Holiday Sweatshop Item #2: Knitted Neck Scarf

The pattern for this neck scarf is in Martha Stewart. It's surprisingly easy, although I had to re-knit this particular scarf three times in order to get the sizing to perfectly match a single skein of yarn I wanted to use. That's a little bit crazy, but so satisfying when it finally worked.

So far the holiday sweatshop is successfully churning out the necessary pre-holiday gift preparation. Plus, I like this scarf so much I'm knitting one for myself.

Black Friday Capelet

It's the day after Thanksgiving, also known as "Black Friday," and the Salvation Army is having a sale just like every other retailer in the country. I found a salmon-colored sweater marked from $1.99 down to $0.99 - perfect for testing out the tutorial for this capelet wrap from My Mama Made It.

Then I decided to try the tutorial for a layered flower pin.

And it all fits together rather nicely.

Checkbook cover

I experimented with oilcloth for a checkbook cover and it did not sew well. This version was made with the leftover yoga mat bag fabric.

Yoga Mat Bag

I decided this would be the winter of yoga - I've been hitting the classes pretty hard and just got my own mat (yes, extra long). I didn't have a pattern for a yoga mat bag, but I just sewed a tube, attached a circular bottom and folded over the top for a drawstring.

My extra-long mat is heavy and I didn't want the strap to rip the fabric - this was the trickiest thing to figure out. I attached the strap close to the ends of the mat so it would pull on the ends of the bag instead of loose fabric. I also reinforced it with pieces of the strap on the inside of the bag. On the top strap I tried this technique to avoid pulling on the fabric around the strap. We'll see how it holds up.

I also wanted to be able to bike with the bag, so the strap is a bit longer for an over-the-shoulder. I'm kind of pleased because the bag is super comfy.

The fabric appealed to me as kind of vintage-modern. It's Anna Maria Horner. She has lots of lovely stuff, and a fun blog.

play time.

The Duke recently scored a sweet new Husqvarna sewing machine and immediately went to work on some play clothes for Anna who visited the following weekend. Capes are an essential accessory in every wardrobe, and now Anna's is complete. She also made a cute fringe skirt and bandanna from this storybook fabric to complete her cowgirl ensemble.

Pack Your Bags

Here's Elana and her new weekender bag! For my second attempt (see first version here), I used Etsuko Furuya's Echino Balance bird meduim-weight fabric. The matching toiletry bag was made from Amy Butler's stash & dash pattern (interior is the cheerful full moon polka dot in cherry from Amy Butler's Lotus line).

clutch!

Ta da! Here is the purse I made for Elana's big day! I wanted to make something special out of the hem from her bridal gown and decided a little purse might come in handy. Unfortunately there wasn't enough fabric from the bridal gown for the exterior, so I purchased a matching fabric and stitched together the hem from my SOB (sister of the bride) dress for a spicy interior. The small hearts embroidered with their initials and wedding day are made from her g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s dress fabric (we're talkin' buttery, here). The 8.5" purse frame and Guterman glue came from U-Handbag.com and I followed the directions they posted to assemble the clutch purse.

Manga Me

I saw an extremely cute idea on Craftster.org and since my wonderful cousin had a graduation coming up: Yo. Time for another crafty gift. I found my way to the manga section of Barnes & Noble, which is fairly substantial (to a newbie). Luckily there was a pre-adolescent boy sitting in the aisle whose hunched posture and intense eyes-to-page proximity said to me, "Expert right here. Ask me." Thanks to him I now own my first manga: Love Hina (3).

Here are my versions of the earrings:



Then I stumbled across instructions for folding a paper wallet. Since my friend Ben is *really* good at saving money (and it happened to be his birthday) hark -- another crafty gift opportunity.





I actually shellacked the wallet for durability with the same clear spray glaze I used on the earrings (not high-gloss). I'll check back with Ben to find out how it's holding up (although maybe the Biggest Saver won't be taking it in and out of his pocket very much.)

Cabled Handwarmers

This pattern was created by Cheryl Niamath. Thanks, Sharon, for walking me through the cable how-to during our crafting weekend!

Cute Enough to Eat: The Baguette

I might have to carry this bag every day for the next 5 years in order to justify the time I took knitting it and sewing the liner. Felted carpet baguette pattern from Noni.


Collaborative crafting: The button was Elana's idea. Good thing she reminded me to add the button loop before sewing the liner. And the liner, it must be said, was all my mom's doing.

Belts and Blossoms

I happened across an adorable sewing store, Sew Contempo, outside of Houston a few weeks ago. They had a ton of great ideas and fabric, including materials for belts. I sewed interfacing between the ribbon and attached it to a tortoise belt buckle ($3). I saw the exact same belt in a cute store in Charlottesville yesterday for $64!

The cherry blossoms in DC are out in full force this week and are truly amazing!

Handwarmers

Knitting these handwarmers is like knitting a big tube. Thanks to Sharon's help, I've now moved on to cable-knit handwarmers with a partial thumb.

I would recommend making these with a hearty yarn that doesn't show a lot of wear and tear. After one winter mine look a little ratty.

Pattern in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.

Sweetest Pressie

Sharon surprised me on my birthday with this craftastic creation.