Sister Crafting Project 2014

Caryn and I had our first official 2014 Sister Crafting Day meeting back in February (it's already March?!) and we've decided on our project for the year - Christmas stockings!

I received a plethora of fun crafting books for Christmas last year, and there were quite a few patterns to choose from. In the running was this Julbock stocking pattern from Swedish Handknits (also where I got the crayfish hot pad pattern I knitted recently):

[photo credit: Just Crafty Enough]

The pattern we ended up choosing is from the book, Scandinavian Needlecraft:

[photo credit: Katy Elliot blog]

I really like the heart one with the tulip border on top. Plus the snowflake one is cute too, all very Scandinavian looking, which was obviously top priority. :) I was even thinking of making the reindeer one into a Julbock instead for Ryan's stocking.

We haven't actually started making them yet, but picking out a pattern and drinking coffee counts as a craft day in my book.

In other news, our apartment is almost completely unpacked! It's a March miracle! We still need to put up some artwork to brighten it up, but it feels good to have things out of boxes and where they belong. 

Have a great week!

Knitting a couple of crayfish

As promised, here are a couple shots of my most recent knitting project form Swedish handknits: the crayfish hot pad.  It's knitted in the round and the seams will be sewed shut when it's finished. Then, I will wet felt it so it shrinks up and becomes a little sturdier.  I'm using a 100% wool yarn...I couldn't find the exact color blue I wanted, but the one I settled on is working out better than I anticipated.

I've been working on it here and there for the past couple weeks. A couple rows while watching TV, a couple rows in the morning...a great leisurely project.

 

For those of you who don't know, crayfish are very popular in Sweden. Most Swedes throw crayfish parties in the summertime and it's quite a fun party to attend if you ever get the chance.  I'm thinking about throwing one this year...IKEA sells frozen crayfish for just the occasion!

Sister crafting

Well folks, it happened. My sister, Caryn (pronounced car-in, not care-in), and I held our very first 4S day.  Which stands for Second Saturday Sister Soiree. Every second Saturday of the month, we have planned to get together and get our craft on. Most of our projects will be Christmas related since our Christmas craft list is pretty ambitious and we never think of starting the projects until, uh, Christmas.  And by then it's too late.  So we are starting NOW! 

Here we are preparing for our first project: Advent calendars. 

We were in search of a Scandinavian-looking, simple designed, cute DIY calendar.  We flipped through some of my Scandinavian craft books for inspiration. 

We searched the ol' world wide web.

And finally found a couple we really liked! 

This one from Craftsy was our fave. It's simple and modern Scandinavian looking.  We are going revamp it a bit so it is even more Scandinavian too.  Instead of "December" at the top, we are going to have it say "God Jul" (Merry Christmas is Danish and Swedish). We are also going to use some Swedish ribbon for the hanging part.  I love that you can change up what you put in the pockets every year.  Growing up, we had an advent calendar that my mom would fill with mini candy canes.  

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This next one was a very close second for me. I love the details and embroidery.  It's eclectic and cute. And you could easily up the Scandinavian vibe on it by embroidering a Danish heart here and a little tomte there.

Linaloo made this one (super cute blog too, check it out!):

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Hannah was so excited about our advent calendar project that she threw up a little bit. 

Doesn't that face just make you smile?!

So now that Caryn and I have decided on our design, our next step is going to be saving up our craft coupons and buying our supplies. Here's to Christmas crafting in January!

I hope you are all having a great week!

This and that

I'm still adjusting to the "real world" after such a long and wonderful break.  I haven't done any crafts yet in 2013, but I definitely have quite the list going. Caryn (my sis) and I are planning on holding monthly Christmas craft days so we can actually accomplish everything we want to by next Christmas.  I will be sure to post what we create next Saturday.

I received a lot of Scandinavian inspiration over the break.  This wall hanging being one of the inspiring things:

My sweet little sister, Maren, picked me up this wall hanging at a local craft fair she was at (for $7, what a steal!).  

And Caryn bought me this little beauty:

Yes, that's right. I'm going to be a Swedish hardtack making fool. Or a knäckebröd fool as the Swedes say.

I also received a couple incredible Scandinavian Christmas books from my dear Mom/Dad and Aunt (thank you!).

I will be sure to post projects as I attempt them.  I also got a pretty awesome Swedish cookbook that I will have to share a recipe or two as I try new things.

