Happy Hallowe'en

Ribbon eye candy

A beautiful corset posted to the livejournal corsetmaking community. Too gorgeous – I had to share!

It's not unusual to see underbust ribbon corsets but this is the first mid/overbust ribbon corset I've seen. Of note are the gathers in the ribbons at the bust to provide fit. Simply stunning.

Scottish Autumn

A fabulous Etsy treasury created by Jo at BlackbirdAlleyShop. 
My Muckle bag looks great alongside these lovely Scottish-made items.

Brighten a gloomy day

My middle daughter decided her bedroom needed a bit of brightening up, especially since the weather has been so dismal lately. So, following a raid on my fabric stash, an attack with some pinking shears and a rare use of her sewing machine later, the bunting emerged. I think it looks fab.
(Apologies for the poor photography – poor light and a bit fuzzy. Oops.)

A woolly week

This week we have British Wool Week, the Campaign for Wool and Knitting Week. All a good excuse to celebrate wool and get out the needles.

In Edinburgh we are lucky to have several wool shops; a couple in large department stores and a few independents. Between them they make available a decent range of yarns, suitable for most projects and budgets. It is evident too that there is a growing range of British wools (clearly labelled as such) in each of these shops and even one that prides itself in stocking 'a wide range of unique Scottish yarns from small independent producers'.

A few years ago I was traveling with my family (somewhere up north but I can't remember where!) when we stumbled upon a small shop selling their own hand spun and dyed wools, produced from their own small flock and some of the farms around them. I was smitten and proceeded to buy a few skeins in different colours. It was such an enjoyable experience, to see where the wool came from, where it was processed and finally to use it to make something my family could wear (lots of socks).

On another note, I'm failing massively on posting things to my Etsy shop. My aim to have an item a day has hit the snag of poor weather, poor light and a general lack of being able to get decent photos. Tomorrow we are forecast for overcast and rain arriving late afternoon. Maybe we'll get a nice surprise instead.

October holiday blues

I hear people refer to the October break as 'half-term' and struggle with this alien term. In Scotland, especially the north-east, the name is the 'tattie-holidays'; the time of year when children were needed away from the school to help with the potato harvest. Hard work but people speak of it fondly (I suspect the memory has been softened with the passing of time).

So, the October break has arrived and with it cold and wet weather. Just as well my youngest is finding things to do . . .

She made it entirely on her own and I'm proud of her effort, even if a little put off by her design (two different colours of sponge, jam filling, chocolate icing, gummy bears around the outside and jelly tots on the top, spelling out her initials!).

Crochet hooks

Following my bout of RSI last year I have been trying to be careful not to add to the damage or cause aggravation. To do this I've had to severely limit the time I crochet (or type) and have invested in some new hooks designed to help avoid RSI/carpel tunnel in the first place!

My local yarn shops stock two different 'comfy' hooks so I tried out both.

The captions aren't mine but certainly give an impression

First of all I tried the soft touch Clover hooks. I have a couple of sizes of these and they feel quite nice for the thumb and forefinger. The dark pad is comfy to use and the tapering of the handle to the hook makes it comfortable in that area too. The only serious drawback is that they are quite short and sit inside the width of my hand, creating a bit of friction discomfort. A not so serious drawback is that I think the handles are pretty ugly!

Next up was the Prym soft handled hook. Again this was a good thickness for comfort around the thumb and hand but I found that, with a small hook size, the difference in thickness between the hook and the handle created a hard edge that my finger found irritating. I find that my forefinger sits quite far up the hook and is constantly on the metal part, thereby my hand doesn't get the full benefit of the thicker handle.

For larger size hooks the thickness of the handle is not such a big issue so I use these beautiful Brittany birch hooks and generally find them pretty comfortable to use. They are quite long, extending beyond the heel of my hand, which I like. I've not used the smaller sizes though so can't comment on the comfort of those.

Gifts for guys

I always struggle with gifts for the men in my life so have created an Etsy treasury to remind myself of some of the possibilities.

Coasters ahoy!

More coasters . . .

. . . purple this time.

These are also made of mercerised cotton although the yarn is a little thicker than the lilac one and I decided to go with the correct hook size and not make it tight.

This one is really straight-forward. It's just a ring of chain with trebles and then (tr, 3ch, tr) into each corner. I made my row start in the middle of a side to make the corner increases nice and simple and the corner increases are enough to keep the coaster nice and flat.

Lilac doilies

These are my latest coasters and I thought I'd share them here. I thought I'd share how to make them too . . .

They are made with rows of double crochet (for American crochet that means single), increasing gradually and evenly every second row until I have the diameter I want. For these I used a mercerised cotton yarn and a crochet hook a size too small, that way I get a nice dense finish.

During the last couple of rows of plain dc I double check my stitch count to make sure I have a multiple of 4 and one extra (and adjust if needed) and then the fun begins.

