Still here, still sewing, still knitting even in public

Somehow months have passed without a single blog post. At this age I feel busy when I have a special program on one day of the week! In May we had a school reunion with friends from 50 years ago, so naturally I felt busy for weeks. I needed a nice new bag for the meeting.

I used vintage handwoven linen (from my mother's stash) and some double sided Japanese quilting cotton (from my daughter's stash), with the dotty side out, and a button I bought from Liberty's in London in 2013.

Two open interior pockets in the lining and a big zipper pocket in the back. I used iron-on felt interfacing, stitched on the front side and not stitched on the back. Adjustable strap. All my own design, with ideas from other bags I have made over the years.

The annual World Wide Knit in Public Day was on Saturday, and Villa Cooper organized an event like many times before.

Coffee and tea with biscuits and cake was served, and the weather was perfect for sitting in this lovely garden, knitting and chatting with new and old friends. My long time blog acquaintance, Kristiina from KristiinanSilmukat was there and we met for the first time in real life. It was nice to get a face to the name and a new friend. Many ladies came by, not to knit but to bring their no longer needed knitting needles and yarns for our collection to be donated to the local Ukrainian refugees.

Over the weeks I have stayed away from blog writing, I do have visited the usual blogs, and I have been knitting. This is a collection of dish cloths. The green and yellow ones are pattern experiments with a 70 % bamboo, 30 % cotton blend, and the beige is all cotton.

Before dishcloths I knitted some socks and mittens, but I save them for my next post. 

Flying Geese, Dresden Plates and more hats for babies

After a lot of cutting and sewing, all 88 geese are flying in a nice formation around the houses of this mystery quilt I'm making after Kaaren's design.

The corners have blue Dresden Plates appliquéd on yellow table cloth (really, this was a self-made tablecloth for a Summer party some years ago).

I like trying new blocks in a small scale, like just four Dresdens. I only have made a Dresden plate block once before in my life, when I made a bag after Stephanie's pattern.

Then of course I have been knitting. The broadcast from the Vuelta is usually just a little over an hour so these baby hats are not strictly Grand Tour hats. I simply like to keep my hands busy when I'm watching something not too demanding or interesting on TV, and so there are 11 new hats for my bag to be taken to the maternity ward. I try to make them for every taste, for boys and girls, small heads and bigger ones. It is fun to try out new patterns, and I happened to develop a new one too: the white hat in the middle was going to be 2 tog, yarn over, purl 1 but I started accidentally with ssk, yarn over, purl 1 and so the zig zag pattern is softer than 

in this yellow one in the middle of the front row. Oh, I see these make together already 21, my goal for the Vuelta. I still have some yarn left, and the Vuelta ends on this coming Sunday.

Maybe 70 hats instead of the intended 63 would make a nicer number?

Vive le Corduroi!

Getting started is the most difficult part. If the project is nice or very important, keeping on working is easy. I promised to show what happened to the plum coloured tight tunic from my last post. Well, you know the Uncommonly Corduroy book by Stephanie, published earlier this year? I tested one of the bag patterns for her, the Ethel and MJ, and after I got the book I was ready to have a go at a new pattern. I really wanted to use corduroy this time, but with the fabric shops so far from me, and their selection being more curtains than quilting fabrics and especially not baby corduroy, I just kept knitting...

... until I realized I had this great piece of fabric (the old tunic from my last post) just waiting to be repurposed in its deep plum coloured baby corduroy loveliness. I decided the California Girl pattern was perfect, and the size of the parts needed was small enough so I didn't need to make any extra seams.

The back and the flap are corduroy. For the lining and front I used a floral print, originally cut up by my mother to make a shirt dress for one of her daughters. By the colour I would judge it to be my sister P. Turquoise or yellow would have been for M, light blue or bright red for T and brown, rust or olive for me. We all had our own favourite colours.

 

So, here it is, with pockets under the flap and inside. I'm still looking for wonderful buttons for the flap. I have great ones, but some of them are too colourful, some are too shiny, so I keep looking.

I'm not a tiny person, so there was some leftover fabric after I finished the California Girl (go ahead, this link is to another version!). I also happened to need a smaller bag for a nephew's wedding this weekend. None of my old purses would do. My outfit is unusually colourful, but the corduroy just happens to be the same colour as my new tunic. The new bag had to be small but large enough to hold my EpiPen. I'm allergic to wasps, and I can imagine the local wasps will find their way to a garden where there is wedding cake and perfumed ladies, so I must be prepared. So I measured the EpiPen, and the short sleeves of the old tunic which were the largest pieces left of it, and I designed a little bag for myself.

I had used all long strips of the tunic for the California Girl's strap, so there was not enough fabric for a strap without too many seams. I went shopping and found exactly one velvet ribbon, luckily in an OK colour, and a dark blue gross grain ribbon for the strap lining. I forgot to think about keeping the bag closed, so I just added two little squares of Velcro by hand under the flap afterwards. To the bag front I managed to sew the other halves by machine.

