Balaclava

I'm working on a balaclava pattern with recycled merino. On one of the hottest days of the year, Gabe didn't seem to mind being my model.


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Wool twill bag with new wool strap:


And new goods for the shop....orange shorts for big and small:





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Wool Soakers

After some alterations, i'm pleased with the new design and fit of the Sew Oiseau soakers. Now i can offer the originals with elastic waistbands and these, with extra wide ribbing or folded knit interlock, all in pure wool:















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A good deal

I made this dress for a friend of mine.



And she gave me the recipe for the best indian chilies around. Actually, she made us a delicious spread and then we bugged her for all the recipes.





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New pants for Gabe

Cashmere! With feet! What a lucky man.






I modeled them after these knit ones:




See here.

the waiting game

in the weeks proceeding the birth, i had more time than expected. in fact, i needed projects to help distract me, some a little ridiculous.
such as, a sock for our central vac:

a revived coffee table in progress. repainted, tiled with matte ceramic mosaic and some mirror tiles, now ready for grout and a glaze:

and some bike spats ready to sew:

i managed to update my stock inventory and tallied 60 wool pants, 15 "swallow" skirts, 10 shawls, 30 sloves, and a dozen doll kits, most of which was executed during the two weeks of waiting.

some wool items i've been working on. the matryoshka dolls were appliqued on a tea cozy and the animal floor cushions are filled with the bits and pieces of a thousand wool pieces i've sewn over the years.

wool pants workshop

This past Saturday eight of us got together to serge and piece together wool covers and pants for kids. See more photos here.

i thought my sewing machine and i were on a hiatus, but...

a mini cowl scarf for Eily...(maybe this will put an end to sniffles every two weeks).

...and a finished order for a wool-loving three-year-old.

new slipper design

The advent calendar is done. Although the pockets are not yet stuffed. I have a feeling Eily would have trouble emptying just one at a time.

I've also sewn together a felt floor basket from a fabulous ultra-felted sweater that was donated to me. I've been wearing the sleeves as legwarmers for weeks, since from the moment I tried them on on a whim, I could barely take them off. They're ultra warm. Now me and the yarn holder match.

diy labelling

label-making attempt #1 (which, in truth, was preceeded by several trips to the office supply store and multiple curse words about the unavailability of refillable (ie recyclable) ink cartridges).
i'm thrilled to be making my own clothing labels. And thrilled at the low cost.

I learned from here and all I needed was:

• an inkjet printer ($5 from TWC for those in K-W; mine even scans and copies wirelessly...an added bonus but completely unneccesay)
• any relatively smooth, thin fabric of natural fibres (silk, cotton, etc)
• freezer paper (acquirable at most grocery stores)
• alum and washing soda (ditto)

(skip the fabric softener that she suggests...it's not necessary)
plus an iron and my sewing machine of course

yesterday afternoon

it finally started to feel productive, something which i search for everyday and only nearly find. i spent the morning trying to sew and distracting myself with everything else, like realizing the microwave is desperately dirty when you really should be writing pg. 32 of your thesis. by 3pm i was actually at the table working on an order for wool diaper covers.
all i needed was something small to start, again.
and fresh cherries to keep me at it.

dolls for Christmas order

I took some etsy shots today. Some worked and others, not so well. It's hard to photograph on my own, especially wearables. This one is my favourite...another pair of bike anklets.