Designing Butterflies

JEYLeave a comment

In under a months time I’ll be yarn bombing a tree as part of the local arts trail, EEEEK!

The theme for the yarn bombing is Winged Things. I’ve asked friends and family to get involved and as the theme is quite broad I’ve left it up to each person to decide what they want to create.

There have been some amazing creations and I love seeing everyone’s ideas and amazing creative talents!

I keep coming wanting to create butterflies, which is slightly strange as  I’m not usually drawn to them, so rather than try to fight it I’ve decided to craft butterflies for my tree.

Whilst it is a yarn bombing, we don’t have to knit everything and can use lots of different types of media, which has made things much easier, cheaper and quicker! As I am a knitter though, I wanted to make sure I stay true to my obsession passion and knit plenty of winged things to go on the tree.

After having a really good look online I couldn’t find any knitted butterfly patterns that fit my purpose, so just to make things more tricky I’ve decided to try and design my own, double eeek!!!

Firstly, the hardest thing I found was coming up with a shape for that design that was close to that of an actual butterfly, and not what I think it should be.This was my first attempt, and after that I decided to do some Google research and actually get a shape on paper which I could then try and recreate!


These are my initial drawings. I was happy with the drawing on the left so decided to use that as my template!


This was then my second go. It’s definitely getting better, but this looks more like a bat rather than a butterfly!


So I went back to the drawing board again and after many failed attempts this is now my most recent and I think best attempt!


I’ll be finishing this butterfly and adding him to the tree in two weeks time, but there are also lots of improvements I can make and I’m looking forward to creating more butterflies over the next two weeks.

We’re off on holiday now so there won’t be any blog posts next week, but hopefully lots of lovely holiday photos on Instagram in the sunshine! Hope you’re all well!

 

Wednesday Pattern Share: Hyannis Pullover

JEYLeave a comment

Hello!

Apologies about missing the last two Wednesday Pattern Shares! Bad stomach bugs and busy weeks have kept me away, but thankfully I’m on the ball now to share my favourite pattern for this week.

I actually came across this pattern whilst I was looking for the summer knit for the last Wednesday Pattern Share and I’ve fallen completely in love with it!

The pattern is by one of my favourite designers, Bristol Ivy and it’s a lovely jumper. Bristol is a knitwear designer and teacher, and if you’re not familiar with her designs then have a look at her Ravelry page.

I pretty much love all of her designs, and I’m sure this won’t be the only time I share something she has designed. I love her use of texture and form and the way that her patterns are modern and yet also really classic!

Anyway, knitting crush over and back to the pattern! The patten is called Hyannis Port Pullover and is knitted in a very snazzy 2-ply DK from Bare Naked Wools.

HyannisPullover_SideView
Photo from Ravelry
I love the boxy shape of the jumper and the clever stripes, and the really interesting patterning through the back and around the arms.

HyannisPullover_BackView
Photo from interweave.com
I’m totally going to be knitting this through the winter and I think it would look great with jeans, trousers or even a skirt!

The pattern is available as a download from interweave.com and even better at the moment it’s on sale at $4.55 (appox. £3.44) SOLD!

Wednesday Pattern Share

JEY1 Comment

This week’s Wednesday Thursday Pattern Share is slightly selfish, but it’s a great pattern so I didn’t think anyone would mind!

In the UK spring is most definitely well underway. The sun is shining and all of the plants are finally getting going.

This lovely weather though has highlighted something I’ve known for a while, but have been trying to ignore; I have a serious deficit in the spring/ light weight knitwear section of my wardrobe! I have a long, cotton, crocheted cardigan I bought from Gap several years ago, and some cheap, slightly too small and ill fitting cardigans, but apart from that everything else is super warm and thick.

So I thought for this weeks Pattern Share I would find an awesome pattern to fill that gap , and I think I’ve done fairly well!

SurryHills

The pattern is called Surry Hills by Maria Magnusson and I found it on Ravelry. It’s a really lovely lace cardigan that looks so pretty and summery! I envisage knitting it in a nice cotton, maybe Sublime’s Cotton Silk DK or Drops Cotton Merino DK for a extra warmth.

SurryHills_Back.png

I think the cardigan would look super cute with jeans or a dress or skirt, and I’d feel comfortable wearing it to the pub or work, and this versatility is one of the reasons I chose it! And the pattern is also currently free, which is an extra amazing reason to love it!

*Pictures from Ravelry

 

Wednesday Pattern Share: Knitted Farmyard Pencil Toppers

JEYLeave a comment

 

 

Farmyard_Pencil_Toppers_IMG_5323_medium2
Photo borrowed from Ravelry

 

I often need some inspiration on a Wednesday so I thought I’d start a new blog series ‘Wednesday Pattern Share’. Every Wednesday I’ll be sharing with you a pattern I have recently found which I really love, and I hope that you like them too!

To start with I wanted to share these lovely knitted Farmyard Pencil Toppers from Amanda Berry.

I have written before about how much I love Amanda Berry’s patterns so it’s no surprise that I’ve completely fallen in love with these pencil toppers I found on Ravelry.

They’re sooo cute! I love their little googly eyes and I could definitely see me with a pig on the end of my pencil at work!

I’m holding a craft event at my house this weekend (more about that later) so if I can find some spare pink wool I think I’ll be having a go at one of these!

Happy Wednesday people!

 

 

Dog Tote

JEYLeave a comment

 

Hello!

I hope you’re having a great weekend!

The weather has been glorious this weekend, so it was a bit of a shame that I chose this weekend to finally use my dog fabric Christmas present. I still made sure I spent plenty of time in the garden though, so I don’t feel liked I missed out on the sun too much!

I saw this dog print fabric on the M is For Make website before Christmas and instantly fell in love. I am totally dog crazy, so this had my name all over it!

IMG_0038.JPG

I created a pattern from some old paper, and made the design 41cm high and 36cm wide, with a 1.5cm seam allowance all the way around. The fabric was slightly frustrating as the print on the fabric is not inline with the weave. It took me AGES to work this out, as the dogs weren’t lining up as I wanted. In the end I decided to use the line of the pattern as my straight edge, which seems to have worked fine. I’m a very inexperienced sewer, so I have no idea if this is right/normal!

Tuck In Seam

Once I had cut out the fabric pieces, I used the over locking stitch on my sewing machine across the tops of the two pieces and then folder them down again to make the edge neat and sewed it in place. After looking at a bought tote bag I realised this was a mistake as I needed to fold the top down after the sides were stitched together, so I had to unpick it. I’m glad I did though, as I’m really proud of the finish across the top and where the sides join.

IMG_5080

In hindsight I wish I’d allowed for a greater seam allowance at the top, as I folded it down twice to make it look neater, and this could have made the bag too short. I decided to use the seam and overlock stitch on my sewing machine though to sew the sides and bottom, which is only about 0.5cm wide so this saved the day. I also did a straight stitch to strengthen this seam.

IMG_0041

For handles I had bought some navy blue webbing, but once the bag was made up I didn’t like it, so used some black, thicker webbing I had in my stash. I stitched 3cm of the webbing to the fabric to make it really strong, and sewed the webbing in place in three different areas. I have no idea if this is the right way to do it, but I liked it! The fabric is natural (I think) and I was really pleased that I managed to get some thread which completely matches so from the right side you can’t really see where the handles are sewn in place.

IMG_0045

Overall I’m so pleased with the bag! It did take me about 4 hours, which seems an incredibly long amount of time, but I feel like I’ve done a really good job and I’ll be using my new favourite tote at every opportunity!