The world's largest swallowtail shawl

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl (with 19 repeats and no nubbs)

Yarn: Meimei bamboo sportweight (about 3 skeins)

Needle: #5 (bamboo of course!)

Wow. I was shocked after casting off. It is so wide...my biggest shawl ever. I probably did not need the extra repeats, but I love the length.

I steam blocked with an iron just at the edges; the yarn has a nice heft and drape which helped open up the bud lace pattern naturally. I feared a hard block, it would become a bed spread!!

The chain style yarn has a nice sheen but it is a bit snaggy and super slippery.

If draped right, it can be a dressy cardigan.

I love it, but it seems too fancy for everyday wear. I'm predicting an upcoming date night with hubby :)

Tutorial: Drawstring bags with french seams

I'm having so much fun making these, I wrote up a simple tutorial. It's a simple and practical project, useful as a lunch or knitting bag. My favorite feature are the french seams throughout -- absolutely no fraying during machine washing!!

Materials needed:

* Note: using upholstery weight fabric and stiff cording helps the bag to stand on its own

Upper fabric (cotton): 2 pieces 13 1/2" x 8"

Denim bottom: 1 piece 13 1/2 x 9"

Cotton cording/twill tape: 1 yard

1) Going against most sewing instructions, with wrong sides together, sew the upper fabric with the denim (on the long side). Use a very narrow seam allowance (around 1/8" to 1/4")

2) Trim seam to 1/8"

3) Open and fold with the right sides are together. Press and sew with a 3/8" seam, making sure the previous seam is fully enclosed.

4) One french seam completed. Repeat with the other upper fabric and the other denim side. You should have one long strip with the denim in the middle. Fold in half lengthwise with the wrong sides together and stitch (with a 1/8" to 1/4" seam) starting 2" from the top. Trim seam to 1/8" and press. Sorry for the lack of photos -- I forgot :)

5) At the side opening (created by the 2" opening), fold 1/8" twice toward the wrong side. This forms an opening for the drawstring. Pin, stitch and press. Repeat with the other side.

6) With right sides together, starting at the bottom point of the opening, sew a 3/8" seam capturing the previous seam. Repeat with the other side.

7) At a bottom corner, pull fabric until the side seam and bottom "seam" meet. Sew perpendicular to the side seam, 1 1/2" from the triangle tip. Repeat at the other corner. This creates a flat bottom.

8) At the top of the bag, fold 1/4" and then 1/2" to create a casing for the cording. Pin and sew around. I like to place the cording inside while stitching -- I never liked doing it afterwards. You can use a zipper foot or move the needle position to the far right.

9) Knot and trim the cord ends. To close, pull the cording from both sides. My cording is really stiff -- a thicker version of those strings/ropes (???) to open and close drapes. To allow for shrinkage, have the knotted end an inch wider than the bag.

All finished :)

New placemats

I love this Echino print, but the repeat is huge with a "dead space" in the middle. It would be nice for a blanket, not so much for new placemats.



By cutting it into strips and rearranging them helped to redistribute the blank areas. I used felt for the padding and backed it with a Joel Dewberry print.

I think they look well on our walnut dining table.

Removable cup holders

Rather than using ice packs, we freeze their juice cups to save space. But the kiddies complain about the drippiness as it melts so we designed these cup holders for absorbing.

A rectangular strip (about 3 inches in height) is cut 2 inches longer than the circumference of the container. It's slightly tapered at the ends for a neater look. One of the velcro strips is angled a bit so it's adjustable. Best thing: they are machine washable.

Scarves

Pattern: Woodland Shawl -- adapted to scarf width

Yarn: Malabrigo lace merino (polar moon) - 1 skein

Needle: #6

I love the halo created with these single ply lace yarn. Angora-like without the sneezing and shedding.

Ooops. Note the huge gauge change from the beginning (left) to the end.

Pattern: Meandering Vines Shawl - converted to scarf width

Yarn: Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino Light Fingering (sublime) - 1/2 skein

Needles: #8

The sublime colorway is...sublime. Absolutely beautiful varigation on colors.

With both, I just steam blocked with an iron since I wanted to preserve the gentle side curves. And it was a lot easier :)

Two kitchen towels = Three projects

I was gifted these Easter themed kitchen towels awhile ago. Since I have practical/traditional linen preferences, these were never used until this week, when they were converted into a couple of projects.

First up, a simple tote with a pleated bottom. Padded (and thrifted) lavender handles were used.

An elastic loop was was added so it could be bundled into a little burrito :)

Second, was a drawstring lunch bag (a spare is always needed). The flowers were oriented perfectly in this design (it would have have upside down in a regular tote bag).

While on its way to the scrap bag, the remaining piece was screaming to be made into....

...a short apron!

The pleated pockets are nice and roomy for my daughter's wire cutters and pliers.

I love it when every bit of fabric is used :)

Other uses for craft wire

My youngest loves making jewelry. Whenever I visit the craft store, she always requests a pack of craft wire (she has a set of cutters and pliers). Along with rings, ear wires, knitting markers, she has made gift tags (the person's name in cursive...yes, they are huge). One day, using the wire as a base scrap pieces of felt she crafted this adjustable (!!) bunny head band for....

our unsuspecting hamster, Trufflina. I can't believe how securely it fits. Both stayed still during the photo shoot.