Handmade Bombs

It's shocking, I know, but January is over now and I never showed you the handmade-of-the-month I sent off to Jane.

This month I made bath bombs. Pale pink, heart-shaped and scented with lots and lots of grapefruit aromatherapy oil.



One got a little squished on it's way out of the mold, sorry about that Jane! I wrapped them in red cellophane and packed them in a ton of packing materials. I hope they stay in one piece (er, four pieces) on their flight.

Happy handmade for January!

And, I know I said I wasn't going to start any new projects until I finished off some of the old ones, but...

I found this fantastic pattern for a pair of mitts. Called Deep In The Forest, the pattern is available here. The pattern calls for fingering weight yarn - I'm using Alpaca Drops by Garnstudio. This yarn comes in some fantastic colours. I had enough in cream and oatmeal to make these mitts, so didn't bother going out to buy more yarn. I'm sure Nigel's happy to hear that!



I started the medium size, but my tension is a bit tight and I'm suspecting they might be just a little bit snug on me so they may end up being Elly's (the colours are more Elly too). That's alright though, I wouldn't mind making a second pair, maybe in pale grey and charcoal...or deep plum and ice blue...or loden and cream...hmmmmm

Come On Baby Light My Fire

Okay, December's handmade is on it's way to Jane, so I guess I'll show it off. Since Jane's household is a diverse one, I opted for a Hanukkah themed handmade for December (to go in the box with all the Christmas presents).

Full frontal, it's the Menorah Pillow from Handknit Holidays by Melanie Falick. I used the recommended yarn, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, in a soft cream colour. I realise cream isn't always the best choice for a busy family, but you can wash the pillow cover in cool water, Jane, and lay it flat to dry.



And from the back,



I swapped out the recommended knitted i-cord knot buttons for some sleek and modern shell ones. Much more to Jane's taste I think.

It should arrive by the end of the week in amongst the Christmas presents.

Happy Handmade for December Jane!

Oh yes, and I've fixed the link to ambermoggie from the last post. Go check out her work, lovely!

Buttons and Lids

Wow! My button-of-the-month arrived from Jane. This is the last in the year-long series and she's really outdone herself. It's a huge grouping of metal buttons from The Button Drawer, and I see from their website that they have a catalogue! Nigel may have to finally take all the credit cards away!

My favourite:



This one is called "Pelican in Piety", too funny:



Jane's been in a Celtic/heraldic sort of mood:








I love these buttons, they're heavy and have a beautiful definition to their designs, and the colours have depth and character. Aren't they fantastic? I'm wrapping my mind around a project to display them all.

And for Jane, I finished the handmade-of-the-month for November. I made the French Beret from Hats Gloves Scarves by Louisa Harding. I've made this pattern for myself, and Mum's made at least one for herself, so I think it was time Jane had one too.



Knit from Rowanspun 4ply in a bright purple colour called "Turkish", it's not the quick knit that it appears. Don't get me wrong, it's only ribbing and reverse stocking stitch, but at it's widest point it has a whopping 218 stitches. If you can persevere through that section, then once the decreases start it zips along. I popped it in the post last Sunday, so it should be there soon. Happy Handmade Jane!

And Jane isn't the only one with a new lid, I finally added the shingles to the dollhouse roof:





Sadly, it's been overcast for days and days and I can't seem to get a truly good snapshot of those fabulous black shingles. I might do another photo shoot another day.

If the sun ever decides to shine.

Loose Ends and New Threads

Two loose ends from my last post:

In the comment section Thea remarked on the background I used in the birthday present shots. I love that too, it's the new kitchen tablecloth I bought for this festive season. I'm very fond of it. So much so that I think it may become part of the regular tablecloth rotation around here.

Also in the comment section Nigel reminded me that I failed to mention a brush with greatness during my birthday supper out at a local sushi restaurant. Here's the story:

We (Nigel, Ian and I) were dining out on Saturday the 11th of October (that's two days before my birthday, but since it fell on Thanksgiving this year we went out on the Saturday) at local sushi place, Wasabi. Mid-way through our meal the waitress stopped by the table to check on us and mentioned that LeVar Burton just walked in and was sitting at the bar (the sushi bar). Ian and Nigel have been watching all the various Star Trek series' over the last year or so, and I remember him from his Reading Rainbow days (did anyone else ever watch that? It's still on you know. In re-runs). At the end of our meal we were leaving and we each glanced over to catch a glimpse of him on our way out the door. As it happened I was the last in our line of three and I could see the waitress talking to Mr. Burton and pointing to us (she knew we were there celebrating my birthday), so I paused and, well, stared at him (very uncool). Well, he smiled and waved at me. That's right he SMILED and WAVED. At me! So I smiled and waved back. However, by then Ian and Nigel had already left the building and I had to run down the dark street to catch up with them, so I didn't go ask him for an autograph, or whatever one is suppose to do in that situation. I hope I didn't offend him by not asking for an autograph - what is the protocol?

