Tis the season

I made a little bear for a little girl. I know it's almost Christmas, but this bear was supposed to be a birthday present (back in August, whoops).

He's my own design, made of fleece, with an embroidered nose and a seed-stitch hand knit scarf.

I'm really proud of him, I think he's one of the best stuffed animals I've made and through him I was able to really start creating a style that I like. I think I'm going to try and make the limbs a little chunkier next time though to add to the cuddle-factor, and perhaps use fake fur instead of fleece. But I figured that for a baby, fleece is just fine.

Hope you all have happy holidays and a great New Year!

Penelope

Hi!

I have a little story to share. This summer, I worked on two knitting projects, both of them following a pattern. If you've been reading this blog for a while you'll know that I don't do well with patterns, and I don't like following them. So, after much trial and error, I decided to ditch one of the patterns I was working with - a cowl pattern - and write my own. 

So here it is, the Penelope Cowl! My first ever successful knitting pattern.

Penelope Cowl

- Cast on 231 stitches in the round, place marker

- Border: *knit 3, purl 3* repeat to end of round 

- Wheat stitch (a 4-row stitch): 

1. row 1 - purl 1. *knit 1, purl 1* repeat to end of round

2. row 2 - knit 1, *purl 1, knit 1* repeat to end of round 

3. row 3 - knit 1, *purl 1, knit 1* repeat to end of round

4. row 4 - purl 1, *knit 1, purl 1* repeat to end of round

- Wheat stitch for 11 inches or as long as desired

- Border: *knit 3, purl 3* repeat to end of round

- Cast off loosely 

Notes:

- make sure your stitches aren't twisted when you cast on in the round

- keep track of your wheat stitch rows to ensure that you know where you are when you pause in your knitting (I recommend tally marks)

I knit my cowl out of Purl Essence Everyday yarn in Oatmeal Heather, with 5mm circular needles. Despite being acrylic, it was really soft and easy to knit, and so far has done a very good job of keeping my neck warm. I would recommend not frowning down on acrylic yarn, but honestly, knit what your heart desires. 

So here it is, I hope you like it! If you have any questions about the pattern or anything, feel free to leave a comment down below!

Also, a big thank you to my mom for taking pictures of me even though people were walking by. 

P.S. The story behind the name of the cowl is that while I was desperately trying to follow the pattern I had originally planned on making I would knit about three rows then take everything out and start all over again. This process lasted a good week and my project was dubbed Penelope, who would weave her tapestry during the day and take out all her stitches at night, of course not making any progress. 

Philip: A Bear-y Inspiring Success Story

The cheesy titles are back and I have no regrets.

Before I start relating to you the enthralling tale of my success story, let me paint you a little picture. At the beginning of the summer, I was in a creative slump. Nothing I designed seemed to work, nothing I sewed fell into place (insert the too-small pair of shorts here) and I was just in a funk that I couldn't seem to get out of. It's like writer's block, when your words get all jumbled up and nothing sounds quite as it should.

Anyway, I left for France in the beginning of July and began a super simple knitting pattern. It took me several tries to get the size right, but in the end, one of my more successful projects fell from my needles. I then began designing something (it's a secret, you'll find out soon enough) and to my great surprise (and relief) it worked and it looked good! I had actually sat down and written out the design process as I was doing it too, so it was a proper project.

When I got home, I knew I wanted to design a stuffed animal. I knew how I wanted it to look, and how I wanted it to feel. So I was a responsible designer and drew out pattern pieces, dug out some old denim from my closet and proceeded to create something that was absolutely not what I wanted.

Back to the drawing board.
This time, however, it worked.

This is my bear. I made it all by myself, pattern and all, and I am pretty darn proud of the result.

It started out as a sheep, but right now it's a bear. It also, surprisingly, doesn't have a name. Maybe I'll call him Philip.

