Wednesday 30 January 2013

Glitter Knitter

glitter knit1

Using the pattern for my soft yoked cardigan, I got some festive cream wool and knitted this one for my bridesmaid's evening outfit.

me with my cardigan and my diana mini
Here we are in action! You can see me here with my new camera - Diana Mini!

The wool was called Aria DK by James C Brett. I went for it because of all the sequins.

glitter knit2

A lovely special knit for a lovely special occasion.

yours glitter knitter,
Emilia. xxx

Sunday 27 January 2013

9 blue dresses...

...hanging on my door


9 blue ballet dresses1

It is that time of year again ... show time! And I have been chipping in with some costume making. These dresses are part of the schoolgirl's costumes. They are wearing them with little white pinnies and they look so lovely in them (although to the girls themselves this style of dress is just not cool!)

If you can, you should definitely go along to the show, A Cautionary Tale, performed by the Sussex Youth Ballet Company. A guaranteed treat.


9 blue ballet dresses2

Saturday 26 January 2013

In stitches

I enjoyed making my new year's resolutions last year and am pleased that I kept them in mind for the whole year. I am particularly pleased i managed to go a whole year without buying a single item of clothing (just some tights) and also pleased that i managed a recycled project and a half and also a fairisle knit. The only challenge I didn't manage to complete (I know there were only four of them!) was progress with my cross stitch (the short story of this project can be found here). However, I am keen to make this a priority project this year, now that Rich and I have booked our WEDDING and 2013 will be our wedding year (!!!!), I think that this would be a lovely thing to complete in commemoration.

Here is a little update of my progress so far (2010 - present) The space in the middle is for some words, and there is also a place for my name and the date so there is lots of ways to make it a meaningful momento.

sampler jan131

And it will be a good chance to develop my patience and commitment. Essential wife skills! 

Yours embroiderly,
Emilia. xxxxx


Wednesday 23 January 2013

Snow Jumper

Now i have a few projects to catch up on in my interim, so i will start with a little bit of knitting i did last autumn.

One of my new year's resolutions for 2012 was to do some fairisle knitting, and in the summertime I found the perfect pattern - this black and white beauty in Debbie Bliss magazine 7 fall/winter 2011.

fairisle jumper knit4

At the time i saw this i had never seen fairisle in just black and white - although i have seen a few examples since. 

To give you an idea, i did quite a lot of this knitting while watching the olympics! That does seem a long time ago indeed. But it was quite a lot later in the year that i finally finished:


fairisle jumper knit2

Although it does look like a tricky one, it was actually quite easy to knit. Each row was very straightforward and so taking it one at a time and watching the design grow from that was a treat. The hardest part really was keeping my wools from getting too tangled and twisted.It has been a gem this winter - that fairisle adds a bit of warmth - very good for cold weather days. And rather topical at this snowy time.

Yours snug in a rug,
Emily. xx


fairisle jumper knit1

Monday 21 January 2013

Bridesmaids made

Hello there, hello then,

Here i am!

I decided to come back - after SUCH a long break from my blog. The last couple of months were quite busy with bridesmaid's dressmaking - too much doing and not enough writing! I feel like this is rather a massive leap since my last post - so much missed. But Jess' wedding was a spectacular event, and the dresses were such a triumph - i was so proud to have been given such a role in the celebrations.

I was a bit silly not to take any photos of them myself, but the pro wedding pictures are back, and here we all are captured beautifully (i like this picutre!):

And doesn't Jess look a beautiful bride!

This was a dressmaking feat and a half for me, but i am so pleased i was able to do it. I was quite nervous the night before the wedding - the responsibility of the task hit me! But once we were all dressed i was much better. And with the stoles and gloves i think the effect was wonderful.


And there will some more exciting projects coming up for me, but for now i am enjoying the completion of this grand project, and a small time of rest for me and my sewing machine (but not for long!)

Happy new year, and nice to see you again. And see you soon (it's a resolution)

Lots of love,
Emilia. x