Let's move onto the needles.

I mentioned in another post that I've been working on a slipover in intarsia. Very fiddly. Lots of bobbins.



I'm almost finished the back. Can you see the pattern? I think it's fairly obvious at this point, it's a union jack. It's being worked in Elann Pure Bamboo. It's lovely yarn, very smooth and silky, though it tends to split easily, much like cotton,so you need to pay attention while you knit. Once I've finished the back I think I'll put this project away for a bit, I've got a few other projects in mind for this autumn.

I also started, finished and sent the October handmade-of-the-month.



A little pair of wrist warmers. The pattern is called Mrs. Beeton and is available for free on knitty.com. These were worked up in Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool and Rowan Kid Silk Haze with a beaded cast-on edge. They're an extra little layer to wear peeking out from under your jacket sleeves. I thought they might be just the thing for a blustery day in the city. It should arrive by Friday, just under the line for October. Happy handmade for October Jane!

And last, but definitely not least, I finished sewing Ian's Hallowe'en costume. Inspired by the purchased hat, this year he chose to go as the pope.



In researching pope outfits online I came across this. I had no idea he was allowed more than one kind of outfit. John Paul II must have favoured the plain white robes, because that's all that comes to my mind when I imagine what the pope wears.




I like this shot, it reminds me of Saruman the White casting a spell.



Spooky!

Tribbles for Jane

Martiangirl has left the city. It was just a quick visit, but fun none-the-less.

I sent her home with Jane's handmade-of-the-month.



A set of Tribbles.

Made from cotton yarn they're designed to be used in the kitchen or bath as a little scrubbie.

Happy Handmade Jane!

Handmade July

Jane has received her handmade-of-the-month for July. I sent it off last week and then completely forgot to blog it. I made MaryElla, a bracelet pattern from knitty.com. I tweaked the pattern a little, instead of overlapping the ends and sewing on a snap, I used a provisional cast on, shortened the overall pattern and stitched the two ends closed with kitchener stitch. I've made this pattern for myself a few times, but always found the overlapped ends a bit lumpy. The provisional cast on and kitchener stitch close made for a cleaner overall look. I also made the bracelet tiny, less than 6 inches. It barely fit me (or Ian), but it fits Jane perfectly (it even spins on her wrist).

In bunny news, I'm afraid another one died overnight. I'm not sure what the mortality rate is among wild rabbits, but I wouldn't be surprised if this sort of thing happens. I removed the dead baby from the nest and found there were still three left. One must have been hiding under the others yesterday. They look bigger even after one day.







Here's Elly holding one of them. They wriggle quite a lot, and are about the size of a full grown hamster. Their eyes and ears are still closed.



So sweet.

Sewing Is So Much Quicker

Really and truly, I need to weed the garden and clean the house, and yet I continually find ways to avoid all that.

Years ago I spent lots of time sewing things for myself, and as time past I veered off towards knitting instead, but recently I bought some fabric that appealed.



And so...I'm trying to remember a few of the old tricks. One I remembered is to keep it simple. I bought this ultra easy wrap skirt pattern from Indygo Junction. An excellent choice if I do say so. In fact, it's so easy that I may buy a couple more of their patterns. This skirt was sewn in an afternoon - oh, so quick!



A great trick that I forgot was to avoid installing zippers at all costs. I chose a dress pattern from McCall's (I don't even like McCall's) that required a zip down the back. I sewed it in and ripped it out four times, FOUR!

I won't be forgetting that rule in a hurry. I still need to attached the sleeves, and do the hem, and then...well, if it's not suitable to be seen in public, then at least I'll have something colourful to wear while I mow the lawn and dig the weeds (apologies in advance to the neighbours).



I loved the fabric, purchased at Fabricland, it was fairly cheap and mostly cotton, with just s a hint of Lycra. I don't normally wear yellow, but there seemed to be enough grey to balance it out, and I suppose the lawnmower won't notice if it doesn't suit.



Hot off the needles, I finished the Molly Ringwald Tank Top from Knitscene. I worked this top in Maggi Knits Linen, but instead of pink I opted for an icy blue, only because I happened to have enough in this colour in my stash. The pattern was very quick to knit and has a bit of shaping to the waist, very flattering. I wore it this afternoon and found it just a tad on the big side, so I soaked it in water and threw it in the dryer. I've checked on it once so far, and it looks even bigger, but I'm going to persist with a hot dryer and see if I can't shrink it up just a wee bit.



I'll let you know how that one turns out.

