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Showing posts from April, 2014

Jellywares Yarn Club! It's where the cool kids are at...

I have followed the Jellywares blog for a long time now (as one of those silent, slightly stalky blog reader-but-not-commenter people).  Jodie lives somewhere remote in New South Wales, in a life which couldn't really be much different to mine (I have always lived in a City, though my current-and-forever hometown Hobart isn't exactly New York...).  Her blog is a gentle and natural narrative about life there and is mostly craft-centric (which pleases me).  She is also ridiculously prolific in her makings (also pleases me, I am not a patient reader!) and she sells gorgeous yarns too! So when she launched a yarn club, I looked at the unfinished wool-related projects I have (crochet shrug, knitted beanie, knitted top and knitted socks) and thought - why not?  I love surprise packages of craft stuff in the mail, and I love distractions from all the WIPs I have lurking ready to depress me at a moment's notice :) The yarn club was launched via her Facebook page here , though

Wardrobe Architect: Weeks 3 and 4

I am falling a little behind on the architecting.  But that's OK - I intended to work through this process when I had time and only if it seemed useful to me (it does!). In weeks one and two we explored how style changes over time and how you feel about your personal style (argh!  feelings...!).   Week three was a little more specific - allowing you to explore shapes and how you feel about them and your style.  My preferences are apparently exceedingly middle of the road and can be summarised as below: Pants and skirts can be any length except really really short and I like a mid to high waist Tops and jackets are generally fine but never loose (that pregnant look...mmm!) and never cropped I don't like high necklines (round, turtle) - I find them really unflattering with a large chest. I also don't like strapless or spaghetti straps (again, the boobalinas are influencing preferences). I enjoyed this week's exercise, probably because it was easy for me and

Pattern Test - Sew Sweetness Edelweiss Backpack

It's not a secret that I love pattern testing and especially for Sara from Sew Sweetness , who appears to be the nicest person on the face of the earth.  She also makes great bag patterns (winning combination!). This time it was a backpack - the Edelweiss .  I was interested to find out she had never designed one before because she couldn't "see" one she would like (I think that's what she said).  I think it was worth the wait and the musing - because this pattern is lovely. Image from Sewsweetnesspatterns.com I particularly like the way the flap comes over on this bag, plus it was great to use some more "hardware" and do the adjustable strap thing too.   I believe you can make this as a cross body bag, but I think it probably works best as a rucksack. I made mine out of things I had in the cupboard already (score!) - with a bicycle theme: I had intended this to be for my friend Danica (who rides a lot!) but my daughter Isabelle has all bu

Thread Theory Goldstream Peacoat - a birthday present for Dad!

I was lucky enough to win a competition where the prize was the Goldstream Peacoat pattern from Thread Theory .  At that point the pattern itself was not released - I had the option of choosing the digital pattern (quicker!) or the paper.  I think I originally went for the digital, but then saw their paper patterns and swiftly changed my mind - those puppies are drool-worthy! Image from the Thread Theory website because I forgot to photograph my copy.... So when I won this I showed it to my husband Nick, and he liked it - but then his parents bought him a (nice, but clearly inferior..) coat for his birthday.  He then didn't really "need" another coat.  So my thoughts turned to a girl version for me - there are many super gorgeous examples out there ( google women's peacoat and marvel at the results), so that was the working plan.  I even tried one on in Jeans West, to see what they looked like on me (I liiiiike...) But then my Dad came over. Two weeks be