Long time! I'm still here!

    I have not blogged my last handful of crafting accomplishments, gosh! So slow! Most have been knitting and there's a couple of things I'm not ready to share yet (as they are gifts), but here's two items I am so happy about and proud of!

   I posted these photos to Flickr as well, if you want to follow me there. :P

   The first project, my knit bandana cowl, I started on the 17th and finished a couple days later, but that's just for this attempt. I attempted this same cowl three times until I realized I was reading the instructions wrong and that's why it kept coming out absolutely humongous.

   I am so in love with this cowl and wear it almost every time I go out! It doesn't help that I really don't have a collection of neck warming accessories, but I still just adore it. The pattern is Purl Bee's Bandana Cowl and the yarn is just some cheapo Simply Soft that I picked up at Walmart to use as props for my Christmas kitty portraits.

  

    Since I began knitting and crocheting, I have not been showing enough love to my first crafting obsession, sewing. But a couple days ago I started (and finished) a new pair of blue jeans. And I am so, so please! Not only are they the best I've made yet, but they were the fastest to work up as well!

    I think the reason these turned out so pleasant to make and lovely to wear is that these are the first pair of jeans I made a muslin for. All the rest I got the size closest to what I wanted from the pattern and worked them down to the size I wanted all on the finished piece. This time I found out exactly the size I wanted to be working with first before I even touched my denim fabric and I am so glad I did!

    This is still Butterick's B5682 pattern in boot cut, which is the only cut and only jean patterns I have tried so far, but I have plans to try out the skinny jeans cut from the same pattern soon. Maybe I'll work on the muslin today. ;)

    There's been a lot of improvement in my homemade jeans since my first pair, but still a few things I could improve. The only things I really messed up on this pair was the butt pockets not being spaced evenly apart and my waistband not being cut long enough, which resulted in some bunching when I sewed it on. I have some a problem with pants not properly holding in my butt-crack and underwear though (TMI? Sorry. :P) so it being a bit tight around the waist is not entirely a bad thing.

   Tomorrow or today I will be shipping out a couple of handmade items I made to participate in a Secret Valentine exchange, so once my recipient receives those you can expect a new blog post!

   Outside of crafting (but still inside my artsier endeavors) I have started taking self portraits again. In November I made it a goal to take one every day of the month. I didn't finish that goal because I ended up feeling very burned out, and it took two months to set up the tripod and load up EOS Utility again, but last week I took my first new one in a while.

   Then a couple days ago I took the ones shared above to show off my creations. Does it say something bad that the only thing I really take photos of anymore is myself? (Well, my cats too, but I don't really put a lot of thought into those shots.) I always veered more towards portraiture but I have been feeling pretty disconnected from people for a while now and that doesn't really fuel the spark I previously had for photographing others, and photography in general actually. I don't really consider any of it a bad thing, I'm pretty introverted and don't have that much of a social drive but it has made my photography a bit more boring. Anyways, that's all I have to share for now!

   I hope everyone is having a wonderful new year!

W.I.P 1/1/2014

     Happy new year! I have a lot of things to look forward to this new year (especially since they are short term. I am terrible at long term plans!), among them being my current works in progress!

      I forgot to add one of those items in the photo above. :( And have no other photos of it yet, but it's not a big deal since it's only a muslin for a pair of boot cut jeans. I am an odd size for clothing in general, mostly so for jeans. I've made a few pairs of jeans so far but none of them fit perfect, so I decided to make a muslin this time to help make that perfect fit as well as to use for a pattern for future jeans. To be fair though, I have literally never had a perfect (or even super great) fitting pair of jeans in my adult life. Store sizing sucks and I'm still learning my way around making them myself.
      I think that's enough of a rant about jeans! More about the items I didn't forget to photograph!!

      I went to Barnes and Nobles in late November and say this 'Knits for Nerds' book. The Firefly themed projects made me want to learn to knit! I had already wanted to a bit because crocheting just doesn't make the style of socks and sweaters I like, it would seem, but this really cemented it for me. I didn't buy the book - yet - but I bought a 'Learn To Knit' kit for ten bucks, which included needles, yarn, and a kind of useless book. But the point is I decided to learn to knit partially due to this book, and I finally started on my first project from it!

 

     My first pair of socks! More specifically, Cunning Socks. I started these socks earlier this week, I had them listed as projects I wanted to finish in December, but this is the only I started on. I love them so far! I am changing them a little to make them slouchy (just added a couple more stripes on the leg), and I may have to buy more yarn. 

