Momma use to say!!!

Growing up my mother taught me to be practical when I purchased items to wear. She always would say "don't go for the trendy, but signature pieces that will stand the test of time". She also taught me that when you are buying a garment, remember what is always in your closet and make sure whatever you purchase will at least go with something you already have.

I always kept that in mind when I purchased a garment. I can't say that I've always done that in picking out my fabrics. If I saw it and liked it, I bought it. Well, 2011 is a new year, and my sewing will hopefully take me down some new roads this year. So far, my year has started out with a bang. First of all, I am putting it out there so that you all can help me if I fall which I haven't so far, but this past weekend was a challenge. I have put myself on a fabric diet until PR Chicago. That's right I can't buy any fabric until May 13th.

I have enough fabric in my house to open up a small store, and I plan on shopping in it. I had a weak moment over the weekend. Fabric Warehouse was having a 50% off sale, and they always have the best knits. I prevailed by shopping through my patterns and picked out a jacket pattern for the pants I made last week(post coming soon on that). I also picked out emerald green velour stretch knit fabric that I've had in my stash for like 3 or 4 years. It's going to be a sweat suit as this month PR is doing the activewear contest. I don't know if I'll get it done in time, but at least I'll have something new to wear for just lounging or working out in.

Last week I worked on a new outfit to wear to Karen's wedding last Saturday. During the summer she came to work wearing BurdaStyle 1/2008 #106. Since I didn't have that issue, Karen was gracious to lend me her's. What better way to show my appreciation than to make it and wear it to her wedding. To complete the outfit, I had enough fabric left over to make a fitted knit skirt. It completed my outfit and although the pieces were separate, the outfit gave the illusion of a dress. This outfit also plays into my theme for this year wherein I shall be making garments that can interchange with one another. This first collection I am working on is called Shades of Gray. Please stay tuned for more. Next up BWOF 10/2008 #132 again in a charcoal gabardine.

On a last note, for those of you that think I've given up knitting or crochet, I've got new for you, here's a crochet tunic that I'm presently working on. It's actually a lot further along than this, but I'm trying to keep track of my progress. I have one more cap sleeve to work on and the cleanup work and it should be finished. I'll have more details on this soon.

Hanging with the Cowls

Last weekend I was blog surfing and saw Meli88a's cowl neck sweater and thought to myself, I like that and want one. She made her's using a pattern from 2005 Burda issue. I started searching the Big 4s and found Vogue 8597. I figured with a few minor adjustments to the cowl part, it could work. Vogue and McCall patterns were on sale two weekends ago at JoAnns. So you know I drove over there and picked up the pattern right away. I decided to try View A. In drawing out the pattern pieces Sunday night I lengthened the cowl part by about 15 inches, and gradually widened the cowl by about 3 to 3 1/2 inches. I'm hoping this will give me the the depth and length that I'm hoping for. In checking out PR for the pattern, I came across Violet's version and her inspiration. I was hoping to get more done this past weekend, but, as we all know, life sometimes gets in the way of our crafting, plus, I've been having a hard time with my sinuses the past 2 weeks. I'm using a matte t-shirt jersey I picked up at JoAnn's for my muslin, and for the actual sweater I'm going to use this lovely sweater fabric that I picked up at Jomar's last month on my little excursion with Karen. I cut the fabric out this morning for the muslin before getting ready for work this morning. I'm hoping to sew tonight, if I'm not too tired when I get home.

Back in the beginning of November Knit Picks had asked me to so some knitting for them, and I received my new Jan/Feb catalog yesterday. I was flipping through the pages and a big grin came across my face when I saw the Stained Glass Hat and Mittens I knit for them. It's from the book All New Homespun Handknits by Amy Clarke Moore. I loved making this hat set, but of course I had to give them to their rightful owner. Now I have to put this pattern on my list, to make a set for myself .

Yesterday I finished up the final hat that I needed to make for my bass player. I gave it to him last night at practice. Let's just say he was a happy camper. He requested the Jamaican colors for his hat.

I have to send a big shout out and THANK YOU to Adrienne. Back in June she posted about the Suave Giveaway and I went over to Suave and signed up. Last night when I got home from work, this was in the mail. I can't wait to try this out. It smells wonderful.

Hopefully, I'll have pics of my cowl neck blouse tomorrow, but for now here I am last Thursday night at the yarn shop wearing my Deep V-Neck Sweater With Collar.

First FO of the Year !!!!

So, I hope you all had a wonderful and uneventful but crafty weekend. It is so cold here. Let me tell you, layering right now is a must. Right now it's 31 degrees and it's suppose to go down to 23 tonight.