All that to say that I am excited about all the new craft possibilities 2013 is going to bring. It's going to be epic.  And fun. And very Scandinavian. Stay tuned.

Knitting from the 50's

During a recent trip to Micheal's, my eye caught a new line of yarn: Vanna's Glamour.  Apparantly Vanna White is now endorsing yarn.  Naturally, I bought a skein in honor of my oldest sister who is obsessed loves  Wheel of Fortune, or as she likes to call it - "the Wheel".

The yarn is a yellowish-mustard color, for some reason it looks quite dark in the picture below.  I wasn't sure what to knit at first, and I can't say I have an exact idea of what I'm making, but I'm fiddling around with what will perhaps turn into a cowl?  I found a new stitch in a 1950's McCall's Knitting book called the "easy lace knit stitch" and am giving it go!

I acquired three of these fabulous McCalls Knitting magazine-books from the 50's from an older lady from my church back in Michigan about 10 years ago.  She also gave me her stash of knitting needles (which quadrupled my then amount of knitting needles) and some yarn.  I guess you could say that's when my knitting obsession kicked in.

  

And below is the new stitch I'm trying out, easy lace pattern.  And there are tons of classic pictures and poses in this book.

Remember when your soccer coach would wear a hand-knit cardigan?  Yeah, me either.  But apparently they did.

And I'm seriously considering making these for me and Ryan.   They're pretty spectacular.  And they just look so happy wearing them.

But the picture that takes the cake is definitely this squirelly-looking man.  The poses that all of the models make in the book are priceless.  But there's something about this guy that just cracks me up.  I'm laughing at him right now actually. Ha.

Here's to knitting up a storm!

Christmas E-Book

I'm happy to announce that my Ho Ho Ho Christmas Gift Bag tutorial has been featured in this Christmas E-Book! It is full of great ideas for homemade Christmas gifts among many other things. So if you're looking for some fun, free ideas, check it out!

Organizing a wall

I'm attempting to use up my stash of fabric (or at least make a dent in it) by making projects from the many craft books I've acquired over the years. So I decided to make a wall organizer from Lotta's Simple Sewing book.

We hung it on the wall right when you walk in the door. That way it's convenient to put any mail or coupons right in a pocket. I also threw some pens, tape, and scissors in some pockets too.

The only part I'm not quite happy with yet is the wooden dowel I used to hang it up, it's not quite long enough so the fabric bunches on either side. An easy fix but I need to go someplace that sells them.

It feels good to have a place for things to go when I walk through the door. I was tired of stacks of junk mail just sitting around and this does the trick. Yay for organizing!

A cute jumper for a cute niece

This is my 2nd project (1st one here) from the One Yard Wonders craft book I got for Christmas. It's a playful jumper/dress for my niece! Unfortunately, I can't take any pictures of her in it because I won't see her until I'm home from Japan (in less than 2 months, woah!).

This was a very straightforward project and the directions were fairly simple. It didn't take very long either, it could easily be finished in a day. The measurements for the elastic were a little big so I took off about 2 inches to get the jumper to the size I needed.

I've really been enjoying the One Yard Wonders book, it has lots of quick and simple projects. Not to mention it helps me think of ways to decrease my ever-growing stash of fabric. If you're into craft books, be sure to check out Rachel's month-long series over at her blog, Nest Full of Eggs, she's reviewing a different 2010 craft book everyday!

Echino fabric and a new bag!

One of the best things about Japan is its vast selection of amazing fabrics!

I've especially been loving the Echino fabric. It's funky meets cutesy. It's a bit pricey though so I usually wait until I rack up points on my craft card to get a discount. :) I bought this plum-colored, bird design Echino fabric a couple months ago and finally made something with it!

I got the One Yard Wonders craft book for Christmas this year and used the "folklore bag" pattern for this project.

I've sewn a couple bags this past year while I've been in Japan and this is by far my favorite pattern so far. It's roomy, has a pocket and a magnetic closure which I absolutely love.

The magnetic closure was way easier to install than I was anticipating. And it's so convenient! It took me 2 days to sew the bag but could easily be finished in an afternoon, I just didn't have a huge amount of time when I started.

When I went to the craft store to pick up the magnetic closure I saw these fabrics 1/2 off!! I had my eye on that tree fabric for a while so I bought 1 meter of each it was such a good deal!

