Friday

Video of New Sewing Machine

In anticipation of my new sewing machine (eeeee, I'm so excited) I was searching for videos on YouTube of this magnificent machine in action!

Here it is sewing through 16 layers of denim and 4 layers of leather! Can.Not.Wait!



Think I'm going to have to make some shoes once it gets here! :-)

Crochet (Knitting really...) by Numbers!

I decided to really really take the plunge and generate a knitting pattern a la www.Totallee.net. It's worth a visit, click to be amazed!

She creates the most amazing crocheted masterpieces from images! I've known her for a year and have finally plucked up the courage to try it...

I could have gone for something small, easy... manageable. But heck, where would the fun be in that?

Here is the photo I created and will be turning into an afghan...



How much fun will it be to snuggle up with this! I'll be starting *soon* and I'll post updates as it progresses. The pattern alone is 63 pages long... so... it may take awhile!

Thursday

Prayer Shawl

I was recently asked to make a prayer shawl for a friend. I found this really great, quick pattern for free on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/all-shawl

It includes 4 or so variations on the pattern; this shawl was made using the Long Pattern version and I Love This Cotton yarn.

The only thing that I changed about the pattern was I just used a regular DC stitch instead of the extended version that the pattern called for. It was a bit cumbersome and I found that it looked essentially the same with the regular DC!

Be careful to look at the chart provided for the pattern; the instruction can be confusing if you're not paying close attention!

The lace edging turned out beautifully after blocking. Originally the shawl was cream, however, the requested color was periwinkle. Sooo... I got to dye something for the very first time! I hopped over to JoAnn's and grabbed one of their powered dye packs of "deep purple".

I only used about a teaspoon of powder in 4 gallons of water and the color turned out perfectly!

Here is the finished product...


Wednesday

A New Venture

Welp, a whole year has past and I didn't post a single time. Don't berate me, I'm doing enough of that to myself.

News, news, so much news. I'll sum it up to say that I've been working as a seamstress for the last year and it has been a great experience!

I'm opening up a shop of my own within the next few weeks for alterations, repairs, and classes! I just ordered my very own industrial sewing machine too!


It boasts 5500 stitches per minute. I'm so excited!

Hopefully I will have a new store front to post pictures of soon... and of course, this year's batch of Christmas gifts and random projects!

Happy Crafting!