One Man's Trash is Another's Treasure

Have you heard of the Little Free Library project? It's a project that started in Wisconsin but has sites across the country. The idea behind the project is that people put a little cabinet filled with books out near their sidewalk and their neighbors can borrow and exchange books. It is nothing formal, just book sharing based on good faith that you'll bring the book back or exchange it for another.

I passed by the Little Free Library near my apartment one recent evening and, on a whim, checked out the selection. Happily, I found this little gem of a macrame book, Macrame: Creative Design in Knotting. Needless to say, this book is staying with me and I left a different book in the library as a repayment.

Macrame is one of the fiber arts that is terribly out of fashion right now, having gone through a heyday in the 1970's. Still, I'm really intrigued by how you can use knots to make fabric. There must be a way to utilize macrame without making a project look kitschy or dated to the 70's. It's an interesting challenge.

Despite never wanting to make anything in the 1970's macrame style, I find the photos of such projects in this book endlessly amusing. What's not to love about a macrame poncho? Just don't ask me to wear it.

So I'm enjoying my 'new' book on macrame. The book contains a nice blend of techniques and delightful examples, so it's part tutorial and part 'inspiration'. I'm not sure I'll ever use any of this information, but I'm enjoying learning about the technique in the meantime. And maybe someday I'll find an interesting modern application for macrame.

Sencha

I wrote about being an obsessive crafter a few months ago and am proving that to still be the case with my latest obsession: Colette sewing patterns. I just finish my second Colette design, Sorbetto, and have now finished pattern number three, the Sencha blouse.

This project was a fun one because it was my first time working with silk. I learned that silk charmeuse is fussy to cut, reasonable to sew with, frays very easily, and doesn't like to be ironed. I would have loved to make my seams more crisp (especially the seam around the neckline), but didn't for fear of melting my fabric. I also learned that you need to use a small, very sharp needle when sewing with silk or else it will snag. Boy did I learn a lot.

I also brushed up on making buttonholes, which is something I vaguely remember doing once upon a time. (I used these two tutorials to refresh my memory on making buttonholes.) Unfortunately, I have no special buttonhole features on my sewing machine so I had to adjust all of the settings on the fly. The buttonholes came out well, though I had to rip out and fix parts of 3 out of the 5 of them. :-\

This blouse was a slow-and-steady project, though at times it was a comedy of errors. I definitely sewed one of the front ties into a seam, which took forever to rip out without damaging the fabric. I also wore this at work for a few hours before realizing that I never finished the bottom hem. Hopefully, now that it's done I can just enjoy wearing it without worrying something else crazy will happen to it!

Terraria

I married a wonderful man. He gave me the most perfect birthday gift this year: plants and dirt. It's not a glamorous gift, but it is just what I needed to finally build the terrarium I've been dreaming about for almost a year. My beautiful glass house from IKEA has been waiting empty for far too long.

I used this guide on building a terrarium as the basis for assembly. Most of the ingredients are straightforward and easy to source--rocks, moss, dirt, and succulents--but husband made a special trip to the pet store for activated charcoal, which keeps the water clean. I love how beautiful all of the components look layered in a glass vessel.

Husband actually bought me enough supplies to make two terraria and I was lucky that my gallon-sized jar was no longer needed in the kitchen. Now I have two lovely terraria to add some happiness to my apartment! They are so beautiful already, but I might add a few figurines as finishing touches; I can't help thinking that a couple tiny dinosaurs would be right at home among the succulents.

Sherbet Lemon

I finally finished the Ysolda wristies I've been working on for months. The pattern is Sherbet Lemon worked in the luscious Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk. I honestly can't wait for it to be cold so that I can wear these mitts and my new cowl. I have so much soft knitwear to keep me warm this fall!

I'm in love the cable on this pattern. The beauty of the cable actually makes me overlook the few issues I have with the fit of the mitts. Perhaps my gauge is off, but the gloves are a little loose throughout and I find them rather short--they hardly cover my knuckles, which I find slightly annoying. Despite these deficiencies, their beauty and wear-with-all cream color means that they'll probably get a lot of wear once it finally turns cold.

This might be my last knitting project for a while, as the fall semester starts this week. It's my final big semester and a bit of a push for me. I hope to get a little crafting in edge-wise, but apologize ahead of time if my posts aren't as regular as usual over the next few months. Thanks for understanding.