 

Sewing with corduroy was pure joy. I used my machine's walking foot because of the heavy fusible interfacing. For use in a quilt top nothing special is needed. I have some narrow strips and yoke pieces cut on the bias left over from making these two bags, and I will put them aside to wait for a suitable project.

 

 

Now I just need to pack for tomorrow's flight. Weddings are such happy events! 

 

Still here, and new finishes too

It's been a long time, due to computer problems, but with the temperatures finally going down I just might get more active after the too hot July. I haven't been all lazy, so I can show you some projects I have finished. The newest creation is this big tote bag for groceries. It is lined with raincoat fabric so I can just wipe it clean if a yoghurt lid get perforated or some other accident happens. The floral panel is a rep weave table runner I bought years ago for this purpose at a sale for 1.50 €.

 

 

During the Tour de France watching in July I knitted this set of washcloths. The cool colour and the bamboo yarn made it feel relaxing.

 

 

Remember the Train Socks in knitted for the twins across the street before they were born (probably not!)? After I heard that the newcomers were both girls, I just couldn't send them socks in green and beige and brown and blue...these here on the left:

 

 

... but I knitted them new ones in white and yellow. As June was so very cold here, I also knitted them tiny woollen hats like the one I had given to a friend's grandchild a little earlier. These hats have a crocheted flower on the side.

 

 

The Kaffe Fasset stripe yarn socks will go to the charity project in Järvenpää. I think they will look quite nice on a bigger baby as the colours go well with the maternity package contents.

 

My newest project involves this, a baby corduroy tunic that somehow shrunk in my closet.

 

 

 

Old bags and flowers

Remember the boots with flowers last year?

The same group of people and local enterprises collected old handbags and other bags for this year's project, and the florist shop donated one plant for every special bouquet they sold over the year. Suddenly, there were a thousand plants and hundreds of bags waiting to decorate what they called the ugliest spot of the town, the wire net fence of a sand and grass parking lot in the heart of the town.

 

Let's have a closer look: 

Some hard to use bags are without flowers just filling gaps.

When I took the photos, the flowers had been here over their first weekend. I couldn't see any damage done to them.

 

I wouldn't use this idea in our own garden, but here it works.

The flowers will grow a little and bloom all Summer.

 

The sign tells the names of the shops which will take care of watering the flowers. Our favourite knitting café Lentävä Lapanen, The Flying Mitten, is among them. - Ooh, if you just love their yarn collection, you can look here, it's their new online shop.

 

One more bag used as a flowerpot:

 

Last year there was knitted (and crocheted) graffiti in the streets as well, and I felt a little rebellious and started a project alone.

 

 

I only had these two flowers, one for the rail and the other for a tree.

I can see them every time I come from the train to town.

 

This year the garden of Villa Cooper is showing knitted art as a part of the Summer exhibition. I knitted some little flags for a bunting and crocheted some granny triangles too, in grey and in a muted pink.

 

 

I promise to take some pictures the next time I go there!

 

A dear friend had a new granddaughter, just when I was trying out a fun baby hat pattern, Aviatrix by Justine Turner, so I had a perfect little welcome gift for her finished in no time.

 

Little yarn rests for the flowers, matching the button.

 

New bag and some new "rags"

Last night I finished my new Summer bag. The pattern is Caity Did by Loft Creations. I made it mine with some alterations to the original.

 

 

First, I need to wear the strap across my body because I have a rotten shoulder, and lifting it to keep the bag in place makes it much worse. Instead of two handle straps I made one long and adjustable shoulder strap.

 

On the inside, I prefer to keep my wallet and keys in a zippered pocket, so I made one. If you don't know how to make it, go and look at my tutorial here.

 

On the other side I added a small pocket for my phone. There is a piece of elastic band coming from the lining to the pocket front, to make sure the phone doesn't glide out if the bag is not upright.

Back side of my new bag. The fabric is a treasure from the 1960's. It used to be a sleeveless top my mother made for me, with matching shorts. It was hardly worn at all, the fabric is like new, and I was wondering why because I know I really liked this fabric even back them. When I was ripping the seams open I remembered: The fabric is not only by a famous designer, Marjatta Metsovaara, but it was designed for curtains or tablecloths, and my top was not only stiff and uncomfortable but also too hot.

 

As I was going wild with the customizing changes on the pattern, I decided to make the bag perfect for my needs with a very little change: Instead of a 1½" box pleat I made a 2" box pleat. I don't need a slim flat bag to carry papers and a magazine, I need a roomy bag that can take my book and my camera, sometimes my knitting project (balls of yarn are never flat!),  maybe a cardigan or a hat, and not look too stuffed. Clever solution, wasn't it?

 

 

If you are planning to make a new bag for the Summer, I have a great hint: Stephanie will be selling her 9 $ Loft Creations PDF patterns for 4 $ each from the 1st of June, permanently. Look here, and you will see how the original Caity Did bag looks.

 

I promised you rags as well:

 

 

Dish cloths used to be old rags before they were replaced by pretty knitted or crocheted cloths. Now these are popular again, and I have knitted and crocheted many, many of them. From top, a bamboo/cotton blend, multi-coloured Cream and Sugar cotton, and a microfiber acrylic yarn, to test if it is any good. After a few times in the washing machine the quality of these cloths is even better than before. We have been watching the Giro d'Italia, and a nice dishcloth knitting is just the perfect project for it.

