The perfect gift

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Mistyeiz

I am not particularly good at picking presents for people. I like making things for people but so far, only my family members have received some of the things that I’ve sewn.

I recently chanced upon some cotton FQs of horses and I immediately thought of my sister who is horse crazy. I have decided that I will sew her a wallet for her birthday this year. I will have to go pattern hunting now since I have no patterns on me coz I’m not really into sewing stuff other than garments. I reckon she will like it. Plus I couldnt afford to get her one of those
riding helmets that she’s been hinting at!

Brandon’s Otto set

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Mistyeiz

I know that I said that I’d steer away from Otto patterns but it is not easy when they have been my goto patterns for a LONG time!! So I’ve caved in and made a couple of things for Brandon, for winter and this rather chilly summer.

Muksis (#5, 1/09), Raglan sleeved Tshirt (#5, 2/05), Hupsis pants (#10, 1/09)

Fabric is from Spotlight and while I like the print a lot, cheap stuff doesnt compliment my gorgeous Stella knit. There is a lesson in there of course, it pays to use the good stuff!

MIP – Toffee Apple Tunic

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Mistyeiz

In my efforts to sew out of my comfort zone, this is the first garment that I’ve done this year that is not an Otto pattern. I decided to sew up this simple tunic from Make It Perfect, a book I bought when it was dirt cheap! It was more like, ‘Oooooo lots of people I know have this, I think I should get it too!’ and hence, this impulse buy. But I dont have any regrets coz the clothes in there range from babies to adults, so I’ve already cut up a couple of things to sew up for the kids. None for me though – I’m not really a skirt person and patterns in there are mostly skirts and aprons!

Front

Back

Modelled shot – grinning from ear to ear!

“Mum, we NEED to wear it to the shops tonight ok? We’ll wear it with this rainbow skirt….ok Mum?”

This year, I will be putting in extra effort to slash down my stash. I really have fabric coming out of my ears and DH is already hinting (hard) at me to reduce them asap. So, I’m trying to use up all my old fabric and hang on to my newer and more pricey stuff.

Anyway, this fabric was something I got off eBay. Although cotton, I feel that it’s more medium weight. But it could be all that chemicals so I’m hoping that after a few washes, it will soften and not stick out so much. I am not 100% happy with this pattern. Simple pattern and all – could have done it in one day if not for the weekend (go figure!) but I did finish it over the weekend, but I think again…its more me, than the pattern I think. My choice of fabric and trim was not a good one. Both fabrics were stiff and made the arm hole simply open up even more. I might give this pattern another chance but not at the moment.

Like I mentioned recently, I went on a tracing frenzy, then a cutting pattern/fabric frenzy….and now, I’m suffocating under this humongous pile of to-sew! >.< Best get back to the sewing machine….

TFL

Half way there

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Mistyeiz

I have to admit that I am super proud of myself! ^.^ Why? Here’s why :

My first attempt at cable knitting and this is just 1/2 way through. This is the back portion of Brandon’s vest.

Here’s the close up of the cable. It’s a simple cable of 6 stitches but to me, it looked really complex and complicated until I tried it out myself

I’ve since CO the front piece but I foresee a problem…..Note to self : ALWAYS, ALWAYS read through the whole instructions before starting a pattern coz you dont know whats on the other page!! In my case, I zipped through the pattern and saw “Easy” up the top and thought, what the heck. And now…..I’m already freaking out even though I have not reached the neckline. >.< But that’s ok, I will succeed. I will stick it through and even if Brandon outgrows it before I can finish it, I already have someone in mind to give it to.

So….onwards and upwards!

Inspiration is all around

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Mistyeiz

I have to admit that I am not a very imaginative or creative person. Yes, I can sew and knit but nothing I have done (that turned out right) was done on my own – it was always a pattern that I modified to suit my taste but never my own design.

Not too long ago, I was dabbling at work and drew up some patterns on a piece of paper and I still have that paper somewhere around. And some day, I’d like to bring them to life. So far this has not yet happen. At the moment, I am quite happy to sew with the (milllions of) patterns that I already own and I am really glad that I got the chance to sew for both boys and girls!

I know that as the kids get older, their taste in fashion will soon change and streetwear will soon be their choice. But for now, they are quite happy to wear what Mummy sews for them and I cannot describe the feeling of happiness, joy and a sense of appreciation when they ooooh and aahhh at the things I make them. Gotta love kids!

streetwear

Cable knitting

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Mistyeiz

HERE I COME! ^.^

After a very long time avoiding this rather daunting and complex looking stitch, I finally succumbed and am now in the midst of my first ever cable stitch project : a vest for Brandon. I picked the easiest and free pattern I could find on Rav and well, am actually doing well till now.