For the edging (UK crochet abbreviations used):
Row 1: 1ch, 1dc (into first dc of previous row), 3ch, miss 3dc, 1dc into next dc to end, ss into ch
Row 2: 1ch, *2dc, htr, tr, dbl tr, 3ch, turn, miss 3ch and ss into top of dbl tr, dbl tr (creates picot), tr, htr, 2dc into 3ch gap, miss dc and repeat to end. Finish with a ss into the 1st stitch and tie off.

Hope that makes sense.

Daydreaming

In the centre of Glasgow is a building emblazoned with the words 'Jacobean Corsetry' in huge gold letters. Although it doesn't refer to a shop that exists in this day and age it has always, for me, conjured an image of an old-fashioned store with rows of drawers, glass-fronted cabinets and smartly-dressed, elegant staff sourcing wonderful treasures from their hidden wares. 

While the sign fed my young imagination it transpires that the reality was a wholesale corsetry company that only closed its doors as recently as 2000. There is a brief interview with the owner in The Herald to mark the closure of the business.

I'm reminded of all of this because tonight BBC1 showed the third episode of their latest period drama 'The Paradise'.

The Paradise – BBC1

The costumes are wonderful but the shop interiors rekindled memories of what I imagined to be behind the sign on Virginia Street. While The Paradise is fantastically beautiful, it seems that some elements are accessible for us mere mortals! At Corset Laced Mannequins, they don't just have gorgeous mannequins perfect for corsetry display, they actually supplied the ones on show at The Paradise. 

Beautiful Corset Laced Mannequins

Colour predictions

For women . . .

. . . and men

Today's blog on Etsy was all about Pantone's colour predictions for Spring fashions 2013. I'm bemused by the idea that what I make/buy to wear will be influenced by a group of total strangers but I also know that next spring I am likely to be bombarded by these shades and unable to buy much else.

On another note, I love that Pantone's Pantoneview Colour Planner Autumn/Winter 13/14 is called 'Happiness'. To quote them:

In Western society, happiness is often defined by feelings of delight and joyousness, and consumption is marketed as a quick route to instant gratification, whereas in the East, happiness is believed to exist within oneself and is considered to be a deeper state borne from the ideas of wholeness and togetherness. 

From a colour perspective, happiness is usually associated with bright colours; however, for Autumn/Winter 13/14, though these bold colour statements are still very present, they are balanced by a more peacful range of shades which reflect a more contemplative attitude and these emerging feelings of thoughtful meditiation.

colour + materials + texture + superimposition = HAPPINESS

I think the sentiment is pretty sound and I'm all for happiness – not so sure about the superimposition though.

Oh yes, and the cover's quirky too . . .

Taking my own advice

For once I managed to follow my own advice . . . I had a successful session with my camera and my yellow walls and finally got my shopping bags posted on Etsy. This is probably my favourite of the new fabrics – I've always been a bit of a stripes gal.

It was all about getting the photography completed before the sun made a direct hit on the room. Now I have to figure out how to take good photographs of scarves!

Inspiration galore

The Alexander McQueen Spring 2013 collection is full of inspirational and aspirational designs.

The corsetry shows innovation, historical references and incredible beauty. I especially love the silhouettes, layering and flossing. Fabulous.

Have a peek for yourself on style.com (the flossing starts here).

Shopping bag ahoy

Another new fabric version of my Muckle bag. This slubby cotton with printed ships is great fun but posed a slight problem – my Muckle bags are all made from one piece but one piece of this fabric would result in one side having upside-down boats. Needless to say that just would not do.

This is made from two pieces and the seam joining the sections at the centre bottom is flat-felled and triple stitched. That should hold it!

Sneak preview

A little snapshot of my new fabrics for shopping/shoulder bags. Only three knobs on the chest of drawers so that's all I'm showing for now!

These will make their way to Etsy once I get a chance to photograph them properly. Note to self: at this time of year use the first available photography-friendly opportunity because you just can't take good photos when it's dull, dull, dull.

Little black dress

While photographing my gloves I was wearing my new favourite dress/tunic. It's just a simple a-line dress that I drafted for myself last year. It's made of black denim with a white cross thread so it looks more like grey depending on the light. So comfy for everyday wear.

My crochet gloves are slowly making their way onto Etsy so will eventually all get there!

No prizes for guessing when the sun came out.

A change of scene

No more yellow walls today – the sun was out and so was I!

I love the view from the allotments.

Edinburgh Castle peeking over the trees

A beautiful white cosmos with bright nasturtiums in the background . . .

. . . and a pink one too

Sunshine on a rainy day . . .

With Autumn well upon us I've been waiting for some good light to take photographs of some of my recent work.

The room I use for photography is south facing (I know, not good for even light) but I like the colour so I'll just have to work it out! Today has brought rain and then an overcast but bright day – a fantastic diffused light perfect for photos without strong shadows.

Or so I thought, until the clouds parted and the sun shone through. Cue enforced tea break while I waited for the sun to disappear again. Who would have thought that I would ever look forward to an overcast day!

