quilted hot pads

This is ridiculous pacing, but I'm finally putting up photos of the last Christmas presents I made.  I made a set of hot pads (useful? potentially not very) out of scrap fabrics from the last few seasons of my work, for my boss.  Each one is a different season, with a different pattern and vibe.  They were really fun to make, if a little annoying trying to sew together all different kinds of fabrics, and I think they're a nice way of commemorating all that season's work.

babies

 Matching sweaters for babies I can't wait to meet.

linen tea towels

This year I decided to make things easy on myself and just tackle one, fairly simple Christmas craft.  And who doesn't need new tea towels once and a while?

We used the instructions in Made By Hand, although ended up altering the process slightly because we used dollar store glue and it was as terrible as you'd imagine.  I bought a few meters of natural linen, cut it into rectangles and hemmed the sides, then Seb and I spent a lovely wine-filled evening stamping them.  They are incredibly unevenly printed, but I love how they turned out.  I wish I had photographed them before shipping more out - we had triangles, sticks, and all these great patterns that I didn't want to give away!

Highly recommended as a holiday project - other than the hemming we did the whole thing in a really fun and relaxed evening.

christmas sweater

 So Seb just left from a visit here, and reminded me that he took photos of this sweater TWO VISITS AGO.  I'm the worst at getting things done.

I knit this for my sister for her Christmas present last year (just saying: I've totally earned the right to give her clothes from my work this year. No sewing for me!) and only finally finished it this fall.  It was just stockinette stitch forever and I got bored and knit it super slowly.  Anyways, the pattern was great and it looks cute on her.

More Christmas presents coming soon!

linen

 I've been slowly sewing up my New York fabric (I seriously cannot find linen in Canada like I can find linen in NY. And silk. And wool. And everything great), including this great-for-days-too-hot-for-clothes top.  Just in time for winter!

Anyways, I'm on a complete crafting hiatus right now as I've given myself tendinitis in my wrist from years of bass and knitting (I need a hobby that doesn't use the same fine motor skills!), so I'm blogging about all the stuff I made before! Any tips for tendinitis welcome....

storm king

This weekend I was lucky enough to rent a car with a couple of friends and drive to New York.  Aside from seeing Seb and checking out the city, I was extra excited to have a means to get to Storm King Art Centre.  It had been on my to-do list for ages, but always a little hard to get to.  We took the opportunity to sneak off for the afternoon while the others went into town and wander around the park.  Despite threatening to rain, it ended up being warm, misty, and a beautiful day for it!  Highly recommended.

woven tee

 This pattern took annoyingly long to get right, but I think it was worth it.  I've always had a soft spot for a woven tee, and while Montreal makes it impossible to enjoy a silk version, this soft, light-weight cotton is great.  I love the fabric so much, and the shirt is already in heavy rotation.

ps. Can you spot the difference in photos?! My very kind roommate agreed to help me take a photo (so I didn't only have blurry options), and instead of just clicking a couple photos on my camera, he brought in lighting, posing, backdrop,  and post-processing all into consideration.  Gotta love a roomie that goes all out.