Monthly Archives: July 2014

Thing 217

I finally finished one of Wednesday’s works-in-progress. I’ve abandoned the flip flop and I haven’t touched the dodo but the cupcake is complete.

 

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I’ve made cupcakes before this one and its mate but this is my favourite pattern by far. It’s so quick to crochet and easy to assemble.

 

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What a yummy pair!

In other blog business, my posts are going to be rather spotty for the next six weeks. I’m going to try post a couple of times a week but definitely not on a daily basis. I have enough Things made to keep me going but most of them will be posted in batches.

Happy summer! I’ve got some relaxing to do.

 

Cost of this Thing: 0
Cost of all Things to date: €277.74

Things 215 & 216

I was cleaning up my sewing room when I came across four small squares of fabric. They were the leftovers from the basket I made for Martina’s room. Today they became drawstring gift bags.

 

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When Martina was born my mother-in-law made her a green gingham quilt and gave me the leftover fabric. I’ve used that gingham for many projects over the years (including a sweet blouse for Martina when she was three or four) and I have only tiny bits left now. I used those as lining for these bags.

 

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I’m experimenting with different methods to make both lined and unlined drawstring pouches. I may put together a tutorial at some point. However, that won’t happen before the fall. I first have some vacationing to do.

 

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For now, I pulled out Things 170 & 171, the red and purple child-size wrap bracelets, and gave them a luxurious packaging. These will make the perfect gift for a couple of little girls.

 

Cost of these Things: 0
Cost of all Things to date: €277.74

Work-in-Progress Wednesday: Crochet ADHD

I spent most of today up in my sewing room, preparing a pile of summer Things. Every once in awhile I’d descend from my sauna (it’s about 400 degrees on the top floor) for a cool down and do a few rounds of crochet.

I have several crochet projects on the go, all which need to be done in the next couple of days. I haven’t been able to see any one of them through to completion so the side table in my living room is looking increasingly like a tornado-hit yarn shop.

 

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The grey one is the beginnings of a Mauritius Dodo. That’s the biggest and most ambitious of the current projects. The cupcake just needs assembly and stuffing and I could probably finish it in about twenty minutes, including the cherry on top. The flip flop has issues. One of the soles is too big so I’m on my third time of trying to crochet them together. It would have been quicker to just remake the sole.

I’m hoping for a burst of crochet enthusiasm tomorrow. I’d love to knock off all three.

Thing 214

Last week Wednesday was our last beading evening before the summer break. I wanted to build up some holiday time buffer so I made three Things. I’ll spread them out over the next few weeks. They’ll provide a welcome break from crocheted flip flops.

I amassed a pile of random supplies: a scrap of wire, one bead frame, a packet of black flat rounds with AB coating on one side, black seed beads and a toggle clasp of unknown origin. These came together in an industrious fifteen minutes of beading and voilà, Thing 214 was born.

 

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More leftovers used up and another bracelet for the collection.

 

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And yes, my posts are getting shorter the closer we get to summer break. We’re deep in the end-of-school-year rituals and I’m trying to make twenty Things this week. I’m fairly sure the house will self-destruct before Friday.

 

Cost of this Thing: 0
Cost of all Things to date: €277.74

 

 

Thing 213

Esther told me today she needs another teacher gift, this one for the student teacher who’s been helping in her class for the last couple of months.

I made another flip flop, lickety split, in yellow and pink.

 

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This time I sewed the strap on right side up which gives it a more polished look.

 

 

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I didn’t have anymore lobster clips so this one got a regular keyring. I tied it on another bottle of Bath & Body Works soap.

 

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It’s starting to look like a gift shop in my house.

 

Cost of this Thing: 0
Cost of all Things to date: €277.74

Thing 212

It’s almost the end of the school year so that means teacher gifts. The last time my friend, Rochelle, was in town she showed me a bunch of teacher gifts she had crocheted. I fell in love and vowed to copy her. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right, Rochelle?

 

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The pattern is from a Dutch blog but it’s been translated into English as well. I crocheted it in cotton with a 2mm hook. The sole is actually two layers crocheted together with a contrast colour, giving it a firm structure. The straps should have the other side facing up, an error I will correct on future versions (there will be future versions), but this looks fine, too. These flip flops are quick to make up. Even with the multiple pieces and assembly I can have one done in under an hour.

