Christmas Calendar from Drops 2009

In Swedish!

instruction videos for knitting and crochet

If you get stuck when knitting or crocheting, check out the new instruction videos from Garnstudio.

Elevating curtain

Since we moved we haven't been able to sleep in our bedroom because of the sun shining trough the windows at 4 am in the morning... We figured that it would be impractical to use ordinary curtains since one of the windows belong to the veranda door. The solution was to get elevating curtains, and since there are two windows of different sizes, I decided to make them myself. To make elevating curtains, fabric, poles, metal rings and string is needed. The fabrik is Stockholm blad from IKEA. An excellent tutoral on how to make elevating curtains can be found here. Even thought the description is in Swedish, the picture of how to do it is really straight forward.

and napkins

My parallel project was a tea-bag box. I ordered it non painted, and used the left over paint from our tea cup cupboard. I then used tape to mark were to put the black lines for the frame. I printed TEA on a piece of paper and cut out the text. Not entierly easy to keep the edges sharp... When the paint had dried, I used decoupage finish to glue on a sun flower motif from a napkin.

Paint

When cleaning up our back yard, a much loved one found this large terracotta pot. I decided to cheer it up with some silver-ish stone paint found at the craft store. Right now it is acting as a nursery for herbs.

Want to knit a skirt?

It's time for the launch of Garnstudio's free patterns for fall and winter knits and crochet! For you who want to make a skirt out of yarn for the chillier times to come (I like this one to the right alot) check out the 4 skirt patterns. You can find those and other patterns for pullovers, socks, cushions and more here. (In Swedish, here)

Crocheted hat for garden pot

I've crocheted a hat for my hanging flower pot. From the beginning it actually was a hat I made quite a few years ago. I didn't used it as a hat, and figured it would be great as the bottom for this pot. I had to remake the outer edges, and of the left over yarn I made a pigtail with glass beads at the lower end. Inside there are pelargoniums in two different colours, lilac and cerise. Since their are pretty old as plants, I've also planted edible garden cress in the same pot and I am looking forward to see it dazzeling in a few months!

Reassembeling the wedding dress

Now when the wedding has passed, I have time to show you what my dress looked like on the inside. :)

I added the tull on the underlying lining in two layers. Thanks to the dressing doll, I needled the fabric in place on the lining and sew it in place while hanging.


I sealed the lace in place with a few some support stiches before I sew the lining and the over layer in dupion silk together so that the lace wouldn't slip. This was just a few days before the wedding, so I didn't take the time to take more pictures. :)


At the top I found a channel formed in between the seams, perfekt for a supporting ribbon at the top of the dress. The ribbon is hidden but was used to secure that the strapless dress wouldn't slide down to much when walking. I made the last fix just a few hours before it was time to go to church... :) I guess that is the bad thing with making my own dress, there is something to fix all to the end, and I wish a had a longer moment to just sit and enjoy everything P and K had prepared a bit more! (You are great!!!!)

A nice peptic ulcer bug

Giant microbes makes nice bugs of fabric. I got a special order from a H pylori expert looking for a crocheted version in the right colour. Which happened to be cerise. This is the most accurate picture I could find, found here at www.hpylori.com.au. I will be back with pictures of the crocheted version.

DROPS Easter workshop 2009!

Want to make some easter decorations? Check out Garnstudio's easter workshop, in English or Swedish.

Ceremony invitations

My plan was to make simple invitation cards for the ceremony, but I couldn't help myself from making little embellishments. :)

A piece of beauty

I bought the latest issue of Debbie Bliss Knitting Magazine, I have some of her books and really like her peaceful designs. Quite often magazines are filled with patterns and to a nicer prize than an eqvivalent book. And you also get some non-edited extra information. And som ads too.

One of them is for this piece:


It is for helping out with the gauge of your knitting needles! Isn't it just beautiful? I think it looks like a seashell. You can order it from Debras Garden for $16 and for extra charge you can also get is as earrings and necklace pendant or a key chain.

On the move

Not posting is not equal to not crafting. I've been working on the lace for the wedding dress, the shawl for my maid of honour, cards cards and cards, two giraffes of different sizes, a mini teddy bear and the shadow heart sweater for my niece. And on the flower power banana chair for Sigge.