Last Stop of the Book Tour Uncommonly Corduroy

Earlier this month Stephanie from Loft Creations had her first book published, and for nine days we have been visiting blogs showing some projects included in this book. The last stop of the blog Book Tour Uncommonly Corduroy is right here.  You are most welcome!

 

The tour began naturally at Stephanie's own Loft Creations, and we have visited her pattern testers she calls Supremes. If you missed a post, here are the stops once more:

 

 

February 19  --  Stephanie at  Loft Creations

February 20 -- Martingale at Stitch This

February 21 --  Candace at  Squash House Quilts

February 22 -- Carrie at A Passion for Applique

February 23 --  Mary at Mary on Lake Pulaski

February 24 --  Char at  Cloth Stitched 

February 25 --  Mary at Needled Mom

February 26 -- Linda at The Quilted Pineapple  (Linda will be sharing up close and personal details about quilting on corduroy)

February 27 -- Margaret at A Sampler of Stitches 

February 28 -- Ulla at Kotkarankki  - that's right here.

My modest contribution to the book was testing a bag pattern. As a hobby quilter with English as a foreign language I must make an ideal tester: if I can understand the instructions, anyone can. The pattern was named Ethel and MJ, bags for twin aunties. Here is Stephanie's own version, one bag for each auntie. Polka dots are for the designer, I guess. You must get the book to find out why one flower is red and the other is pink!

 

Image from Uncommonly Corduroy by Stephanie Dunphy, Martingale, 2014; used by permission. Photo by Brent Kane. All rights reserved. 

 

I made just one bag:
 

 

Instead of corduroy, I used some upholstery fabric rests for the sides and cotton/linen curtains from my childhood home for the centre and the handles. Recycled heavy corduroy pants would also work fine for a bag project like this where all the pieces are large. I have not yet seen and touched  this lovely 21-wale corduroy Stephanie used for her quilts and bags, but if it is anything like the "baby corduroy" I have used for making a dress for my little daughter years ago, you will love using it. Naturally your normal quilting cottons are also a good choice, the firm stabilizer between the layers will guarantee for good looks.

 

The bag has an inside pocket for keys or a train ticket. The lining and pocket are made with quilting cotton. As usual, the instructions are easy to follow and the parts go together like a dream.

 

 

 

Two matching buttons, one for closing the bag and one for the flower. A funny coincidence: these buttons were a gift from Stephanie many years ago and now they found a perfect place on the bag made after her pattern. 

 

The book is full of great projects, guaranteed Loft Creations quality. I hope the Supremes' versions seen together with Stephanie's originals on this tour will help you see how they would look in your own fabrics. Use up your stash! There are bags in various sizes for every taste, beautiful quilts, wall hangings and even a scarf. The books offers useful hints for bag making at the beginning of the book, and a chapter about sewing with corduroy. Every project comes with a little story. I think my first project from the book will be one of the other bags.

 

The publisher Martingale has given 10 eBooks to give away on this blog book tour. Now you have a last chance to win your own free eBook copy of Uncommonly Corduroy by leaving a comment here on this post. Please make sure you are not a "noreply-comment" so I can e-mail you about the win. I will draw the winner on Tuesday the 4th of March. If you want more chances to win, you can go back to the other blogs of this tour listed above and see if their draw is still open. If you prefer a hard copy, you can get it directly from Martingale here, or from Amazon here, or you can buy a signed copy from Stephanie, the link is on her right sidebar.

THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON WEDNESDAY THE 5TH.

Greetings from Britain and two new CO finishes

The holiday is over and I bring you greetings from London and Oxford. I took my daughter on the trip and she was a wonderful guide and source of information in London. Before the trip I created something new for the Craft Olympics. We have a saying about something coming up like mushrooms on rainy weather. Like this:

 

... and suddenly there are some chanterelles too...

 

 

... and before you notice the toadstools have popped up. This is my finish for the New Category of the Craft Olympics, my own designs in crochet and knitting.

 

For the Special Category I sewed a little rucksack with a zipper in the front

 

 

and another zipper in the back for another pocket, and adjustable straps.

 

The craftiest part of our trip was this fence in Oxford, with lovely pieces of knitted and crocheted graffiti art.

 

Can you guess how we got to see this, and C.S.Lewis' and J.R.R.Tolkien's favourite pub, and the place where Inspector Morse used to sit and have beer, and the Ashmolean Museum and many other places? We had an experienced guide with local inside information, and many of my dear readers have enjoyed her guided tours in different parts of Britain and other places. Did you guess her name already? It was Melanie, and she tailored us an all day program based on our interests, and came all the way from home to her old home town  to meet us. My next post will cover the first part of our stay in London, but we'll come back to Oxford after that.

 

Meanwhile, Autumn has arrived to our part of Finland. The leaves are turning red and yellow, and I look forward to sunny days with cool, clear air and fresh wind.