Mary from Biblioblog tagged me with the Versatile Blogger Award (thank you, Mary!). The rules state that I need to share seven things about myself and tag a few more blogs with the award.
I’m going to take advantage of the “seven things” rule to reveal a little secret: Mr. Stitch and I are embarking on a bit of an adventure! Here are the details:
- Mr. Stitch and I are both lawyers. Corporate lawyers, to be exact. The most boring kind of lawyer there is [*insert big yawn*]. Don’t get me wrong, I like what I do for a living, but it’s not like Law and Order or any of those cool lawyer T.V. shows. The truth is I push a lot of paper. Well, enough of that: we’ve decided to leave Toronto’s Bay St. behind in favour of an eighteen month sabbatical. Friends, that “life is short” cliché is actually not a cliché at all but the veritable truth. So why not take a parenthesis from work to enjoy life now instead of waiting until a retirement that may or may not come? Here’s the verdict: bring it on!
- We’re hitting the road. We sold our house in Toronto a couple of weeks ago and are in the process of packing up our stuff. I’ve gone through the largest purge of my life! I’m astonished at the amount of stuff I’ve accumulated over the years and wonder how on earth I went from living out of a backpack twelve years ago to having a house chock full of stuff. Well, a lot of this stuff has been donated or has made its way to our storage unit.
- We have a few stops before getting settled again. First up is a stint at a farm a few hours north of Toronto. In late July we’ll be leaving Ontario and will be camping our way across Canada, with a stop-over at another farm in southern Saskatchewan before we make our way to the west coast.
- Our final destination, where we’re scheduled to arrive in September of this year, is the community of Roberts Creek, British Columbia on Canada’s west coast. We’re trading the hustle and bustle of Toronto for a small town sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the forest. I’m trading my business suits for jeans and hiking boots. The only paper I’ll be pushing is the lightweight stuff sewing patterns are made of and I can hardly wait.
A possible route
- Our stay in Roberts Creek will last just under a year – the time required for Mr. Stitch to complete a woodworking course that focuses on fine furniture making. While he goes to school full-time I’ll be staying at home to knit, sew, blog, cook, read, and bake. I’ll get to indulge in all my favourite things.
- I’ll also spend time with our newest family member. Meet Zion, our (new to us) German shepherd dog. We adopted this sweet guy a couple of weeks ago and we’re excited that he’ll be coming on this adventure with us. Don’t be fooled by his size – at two years old he’s still a puppy filled with boundless energy.
- All of this means that for the next few months my internet access is going to be spotty so I may not be able to catch up on your blogs as often or make a regular appearance in this space for that matter. In the meantime, if you want to get in touch with me, you can alway e-mail me at stitchparade@gmail.com and I’ll get back to you as soon as I possibly can.
So there, now you know my little secret – it’s going to be an adventure! As far as passing on the award, here’s a shout out to a few blogs that have been a source of inspiration over the past year:
- Gail of Today’s Agenda – because her sewing and knitting skills are spectacular and an endless source of inspiration. If you don’t read her blog, you’re seriously missing out.
- Silvia, the Sewing Princess – who showcases the coolest items on her blog in both Italian and English. Have you seen her self drafted wool coat and her Paco Peralta top? This Princess is talented, I tell you.
- Lizz of A Good Wardrobe – her wardrobe challenges are perfectly executed and styled with much flare. Oh, and I love her shoes.
- Kristin of K-Line – a fellow Torontonian whose excellent writing makes reading about technical garment construction an enjoyable affair.
- Winnie of Scruffy Badger Time - who manages to work full time, run marathons, and turn out the nicest handmade garments week after week. Her blog is also filled with fun photos that make me think it would be lovely to hang out with Winnie in real life.
- Mela of Picushion Treats – not only is Mela an entrepreneur (check out her etsy store for the cutest pin cushions you’ll ever see), her collection of Ginger skirts is the stuff of dreams.
Friends, this is my “bye for now” post. I may or may not post sporadically through the spring and summer, but will likely be back in full force in September once we’re settled on the other side of Canada. Until then, have a great summer filled with sewing/knitting and lots fun. May you all experience great adventures over the coming months!
The only items of clothing I bought during the month of February were two bras. Friends, I may have tried my luck with hand-made undies but bras are out of the question. I just won’t go there. Other than that, and a bit of fabric (it could not be helped) there were no purchases outside the four corners of the Seamless Pledge this month.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about waste in general, which led me to think about waste in my sewing and knitting, which led me to think about fabric scraps. I’ve read a few blog posts discussing the merits of saving fabric scraps. It seems that people who save scraps fall within two camps: they either save them because they can’t bear to part with them but have no idea what they’ll use them for, or they save them with a purpose. Saving with a purpose is especially true of quilters who can use scraps in all sorts of patchwork projects. It seems to me that I fall into this camp. In fact, I may just be a borderline fabric scraps hoarder.
