Things for weddings

It certainly must be said that at some point in your mid-to-late twenties, all of your friends will get married. This summer was certainly a testament to that (as was last summer) as I was invited to, and attended, four weddings. Fortunately, they were fairly spread out over the late summer and fall, so it wasn't overly overwhelming, and I've gotta say that each one was really a blast! And of course, because I am a crafter extraordinaire, for each one I had to come up with some sort of handmade component to each gift.

The first of the season was my cousin's. It was a gorgeous day in early August, the wedding was at a lovely golf resort in the countryside of Ontario, the ceremony was heartwarming, the reception was loads of fun (ohmygosh the food!), and I took no pictures because I forgot to bring my camera. I did, however, remember to take pictures of the absolutely adorable tea cozy which I made as a wedding gift.

I used the Fairy Cake Tea Cozy pattern by Frankie Brown, and used a scottish yarn (the blue) and some icelandic lopi (the beige and purple) which were both given me as a vacation souvenirs. (I think it's an excellent habit to get people to bring you back yarn from the exotic places they visit!) The pattern was super simple and fun to make, and those buttons are frickin' adorable. The tea cozy was given with that cute little yellow teapot inside, and I also included a sampling of fancy teas.

Two weeks later was my friend Nic's wedding. As it turns out three (THREE!) of the lovely ladies from my knitting group (we're famous on the internet) got married this season. Nic's was the first, and it was absolutely lovely. I, again of course, forgot to bring my camera, but I've stolen (totally without permission) this picture which Lynn's camera took of four of us in the tree house (TREE HOUSE!) at the wedding reception. I have in my hands what's left of the spoils from the ice cream bar (FRICKIN' ICE CREAM BAR!!!).

For Nic, I knit some wine bottle cozies to go with the LCBO gift card I gave her and her new hubby.

The pattern is Winecozy by Jennifer Carter and I used various soft and sparkly leftover bits of yarn. I'm an especially big fan of the adorable hearts on the black and purple one. The pattern itself is quite ingenious. I love the way the picked up tube thing makes the bottom quite stable. The only change I made was to knit in the round instead of flat.

Wedding #3 belonged to my knitting pal Erin. She had so much handmade goodness included in her special day! Probably most impressive (and not just because I helped), was the hand knit bridal and bridesmaids bouquets. All us knitter types in the group (and the token crocheter) helped a bit with that one, each of us making a couple of flowers. This picture is stolen from Erin's blog.

For her, I decided to try my hand at sewing and put together these napkins with nice folded edges and aluminum wire napkin rings:

The final wedding of the season was Lynn's in October. It was a Nerdstravaganza! And I mean that in the most flattering way possible. The programs were set up like a fantasy story and illustrated by the groom, each table had their own nerdy location (we were sitting at Aperture Labs), and they had custom-made LEGO figurines as party favours. Here's mine:

And our table:

And, for good measure, the happy couple:

I made an appropriately nerdy gift as well, a Doctor Who trivet!

It was made with some of my Mom's leftover lopi, and I used the chart from tricksyknitter called Whovian.

So that's it for weddings for a while, I hope!

Steampunk Softies: Scientifically Minded Dolls From A Past That Never Was

I first heard about the Steampunk genre several years ago, and though I can't remember my first introduction to it, I have found the Steampunk aesthetic fascinating. This portrayal of a past-that-never-was conjures up images of worn leather, top hats and monocles, victorian corsets and fans, aged brass buttons, and of course a really cool pair of aviation goggles. There's a certain sense of adventure that goes along with the Steampunk genre: along with its victorian sensibilities, it also depicts a future as H.G. Wells or Jules Verne would have envisioned it. Modern technology like computers are powered by steam, and pirates and explorers rule the skies in their zeppelin-like flying airships.

I suppose it was only natural, therefore, that when I randomly saw "Steampunk Softies: Scientifically Minded Dolls From A Past That Never Was" on Amazon, I just had to go for it. I was immediately intrigued, and also surprised that I had never heard of this book before, considering all the craft blogs I follow (though I suppose it only came out in 2011). This little book is definitely a treasure.

Steampunk Softies features patterns for 8 steampunk characters, each with their own intimidating list of materials. Before you even get started, however, the authors give you tips on cutting out the patterns, gluing, and aging fabrics, and also a reassurance that most of the detail pieces can be found in jewelry or hardware stores.

Each character has a little introduction, complete with their name and back story. One of my favourites is Geronimo Bore, pictured above, a prospector with a drill attached directly to his arm and who just can't resist the "glittery things you find in rocks". Though his drill arm and eye patch look complicated, they're constructed with such simple things as a screw, a button, an O-ring and some embroidery floss.