Free Pattern: Luxus Cowl

I have been in love with the yarn Misti Alpaca Chunky from the moment I first laid fingers on it. Its extreme softness and its big bulky nature were such strong attractors that my only method of self defense was remembering my grad-student budget. After ogling the yarn for the hundredth time on a recent trip to the local yarn shop, I finally afforded myself the luxury of a single skein with the intention that it would be made into something special. The result is this cowl.

The cowl was designed with two things in mind: to showcase the beauty of the yarn and to produce a big squishy cowl that uses as much of the skein as possible. With less than 2 yards of leftover yarn, I'm pretty sure I succeeded in at least one of these goals. This project is a simple, quick, and luxurious knit, and I'm looking forward to wearing this soft fabric against my skin once it gets cold. With autumn just around the corner, perhaps you should knit one too!

To make this cowl, you'll need:
- 1 skein of Misti Alpaca Chunky (108 yards, bulky weight); colorway 1110 shown here.
- A set of US 10 / 6 mm circulars or double points

The finished cowl measures 21 inches around with a gauge of 13 st/25 rows = 4 inches in seed stitch.

PATTERN:
Cast on 72 stitches. Join to work in the round, being careful not to twist.

Border:
Round 1: [K1, P1] to end.
Repeat this round 4 more times.

Next round: [K1, P1] to 2 st from end, K2tog. (71 st)

Main Section:
Round 1: [P1, K1] to 1 st from end, P1.
Round 2: [K1, P1] to 1 st from end, K1.
Repeat rounds one and two 16 more times.

Round 35: [P1, K1] to 1 st from end, P1, M1.  (72 st)

Border:
Round 1: [K1, P1] to end.
Repeat this round 4 more times.
Cast off. Weave in ends.

Questions or errata? Contact me at brineydeepdesigns_at_gmail_dot_com!

Sorbetto

The fun part about picking up a hobby is that every new project can teach you a different skill in that hobby; this has been especially true with my sewing. I learned a lot from making my first bag and making a semi-complex dress, but there are still whole areas of sewing that I have yet to touch. So I am out to improve my sewing skills slowly and steadily by picking up a new technique with each subsequent project.

My most recent project, a Sorbetto top, demonstrates that even a simple project can teach you a lot. One of the things I learned was how to work with a sheer and drapey fabric. For example, I needed to be much more careful when cutting and sewing, as the fabric didn't always lay nicely and required adjustments with the sewing machine's tension. I did pretty well for my first time out, but I realize that I still have work to do in this area.

The other thing I learned from this project was how to make a french seam (shown above). French seams are enclosed seams than help prevent fraying and make your seams look very tidy. I did french seams for this project because I did not want raw edges showing through the sheer fabric. Plus, there weren't that many seams to sew, which made the process of sewing french seams (which are effectively two seams in one) a manageable prospect. I think that the extra effort I put into the seams really paid off for making the top look finished.

This is my second Colette sewing pattern (my first was Peony) and I must say that I'm impressed with the simplicity and elegance of her designs, made better through clear and detailed sewing instructions. I should note that this pattern, Sorbetto, is a freebie, so it's an easy place to start if you're interested in learning more about this designer. Honestly, I enjoyed sewing both Colette projects so much that I can't wait to start my next one: a Sencha blouse.

All Wrapped Up

Let's not talk about the huge amount of television I've watched in the past two weeks. It's a lot. I'm not a TV watcher normally, but I make an exception for the Olympics. I can't get enough of the inspiring stories and obscure sports. Plus, it makes for great crafting time.

Wire wrapping turned out to be one of the better TV-watching crafts, and I made several pairs of earrings (my favorite are the simple turquoise drops below) and a large necklace (above) while watching the Games. As you can see from this tutorial, the basic loop--which was the foundation of all of my wrapping projects--is actually quite simple. Once you get the hang of this loop, it's no problem to whip up lots of complex-looking jewelry while watching sports.

My crafty output will certainly go down now that the Olympics are over and I'm gearing up for my last big semester of school. Still, wire wrapping is easy enough that I look forward to picking it up again in a free moment this fall. I'll keep you posted on any future wire wrapping exploits.