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my creative space

My creative space is full of tiny little stitches. A friend of mine hand stitched this blanket, but doesn’t sew, and asked me to help put it together.

cross stitch baby blanket

I am amazed at her patience and perfect little stitches.

cross stitch baby blanket

And check out this cute ruffle trim!

cross stitch baby blanket

I’ll be sewing the front to a quilted back and adding the trim. I don’t want to machine quilt the two pieces together, so I have to come up with a way to tie or stitch them without interfering with the design. Suggestions welcome!

Creative spaces are hosted by Kirsty in Australia. No matter how early I post mine I always feel a little late to the party because of the time difference. So, I’m going to start posting these on (U.S.) Wednesdays. Now you get an extra day to check out all of the creative goodness!

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twisted rib scarf technique

twisted rib scarf

My poor, patient husband’s Christmas gift is finally finished. It’s a scarf to match his birthday hat, which was knit with a twisted rib in the round. I wanted to do something similar for his scarf, but had trouble matching the look of the hat while knitting flat. Here’s what I came up with:

K1 western style, P1 combination style

The result: every other row has twisted knit stitches.

I’ve been a big fan of Annie Modesitt’s combination knitting method for some time. Honestly, it’s because of the purl stitches. I love them because they are so easy. Blending western knits and combination purls got me pretty close to matching the hat.

combination notes: Annie’s website is a wealth of combination knitting knowledge and it’s how I learned her method. Grumperina has a nice history and videos, as well.

stash: This was knit from my never-ending stash of black Cascade 220. I’d like to make matching gloves or wrist warmers, but I’d be pushing my luck on what my husband might wear.

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i think i’ll call her jane

my new serger

Sometimes you get the feeling that you are making the right decision at the right time. It’s been almost 72 hours since my last post and since then I have bought a new serger and sold my other ones. I’ll admit a tiny bit of me was sad to see the little green sergers go. My new serger is making me deliriously happy, though.

After I made my purchase, I stopped at my two favorite thrift stores, which are at the same end of town as the sewing store. Look what I scored!

my new serger

I just love the colors so much, I may never use them. They remind me of neapolitan ice cream. Is it weird to decorate with spools of serger thread?

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uncle!

serger thread and trim

I’ve spent the past few days trying to get the tension correct on my sergers and I give up. I’ve cleaned them, oiled them, read the manual and my serger guide. I think they’re just too manual for me. If they were cameras, I’d be trading them in for a point-and-click model. In fact, I’m going to check out some point-and-click sergers this weekend.

If you are interested in some super clean, vintage Baby Locks, let me know!

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handmade valentine’s day cards

handmade valentine's day card

My daughter’s preschool is having a valentine exchange tomorrow. Usually the rule for school treats is no candy, but this time they’ve made an exception: one small piece is allowed. I found this cute valentine flower on Martha’s website.

The first thing I did was trace and cut out some leaves. I gave them to my daughter to sign while I traced and cut out the hearts. After she went to bed, I added the “from:” to her leaves and glued the flowers. The next day, she helped me put in the lollipops.

Even though she’s too young to use scissors, I think my daughter had fun with this project. Signing her name to all of those leaves made her feel really involved.

stash: Paper from my never-ending stash of graphic design paper samples. Lollipops are always on hand around here. You never know when you need an emergency “treat.”

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valentine’s day heart bunting

Last year I made a paper heart bunting for our kitchen window. When I went to hang it this year, it was gone. Maybe I stored it in a safe place? Maybe I recycled it? I wish I could remember. Anyway, it was a good excuse to make a new one. I forgot to take a before picture of the tea towel I used, but you can see part of it in this creative space.

valentine heart garland

It was basically a grid of small and big hearts. I cut along the small hearts and then serged the side and bottom raw edges, trimming the small hearts off as I went along. I folded over some bias tape and stitched in the top edges.

valentine heart garland

I managed to create this from start to finish during my daughter’s “quiet time.” I don’t remember the last time I completed a sewing project so fast. Plus, I think I’m finally figuring out how to master the tension on my serger!

recycle: Garage sale tea towel: 25 cents. Bias tape part of a Goodwill grab bag.

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wardrobe refashion: denim skirt makeover

denim skirt refashion

This is the original skirt I was going to wear last weekend. It turned out a little too casual for the event. I was planning on wearing it with black tights and boots. Now I’m wondering if it might look better with a t-shirt and sandals.

I really hacked this poor thing up. I cut off the bottom two ruffles and took it in on either side, trying to make it more a-line and less Holly Hobby. (Not that there is anything wrong with HH. It’s just not a good look on me.)

denim skirt refashion

It’s been a long time since I’ve refashioned something. I can’t wait to dive into the stack of clothes that have been waiting patiently by my sewing machine.

refashion: This was an impulse buy at a garage sale last summer. I think it cost 75 cents. I’m hoping to use the leftover ruffles to lengthen some of my daughter’s jeans.

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my first skirt from measurements

embroidered eyelet baby quilt

A few months ago I checked out Sew What! Skirts from the library. The book just clicked with me. The instructions made sense and seemed really easy. I decided to buy the book and spent months reading and looking at the pictures even though I didn’t have time to make anything.

This weekend I’ve got a dinner date and decided it was time to try one out. I made an a-line with elastic waist pattern, but didn’t have enough fabric to make it as swoopy as I would have liked. It’s more of a straight skirt with a little flair, but it fits, looks cute, and was super easy! I think 2010 is going to be the year of the skirt.

stash: The fabric came in a bin that I bought from a UNL fashion graduate. He said all of the fabrics were really nice and expensive (from New York!), but how was I to know? They weren’t labeled or anything. It’s got a nice drape, and at $5 for the entire bin, the price was right!

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my creative space

custom crochet hat

Well, look at that! Something that isn’t red! The blog has been looking kind of rosy these days, hasn’t it?

I have a cool story to go with my creative space today. One of my husband’s high school friends follows me on my facebook page. When I was posting all of those kids’ crochet hats, she asked if I could make one for her. Isn’t social networking awesome?

I went ahead and made an adult prototype first for myself. Yes, it’s red.

scallop crochet hat

My daughter really loves the scallops. After I am finished the yellow hat, it’s back to red for me. Matching mother and daughter hats. Love it!

Check out more creative spaces over at Kirsty’s blog. You’re sure to be inspired!

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thrifty find: crochet blanket

handmade thrifted crochet blanket

I miss posting about my thrifty finds, but there aren’t as many during the winter months. Most of my great scores come from church and garage sales, which generally happen in the spring and summer. Last week I went to Goodwill’s 99 cent sale looking for clothing and never expected to come home with this handmade blanket. It matches our walls, couch and carpet perfectly. And it is so warm! Just in time for another snowstorm.

The wooden tray on the ottoman was also a thrifty find from a few months ago, still with the tag! We don’t have a coffee table in this room, so we use it to hold drinks (and popcorn!) when we snuggle in front of the television.

thrifting: Blanket cost $6. Kind of expensive for me, but it’s just so perfect. Tray was $2.