Thursday, December 27, 2007

Christmas Present


I usually don't knit or sew Christmas presents, I never seem to have enough time that time of the year and I don't like to give myself extra stress. But this year I remembered that I had the supplies to make the Two-hour tote bag.

My brother teaches at Fordham University and like your typical professor he is always loaded with canvas tote bags. I knew this would be a useful gift for him. I bought the canvas fabric at Joann's as well as the cotton straps. The fabric was a little light so I interlined the bag with muslin and made the width of the bag narrower by a couple inches so that it would hold its shape better when loaded with books. He loved it and didn't waste any time filling it up!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Simplicity 4500 Skirt



I made this skirt with a beautiful wool gabardine from my stash. The fabric has a wonderful drape and it feels all swishy and feminine on.
Working with this fabric was a nightmare. You must believe what they say about gabardine. It was a bear to iron. Knowing that it was a hard to work with fabric I chose a simple design, but even simple designs require pressing to look good. I lined it with silver Bemberg rayon, the pattern does not include a lining so I just used the skirt piece and attached it to the facing, and with hand stitches and in the groove of the seam of the facing I tacked together the facing to the waistband. I also made a pseudo crochet chain with sewing thread to keep the lining attached to the fashion fabric at the hem. I used seam binding for the fashion fabric hem (I love how this finish looks!).
As you can see I have a beautiful coordinating wool waiting to be made up in the jacket ( I really like the version with the belt). The colors of the last picture are truer to life.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

I am a winner!!

Imagine my surprise when yesterday I saw that I had an email from The Well-Heeled Society telling me I was the winner of the holiday giveaway. I couldn't believe it! Go check out the goodies I won.

Well , it has been two weeks since my surgery and I feel so good I started to notice how much cleaning I need to do...I have been knitting a lot while I had my feet up and the Tilted Duster from Interweave Knits is half way done.

I hope to have pictures up tomorrow of a couple of completed projects.

Thank you all for your wishes for my quick recovery.