Crocheted lace

Well, this is getting a bit ridiculous isn't it? I haven't done much of anything craft-wise in a couple of weeks. In lieu of actual honest-to-god new stuff that I have been working on, I give you ... crafts from college!

During my last year of school I started crocheting again. I learned to crochet as a small child and learned how to make really, really big granny squares. I generally told people they were baby blankets. I could crochet, I just couldn't start or stop the squares so I just kept going. 

In College a friend's mother was knitting lace. I was stunned. It was gorgeous! And she had patterns for crocheted lace. So I started crocheting again, but this time it was really, really tiny. I made yards and yards of the stuff. I made pillowcase and sheet edgings for several people but only kept one pillowcase edging for myself. Here it is on a satin pillowcase that I made for Willa. Apparently sleeping on satin keeps curls from snarling.

I have been working on another pillowcase edging, I though I would give Willa another pillowcase, but the lace is now too long and I hate ripping out. I'm waiting a decent interval before I take it apart.

Peaks Island Hood

This is the Peaks Island Hood by Ysolda. I bought the pattern on Ravelry.com 


This is the project that I started to keep my hands busy during Thanksgiving. It's pretty straightforward and involves long stretches of seed stitch, so it's great for watching movies.


Other than this I really haven't been making anything. I've been sick (a very nasty cold has been sitting in our house), we had Thanksgiving break which coincided with an inch of snow that shut down the city for 3 days and made sure that everyone was stuck together in the house for most of Thanksgiving week. 


I am singularly uninspired by the projects that I picked out to make for the girls this holiday season. Maybe I'll change gears and make them fun slippers instead. Willa has also requested some mom-made shirts. Apparently when she tries to wear an entirely mom-made outfit she only has one shirt to choose from. I do have one shirt underway, Hermosa from Studio Tantrum, but it's in fleece which I don't think is what Willa had in mind. 


Mostly I just think that I have phlegm in the head from my cold and it's making me all foggy and unable to work. 

St. Nicholas is right around the corner!

And I haven't started cleaning and sewing yet! Eek! I have a week though and I think I can do it. Willa picked out a lovely flowered flannel sheet at Goodwill and would like a lovely long nightgown. I would like it to have matching long pants. Nightgowns are pointless for keeping you warm at night, I like flannel pants and wool socks --through the end of April usually.

My plan for St. Nicholas gifts was to bath and mend the waldorf dolls and make them new outfits. I was thinking of a nice bunting like the one in yellow. Willa, oddly enough, prefers something with a long skirt and ruffles. Huh? Who would have guessed. Anyway, I will make them something and the girls will doubtless either like it or get over it.

Sunday Poetry Corner

The grass is green, the sun is yellow,
Pansies are purple, roses are red,
The sea and lakes are blue and mommy is new .
So what do you say?  Boo Hoo!
What, what?   OOOOooo!

Grass beneath my feet, sunshine in my hair.
Love is beautious though it has no end
Up, up and away.

Willa

Applique mending: a little village.

There was an annoying small triangular tear in this duvet cover. I put some flannel over the hole on the back and darned it in place and then I covered the patch with a little picture. I'm actually amazed at how well this has held up. I did this over a year ago and it doesn't look bad at all, despite being jumped on, thrown-up on and washed and machine dried repeatedly. I didn't have a plan when I started it, other than wanting to make a little house. I just cut freehand and zig-zagged them onto each other and then on to the duvet cover. It made a nice, creative mend for the duvet cover, and used up some quilting scraps.

Holiday Blah?

I'm not feeling terribly crafty. I've been getting stuff done, I made Primrose some so-so fleece socks, they keep her warm at least. I cut both the girls hair, which needed doing badly. That's fairly crafty, isn't it? Anyway, I'm halfway through Studio Tantrum's Hermosa shirt. I screwed up badly, I cut one of the curls the wrong way, and now I don't have enough fabric left. You'd think that I would have known better, having already made up the Redondo skirt. Unfortunately, I bought the fabric at Wal-Mart in Sequim this summer. I don't think I'll be going back there any time soon, although I suppose it's possible that they might have some more left over next summer.  I have a rust colored corduroy cut out in the Redondo pattern, if I can't think of anything else I could just make that up.

I have to come up with a knitting project to do tomorrow during thanksgiving because I don't think I can get away with importing my sewing machine to someone else's house. I started a sweater for Willa last year. I suppose I could give it another go.

Fleece!!!

Well, I invested in some fleece at JoAnn, and not a moment too soon! We have at least a 1/4 inch of snow on the grass and IT IS STILL SNOWING! It might start sticking to the pavement at any moment. If you don't hear from  me it is undoubtedly because we have frozen or starved to death due to a complete breakdown of services caused by the inclement weather

Let's get back to fashion to take our minds off of my impending demise, shall we? For Willa, a Kyoto dress in two patterns of non-pill fleece. It is gorgeous! (imho) Unfortunately, the stitching blows, to be completely frank with you all. I forgot that fleece is a  stretchy fabric and did the whole thing in straight stitch! Urk! Also, my tension was all over the place and I don't know how well this puppy is going to hold together. It's hard to see exactly where the problems are though, because it's fleece. (Yippee?) I made this in fleece because my children don't like wearing warm clothes. They would rather wear bathing suits until they are blue with cold and crying. In February. My devious plan was to make charming clothing that was very, very warm. So far, so good. Willa spent quite a good portion of the day in her new fleece dress.

I have plans for fleece pants to match the hoody and the dress. I did better on this Imke hoody for Primrose. (At least I stitched it all in zig-zag, giving it a much better chance of surviving the first few wearings) I put a pocket on it to keep her hands warm, and because any piece of clothing which includes a pocket has a much greater chance of being worn. I made it long because it will hopefully cover more of her body.