This week's thrifted find

I swear I am still crafting, and not just shopping, but we have had people staying for a week so there has been a little hiatus. So, here are some shoes I found at my local Salvo's this week, aren't they pretty?? They are Italian, fit perfectly and the leather is so soft, all I need to do is get them re-soled as I wore them yesterday and was slipping and sliding everywhere!

My cardigan has me a bit stumped so I am taking a little break from that, I am still working on christmas gifts and next week I am hoping to finally get this dress fitting properly for a girls high tea I am going to next weekend. So that's it for me, hope everyone has a lovely weekend x

Love Vintage purchases

Finally, a post on what I brought at the Love Vintage Fair! I am most excited about my fabric purchases:

The mustard fabric is destined to become a sixties wiggle dress, I have ordered a couple of vintage patterns so hopefully I can get started on that soon. The green material is probably going to be made into a high waisted slim skirt, but I need to search out a suitable pattern for that.

I am also happy with these earrings, I can't pierce my ears (I have had it done twice and both times had to give up due the continual infections), and I have quite fat earlobes so can't wear clip-ons either, so I am always on the look out for pretty screw-ons.

And finally, to further fuel my scarf obsession, a pretty scarf.

There was also a dress, but I think I need to do an outfit post for that, as it is, ummm, interesting :-)

Opps

Well, grrr. Last stretch of the cardi has not gone well and I blame the buttonholes. The pattern has you mark where the buttons are to go, and then on the side of the actual buttonholes to knit till you reach where you have marked. This all sounds fine, except for the fact that the buttonholes are on a trim which you knit separately from the main body and then sew on, but to make this trim lie flat you have to stretch it a bit as you sew. So now my buttonholes are in totally the wrong place, and the bottom one is roughly where the top one should be. But it is all sewn up and is going to be a pain to undo and redo. I had thought that perhaps I could just sew up the top buttonhole and make it a one button cardigan. What do you all think? Is this a decent solution given that there is no way the cardigan works with the buttonholes where they are now? I'm thinking I will have to undo it as it will probably bug me forever but tell me, can you see the problem??

Sydney vintage clothing, jewellery and textiles show

I went to this show on Saturday and it was awesome! So many vintage stalls, with some of the most breathtaking clothes you can imagine. Most of it was totally out of my measly budget but it was so fun just looking. I did come away with a few bits and pieces, some fabric, buttons, earrings, a scarf and a dress, which I will attempt to photograph at some point. I just wanted to do a quick outfit post today to show you what I wore. This was last weeks thrifted find from my local salvo's, and while not vintage I thought it had that feel to it and I didn't feel out of place at the vintage show.

So, the dress is thrifted, the cardigan is from Cotton On and the necklace is vintage (a present from my brothers from years and years ago).

Hope everyone is having a brilliant Monday!

My Creative Space

I am getting started on christmas presents today! Luckily I really don't have very many to worry about - and I am not doing a 100% handmade christmas, just a little bit of handmade for each person. As I do not know who reads this little blog I can't show you what I am making but here is a little sample of some of the fabrics.

I must say I am feeling a tad pleased with myself to be starting in October, but when you aren't just running down to your local department store you need to be a little more organised. Now I need to figure out what to get the man, does anyone have any suggestions on what to make men?

Lots more creativity over at Kootoyoo!

Now it is actually the home stretch!

It's almost looking like a cardigan!!

I am up to the last bit of knitting on my cardigan, yay!! Granted, I still have the blocking, assembling and sewing in of ends to do but we will just ignore that for now.

The last knitting involves a thin section of seed stitch that runs up both sides of the front of the cardigan. This section is knitted separately and then sewn with a mattress stitch onto the main sections. I have completed one side so just have the second to do. I think I have got the hang of the mattress stitch, it looks neat enough anyway but I don't think I pulled it quite tight enough as it is not lying entirely flat. However, I think I can live with it as it is... but if anyone has any suggestions for the second one please don't hold back.

I am now thinking about my next project and am leaning towards the vintage pattern on the right from here, in a lovely deep blue perhaps?

But there are so many options I almost begin to feel swamped!

Finally, a top!

Here is the first item I have managed to photograph from my last sewing spree. I still need to get shots of the second top, skirt and belt, but baby steps...

I am pretty happy with this, although the fit is not ideal. It is ok with a belt, or tucked in but otherwise it is a little big. My measurements are all over the show with this pattern maker, I am literally three different sizes according to my bust, waist and hips which is a little annoying, but I know next time I make this that I need to grade down a size at my waist to get a better fit. But I think the keyhole neckline is really cute, although it was a tad fiddly.

This fabric is a really unusual colour, a really subtle lime green (??), that is really hard to photograph but that I think is lovely.

The pattern was the Colette Sencha and the fabric is from Tessuti.

My Creative Space

What I should be doing is having a clean up from last weeks sewing spree. I don't know what anyone else is like out there, but when I get in the swing of things a trail of devastation is left behind. Nothing gets put away, everything gets pulled out, chaos ensues. And the really stupid thing is that I can not work in it when it looks like that so it is completely self defeatist. Hey ho. Please don't judge me, but here is a (carefully selected) picture of the wreckage.

In reality I am probably going to spend the day browsing blogs, knitting and every now and then checking the job websites to see if anything that vaguely interests me pops up.

Lots more people hopefully being much more creative over here!

My first cardigan - short rows

Progress is being made! In fact I almost feel like I am reaching the home stretch (not really but considering the hurdle I have just crossed I feel like the rest will be a cinch). I have finally completed my last set of short rows, which proved to be a mission! The technique advised in the pattern is to "wrap and turn" and then to hide the wraps. I managed the left side of the cardigan without too many issues as the wrap and turn happens on the knit side, and there were plenty of clear instructions on the net for this. But, the right side was another story altogether.

The wrap happens on the purl side, and I struggled to find any information, eventually I made it up myself based on the instructions for the left side (which it turns out was the correct way) but I could not get the hiding of the stitch to work. My work either had big holes in it, or did not resemble a stitch, or just looked really, really crap. I literally spent a week, knitting and tinking that whole section over and over and over. Very demoralising, and had me want to throw it all down and damn knitting for all eternity.

However, after much searching I found this website and it was my saving grace. I don't know why (as I am sure I had been trying the correct procedure but with no luck before) but suddenly it all came together. So, last night I finally finished the short rows, so I am one happy knitter.