Another one of my favourites is Charity Storm, the dedicated aviatrix with her own set of wings. As with all the patterns, the list of materials is rather extensive (it takes up the whole left-hand column on the first page), but upon closer inspection, it's mostly stuff that most crafty types would have lying around anyway: a scrap of purple wool, a scrap of metallic lace, a couple of domed metal buttons... In addition, each step is illustrated, and a 360-degree view of each character is given. So despite everything, these softies are not as daunting a task to construct as it first appears.

I have yet to make anything from this book, but I'm definitely excited to (yeah, yeah... grad school). I'd probably start with the doctor Ferris Scapula (pictured on the cover in the top hat) because I think I already have most of the materials for him, but I'd love to make any one of these softies! In all, Steampunk Softies is a lovely little book, and definitely a great source of inspiration.

They love me! They really love me!

Well, Lynn over at Sweet Little Stitches, who is a good friend of mind and a crocheter from my weekly knitting group, loves me. She gave me the Liebster Blog Award, which goes to a blog with fewer than 200 followers. The idea is that when you receive the award, you then pass it on to five other bloggers.

Thus, in the spirit of the award, here are five blogs that I really like to read, and are deserving of this award:

1) Jori Baldwin - Sketchbook, as you might have guessed from the name, is a collection of sketches made by my friend Jori, who is quite a talented illustrator. I have a few of her pieces adorning my apartment, this one and this one to be specific.

2) Cassandra's Tears is my mom's blog on which she posts short stories that she has written. I think she's pretty talented, though she doesn't post nearly often enough.

3) Chez Emilie is my friend Emilie's blog. I knew her when I was doing my undergraduate degree in Physics. She's pretty amazing... she has two beautiful daughters and a lovely husband (whom I also studied with), and on top of that, she does quantum physics! She mostly blogs about her adventures in sewing, which I think she's pretty awesome at.

4) Iris is not exactly a blog (though it does have a blogspot address), but I thought it deserved a shout-out anyway. It's a fantasy and science-fiction zine that a few of my Lennoxville friends contribute to (and edit and publish), and you should go read some of the stories right now.

5) Last but not least, Sneaky Milk is my friend Jenny's blog. She's a comedian and story-teller, and a very funny writer. Her blog is mostly just about her life in Toronto. She hasn't written much in a while, but hopefully that'll change.

Cute little sewing machine

For my birthday, I received not one, but two sewing machines. One was a super portable, but super simple one from my boyfriend, and the other was a beautiful full-sized machine with dozens of pre-programmed stitches from my parents. At my pre-birthday party (that weekend was crazy), my boyfriend handed me the package, and when I opened it, my parents gave each other this look, and I knew they'd gotten me the same thing... it was a tad embarrassing. Anyway, it all worked out in the end because my parents returned the one they gave me (probably best considering the size of our apartment), and gave me a toaster and some books instead.

Anyway, this tiny sewing machine has served me very well so far. It only does a straight stitch, but that's probably all I'll ever need. I already used it to sew the lining for my horseshoe lace purse, and am now in the process of sewing a satin binding onto that baby blanket I knit. I did it once, but had to rip up the stitches because it was even on one side of the binding, but all wonky on the other. I've been told that I should do a running stitch by hand first, which is a pain, but it should come out fine in the end.

Here's an action shot:



Now, I just have to redo all that sewing and eventually get that blanket to my friend, whose baby has been born!

And in other news, I just finished a pretty lacy hat (using Marnie MacLean's Halley's Comet pattern) with that yummy Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora (it has been discontinued). Here's the yarn (sorry for the fuzzy pic):



And here's some crappy webcam pics of the finished product:

Pretty party purse

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd been working on a horseshoe lace purse while visiting my parents in L-ville. I promised pictures of the finished project, and here it is!



It's about 6" tall by 4.5" wide by 1" deep, and the strap is long enough so that I can have it cross my chest and the purse hangs at my hips. Here's a close-up of the lace pattern:



I found a lovely button at Fabricville (or Fabricland in English Canada), which miraculously fit the button loop I'd crocheted earlier even though I hadn't brought the finished purse to the fabric store with me. Here's a close-up of that:



When I got back to Toronto, I made a lining with some scrap fabric we'd bought at Fabricland for $0.50 (or less since it was 3 pieces of fabric for the price of 1). It was my first project with my new sewing machine! (I'll probably talk about it in more detail in a future post.) It didn't turn out so badly, considering I made a few mistakes along the way...



I've always needed a little party purse, something appropriate to wear with an evening dress, and considering the whole thing probably cost me less than $10, it was a good investment. Now, I hope I have an occasion to use it soon!