What I thought to be difficult is actually the total opposite. While I am sure that they are more difficult cables out there to tackle, I am quite happy to stick to the easy ones. One should not underestimate simple patterns – they are somestimes the ones that looks nicer!

Sewing outside my comfort zone

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Mistyeiz

I decided that this being a brand new year and all, it’s time I took the plunge and try out other patterns aside from Ottobre. I seldom stray away from my trusted Otto patterns mainly because I am already used to their pattern and instructions. More often than not, I look at the pattern pieces and I can figure it out without reading the instructions. Otto is my (naturally) go-to pattern choices.

While I am somewhat faithfully to good ol’ Otto, I have tried out other patterns from Farbenmix, Knippie and Enid Gilchrist. Just a handful of patterns (you can see from my category dropdown list) and it’s really quite boring! lol So this time around, I have gone all out and traced out at least 6 garments for the kids and 1 for me, all of which are NOT Ottobre patterns!! (Egad!!! What have I gotten myself into??????)

Patterns that I’ve traced out and am now painfully and slowly cutting out are from Kwik Sew (knit PJs), stuff from MIP, Newlook and Burda. I dont know HOW much tracing paper I used but at the rate I’m cutting them out, I think I might burn out way before I can even start sewing! Then again, it’s all part of the build up…..picking the patterns (somewhat painful), tracing (painful), cutting out pattern pieces (more painful), picking out the fabric (the worst pain especially when you have SO much fabric and somehow none are ‘speaking’ to you!!) and then comes the sewing up, and the (anti)climax is when you are so excited to get your kid to model the FO and they decide that they dont like it and wont coperate! :/

So instead of wasting me time in here, I best run along and get me pattern pieces cut up. The daunting task of picking what fabric awaits me. Gah!

I want it, but dont need it

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Mistyeiz

So what should one do? Just look and hope that my camera dies really soon so that I have a valid reason to go out and get me a sweet Sony Cybershot DSC-HX9V!

Actually, I was close to getting a new camera just a few weeks ago because it just wouldnt work when I switched it on. Despite changing the battery, it still didnt work. So I went on a search for a new camera – online but couldnt decide what I wanted that was within my budget and something that I liked. It never occurred to me that the problem was NOT the camera but actually the memory card! *rolls eyes*

Apparently my (super old) camera cannot handle any memory card that is bigger than 2GB. That says a lot about my camera, no? So I’m back to using my 2GB cards instead of the brand new 4GB that I got in Kulim. But on a positive note, I am glad (in a way) that I dont have to fork out any money for a new camera although a new one is always most welcomed. *hint hint*

Chunky Scarf

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Mistyeiz

Taa-daa!! My first official winter scarf….even though we’re right smack in the middle of summer, now is the best time to get all my winter gear up and ready for when it does hit. So far, this summer has been my absolute FAVOURITE summer in all the 5+ years I’ve been in Sydney. Why? Coz it’s a cool, cool, COOL summer!! So cool that I had on my top sheet AND blanket on last time – soooooooooooooooooo nice!!! *runs off and hides*

Anyway, this was suppose to be an easy and quick knit, and it would have been but me being a slow knitter, seem like forever before I finished it! It’s a free knitting kit from my subscription to Art of Knitting.

Yarn : Chunky yarn (I’m thinking 14 ply)
Pattern : Chunky Scarf (provided in kit)
Needles : 6.5mm

Since I am a horrible model, had Big Bear model for me instead. Another reason why everyone should have HUGE bear at home.

Very simple eyelet pattern on a stocking stitch background – and it’s a miracle that I still stuffed it up in the beginning!! >.<

But all in all, I am quite happy with how this turned out. I had previous another scarf that I was knitting but lost my steam for it. So I’ve decided to frog it. Might knit something else up with it but for now….am loving my new scarf. Can’t wait to wear it!!

Ps. I wonder if this should be blocked or not, coz it wasnt mentioned in the pattern……

It’s personal this time

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Mistyeiz

Yup, I’ve sort of decided that I would like to make more personalised gifts for birthdays and Christmas this year. While I have always appreciated personalised handmade gifts, it is not often that I get them myself.

Since there are a lot of girls in the family, I got some really nice ideas and inspiration for personalized birthday gifts for girls. Actually, some of those things are what I would get for myself! And I might just do so and send the bill to Ted. Heh.

stitch 2 stitch

Monthly Archives: January 2012