     Before I started the socks I started crocheting a bobbly polka dot scarf. I'm terrible at setting down projects to start new ones. But I'm gonna pick it back up soon because I'm really excited to finish it and I think it will be really cute. It's inspired by this pattern from Mollie Makes, however I didn't really want the pattern they had, I just wanted dots. Less seasonal, more "anytime it's cold enough for a scarf." I love the fur yarn, I bought a different brand than suggesting from Michael's, which was $5 for a skein of about the same yardage instead of $25ish. Much more affordable and it's so nice!

     This next project I started last night, for the second time. I finished it once and ended up pulling out the stitches because it was far too large. I switched to a thinner yarn. I'm pretty excited for this one to finish! It's a relatively fast project, wish it was already done though. Here is the pattern, it's super cute!

     The last item is not much to mention, I received a big set of knitting needles for Christmas and I need a bigger case, so I'm making one. Boring, right? ;P

    Well, that's what I'm looking forward to so far in this New Year. What do you think? Any favourites? What patterns are you excited to conquer this year?

Fall/Winter Pattern List!

   I'm addicted to all the blogs plugged into my feedly, and when I read this article by Cirque Du Bebe on Project Sewn I decided I also wanted to share the patterns I was excited to sew this Fall (and Winter, since they are both just too damn cold).

   However, I have a pinterest board FULL of patterns for the coming seasons. So I picked my favourite five. :)

Larissa #6032

   I love this jacket! A cute moto jacket is something I've been wanting for a couple months now, but I'd rather attempt sewing one myself than tailoring a pre bought one to my size. Something about store bought clothes not fitting me makes tailoring things to fit really peeve me.

   I absolutely love leather, but I'm really digging the look shown. Mustard yellow is actually my favourite colour and I think I would probably stick to either a mustardy wool or a medium grey colour wool. :D

Jamie Jeans

   A couple blog posts ago I shared how much I like sewing jeans. They give me a bit of pain but I like the struggle a little, haha. :) Skinny jeans aren't really my thing, one or two good pair of skinny jeans that I can wear tucked into my Doc Martins are good enough for me.

   However, this pair really stood out to me, they are beautifully designed. The unique front pockets and the simple but great back pockets really seal the deal for me, but I like the lovely front seams as well. With me making them, I think I'd go a little extra and also make the hem of the pants with the back side of the denim showing such as the front pockets.

McCall 6531

   I actually already ordered this jacket pattern and it should be here on the 8th. I can't wait, I'm pretty new to sewing and this will be the first jacket I've sewn! I do like a challenge, so I will really enjoy this I'm sure. I have a hard time shopping for flattering clothes for my petite frame, and the worst things have always been jeans and jackets. So I'm really looked forward to this!

   I know the pattern is unlined but I'm gonna challenge myself further and try and get it nice and toasty by lining it with sherpa material. I'm unsure what I'll go with the background, but I'm leaning towards a green to go with the army-ish look, a black, or a navy colour. I really love the version made on mpbymaude! What do you think I should go? I'm totally open to suggestion!

McCall  6517

   I'm still getting used to the weather cycles of the Inland NW since moving up from Texas two years ago, and I don't know how much longer to be expecting rain. I know, I really should know by now, my third real Winter is coming up, but I am horrible at keeping track of these things.

   Regardless, I am so looking forward to this awesome pattern. I love plastic clothing, I know it's kind of weird but I love PVC and latex (which I also make clothing from, a whole different beast from sewing!). I don't even know where to start but I know I will have to make more than one! Maybe a shiny black and a see through like pictured but with a funkier colour accent! I have a see through and yellow bubble umbrella, maybe start with something to match. ;)

Vogue 8902

   The only dress on this list! You wouldn't guess how much I love flared out dresses from this list! Don't worry, my pinterest has plenty more! I actually do not have any long sleeved dresses. Not a single one. The first couple years here I held on to my Texas clothing too long and didn't invest much on cold weather clothing, surviving the Winters in ugly Walmart thermals under pants and way too childish hoodies. I'm really trying to get a better looking Winter wardrobe, but I'm a creature of comfort. Being warm and cozy will have to come first! I think I can meet in the middle this Winter, though, since I picked back up sewing.

   I already have fabric picked out for this dress. I haven't ordered the pattern yet but I have ordered the fabric (because I am slowly ordering all the things I design for my Spoonflower shop.) I will be using this fabric for the bodice and skirt and a plain black knit for the sides and sleeves. I'm really looking forward to this dress!

