Sunday, April 19, 2009

Pop the cork...

my Bubbly is done! Started over a year ago, but neglected for the majority of that time...now I don't know why I didn't just finish it sooner. Once you get past the first half of the pattern it becomes much easier since it is much less random.

Here it is blocking...


There are two problems with the final product.
1) I ran out of yarn about 80% of the way through. I ordered more and while it's barely noticeably while hanging on my door, there is definitely a color shift that became apparent when I blocked it. I'm really not concerned with this.

2) The entire curtain used 8 balls of yarn, which means lots of ends to weave in. Since this is a rather sheer knit being held up to the light, that means that the woven in ends become visible when light streams through from behind. Ooops. So, if you're going to attempt a curtain that will be sheer, either get a large enough skein or cone of yarn with no ends, or perhaps switch balls at the end of a row and weave in ends up and down the edges. Since it is already starched, I think I'm going to let it go, but if I ever wash it again, I'll consider trying to weave them in less noticeably.




Despite these little issues...I LOVE it! The photo is a little sucky...it looks awesome live. I starched it like mad and it does hang pretty flat, but there is a little drape and I probably should have made it just a tad wider to accommodate that. Still deciding on the rod to hang it...the makeshift rod in my photos is actually a plant support - that's how eager I was to get it up on the door.

Okay, Erin...your turn! ;)

Monday, April 6, 2009

Yay, Fabric!

Nothing like a little (or lots of) fabric to bring the blog out of hibernation. I'd been looking forward to making my inaugural trip to an annual, thrifty fabric fair for a long time and was lucky enough to attend with some like-minded friends. Indeed, the fair did not disappoint and we were happy to hand over a little money for a lot of fiber. While there were a lot of people, we were definitely outnumbered by the goods being offered and it was a polite crowd, so making your way through the yardages was not an unpleasant task. Alright, onto the goods...

Some basic cotton with a little seersucker thrown in (I see blue summer jammies in the tot's future)...



a few cotton canvas pieces...



some lovely florals (yum!)



a few small bits (perhaps with a future as doll dresses?)...



some yarn thrown in for good measure...



and this lovely quilt top that pulled me in with its crisp white and bright colors...



Are you noticing a trend with the blue, green, and purple? I've always been purple and green's biggest fan, but the blue is a bit of a surprise to me. Perhaps a little influence from the tot who is rather blue-obsessed?

I also picked up some great fabrics for baby-wrapping (business expense, right?), a bit of wool, and several packs of bias tape. Sadly, I somehow missed the buttons - I'm thinking there was a crowd around them when I was in the area and so I just never got a peek. Grand total...34.90.

Now...there's just that little issue of my sewing machine having decided to give up on me last month. Where there are good friends, there are loaner sewing machines (did you all know how cool Michelle is? Very cool.), but I'm determined to resolve my machine issues for good later this month. Until then...I'll either be knitting that yarn or planning some fun new sewing projects. I'm looking forward to having the fabric determine the projects as opposed to the project driving the fabric selection as is usually the case.