Thursday, June 26, 2014

Knitting WIP: Saco Stripes

I'm going on vacation tomorrow!  In Hawaii!  Yay!

Rather than doing laundry and packing, I went to Fancy Tiger Crafts and picked out some shockingly soft bamboo yarn and a cute tank top pattern to knit on the airplane.  The pattern is the Saco Stripes tank top by Pam Allen.  Doesn't it look fabulous?

Image via Pam Allen on Ravelry

This project will be a collection of firsts for me.  It'll be the first time I've worked with bamboo yarn, the first time I've used a Pam Allen pattern (even though I've been eyeing her collection for ages), and the first time I've knitted a tank top.

It's a little bit scary any time that many firsts get together.

My biggest concern is the sizing.  I'm a really small person.  Like really small.  It's great for pair skating, but not so great for fitting into women's sizes (as opposed to kids sizes, which fit great). Keeping that in mind, my plan is to begin knitting the smallest size the pattern offers, try it on, then rip it out and adjust it accordingly.  Maybe it'll fit fine and I won't have to do that, but I'm not getting my hopes up just yet.

I love how soft my yarn is, though, and the pattern doesn't look overly complicated, so I'm thinking it'll all turn out beautifully in the end.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

DIY Stamped T-Shirt Headband


I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty excited about my latest craft project, and this headband is only one third of it!

Instead of using one t-shirt to make one DIY project, I realized that I could use one t-shirt to make three DIY projects.  So this is the first installment in the One T-Shirt, Three DIYs miniseries.  Let's do this!

Sunday, June 22, 2014

4 Things

I'm having a great weekend, how about you?

Yesterday was ridiculously busy and fun (according to my fitbit, I took 17,671 steps!), and today is turning out to be a super-relaxing day of crafts.  It's the perfect balance.

4 things that are making me happy this weekend:

1.  This flower crown that I bought at the Renaissance Festival yesterday.  And the insanely adorable memory of my 2 1/2 year old niece wearing hers too.



Wednesday, June 18, 2014

DIY Foam Stamps


I made an itty bitty heart stamp today, and I liked it so much that I made a triangle stamp to go along with it.

It all started when I was browsing the stamp aisle at the craft store today (which is a totally normal activity for a Wednesday morning, right?) and I thought to myself: it's way too easy to spend way too much money in this aisle.  So I forced myself to walk away.

But then I started thinking about how simple it would be to make my own stamps, so I picked up a big sheet of foam for $2 and decided to do it myself.  Here's how I did it...

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Father's Day Bow Tie


Happy Father's Day!

I decided to sew my dad a bow tie this year, and I'm super excited that I actually succeeded! (If you've been following the blog for a while, you know perfectly well that I'm still a beginner sewist.)

To make the bow tie, I used a free bow tie sewing pattern from Sew Like My Mom, a quarter of chevron print cotton fabric from Joann Fabrics, some iron-on interfacing, and my sewing machine.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Jersey Knitting Brainstorm

In my head, I had a grand plan to knit a cute summer tank top out of the jersey yarn I made last week.  I did a little swatching today, though, and I realized that this yarn wasn't made for tank top knitting.


I tested out my yarn in stockinette stitch on US size 9 needles, and the resulting swatch was thick and sturdy, not light and breezy like a tank top should be.

At first I was slightly bummed out because I had been looking forward to making that tank top, but then I realized that this yarn is presenting me with the opportunity to make a completely different kind of knitting project than I normally make.  I can use this yarn to make something that's durable and washable and ready to be used thoroughly rather than delicately (like most of my other knits).  And now I'm excited about it again!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

DIY Fresh Flower Crown

Remember the baby's breath hair pins I made for all the guests to wear during my best friend's bachelorette party a couple weekends ago?  Well today's post is about the baby's breath crown that I made for the bride to wear at that same party.  I figure there's no better excuse than your own bachelorette party to get to wear a pretty crown!  


I really did want this crown to be pretty and not gaudy or gross like some bachelorette party accessories can be.  As I mentioned in the post about the floral hair pins, this was a fun, lighthearted, classy party because that's the kind of girl my best friend happens to be.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

DIY Jersey Yarn

I love browsing the Wool and the Gang website.  Have you ever been to it?  They make knitting look so cool.

Anyway, they sell a jersey yarn that's made out of fabric roll cut-offs from fashion factories in Turkey.  It's a great concept because those cut-offs normally end up in the trash, so this yarn that they're selling is helping to reduce waste.  If you're in the market to purchase some yarn for a summer knitting project, I really think this is the way to go.

If you'd rather make your own, read on my friend...



Last week, I stumbled across a big square of pink(ish) jersey fabric in the sale area at Colorado Fabrics that I just knew would make an awesome ball of yarn and hopefully end up as a knitted tank top.

It was roughly 1.5 x 1.5 yards and it cost me less than $2, which is a total steal for yarn.
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