Patterns

There is a bumper crop of blackberries outside. Unbelievable. There's always been a few stray berries here and there, but never this many. I'm torn whether to a) bake or b) consume immediately. Decisions!

And then there's the vintage knitting pattern book I bought last week. It's Bernat, The School and College Look. Very chic. I would have liked to have gone to a school this stylish. I have a soft spot for the hoodies too.

Summer-y

I've been slacking at blogging.

Commenting.

And crafting.

Sorry. But that's what Summer is for, right? A little bit of sliding and easing of rules. It's about staying up too late watching Gregory Peck movies. And spending time with visiting family. And messy ice cream cones. Messy ice cream cones is a definite.

Back on track though -- Whipup has had some great posts lately about wardrobe refashioning. Armed with two worn out t-shirts, I was going to try this rosette number (link), but it didn't quite work. Instead I decided to kind of use this Brassy Apple tutorial as a starting point and ruffled my way to a new shirt.

Take that 100 degree temperatures!

And I snagged the most awesome of vintage knitting books for the grand total of $1.50 yesterday. I'll scan a few photos from it because it is really delightful.

Everything in Its Place

I finished this needlebook for my sister last week; whoops, sorry sis this won't be much of a surprise if you're reading. I was really craving working on something small and fiddly and this did the trick.

There's scrap cardboard in there to stiffen. The inside and exterior are felt that I had on hand. I'm thinking of making one of these for myself. They seem really handy.

And there are wildflowers growing up through the porch; that's a couple feet high! I love summer. Everything overrun and exuberant. What's not to like about that?

Gather and Pleat

Elastic Thread is AMAZING!

I'd spotted some shirred fabric at the store the other week, but the price was a bit off-putting. Internets to the rescue! A little googling and after reading through some tutorials (link here), I was up for the challenge of trying to do my own shirred dress.

The fabric is an old bed sheet. What I really love about it is that the border of roses looks completely intentional and not like, well, a bed sheet. I was initially nervous about the elastic thread jamming up, but the stuff works like a dream. The only thing I learned with the test piece I did was that you REALLY have to mark your lines well, otherwise it's a pain.

So now I am hooked. I think it'll be an easy way to churn out a Summer wardrobe on the cheap.

It's Not Easy, Being Green

I based this on the flower garland I made a few weeks back. The only thing I did different was to sew beads on a few of the petals. Sort of tough to see in the photos, but they're there if you squint!

Spaghetti

Warm weather food: whole wheat spaghetti, tomato, onion, parsley, capers, olive oil, salt and pepper, served cold. So good. So good in fact, I ate too much.

Better Late Than Never

It's finished! I started this cardigan in February and it's now, what, June? But since it's a cotton blend and I seem to be always cold, it's all good. To recap, the pattern I used is this vintage one (link here). For adjustments I reduced the back width by 10 stitches and subtracted five stitches from both the front left and front right. I also made the arm width slightly smaller, but should have made the armholes about a half inch lower/longer. All in all though, it's a fun knit. I like the button band facing and the ribbed yoke gives a nice shape.

Strawberries at the beginning of June. While I love them, it just seems way, way too early for this sort of thing. However, I have to admit I am enjoying them on top of cereal. Fingers crossed it's a bumper crop and I can get enough for muffins or scones or something slightly substantial.