Until recently I kept my scraps in a disorganized mess inside a cardboard box, but during my January organizing frenzy I took the time to fold them all into neat piles, arranging similar colours together. I then tied each pile with yarn and placed them neatly inside a plastic see through storage box. Some of you may be wondering why I’d go through all that trouble, but the truth is that I use my scraps regularly and having them in a somewhat organized fashion helps me get at what I need when I need it.
Cushion covers: the denim came from an old pair of jeans; the colourful bits from my scraps
I’ve used scarps to make small coin purses or flex frame bags, iPod cases and even internal pockets for various handbags. Scraps have been my go to material for the patchwork I used to decorate tea towels, a few of the cushion covers in our family room, and even a picture frame for our enclosed front porch.
My favourite thing to make with scraps, hands down, is greeting cards. Sometimes I cut a shape with pinking shears and simply glue the scraps of fabric on to a blank card, and sometimes I create a patchwork collage that I sew directly onto the cardstock. Some cards are crisp and clean while others involve a medley of irregular shapes and contrasting colours. Digging into my scraps pile for a piece of fabric that catches my attention and building something around that theme gives me great pleasure. I never know what I’ll make and the finished product is always a surprise to me.
One other reason I keep scraps is that I have a burning desire to make a quilt from them. It would be improvisational patchwork – no pattern, no plan, just piecing of fabric next to fabric as my mood demands it. I bet by now I have enough scraps to do it… all I need is the time.
Do you guys keep your fabric scraps? If so, what do you use them for?
One of the most entertaining projects I’ve made to date is the apron I made for my mother-in-law. The reason behind it is simple enough: the fabric. It was a lovely Japanese linen cotton bend which was a delight to work with. The print was filled with phrases about cooking, very fitting to the garment. But the best part was, hands down, that those phrases were funny as hell – I can only imagine that something got lost in the translation to English.
The print included phrases like “Natural spice organic homemade always daily style for you”, or “You always get a square deal”, and “Rise and shine scones and waffles, breads and pancakes all with whole grain goodness”. I found a scrap in my stash the other day and made it into a card for one of my foodie friends. See for yourself:
“Cooking is the act of preparing food for eating by the application of heat”
Maybe no one else finds this funny, but I have to admit my sense of humour is a bit weird.
What’s the most entertaining print you’ve worked with to-date?
Remember Cybelle, the sweater I started while I waited for my Wisdom’s yarn? Well, it’s done. My initial thoughts on my fist finished sweater of 2012 can be summarized in one word: disappointment. However, after wearing it over the weekend my disappointment has morphed into enthusiastic acceptance. Let me explain.
When I first tried it on I noticed the following flaws: she’s kind of plain, I don’t love the buttons, and most importantly, it’s too long and too loose. Overall, this sweater turned out way bigger than planned. I added some waist shaping, but you can’t really see it in the finished object. The armscyse is also rather large and all of this unwanted ease makes me feel a bit frumpy. I tried on the sweater as I knitted but unfortunately the size issues were not evident during construction. I have a feeling that the sweater grew after blocking due to a combination of (a) my improper handling while blocking – this is the first time I use the steaming method, and while quite quick, it also means I had very little control over the fabric, and (b) the yarn’s inherent drape – let’s not forget this is alpaca, a very heavy fibre.
See the size of that armscyse?
So, where does the enthusiastic acceptance come from? Well, for starters, it’s super warm. I wore it this weekend, arguably the first “winter” weekend we’ve had in Toronto so far this year, and it kept me nice and toasty. Also, up until now the colour green was conspicuously absent from my wardrobe so this sweater will fill in that gap quite nicely. And finally, this was a true stash busting achievement: the yarn and buttons had been in my stash forever. While I didn’t set out to make a long and loose sweater, now that I have one I have the feeling that it has found itself a cozy spot in my wardrobe.
As far as the knitting goes, it was quite straight forward and I have seen a few nice FOs on Ravelry. I also took copious notes on the modifications I made: waist shaping, longer sleeves, and buttons all the way down the front, so feel free to check out my Ravelry page if you want more details.
Before I get started on my Wisdom sweater, I need a break from long projects for a bit so I’ve casted on for a pair of liners for my rain boots. I’ll let you know how that turns out.
What are you guys working on these days?
When Mr. Stitch and I got married I wanted to give him a gift to mark the occasion. At first I didn’t know what to get him but I knew that I didn’t want it to be a fancy object and that I preferred to make the gift myself. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I wanted to convey the fact that I was giving my heart to him, a symbol if you will. With that in mind I pulled out my knitting needles and a pattern I spotted on Knitty Magazine.
After a quick knit and a lot of fun, on our wedding day I quite literally gave Mr. Stitch my (anatomically correct) heart. Mr. Stitch proudly displays it in our home, and let me tell you, it gets lots of comments from new visitors. We call it our “art installation” because while we know nothing about art, we both think art can sometimes look a bit kooky, don’t you think?
If you want to make your very own knitted heart this pattern is available for free from Knitty Magazine. You can also check out some finished projects on Ravelry.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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