bitsy (where is my mind)

Heya Peeps

So it's been a while! Sorry about that, life kind of got in the way.

I'm a bit exhausted and don't really know where to start. I spent last week in Vietnam and have been travelling for work pretty much since I landed. So please excuse me.

Just so you're not entirely bored, here's some stuff I prepared earlier:

Little zippered purses made from scraps for some swaps!


Fabric covered buttons converted in to hair accessories


And some gift tags/book marks (you pick!).


I have some FOs to share and a wonderful swap package from Leah to show you all, but I'll save that for next time :)

Oh the agony

There's nothing much going on here. I had a bit of a knitting vision when I was looking through wrap style and decided I needed a cape. Every girl needs a cape. So I've been working on that using some yarn from my stash (I can't believe it either) but nothing really to share yet. I suspect it's going to take me a while. Damn cape better come with superpowers.


There's been some bits and pieces happening. I improvised these stitch markers a while ago to use in swaps and for Christmas presents. I didn't have any rings so I just wrapped the wire around some 10mm needles a few times and snipped off the ends. The smaller rings were done on 4mm needles but only once so they made circles. They seem to work OK, but I wouldn't want to use them with mohair or any very thin yarn.

These ones have been made by special request. I found the plastic rings somewhere and thought that would be easier that cutting my fingers with wire. They work pretty well, probably because they're plastic so they're light. Hope you like them Bee, can't wait to see what you need them for!

There has been much pain, frustration and anguish around here lately. It is, of course, time to vote in the Hottest 100. Do you democratic duty to music people, VOTE. For the record, my money's on Gnarls Barkley's Crazy for #1. But One Crowded Hour's a bit of a dark horse. If you're interested I ended up with:

Cat Power - The Greatest
Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down
Pony Up! - The Truth About Cats & Dogs (Is That They Die)
Audreys - Oh Honey
Decemberists - O Valencia!
Grates - Inside Outside
Howling Bells - Low Happening
Regina Spektor - Samson
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Honey Bear
Belle & Sebastian - The Blues Are Still Blue

There's some Aussies in there (links to myspace: Howling Bells, Audreys, Grates) check 'em out if you haven't heard of them!

The year of the paintbrush

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you're all well and had a great festive season. I spent the last week on a beech in Queensland bribing people to fetch me a Pimms. Lovely.

I don't know whether it was the start of a new year or maybe just the reflection that comes when you step out of your life for a little while, but it was really...(I think) refreshing (is the word)...to re-evaluate the little things and remember that there's a big picture.

And oh my there's nothing quite like bobbing up and down in the ocean. I always forget just how alive and fresh it makes me feel. I must remember to swim in the ocean more.

I must also remember not to be so lazy. Witness these:


Inspired by the fabulousness of these (but without reading the tutorial I just found when I went to get the link - Arhhhhhh!) I decided to make some hard-cover needle cases. I like the roll ones, but they're kind of flaccid. No matter where or how I put the flaps the contents always falls out all over the place. Always. These ones look solid, sturdy, practical. Things looks stable.

So I thought about how to put them together all was going well, the cutting, sewing, ironing, etc. until I had to glue the front. I sat in the backyard, squirted on the glue and tried to use the nosel to spread the glue out. This failed. So I grabbed a piece of cardboard and tried to use that to flatten it out. This failed. What I really needed was a paint brush. But did I go and get one? No. That would mean I had to stand up. Yes, that really was my excuse. I am an idiot. Unspuprisingly the glue was a failure, and now the cases have big splodge marks where the glue was. It's not pretty. You can kind of see them in this one:


But you live, you learn.
Hurrah for 2007! The year of the paintbrush.

Christmas Star Decorations!

Happy Festive Season everyone!

