Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Firsts!

I made my first Etsy sale at the beginning of the month -- I was ecstatic!!  Without giving too much away, here they are: 


Sigh, I took this picture in the backyard of our condo in Florida while I was on vacation......

Anyhoo, back to reality.  These are the Human Keep version and are customized with names (not shown) and royal blue lining.    


I've been working away at more customized bags for my friend who is in the process of developing a game and that's been lots of fun.  

Outside of dice bags, design class has been very busy (we're in the process of finalizing our skirt blocks) and I'm in the process of moving the blog over to wordpress, which is taking a little longer than anticipated.  Usually, I try to work on posts and blog material during my lunch at work but wordpress is blocked, which leaves me the evenings when I don't have other commitments or before bed.   I'm hoping this weekend I'll be able to make the full move.  So, if it looks a little wonky in this space, be patient - I'm on it!

Enjoy your night!  



Sunday, February 24, 2013

It's sweater love


Uhhh, not sure what's with the look on my face...
I cast on for Nanook (Rav link) on Boxing Day and wore it for the first time this week -- I love it!   The fit is great and the yarn so soft and drapey. I used Cephalopod Yarns in their Traveller Base in the Stranger's Home, AK colourway.  A little tidbit about me -- I love purple.  It's the first colour I reach for in a yarn store, so at Rhinebeck when I saw this colour in the Cephalopod booth, I knew I had to have it.  There was only one skein, but one of the workers in the booth was awesome and managed to track down another 3 for me.  This colour has lots of depth, with areas that are almost black and then pops of blue every once in awhile.  I alternated skeins to make sure there was no obvious colour transition and to reduce pooling.  Really, I can't say enough good things about this yarn -- it will be on my list again for Rhinebeck next year too.

  

The pattern itself is equally as fantastic.  I love that Heidi (the designer) has you do the sleeves immediately after the yoke -- it helps to prevent second sleeve syndrome.  The only modification I made was to make the sweater significantly longer.  I have a long torso, so as a rule of thumb always add a minimum 1" to patterns, but in this case I also wanted to make sure to use all of my pretty yarn:)

Thanks Cephalopod and Heidi!!!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Halfling Burrow


The last in the line of Sink or Swim dice bags are now available in the etsy shop! This is the smallest bag, with a maximum capacity of 50 dice. Shown here as a token bag. The dimensions are 2.5 in x 2.5 in at the base and 4.5 in high. They stand up on their own.



The Halfling is made and lined using the same velvet that lines the Human Keep and Dragon's Hoard. The colours available are the same as the lining options for the Human Keep and Dragon's Hoard. However, unlike the larger bags, this bag does not come with a carabiner. 

Each bag, of course, can be customized:)

Here is the comparison of the three bags.



The thing I like the most is that this bag nests nicely in the Dragon's Hoard so that you can keep your tokens together and separate from your dice and there's still plenty of space for pencils, papers, etc.










Friday, February 15, 2013

Yarn dyeing

A couple of weeks ago, my LYS had a class on yarn dyeing.  I've always been intrigued by dyeing yarn and have a particular affinity for self-striping sock yarn, so I jumped at the chance to take it....bad move because I'm HOOKED!!  It was so much fun to pick colours and combine them and then to watch them set.  

We did handpainting and were shown how to kettle dye.  I loved the unstructuredness of it.  No worrying about fit or stitch quality. No need to cut and measure and calculate.  Just pure fun and messiness.  I love a good mess.  




I had a really hard time trying to decide what to do, I pretty much love every colour out there.  In the end I chose to do a deep bottle green, fuschia and "carribean" blue.  I'm quite happy with how it turned out!!  The colourway name is "Where I'd rather be" in honour of the tropical blues and greens and how they remind me of my recent vacation south.  I'll definitely be doing more of this -- I stocked up on supplies while we were waiting for our yarn to steam:)  This weekend I'm going to try my hand at kettle dyeing a skein of sock yarn and then, if I have time (ha!) dyeing a skein of self striping.  I can't wait!!!    




Note to self: don't forget to clean your house...


Have a good weekend all!


Friday, February 8, 2013

Refashioning a Mink Coat: Part 2

If you remember before the holidays, a client contacted me about making a muff as a Christmas gift out of her mother's mink coat that was languishing in a closet.

As a follow up gift, she then commissioned me to make a stole out of the remaining coat. I used many of the same techniques as I did for the muff -- I drafted the paper pattern first and then hand sewed twill tape to all  raw edges using a catch stitch.  I had to make creative use of the coat to ensure the stole would be long enough, so it's made of 5 panels - a centre panel, 2 "body" panels and 2 side or edge panels.





The stole is lined in black kasia lining.  I tried to use the lining from the jacket, but a couple of small repairs that had been done and the seams I had to go over make it look untidy and ship-shod.



Unlike the first project, I sewed it together using my machine.  To mimic the whipstitch, I used a zigzag stitch and made sure that the right swing of the needle fell off the edge of the seam allowance. 


I was able to make use of some of the original closures should the recipient wish to use them.  I didn't have her measurements, so the placement of them is a wild guess.
 

 
Like the last project, this one was a blast and I'm very happy with the outcome!!! 





 

Ahhh vacationing



Sunday, February 3, 2013

Dragon's Hoard

Introducing the Dragon's Hoard!!


This is the largest of the set of 3 dice bags from Sink or Swim Stitching.   Call this the deluxe version if you will:)  Like the Human Keep, the outer fabric is waterproof nylon and the lining fabric is velvet.  Dragon's Hoard can also be customized with your name or favourite handle.

But, here comes the deluxe...it's completely reversible!  




The velvet has 6 pockets that help you organize your dice making for easy access while you're playing.  Each pocket is labelled - 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20, has an elastic edging and snaps to ensure your dice stay safe and sound.  




There's still plenty of space in the centre for your pencils and any other objects you need ready access to. 


Dragon's Hoard (left) and Human Keep (right) side by side.  Both are available in my etsy shop