeMake. I can't wait to order some stuff!

I think I told you all about the super cool hibiscus tree I picked up last week. Well, a couple blooms popped open and they are beautiful. The rest of my container/deck garden is doing well. The bulbs I planted are staring to push through, and the parsley is starting to get bushy. My sage hasn't shot up yet, it's been almost two weeks. Hopefully, we'll see something soon.

<3

knitxcore.

We're throwin' down our push brooms, we're hangin' up our apron ties.

I'm probably the last person in blogland to catch this "sewing bug", but I finally ordered Lotta Jansdotter's "Simple Sewing". The patterns in it are soooo modern and cool! I was amazed by the doorstop I saw on someone else's blog and that's what initially sold me. But upon further inspection, I pretty much love everything. Aprons and potholders, bags galore, and even some cool organizational things fill the pages of this awesome new book. I'm in love!

I have already finished the apron part of my first project, I still need to make the pocket. I was going to use the yellow fabric from the picture at the top but, it's just a little too thin and I'm afraid it may rip off. Other than my fabric choice for the pocket, I'm pretty excited. The instructions are so clear, they made me feel like a rockstar while cutting and sewing in my craft room. I picked up that cute-sy fruit print at JoAnn's, believe it or not. I know it's the place that cool goes to die, but I wanted to jump in and start as soon as the book came. I have, however, ordered some AMAZING fabric at Purlsoho to start on another apron and a doorstop that I'm giving as a housewarming gift. KoKKa fabric is pretty much the cutest line I have ever seen, even though it can be a bit price-y I think it's worth for the unique, brightly colored prints.

in the sculpture garden.

i finally finished noni bags "in the sculpture garden", and just in time for my mom's birthday. i'm going to give it to her tonight. i hope she doesn't hate it. it's not like she would say anything even if she did. you know how moms are...

Pattern Particulars
Needles: Clover Takumi Circulars sz. 11, Clover Takumi Straight needles sz. 8
Materials: MC- Cascade 220 col. no. 8886, CC- Cascade Quatro col. no. 5012, Pink Acrylic Handles from LYS, Purple wool felt (for lining), 1" pinback buttons fron CubistLiterature's etsy shop and a sew in snap.

Loved: The yarn, the ease of the pattern, the flowers!!!

Hated: Sewing in the lining, and the bazillion tries it took to get is felted just right.

i'm really proud of it, and really beats the crap out the bag i made her last year. OHHHHHHHHH!!! P.S. i went with one pocket, you can't really see it in the pictures.