My fabric for the dress!

   Well, that's my top list for clothing to sew this Fall and Winter! What do you think? Is there anything you are really looking forward to sewing for the upcoming cold? 

My Recent Projects!

   I flew my mom up for ten days in September (and part of October), and it was such a blast! Besides shopping, gambling, cooking, and dining we spent a good amount of time getting crafty too.

   I made a small handful of things during my mom's trip that I haven't gotten a chance to share, so here they are now!

   I have a ton of sewing blogs plugged into my Feedly, and I kept seeing the lovely Zinnia skirt pop up. Since I was inpatient and watching my money for my mom's trip up, I decided to try and free hand this skirt instead of using any pattern. Even though I still want to nab that pattern, haha.

   I started with a thicker fabric I picked up at Value Village, but decided the fabric looked very bad for this skirt. So later that day I picked up some cheap cotton fabric from Jo Ann's, since I do not want to spend too much when I'm not using a pattern or anything!

   I mostly like this skirt, there's a few things I would change. The waistband would have been a lot better with interfacing, and one of my buttons don't perfectly match the button hole placement, but that's easy enough to fix. It's cooling down here in Washington and the fabric is not warm at all, so it won't see any use for a while.

    My mom taught me some crochet basics, and I'm not super awesome or anything at it but I like this little bracelet I made! I'm not huge on jewelry type bracelets, or jewelry in general really. But I love little leather, fabric, and now yarn bracelets like this. :)

   There isn't much to say about this, it's just a couple rows of single stitches but I'm very excited to have started crocheting!

   This is the second pair of jeans I've made and they are easily becoming one of my favourite things to sew. :) I decided it would be very worthwhile to learn to sew a good pair of jeans, since I am 4'9" and fairly thin, and store bought jeans don't line up on me quite the way I'd like, even after hemming.

   Wow, I still need lots of practice with jeans! This pair will definitely get lots of showtime but some of the things I would fix are I'd make them just slightly longer. With this and the last pair I got a little too excited about having jeans for my short figure, a couple more inches wouldn't hurt.

   I would put the pockets closer together next time, but it's so nice to have a pair of jeans where the pockets aren't placed between the bottom of my butt and the top of my legs, I've never had a store bought pair of jeans with pockets placed the way I like. They are slightly too far apart from each other in this pair of jeans, though.

   My main obstacle with making jeans is the front of the waistband, the zipper, the button, and the fly. I need to figure out how to make my zipper from peeking out, make my waistband slightly longer for the button, and practice the buttonhole feature a little more.

   Overall though, I love these jeans!

   Another very simple, very beginner crochet project I did while sitting on the couch watching Breaking Bad with my mom, a crocheted belt made out of very thick and chunky, very green yarn! My mom also made me a hat from this yarn and it is awesome! The belt is all just one long single stitch, and it would look a lot cuter here if I got the front waistband area of my jeans right for once! Grrr!

   These leggings are the most adventurous project I took up during my mom's trip. I picked the stretchy, velvety fabric from Value Village while thrifting with my mom. I didn't use a pattern - well, I kind of used a pattern. I cut open a pair of thermal leggings I had on the seams and used that as a pattern and a lining. They will be great for the cold Winter here!

   They gave me a bit of trouble but overall came out very well. I think the only thing I would (and might) change is to take them in a little so they are more fitted, like leggings should be.

   Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! I will be posting more about the making of those thermal leggings, as well. ;D

Jean, Part 3: Beautification

   I love working on these jeans! Even if they did give me trouble with the bleach, it was a really fun project. But it's finally done! Will have to make a second pair, soon. :)

     Since the bleach dissolved parts of my jeans last time I made them, I picked out a new pair of jeans to pull fabric from and bleached before constructing them this time. So once I was finally done putting them back together, all that was left was to dye them!

 

 I followed the instructions on my bottle of Jeans Blue Rit Dye, and it wasn't my first time dyeing with Rit dye, but it is the first time it came out so funky. I mixed the jeans into the dye and stirred them around often so that all of my jeans would be evenly coated. That's now how it turned out though...

     I'm thinking that bleaching the pants previously must have had something to do with the funky pattern, even though I washed them out after bleaching. I don't know, but they turned out funky as hell and I don't mind, they are pretty cool.

     So, that is the end of my jeans saga! :D