October challenge - Day 1

I'm aware I'm not very good at updating this blog and even worse at posting new items on Etsy so for this month I'm setting myself the challenge of putting something out there every day.

Some coasters have been put on Etsy tonight, which allows me a nice gentle start to the challenge.

Here goes!

Coasters galore

Now that I'm back crocheting again I find it almost impossible to stop!

Following the whole doily thing I was driven to make some coasters . . . 

. . . then some more . . . 

. . . and then some more . . .

. . . and then even more.

Cute and practical!

Blade sharpener review

I bought my rotary blade sharpener from Amazon (here). It arrived promptly but I had to wait a few days before I was able to use it and try out my newly sharpened blade.

Sharpener unpacked and ready to go!

Cutter dismantled and blade exposed 

Blade slotted onto one half of the holder and ready to be screwed into place

Blade in place for sharpening (the sharpening edge/circle is in the background) 

Once inserted in the sharpening circle, place on light side first and turn 12 times,
turn over the blade and do the same again for that side.
Turn over the sharpener and do the same on the dark side.

The sharpener works very well and I was quickly able to sharpen my blade, reinsert it into my handle and cut plenty more bias.

Positives:
– pretty inexpensive when you take into account the cost of new blades
– small and easy to stow
– easy to use (with lots of care)

Negatives:
– cutter has to be dismantled and blade fully exposed to use
– the blade and holder need to be turned over (which needs to be done with a lot of care)
– the holder and blade just sit in the sharpening circle and are not 'locked' in
– there is no safety guard on the sharpener

Conclusion:
With due care this is a really nifty little addition to my toolbox. However it does need to be used with a great degree of care.

A word of warning: a blade sharp enough to cut fabric is more than sharp enough to cut human.

I don't have full pics of the process, I'm afraid, because I got a little casual with the sharpener and cut myself. Cue bleeding and steri-strips for a week. My accident did spotlight the safety aspects quite nicely!

(For both work and crafting I've used cutters and scalpels for many years but was obviously a bit TOO relaxed when using this. It hasn't put me off. Lesson learned.)

Pretty posy

 

I'm supposed to be working flat out for a craft market/late summer fair next Saturday but couldn't resist the temptation to make a nice flowery crochet necklace.

The stem/chain was made a bit more substantial by running a line of chain and then slip stitching back along it. The flowers are made up of five clusters of chain and double treble crochet and the centres are stitched. Very pretty, I think.

Blunt blades and curses galore

My cutting mat and metal rule mock me

Having blunted my rotary cutter on my metal rule I needed to cut quite a lot of bias binding using scissors – I already have a few blades, all blunted in the same way! Cue much muttering and not inconsiderable carpel tunnel niggles.

I've been putting off investing in a sharpener but no more! Here it is.

Review to follow . . . 

Progress

Latest progress on the lacy, flowery scarf. This is much more what I want to achieve.

When worn the weight pulls the chain straight and makes the pattern considerably more linear but, while I suspect I will work on some ideas to make it even more open, I think this is very pretty.

The lovely slatey blue yarn is a blend of cotton, silk and cashmere. It has a nasty tendency to split if not treated with care while being worked but I think it is worth the extra effort as it is wonderfully soft to the touch.

To doily or not to doily

My earliest adventures in crochet were due to a kind gift from an elderly neighbour of my gran's. She presented me with an ancient chocolate box filled with mercerised cottons and a tiny steel hook. What a thrill!

My gran's house was adorned with doilies, complete with 3D flowers, which cushioned many family photographs. Most of these were created by my aunt, who was a definitely a dab hand with a hook and although she wasn't involved in my lessons her work was always around to inspire. My gran could do the basic stitches and so taught me what she could and set me on my way.

I spent many hours with this magical box, thinking of what wonders I would create.

The reality is that I bore quickly with shop-bought patterns – preferring to work things out as I go – and doilies with #40 crochet cotton, multi-coloured pansies and a 1mm hook were just never going to happen. I did manage a couple of doilies before I moved on to wool and hooks I don't have to strain my eyes to see but I still have the box and I still love looking through it. Good memories I guess.

And so to my current dilemma . . .

I want to create an open, lacy, crochet scarf (doily-ish). I have a pattern (Patons Crochet Booklet 3244)  but although it's not quite what I want it makes me think a lacy scarf will not be too difficult.

I was thinking loose and lacy and flowery all at the same time so played around with hook sizes, flower sizes and lengths of chain.

First attempts

There are a few niggling problems so, to help me figure out where I was going wrong, I decided to make up a sample from the pattern in the book.

The Patons lacy wrap

The Patons pattern worked out surprisingly solid so I'll definitely persevere with my own version but it was a pretty informative exercise all the same.

Seeing the samples together confirmed that I want this to be loose and lacy

The pretty box lid

Sunshine at Aberlady

Sunshine, miles of golden sand and a submarine – a fantastic day in East Lothian!

My PEEDIE messenger bag makes an appearance at the beach.
This black and cream version is the well-tested prototype for the ones in my shop.