I'm going to make a little dress/jumper thing-a-ma-bob out of that flowery fabric for my niece, another pattern from the One Yard Wonders book.

What have you been making lately?

Inspiration

I love crafting. I've always loved crafting, especially as a kid. My parents kept some of the projects I made when I was a kid and although they certainly don't show any signs of artistic talent, it's fun to look at things that I was excited about creating.

I've recently realized that I always want to craft. Whether it's just for things around the house or to sell in stores. I would love to one day be able to sell things I make, but I want to make sure I stay excited about what I create. Having little experience selling what I make (I've only done 1 craft fair), I know it will be a balancing act to make sure I stay focused and excited instead of getting burned out.

All that to say, I got some really awesome craft books for Christmas! They are very inspiring and informative on what to expect when starting up your very own craft business. I'd like to start up at least an etsy shop by the end of 2011 and these books have already been very helpful, check 'em out!

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The Handmade Marketplace is a gold mine of information on starting up your own crafting business. It has some great tips on branding your crafts and discovering your style, both things I need to figure out!

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Craft, Inc. overlaps with some of the information given in The Handmade Marketplace but gives tons of first-hand experiences and insights by professional crafters which I found extremely helpful.

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This book isn't about starting up a craft business at all, it's all about creating things for your home that reflect who you are as a family. I absolutely love it! I've already started the list of what to make for when Ryan and I get hitched and move into our first place together. I'm also going to make his wedding present from an idea in this book which involves a word-burning tool kit, and no, I've never used one before...wish me luck!

What are some of your favorite craft books?

Freddy Teddy

Remember this faceless teddy bear I knitted back in May?! It took me a while, but I finally finished his face! Yay! Turns out my face-embroidery skills are lacking so I decided to do a simple button-nose and ribbon mouth.

I used the pattern for the "flat ted" from Zoe Mellor's Knitted Toys book. Great book, but not many instructions on finishing the toys. For example, not much was mentioned about how to sew up the seams or embroider the face for this project.

It feels good to finish a project that has been laying around staring me in the face, literally (only his eyes were on until today).

This knit teddy bear is going to be a Christmas present for the newest addition to my family, my nephew! He probably won't be able to play with it until he's a little older because of the button nose (choking hazard). But hopefully one day he'll enjoy dragging him around and playing with him!

"Merry Christmas!"

Cross Stitch Mania

Remember this craft book I bought a while back? I started to work on something but didn't get very far. Then I forgot about it until a couple of weeks ago. Oops.

To be honest, I wasn't the biggest of fans of cross stitch at first. But the more I worked on it, the more addicting it became. Once I reached this point: That's when I started finding cross stitch relaxing and exciting even? There's something about a bunch of small stitches coming together to form a picture. It almost felt like a puzzle. And I like puzzles. I used to do big puzzles when I was a kid and then glue them together. Yeah, I was that cool. Anyway, back to cross stitch. It's great to do in the in-between times of the day. Especially when I get home from work and just want to unwind. I get the same feeling cross stitching as I do when I knit. It's something that doesn't take much thought. You can do it while you listen to music, podcasts or watching TV.

You don't see much cross stitch these days. Or maybe I just don't see much cross stitch. I want to see more of it in my future. Perhaps a larger project next time with a wider color palate.

My first, finished cross stitch project of my adult life. Woo hoooo, I'm done!

The new crafting book

I stumbled across this little book after making a quick trip to the fabric store for a zipper. Before I knew it I was browsing the books and patterns and walked away with this little guy. The title? I have no idea. I still don't read much Japanese. Maybe it's simply called, Headbands. Your guess is as good as mine.

What I do know is that there are super cute patterns and ideas for various headband and hair- clip accessories. I bought some cute fabric for making a thick headband with a cute modern bow. I haven't started it yet, but pictures will be coming soon.

I really like the headband below with the fabric flowers. I think it looks quite elegant.

Oh yeah, remember scrunchies? They're still a pretty big deal over here. I can't say I'm hopping back on that bandwagon anytime soon, but there's some cute enough ideas in the book that I might try. Might.

I love the hairpins and other hairclip ideas they have in here. I'm definitely going to attempt a number of these. Especially this little flower hairpin. Cuteness.