I started to make the cover in red with white printed stars but that wasn't crazy enough and looked, at best, a bit weak. A much loved one thought I was crazy when I went for the flower IKEA fabric but liked the result - simply because it was crazy. I bought the fabric to make tetraeds but it workes best in larger pieces. I have to go and get some more to make a seat for my rattan armchair that a much loved one dislikes a lot, but I think I may get permission to keept it outside my hobby room in our new house. ;)

By the way, new house means mooooooving. In the picture you can see almost all stuff that has been in my crafty closet. There are a few boxes still to be packed. The dark blue bag is an exception, it is filled with the content of my closet for clothing. I do have another closet, but it is still approximately half of the clothes I have. A much loved one think I have plenty of clothes. Simple math suggests that I have more than plenty of craft stuff. ;)

On the wedding dress: lace cover with embroidery

I want to walk the isle with a clean consciousness. To be sure that no small kids will be sewing breads on my dress, I simply do it myself. With 10 weeks to go until the wedding it has been time to start. I used my dress pattern check dress to fit the lace, sewing the adjustments in place. As you can see, I have no real plan on how to add the breads. I guess it will show eventually. :)

Barbie knits

Another way of making use for yarn leftovers is knitting dresses for Barbie. Here you have a great site for free patterns in Swedish, English, Dutch, French, Danish, Norwigan and Spanish!

On the wedding dress: silk shawl for maid of honour

I'm making another wedding shawl, this one is for K. She has found the perfect dress, a midnight blue with silver embroidery on front and back, so this shawl gets midnight blue beads. The model gets nicer with contrasting beads (my shawls has transparent beads), and since I know the pattern by heart now, perhaps I should ask if we can trade them... :)

I've recently finished two very different books:

The first is "Make your own dress patterns" by Adele Margolis. I thought is would be all about dresses, but she went through how to contruct patterns for all kinds of clothing. It's not "fun" reading but very helpful reading. The new knowledge it gave me will be of good help when I make the lace "cover" for my wedding dress!

The other book is "Opening Skinner's Box" by Lauren Slater which is an absolute amazing reading for everybody about big psychological experiments of the 20th century.

On the wedding dress: silk shawl

I finished one vital part for my weddin outfit, the shawl for church (the dress has bare shoulders plus the wedding is in April). I used a pattern from Vogue knitting vinter spring 2007/2008 with one strand raw silk and one strand silver thread. The beads (that are white chrystal and not really visible on the pics) are added to a thin crochet hook and then slided on the stich before it is knitted. Maybe I will make one for my maid of honour too, with blue beads in the squares. What to you think K? :)



And here I am, VERY comfy in my favorite corner where no one else can sit but me bc it so full with yarn and stuff. And just so that you now, Midsumer Murders is the best series to watch while making a wedding shawl. Or any shawl. ;)

On the wedding dress: dress pattern

I've been working on the pattern for the wedding dress making an evening dress with the same pattern, just to see how it works. Wearing the dress gave me ideas of changes I need to make on the pattern.













First I made a dress in sheets making adjustments to fit. Then I cut the sheet dress in the seams to use it as a pattern when I cut the fabric.

I finished the dress with an edge of blach velvet and a thin black ribbon belt. I used it for Christmas lunch at work and realized I had to fasten the lining in the fabric since it tended to drag the zipper top into my back. Not very comfy. After wearing it on my birthday a realized that I have to make the top edge a bit tighter to prevent the dress to slide down after a days wear and maybe shorten the waist section. Only a centimeter sliding down will otherwise make not so pretty folds around the waist.

Thanks to C for lending me her fitting doll!!!! It makes my work so much easier.

Christmas stuff

I've been a bad blogger during December being busy making Christmas stuff. Here are some of it:

A Christmas "plate" with flowers, candle holders, cinnamon pieces and decorations.





Christmas oranges with clove and red ribbons just like I used to make them when I was a kid.


Candle wired with beads on a wire


Christmas reef decorated with tinsel and a little santa. Tinsel is tricky to get in a picture...







Advent candelstick with different kinds of nuts, chrystals and small silver ornaments.