So Philip is the result of many hours of creator's block, a summer of chill knitting, and finally, proper designing procedures, and I am so proud of how he turned out. I love the lanky limbs and big feet and slightly floppy head. Figuring out what he should wear was easily the longest part of the process because conventional shirts and other items of clothing don't quite fit.

So that's the story of Philip the sheep-bear-thing that sits on my desk and watches me work while silently giving off good vibes. It's very difficult to take a picture of his entire body, but if I make another Philip (which I think I will) I will take clearer pictures.

The moral of this story is, if you're in a creative slump, find a simple project with a simple pattern and watch a lot of episodes of Friends while making said project. It helps, I promise.

On that note, have a nice week!

Dusty Pink

I just really love the idea of dusty pink as a color, soft and warm but more subtle than in-your-face pink. Even the name is pretty, it makes me think of flowers.

This is a sweater that I made, and is in fact the first time I have ever knitted something with pink yarn. It is the Chatou sweater from La Droguerie. I tweaked the pattern a little (oh surprise), keeping it on the jersey side of the stitches, as opposed to the garter side as was indicated in the pattern. I also didn't use the yarn they said to use but it worked out okay.

I used the Merino Aran yarn from Katia, which is a mix of wool and acrylic and is so soft. It makes for very regular stitches, which is always nice. 

I'd like to thank my wonderful grandmother who sewed it all up because I'm very bad at sewing sweaters, and for also knitting the collar.

This is a very simple sweater, absolutely accessible for a beginner, it's essentially a lot of rectangles with a few increases and decreases for the arms, collar, and sleeves. I would definitely recommend this pattern if you know how to knit and want to take the plunge and knit your first sweater. The only potential problem may be the language but I think they do have translated patterns if you need it in english.

I hope you all appreciate how much effort I put into modeling for these pictures because it was hot and humid and I was wearing a wool sweater of over 500 grams. I'd also like to thank my mom for taking pictures of me because taking outfit pictures is not an easy task when you're flying solo (and you left your tripod at home when you left for vacation) and you have no idea how to pose. 

 This sweater marks the completion of my creativity requirement hours for my program (woo!) so that's a relief, but also it has only furthered my penchant for cozy sweaters (which are basically my winter uniform).

Have a great end of the week and see you next time!

Typical...

Hello all!

It's been a while since I've made an outfit post, so get excited cause here it is, the most recent addition to Wardrobe 2.0!

We start with a pattern from a great little place called Purlbee, I so name the City Gym Shorts. Then we take cute flowery fabric and leftover chambray, as well as a lot of black bias tape and the remaining scraps of elastic buried at the back of the crafts closet.

And then we get a super easy to make pair of shorts that of course are too small.



They're not ridiculously small, just small enough that I'm extremely frustrated. I've made a pair of these before and the size was perfect! I didn't change anything to the pattern except that I used chambray instead of linen for the back.

I don't know what I did wrong, and it was only when I was done that I realized that the shorts did not fit as well as I had hoped. However, despite the sizing mishaps, it is one of the better-made pieces of clothing that I have ever sewn. The edge stitching on the bias is straighter than on anything I've made before, and the pattern is just overall very easy to follow, I highly recommend it (although I would recommend to pay attention to the size that you're making). 

And because another part of the IB requirements (see previous post) also require 50 hours of creativity, making these shorts counted as part of my creative hours. 

Time spent: 2h10

                                           

Helping how I can

Hello!

As part of my exciting projects (as vaguely mentioned in previous posts) for this summer, I am going to be contributing to society in the small ways that I can.

I found a brochure a while ago as I was fabric shopping that was called ConKerr Cancer. Conkerr Cancer is a foundation that collects handmade pillowcases or supplies to make pillowcases to donate to kids with cancer in hospitals. I picked up the brochure and a few months later my lovely mother picked up some fabric to make them. I'm a part of the International Baccalaureate program at school, and as part of the requirements for the diploma I have to complete 50 hours of community service. As part (not all) of those 50 hours, I chose to make these pillowcases. 

I have to record the process of making them, so here are a few pictures that I took along the way.