I attached a small lobster clasp keychain from my stash and clipped it to a bottle of Bath & Body Works hand soap–an exotic foreign product here 🙂 This gift is for Esther’s teacher. Martina doesn’t give teacher gifts anymore now that she’s in high school. That would violate some pretty serious cool code.

 

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Now I just have to think of something for the Esther’s principal and vice principal. I’ll probably do a tissue pouch with a thank you note from Esther. And then we’re done! Summer vacation is almost here. It’s been a long time in coming.

 

Cost of this Thing: 0
Cost of all Things to date: €277.74

Things 210 & 211

Another birthday party, another Liberty gift set.

I still had some lovely scraps of the Mitsi lawn, but since it wasn’t quite enough for a zip bag I went for a two-tone approach. The yellow fabric is the same that I used to line the last set I made and is a great match for the creaminess of the flowers. I found a zipper in my stash in the same shade of creamy yellow.

The zipper didn’t go in perfectly but considering the tight deadline I was on and the speed at which I was sewing it’s respectable and better than expected. I started the set after Esther’s swimming lesson this morning and needed to have it ready by lunchtime.

 

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The tissue pouch is made of two triangular scraps sewn into a square, and then lined with the yellow.

 

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These were the last biggish scraps of the Mitsi so it really is time to get started on that patchwork quilt. Ha! That’s a joke. I don’t do big projects. I have patience and perseverance issues.

 

Cost of these Things: 0
Cost of all Things to date: €277.74

Thing 209

Back in February I made a pouf and two couch cushions for my friend, Mirjam. I still had a mountain of fabric left so I told her to think of more Things to make with it. Last week she brought me a squishy neck cushion and asked if I could make a cover for it.

 

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The structure is the same as a pouf so I used the same method as this tutorial, just with different dimensions.

 

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The zipper is from my stash. It’s actually olive green but it blends well with the fabric. I used the same linen curtain fabric for the piping that I used the last time.

 

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The cushion cover is a little on the tight side, which rather takes away from the squishiness of the neck pillow, but that’ll soften with time as the styrofoam balls in the pillow compress.

 

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Otherwise I’ll just make a bigger cover. I certainly have enough fabric.

 

Cost of this Thing: 0
Cost of all Things to date: €277.74

Thing 208

Just a short post tonight. The late nights of football have taken their toll, as has the crushing disappointment.

Moving right along.

Today’s Thing is quick and useful: more underwear.

The last time I made underwear I tried the free hipster pattern from Makebra.com. They were a hit with Martina. Apparently they’re the most comfortable pair I’ve made for her.

So last week when one of her favourite t-shirts developed a big hole I decided to turn it into underwear.

Once again I used the tutorial at Very Purple Person.

 

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I’m getting better at stretching the elastic evenly around the leg holes. I could have pulled the waistband elastic a bit tighter but otherwise these worked out great.

And now off to bed.

 

Cost of this Thing: 0
Cost of all Things to date: €277.74

Work-in-Progress Wednesday: Reusable Snack and Sandwich Bags

My car broke down again today. I was riding merrily along in the far left lane of the highway during rush hour when I pushed in the clutch to change gears. It made a snapping sound and stayed down. Urp. Somehow I managed to get off the highway, jam the car into first, and pull off at a safe place, all without panicking, which is a major victory for me. Generally I’m not the person you want on your team in a crisis.

The roadside assistance guy used duct tape and zip ties to make a temporary repair, good enough for me to get to the garage tomorrow. This will be my third visit in three months. I’m afraid my 17-year-old VW is entering her twilight years.

All this has nothing to do with Work-in-Progress Wednesday.

I didn’t have much time to sew today but I did get started on a project I want to get done before summer vacation. I’m making a set of reusable snack and sandwich bags, similar to these.

 

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The fabric is a Michael Miller polyurethane laminate. It’s waterproof to prevent drippy sandwiches and snacks from leaking all over the place. I didn’t research patterns and sizes until last night so the zippers I bought two weeks ago for this project are a little smaller than I would like. I’ll have to make a set of smaller bags for snacks like goldfish and grapes and use velcro for the bigger ones.

Since I’ll be carless tomorrow I might just hole up in my sewing room and get these done.