Last weekend I was browsing through JoAnn's and I came across this awesome crochet book Contemporary Crochet: 37 European Designs, by Sys Fredens. I had to have it. I don't think there is one design in this book that I don't like, and everything is pretty basic. On Monday, I started my first crochet sweater ever(I have done a tank top before), and finished it yesterday. I guess you can call it my rollover sweater. It's the Deep V-Neck Sweater With Collar. I love how this sweater turned out, and I love the colorway of this yarn. I also love that I got it done in a week. The yarn is Jo-Ann Sensations Rainbow Boucle. I purchased it on sale for a whopping $5.99 on sale last weekend. Now I just need to weave in the ends and find a cute matching tank top to wear with it. If you are new to crochet, this book is definitely a winner if you want to get your feet wet. Here are a few of the other designs.The Lovely and talented Ms. Faye awarded me To accept the award, I need to list 10 things about myself and then award it to 7 other bloggers.

1. I grew up an only child.

2. My parents divorced when I was 25 after 29 years of marriage.

3. Most people automatically think that I'm spoiled, but my parents always made sure that I worked for everything that I received. They also taught me that as long as I had money, I could purchase whatever I wanted.

4. I love doing outdoor activities like hiking/trail walking, biking, swimming, etc.

5. I have a dream of one day having a wardrobe of my own handmade creations.

6. I need to be more goal oriented. I start things, but I don't always finish them.

7. I would like to travel more.

8. I would love to read at least 50 books this year.

9. I would like to sew/knit/crochet mainly from my stash this year. I have entirely too much fabric, and yarn.

10. I'm outgoing, but a real home body at heart.

The 7 women I'm going to nominate are:

Sheila
Rachelle
Rachel
Elaina
Karen
Robin
Marissa

Rhinebeck!!!

Last Saturday morning I got the chance to headed up to Rhinebeck, NY for the Sheep and Wool Festival with my yarn buddy Rachel. Driving up the weather was lousy due to the scheduled Nor'easter. When we hit exit 16 on the Jersey Turnpike it started to clear up a bit. The weather held out in Rhinebeck, so that alone was worth the drive. The scenery was beautiful.


I pretty much behaved myself when I got there. I needed to check out Brooks farms for some more Acero yarn. I needed one more hank of the green (Some lady told another lady that I knocked her down to get the green hank of yarn. That to me was pretty strange, as she was standing looking at the blue yarn next to it. I walked up, picked up the green yarn, and as I walked away she gave me a look. I didn't even touch her. I guess she decided she wanted the yarn when I picked it up. Too bad, I think I needed more than her.) for my Coraline sweater to be safe and I picked up 4 hanks in red to play with possibly for a future design.

I lucked out at Misty Mountain Farms. They are the folks that my then boyfriend, now husband purchased my spinning wheel from. I got 2 large hanks of black alpaca 665 yards a hank for $23.00 each. Sorry about the picture, because the color's off .


I'm saving it for either a skirt or a sweater. I'm not sure yet.

I found one new vendor(The Sheep Shed @ Mountain View Farm) I really like and I will be ordering from them in the future. I purchased 3 hanks of roving each 2 ozs for $6.00 a hank. It's wool and tencel. Ive never spun that combination before so I was eager to try it out. Which I did a little on Sunday. I LOVE IT. I'm hoping I have enough for a hat and either a mittens or hand warmers. We'll see.

At the festival they had wine and cheese tasting which I liked very much. I purchased goat cheese with a layer of burnt ash on the top and sheep cheese. They are both very tasty. Here's a picture of some of the sheep cheese which I had with some cranberry wine Sunday night. The wine was very good also.

One of the booths that caught my eye had 2 beautiful felted paintings in it by Leslie Samson of Brantford, Ontario. Each of these paintings took about 100 hours a piece to do. She told me that she felts her canvas first, washes it, then she needle felts on top of the canvas and washes it again. The second painting is of the Elora Gorge in Elora Ontario.

Overall I had a really nice day and great company. Rhinebeck is a beautiful place to visit. The festival is nice and it had a little bit of everything for everyone, even if you weren't a knitter/crocheter/weaver/spinner. The festival was more spread out than Maryland, and you could purchase more handmade items.

In knitting news I finished my project for Knit Picks. I only have to weave in the ends, so you know I'm happy. Yesterday I started on this blanket. Since it's a holiday gift and I'm afraid I won't finish it in time, I figure I'm going to crochet and knit this project. This is what I have so far.

On Sunday I spent the afternoon doing laundry and cleaning. I finally figured out how to transfer my downloaded audio books from my public library (they have a website with downloadable books) to my iPhone. Let's just say, I'm a very happy camper now. I'm reading the Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

I also started to FINALLY cut out my trenchcoat pattern. I'm clicking my heels 3 times. Hopefully by this weekend, I'll have a muslin cut out and worked up.

New Beginnings

Today was definitely a date for the history books. It was a day that I never thought I'd see during my lifetime or at least, not this early, but never the less, it was a day of hope, promise and change. Today, I saw an eloquent man, husband, and father take the oath of office, and boy did he shine. These next 4 years are going to be trying for all of us, but after seeing what I saw today, the bonding of strangers, and of family and friends, I think, we're all going to be alright.

Now, enough of my blabbering. I hope all of you are alive, kicking, screaming and crafting large in 2009. Although I've been a little quiet, my hands have been busy. I crochet embroidered on She's Got Legs for my co-worker and added crocheted ties at the top so that they'd stay up with no problem. She loved them.