I made these little stars for the christmas decoration swap I was telling you about. They're really easy, even for those of us who are sewing-in-a-straight-line challenged. I posted the pattern up over in the side bar. If you want to print it out at the correct size for some reason you'll need to download it to your desktop and then print, rather than print from the link. My process went something like this:

1. Cut out shape (yes, I know, der.)
2. Pin shape to two pieces of fabric, with their right-sides facing (each other).
3. Cut fabric around edges of shape. You should now have two fabric stars. Keep their right sides facing.
4. Take a piece of ribbon (about 18cm) fold it in half and place it between the two pieces of fabric of the top point of the star. (like the cheese in a sandwich, unless you're vegan and then it can be lettuce). The two ends of the ribbon should be poking out between the fabric at the top of the point. Pin it.
5. Pin the fabric together to secure it
6. Sew closely around the edges of the star, leaving a gap on the 'inner leg' of one of the bottom points. This needs to be big enough to turn the fabric right side out through. Make sure you catch the end of your ribbon at the top point and not in the edges (the cheese will try and escape, lettuce not so much).
7. Snip about five little cuts into each of the corners of the star (not the points, the inside V bits). This helps stop puckering when you turn it.
8. Turn the star right side out through the unsewn part of the seam. It may help to pull gently on the ribbon to bring the top point through. I poke the rest of the points with a pencil to get them in to shape (it's a very serious business this).
9. When you're happy with the shape, iron it. Don't skip this part or your mum will pull faces and say things like 'I don't know what I did wrong that you missed the ironing gene.' (When the correct answer is: 'Oh my, what a splendidly clever daughter you are'.)
10. Stuff it. Stuff it good. Pillow or toy stuffing are best, although feel free to experiment!
11. Sew closed the open seam. I'm lazy and use the machine, but can see the sense in hand-sewing.
12. Hang it where you will get appropriate amounts of acclaim :)

I'm off on a little blogging break over Christmas and New Year, but I'll *see* you all again in early January. Have a fabulous Christmas and New Year. Hopefully the end of 2007 sill see the world a more peaceful and humane place than the end of 2006.

xxx

Who needs hallmark

There's been some serious craft ADD going on around here lately. The back step has been set up for knitting: morning coffee, most meals, phone calls and any trip between the front of the house and the back of the house taken via the 'scenic route' leads to a couple of rows on whatever knitting project's closest. The couch has been overtaken by crochet: a good song, the news and conversations with Mr BP have all lead to a bit of SC, HDC, DC and the odd TC. Mind the scissors. The dining room is the sewing room: time on the computer, retrieving a book or pattern, reading* or movement from the knitting to crochet zone has lead to a brief interlude with the sewing machine (I reckon sewing is definitely the messiest craft, the room looks like a quilt exploded.)

No pictures yet though, everything's top secret Christmas or Swap projects. But I can show you these:


I get cranky and the price of cards so I never buy them unless they're unusual or funny (like the ones with the pictures from old knitting patterns on them and a sarcastic statement inside. But they're the exception). These make a good use of old scraps of fabric.

I just sew a whole bunch of scraps together, iron it, pin it to a piece of cardboard I want to cover, sew it around the edge of the cardboard and then cut off the excess fabric. Voila! I reckon it makes a pretty cute bookmark too :)



*This is excellent. If you've read The Secret River I would recommend this. I was a little skeptical of the concept, but I really enjoyed it.

Crochet hook case

I covet one of these! Aren't they beautiful? There really are some very clever people out there in crafty blogland. It's good inspiration, I've been thinking for a while that I need to make myself a crochet hook roll. I particularly like how these ones fold in. I've made a couple of needle rolls that, well, 'roll', and I find them a bit awkward. This is possibly my own fault though as most of my knitting needles are big sizes, so it makes the rolls pretty chunky.

This was my first-born. In the tradition of giving first-borns to special people, this went to MrBrownPants' mum (I always wondered if that tradition was just because good friends won't tell you your first-born is crappy?) Outside: Inside: This one was a prototype. I wanted somewhere to put needle gauges, stitch counters etc. as well as my shorter needles. It's made with cheap IKEA fabric (so it wouldn't matter that I crapped it up!) but I never got around to making a 'proper' one. Inside (inside inside inside inside) Outside (that one's for The Grates fans. I'm thinking of you) I have a very very small amount of florence broadhurst fabric. I'm thinking it may be time to use it...

**NB: I've fixed the link now. It wasn't meant to go to Knit Purl...anlthough there's some cool stuff there too!