Baby Hats!

For Christmas I received Welcoming Home Baby the Handcrafted Way from my boyfriend.  He knew I'd been making baby blankets and hats for friends who've been expecting.  I've decided to start out with a couple hats.  The pattern calls for size 17 double pointed so I should be able to knit them up pretty quick.  Which is perfect because a work friend is expecting in early January.  The sweet dreams hat also looks like a great way to use some of my hand spun yarn!

Hot dogs and Hot rods

Went to a car show at the Vienna Beef Factory today.  Great weather for a car show.

This Rolls Royce had lots of classy details.

This car is my style.  I like the silver flames.

I thought I liked Buick's before today and after seeing cars like this I've decided a vintage Buick is definitely what I want!

I loved the little skull details in this car. 

Another couple of awesome Buicks.

Krystyne was a pretty bad ass car.  Lots of custom details.  

Behind this car you can see a row of vintage bikes...if you can even see anything but this nice yellow car.

Although its not a vintage I had to get a picture in my friends car.  Thanks Jaime!

Is it Halloween yet?

I've started prepairing for Halloween!  Now don't think I'm too early, I have holiday rules. 

1. No Halloween decorations before October 1st, and no Christmas decorations before Black Friday.

2. Halloween decorations must be removed the weekend following Halloween and Christmas decorations much be taken down the weekend after New Years.

3. The only exception....The Nightmare Before Christmas.  This is a good movie anytime.

Of course us crafters will have to start crafting much farther out to ensure crafts are done in time for a holiday. Like I previously mentioned I got the Just Cross Stitch Halloween edition.  Irony...I'm using it to make Christmas presents!  Here is the progress.

 

Also on needles is a black lace shawl.  I started this quite some time ago but had it stashed away.  Here is a link to the pattern.

JoAnns recently had a sale on Holiday Fabric so I bought some cute grey fabric with spiders and webs.  I plan on making an A line skirt with this.  Isn't it cute?

I realized all these current projects had a Halloween Theme.  Has anyone else started Holiday projects?

Summer Shorts - Butterick 8170

At the Wicker Park fest a few weekends ago, I noticed a lot of girls had high waisted shorts. That inspired me to use this Butterick pattern 8170 and left over fabric from my red office dress.

When I initially put these shorts together they were a little larger than I wanted.  I figured they were made of cotton and I could throw then in the dryer a littler longer and might shrink a little. They shrank almost too much.  Of course I washed the fabric before I started sewing but this makes me want to wash cotton fabric twice before I sew with it.  Does this happen with anyone else?

The Circle Skirt

This is my new favorite skirt!  Got the instructions from Sew What! Skirts.  Its a little shorter than I wanted but works great with a t-shirt. I already bought more fabric to make another.  It was so easy I finished it up after work on evening.

New Floral Dress - Simplicity 4298

Finished my new floral dress!  Same pattern as the little roses dress, Simplicity 4298 version #5.  I think this fabric worked great for this dress.

While I am happy with the finished project I was intimidated with the belt instructions.  Both dresses I've made look much better with a belt but I just made do with one I already had. After playing around online I found someone else who had the same problem with this pattern.  I found her blog post through Vintage Pattern Wiki.  She illustrated how she created the perfect matching belt for her dresses (both of which are so cute!).  Thank you for posting Aimee.

Stitches 2012

It went so fast! Probably because I could only look at all the pretty yarn and couldn't buy much.  Here are a few pictures.

A sample pattern from the next Knitters Magazine.

so much pretty yarn

Yarnbomb!

Counting Down to Stitches 2012

Its almost time again! A knitter's dream of yarn and patterns and knitting accessories all under one roof.  This year I have been trying to budget so I've thought about what my spending limit should be this year (its hard not to blow your budget on fancy yarn!)  I went through my baskets of yarn however and found the following projects I've bought in the past years at stitches.

 

Whats the phrase? My eyes are bigger than my stomach? I think that fits here. This is just what I've bought at Stitches, not including other knitting projects and sewing prjects (and the cross stitch supplies I bought earlier this week). And I wonder where all my money went to put myself on a budget in the first place?

Maybe I can allow myself a small budget if I find something I have to have. I am thinking "A Stitch in Time" by Jane Waller and Susan Crawford which I have not been able to find here in the US without spending a fortune on shipping.  I will still be going and taking lots of pictures of things I want to buy.  See you all there!

Halloween Cross Stitch

Its never too early to start thinking about Halloween.  I will admit I've started thinking about my costume and yesterday I picked up Just Cross Stitch Halloween Special Issue 2012.  There are a few cute designs I plan on making as birthday presents or Christmas presents.  Yes, I give Halloween themed presents at Christmas.  Its usually between myself, my mom and my aunt; they inspired my love of the holiday. I am planning on making the design called Wings and Things for myself.

I found this magazine at Barnes and Noble and I probably will take a look for a Christmas one too. They have little pillows and ornaments that would make quick but cute gifts.  I'll keep you posted once I make one.

Historical Fashion

Huzaah! Went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire this weekend.  I wore a dress that my aunt put together about 10 years ago for me.  Here are some pictures of me, my dress and my friend Christine in chain maille.

While I love this dress and have gotten use out of it for the past 10 years (yes, I am a renaissance faire nerd and proud of it!) I can't help but dream of a more elaborate new costume.  I found this pattern at Simplicity and am trying to convice my aunt to help me with it.  It calls for more than 6 yards of home decor weight fabric (which means $$).  I don't think its a project I will be starting soon but I can always dream can't I?

Here are some more pictures from the faire.

Ladies in Waiting, these are the type costumes I would love.

Mmmmm....

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth I.

A beautifully dressed Lady I stopped in the street. Another example of a dress I would love to have and wear to the faire one day. 

Courtship of Princess Leia Hat

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away.....I was a Star Wars Geek.  Recently I found some old Star Wars novels I had from high school in my parents attic.  I'm in the middle of reading The Courtship of Princess Leia which is perfect because I am currently knitting a Pincess Leia hat for a co-worker.

I found this pattern on Ravelry and it quite easy to follow so far. I think I am going to make one for myself too.  (The buns look like they would keep my ears warm in the winter!)

Simplicity 4298

My next project will be Simplicity 4298 #5.  I used version #2 of this pattern before to make my tan dress with roses (see 60s weekend dress). It was easy to follow and I love the variety that came with this one pattern.  

Although I'm still using a floral fabric its quite different than the other fabric I used. I loved the vintage look of the small roses but I don't usually wear such light colors.  Most of my clothes are black and while I am trying to get away from that I still like dark colors.  This new fabric has a little bit of both.  Its a navy blue background with asian inspired flowers of all colors.  

Now that I've been buying and creating vintage dresses I've notice many bright colors people wore in past decades compared to today.  Even modern colored dresses tend to not be as bright as is decades past.  Although I would like to add more colors I can't help but love wearing black sometimes. 

Collared Red Dress

Here are pictures of my finished red dress from a vintage Simplicity pattern.  Its a great dress to wear the office and I added a black scarf to give it a little more vintage flare.  My friend saw me and asked if I was a stewardess, lol.  I also included a picture of the nice button I found.  It had a little anchor on it, how perfect for a vintage dress!