Because it's me, I of course sewed the border wrong on the body of the monkey pillowcase but other than that it went pretty smoothly.

I still haven't quite decided on how many I want to make, but I think 10 might be my goal for this summer.

Time spent: 1.5 hours 

Lil sprout

Hello and happy summer!

I'm finally on vacation for the summer, which should mean that I will have more time to make things and share them here with you.

Over the course of the last few weeks as the weather has started getting nicer, I've developed a new love for plants. I currently have four in my room, and despite my lack of green thumb none of them have died so I must be doing something right.

Earlier this weekend I only had two but the herbs I was growing in the kitchen were starting to outgrow their tiny container so I went out and got two new little terra cotta pots and painted them.

I put my herbs in the pink one and a succulent that my mom received as a gift in the green one (she kindly donated the succulent to my little sprout collection). The plant in the back is a peace lily that has not grown at all in the two weeks I've had it. 

Using acrylic paint, I painted both pots white. I had to do several coats of paint because the terra cotta kept absorbing the color, but the paint dried quickly so it wasn't really a problem. Then I used the brighter colors to paint the rim and, using a Q-tip, the polka dots. Now, at this point, I should probably (definitely) have waited longer before putting on Mod-Podge to varnish the pots but I only waited the amount of time it took to paint the dishes underneath the pots. Apparently that's why the Mod-Podge made little bubbles on the paint. Honestly it doesn't really matter to me. 

I semi-successfully repotted the herbs and the succulent and as of right now they seem to be doing okay. I've been putting them on the windowsill of my room during the day and on my dresser at night but honestly I have no clue what I'm doing. If anyone has any suggestions on plant care feel free to expand my knowledge in the comments.

Have a fantastic week (and a great start to summer vacation if that applies to you)!

It's the little things

This is just a quick little post dedicated to the little things that mean a lot. 

One of my best friend's grandmother passed away yesterday and it's been a difficult time for her and her family. I know people usually send food as condolences, but I figured that this might cheer her up a little more than a casserole. It's a patch, hand-embroidered with her nickname onto linen and felt. I put it in an envelope and will post it tomorrow because I don't know when I'll see her next and I know that, personally, receiving mail always brightens my day so I thought it was worth it to try and brighten hers. 

Often times, the little things mean a lot more than we think they do. This took me under an hour, and hopefully will bring a smile to her face. I always try to keep that in mind, that things that don't seem big to us may mean the world to someone else. (I'm not saying this gift will cure her grief, I'm just hoping it brings her a little joy.) 

Have a nice week and give your loved ones a hug.

P.S. I have some exciting sewing things lined up for this summer, so get pumped. Maybe not too pumped, maybe just moderately looking forward to seeing more life on this blog! 

Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds

Hello!

I got a knitting kit for Christmas, a cowl called the Lucy Cowl (hence my brilliant post title) and I just finished it yesterday thanks to a snow day.

When I first got the kit, I was a little concerned at how small the skeins were (they were so cute and small, they all fit on a binder ring) and then when I saw that the instructions fit on a tiny circle piece of paper I was even more concerned. But for once I did follow the instructions to a T and it worked! You heard it here first folks, sometimes the instructions aren't wrong.

I love it so much, it was very easy to make, all in the round for added thickness and warmth, and super colorful. The yarn is gorgeous squishy cashmere (my first time knitting cashmere and I loved it) in 8 different colors. They all look really good together, but I followed the picture from the website to get the same order because I didn't trust myself to make one up.

It looks like I'm about to throw it away, I'm just awkwardly reaching

I don't think you all appreciate the fact that my neighbors saw me leave the house twice today: once to go buy poster board and the second to go take a picture of a scarf in my backyard. 

The best part is, you too can make the Lucy (in the sky with diamonds, I'm really funny) Cowl by clicking here and ordering it! I have the color scheme Urbanite (I think) but there are four color schemes to chose from. 

Happy weekend!