I finished scarf #1 a personal pattern for my other co-worker Judy. She loved it. She ran around the office all day telling everyone she had an Andrea original. I smiled. It's always so nice to know that something you put a lot of effort into is well received. She been wearing it ever since.

I'm still working on the woodland scarf. I'm on skein #4. I was thinking that I had to do maybe one more skein after this, but I might not have to. I'll see after I finish this one. I'm hoping that I'll be done by this weekend.This past weekend I picked up the burnish tunic that I started before the holidays. I finished the body and am now working on the sleeves.

In keeping with my resolutions, I started a crochet blanket on New Years night. I haven't gotten to far because I haven't worked on it in over a week, but still, it already covers my lap. I started with a granny square, and then built the blanket out from there. I also started spinning again. Sorry, I didn't take a picture. I have 1 1/2 spools done so far, so I'll be plying soon. I saw where Amanda's been dying her roving. That is something I would like to try this year as I purchased some dye and some cormo roving a year and a half ago just for that purpose. But, I'm not ready yet. Plus, I have a ton of roving here that needs to be spun up and knitted.

Back in the fall, I started a new design, but put it down once the holidays came around to get the holiday knitting done. Over the weekend, I pulled it out and reviewed my notes. Hopefully, I'll have something new to show soon. All I can tell you right now, is that I like what I'm seeing so far. I haven't forgotten the pattern for Victoria. I have to have it test knitted. I'm hoping to have the pattern out by this Spring.

As for sewing news, nothing much is going on at the House of Andrea. I'm pretty much just in the planning stages. I picked up the January issue of Burda World of Fashion. I love this issue.

December's issue was really good too. There were a few patterns to relax in for those lazy weekends. I have yet to make a pattern out of one of these magazines, but I'm trying to get up the courage. I'm thinking I might start small first. Like this vest for starters which is in the plaid section of the January issue.I have a bolt of muslin. I figure I can start there first and build from there. What are you all up to?

More Crafty Goodness!!

What's a girl to do when she already has a few projects on the needles? Hey, cast-on for more. I wanted instant gratification so Sunday night I started and finished Crafty Pants' pattern Pretty Puffs Slouchy Hat. I didn't expect this hat to go so quickly. The yarn I used was Katia Azteca. I have to give a shout out to Jen for taking these pictures for me. Thanks Jen!!

This yarn is pretty nice. Jen said it reminded her of Berroco Peruvia. The only difference is that Peruvia is 100% Wool and Azteca is a wool acrylic blend. Some of you know I have wool allergies so I don't have too many choices when it comes to yarn. The sad part is that the stupid thing still scratches me. I'm thinking of sewing in a piece of ribbon tape or knit fabric on the part that touches my forehead so that it doesn't scratch me. Right now since I am wearing it, I move it away from my forehead when it starts bothering me.

Project #2 which I casted-on for Monday at lunch is the burnish tunic by Kat Coyle from Fall 08 issue of Knitscene. I don't have any pictures yet, but I already did the decreases for the waist shaping. This baby is a quick knit. I'm liking it so far.

Last night I casted-on for another project. It's the Tunic Dress by Anadiomena of MoreKnits. This is the cutest dress. My co-worker's gran daughter just turned 1 and I haven't made anything for her yet. I thought this dress would be cute. I'm hoping to have pictures by the end of the weekend to show my progress.

On Wednesday I finished the sample sock for my Sock Class I'm teaching on Sunday. I think it looks pretty good. I finished typing up the pattern yesterday, and took the picture last night.

What are your plans for the weekend? I'm singing at a wedding tomorrow, and you already know I have the sock class on Sunday?

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

Selbu!!!!!!!

Kate you are a genius and this pattern is a work of art!! I love my Selbu Modern which I finished yesterday. Mr. D isn't crazy about my color choice, and said I should give the hat away. I told him he didn't know what he was talking about, and that he needed to get some color sense.

I have to teach a sock class that starts next weekend, so I'm in the middle of drafting a pattern for the class. This sock has been annoying because of the yarn I'm using. The sock yarn I'm using is Online Supersocke Cotton. It's 45% Cotton, 45% Wool and 15% Polyester. I had to cast-on for this thing 2 times and switch needles sizes once because the yarn is very stretchy. I think I have it now though, and it looks pretty good. I figure I'm going to have to have two different cast-on numbers depending on the yarn choices in the class. I already know that one of my students isn't using this yarn, so I'm going to swatch for her yarn by the end of the weekend. So basically I'll have 2 different patterns within a pattern(that's confusing. It will be the same pattern, the numbers will just be different.)

I started the hexagon blanket last weekend. I first saw this blanket on ravelry and thought it was gorgeous. It's also a great way to use up left over yarn. I'm in no rush with this project. I figure if I get one hexagon done a night or during the week, I'm good. It's a nice easy way to get my crochet on, and keep my skills/speed up. Since I can't get a hold of the actual pattern, I've been winging it. There are a few tutorials and a flickr group online that are pretty good.



So what are you doing this weekend? I hope it's fun!!! Have a great one!!