Buttercup Pincushion

I have been absent for way too long from this blog!!! I've been trying to get back into a regular posting schedule though, because I've got loads to talk about!

Back in July, I finally tried out a pattern from With Fabric and Thread, the buttercup pincushion! I'm in love with this pattern and the end product is so adorable!

It's pretty huge, so no more fumbling to try and find a place to fit my pins in. This was my first attempt at using an actual pattern, and there were SO many pieces to cut out. It went incredibly slowly...

Then I realised, on starting the project, how much hand sewing was required. I really don't enjoy having to hand sew.

It's lucky that it ended up so cute, definitely worth the time it took me!

Sorbetto Planning

After buying this cute fabric from IKEA, I thought it would be perfect to try out the free Colette Sorbetto pattern. Not really sure if it's suitable fabric for clothing, but at £3 a metre, it's not really an expensive experiment.

I've been trying out a few different variations on the bias binding/collar in photoshop to see what different styles look like.

Here it is with black binding, which I love. With white binding, it's still quite cute, but it doesn't stand out so much.

I have a peter pan collar addiction, so I thought I'd see what it looks like with one made of the same fabric. It's quite cute, but I'm not really sold. The black collar is much cuter.

The last one is definitely my favourite, but I'll probably be sticking with the original idea of just black binding. Trying to alter a pattern on my very first attempt at garment making is probably a bad idea. I may well change my mind looking at how adorable the peter pan collar looks though!

Interchangeable Needles!

After getting some serious finger ache from my cheap metal circulars, I went crazy and splurged on a gorgeous deluxe set of knit pro symphonie interchangeable needles from GetKnitted. I ordered these around New Year while there was 10% off every order and free delivery, so these worked out at around £45. Which is how I justified it to myself - so much off the RRP!

I'm completely happy with my purchase though! They are the most beautiful needles, the colours are amazing. The more important part though, is the knitting. These knit like a dream. They're so smooth! No more tugging the stitches around the cable, and it's great to have the option of a shorter cable length for hats and mittens. I don't have that annoying loop of extra cable getting in the way any more! 

I've been using them to knit the Ashley Worsted hat at the moment, and changing up needle sizes after the rib was so easy! Just twist them off the cable and twist the new needles on! 

Progress so far!

I'm hoping these will be an investment - I never have to buy any circular needles ever again! 

IKEA!

I went on a trip to Ikea with my best friends a little while back.. I love it there for the cheap, useful homeware  but I really wanted to check out the fabric this time.

Photo by Fimagine 

When we finally got around the whole store and into the market hall, I walked straight past the fabric. It was only once I got to the end and asked an employee that I realised. It was hidden away with all the quilts and bedding! I dragged my friends back and was completely spoilt for choice. I eventually picked out two prints. A gingham red cotton (£6/metre) and a thinner white cotton with numbers printed all over (£3/metre).

(On a side note, are the scissors at IKEA quite possibly the worst, most blunt scissors in the world? I think so!)

I'm happy with my purchases though, and I'm thinking of trying a Colette Sorbetto with the white print.