Late today I had a message on my voicemail from Thea saying the handmade-of-the-month arrived for June, but no-one could figure out what it was,



that's a jar of homemade mango chutney and a dishcloth in blue and green to help with the dishes. Happy Homemade for June!

The Month Of May

May is winding to a close with some loose ends tied up, Firstly the button-of-the-month arrived today. Very apropos - a snake button, remember we saw the snake dens this month. This is a real stunner of a button. Can you see the detail? Thank you Jane!



The wee button is sitting on a piece of Spirit Quartz. Does anyone remember waaaay back to this post about my haunted landing? Well, I did finally give up entirely on plants and I thought the best thing would probably be an exorcism. I toddled off to my nearest crystal/pagan/witchcraft shop and made enquiries. I was told the first step (that's pre-exorcism) is to hang a healing crystal in the window and politely ask the spirit to leave. I'll admit right now that I was very tempted to roll my eyes at the woman - she really didn't understand how bad I thought the situation was. I brought home a few large chunks of crystal that day - forget hanging a little one in the window, I needed great big substantial boulders, and I politely (yes, yes) but firmly asked the spirit to leave (no-one else was home at the time).

I bought some clear quartz, selenite, celestite and spirit quartz (in the photo that's counter-clockwise from the far right).



Clear quartz is suppose to be infinitely powerful and able to dispel negative energies; selenite is used to commune with spirits and angels; celstite is to aid in peaceful communication; and spirit quartz are suppose to bring family harmony.

Sounds good to me.

Here's a better shot of the selenite and spirit quartz. The selenite really is very beautiful when the light shines through it. I can see why people believe it has some connection to unearthly realms. The spirit quartz is very cool. It comes from Boekenhouthoek (...where?), that's in South Africa. It has crystals growing on crystals, really fascinating. It's purple and yellow, I read that it's amethyst growing on citrine, but I'm no geologist.



Here's the celestite. For the first week in the window, this one struggled to survive. Each day it would be left sitting in a small puddle of sand. When I would walk past it I would brace myself for a great explosion a la Voldemort, but it eventually settled and stopped it's shedding.



In the autumn I plan on adding a few plants to the mix and we'll see if physical life can be sustained. I'll keep you posted.

The month of May also meant I sent out Jane's handmade-of-the-month. I made a wee needle case out of woolen felt. On the front are three appliqued fish with embroidered bead bubbles. Jane is a Pisces, remember. On the back I embroidered her name in big letters - JANE. It turned out quite well, but I forgot to photograph that part. Oops.



Here's the inside. A bit utilitarian I suppose.



To go with th needle case, a thimble. Also made out of woolen felt and a bit of embroidery over a tiny piece of raw silk.



Here's me modelling the thimble. Now before you say, "but you don't wear a thimble on your little finger", let me explain. You see I have great big, sturdy 'worker bee' hands, where as Jane has tiny, delicate 'firefly' hands. I'm confident the thimble will fit on her index or middle finger (if it doesn't Jane, I'll make you another).



Recently in the comments Jane asked to see some flowers from the garden. I've found them a bit disappointing do far this year, but here goes:









Where as my little groupings of flowers come across looking a bit stiff and anti-social, Elly's are a different story. She put together one container this year and it's a party! There's all kinds - mums, pansies, pinks, daisies and snapdragons. Elly loves a crowd.




And lastly the Seaweed Shawl continues along. I'm liking this project very much. The seaweed/silk mix of the yarn is sumptuous and there's a peaceful, undulating quality to the pattern, and, though it took a little while, I've found a nice rhythm to the pattern repeat. The perfect summer project.



Now, forward to June.

Handmade April

I managed to get Jane's handmade-of-the-month for April to her last week. In honour of spingtime and planting I made a little gardening apron. Elly's going to model for us again.



Made from the basic instructions from Martha Stewart. I changed things up a little bit. Instead of linen I made the outer layer from a Michael Miller laminated cotton and then lined the apron with a turquoise cotton. I was very pleased with how it turned out.

I also added some nasturium seeds. These little plants are a real joy to grow. They like to be in the ground instead of in containers and they thrive on neglect - very little water, lots of sun. You end up with lovely little plants with bright happy flowers, and best of all you can eat the flowers and leaves. They have a spicy radishy taste and are very nice on salads (we ate quite a few of these last summer).



Happy Handmade April Jane!

Handmade for Jane

This was the little mystery from my last post. A silk and bead necklace for Jane.

I thought the silk cocoons looked like eggshells, perfect for Easter. Jane thought that, finished with the green beads, they looked like snowdrops. I can absolutely see that when I look at it now.



I made a ultra-simple tie closure for the back, that way she can wear it as a choker or a pendant.

Happy Handmades!