Yarn stash and crewel embroidery

As you can see my yarn stash was getting a little overflowy. It was a big mess in fact. I was stocking up while the sales were on! That's my excuse but the truth is it had reached the point where I didn't even really know what I had anymore, so something had to be done. Luckily you will see in the lovely "after" picture that I have now got the situation under control thanks to a handy new piece of furniture from Pier 1:And now on to other things, such as crewel embroidery. As you can see, if you visit my blog to any degree, I like to embroider on my knitted/crocheted things. Someone asked me about this so I thought I would explain in case any one else is interested.

Generally embroidery on wool is done with wool instead of the usual cotton/silk embroidery thread and it's called crewel embroidery. The techniques are pretty much the same as with regular embroidery, I generally use only three stitches: satin stitch, chain stitch and french knots. I create my own designs, since I'm also an illustrator, so that's part of it for me but you can find patterns in books or just copy any pictures you want.

The wool I use can be seen in the bag on the bottom right of the top picture, and at the bottom of the 2nd picture too. Wool for crewel embroidery is sold in small skeins, so you can buy more colours. Needlework/embroidery/cross stitch type stores often sell it, sometimes in grab bags which is a great way to get started (and indeed contribute to chaos such as the above). I found that particular bag of embroidery wool at a flea market. Alternatively you can embroider with any extra bits of wool you have already.Now on to books I would recommend, there are a couple of old books that I found while thrift shopping which are really good: Erica Wilson's Embroidery Book, and Crewel Embroidery also by Erica Wilson. I see these for sale second-hand all the time, they're old-fashioned (which I like) and I guess they're classics. More recent books are Kids' Embroidery by Kristin Nicholas and the Reader's Digest Complete Book of Embroidery. I have copies of these last two, and would be interested in swapping if anyone would like them. For swaps in general I like books, beads, buttons, yarn, fabric and ribbons. See pictures below:

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Speaking of Owls

I forgot to mention that illustrating "The Owl and the Pussycat" was Bradley's idea. As soon as he suggested it I knew that it was what I wanted to do. I like drawing owls, and animal characters in general. So thanks to Bradley for the idea!

And speaking of owls, pictured above is the lovely little owl from felt that Bradley sewed for me as a present. The pattern came from a thrift store find, a book on creating stuffed animals based on the Winnie the Pooh characters. He is very small, 3 inches tall with a wingspan of 6.5 inches.

Also, little owl is the first subject for my new digital camera! It's true I finally have my own digital camera. I've been worrying literally for years about which one to buy. I finally took the bull by the horns and went with a suggestion I read on Posy Gets Cozy and bought the Canon PowerShot A80. She wrote a great tutorial on her blog about taking digital pictures and even how to adjust them in Photoshop. After reading her description I thought that she wanted exactly what I want from a camera, plus her photos look great, plus I followed up and read great reviews of the camera online. I had done a lot of research previously so when I read about this camera I knew it had the features I wanted. (One cool thing is that you can buy a waterproof case for it, which would be so much fun someday so I can take snorkelling pictures.) I took another chance and bought mine on ebay, which seems to have turned out well, I saved a lot and it arrived from the U.S. five days after I won the auction. They sent the wrong card with it, which they'll replace, but in the meantime my brother said I could have his old card, so I don't have to wait to try it out. Yay!

p.s. little owl looks a little sad in the picture, but he's really not I think he's just shy in front of the camera.

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Illustration Friday - SeaThe Owl and the Pussycat

After taking a couple of weeks off, I'm happy to be doing another Illustration Friday. This is an illustration for the Edward Lear poem "The Owl and the Pussycat". The whole poem is here along with Lear's original illustration. Part of the challenge for me was to work on painting the sea itself, water can be tricky. I didn't want to be exactly realistic, of course, but I wanted to really suggest the sea in a simple way. (As usual you can click on the picture to see it larger.)

Another reason I wanted to do this illustration is to possibly use as my first ATC. ATC stands for "Artist Trading Cards". I just discovered this idea (and I have my first swap all lined up) thanks to a talented contact from Flickr. I looked "ATC" up online and learned more about them from this site. I have lots of ideas for mine. I want to have an illustration printed on them but they need to be handmade too, and be one-of-a-kind or at least one of a series. I'll post mine when I'm finished, and of course I'd love to do more swaps!

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Centre-pull ball of yarn

I was excited about my new discovery and wanted to share it. I like centre-pull balls of yarn, and I've been eyeing yarn winders in knitting stores and thinking about getting one. But of course not really wanting to spend the money or store the awkward thing along with my excessive yarn stash, sewing supplies etc. So I was very interested in this post.

Investigating further, I found this great tutorial (that even has a movie showing you how!) on this page: http://www.icanspin.com/noste.htm

And finally in keeping with my Spartan waste-not-want-not upbringing, I experimented myself with a little cardboard tube (1 cm diameter) that I found in a flea market sewing box that I had found (and bought of course) filled with odds and ends. I think it was a cardboard spool for thread. In any case, it resulted in a beautifully wound centre-pull ball of yarn. The only reason that it may look slightly wobbly is that the yarn was knitted previously and is a bit curly. This is actually my first attempt. So there you go, I urge you to try this yourself!

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Miniature world of presents

I've shown you the things I made for Christmas presents, but I haven't shown you my presents yet. I was inspired by this lovely little picture to have a theme, and show you some of my favourite presents, which also happen to be the smallest! (and also practise my close-up photography.)

The first wasn't exactly a Christmas present, but my mum did give it to me just before Christmas. I was at my parent's house for dinner and my brother needed a button sewn on. I found this thimble in my mum's sewing box, and she said I could keep it if I could find another in there. As you can imagine I searched assiduously until I could find another one because I think this one is so beautiful! (This thimble is labelled "CH 7 Dorcas". This stands for Charles Horner, size 7 and it's the Daisy pattern manufactured from 1905 until 1948. The outside is silver, and the inside is steel for strength. The name "Dorcas" is from the bible, she was a seamstress who made clothes for those in need.)

The following is a picture of the adorable bead and button kit made for me by Bradley. He knitted a little case with pink crochet yarn, in moss stitch, and sewed on a pink and white button. Inside was a bead necklace kit with a butterfly pendant, and an assortment of beads and buttons. My favourite (you can click on the picture to see it larger) is the little pink bird. So sweet!

He also bought a little knapsack for Frances, which fits perfectly. In fact, just try to get Frances to take it off. Believe it or not, the knapsack is from Eddie Bauer, they had mini items to use as tree ornaments (Peter also has a fancy new Eddie Bauer flap hat). Frances was happy to model his new knapsack for me. And inside was a little pencil and two schoolbooks, handmade by Bradley.And last but not least, my brother bought me this beautiful bird necklace from Propaganda, a great store that sells wonderful handmade jewellery, bags and other paper goods and accessories. So as you can see I was very lucky and received some really beautiful presents this year!

p.s. my flickr favourite pictures are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/needlebook/favorites/

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Grey iPod nano case

I made this case for my friend's iPod nano, and as a going away present since he was leaving for Japan. He asked for something very plain, and in grey and white so this is what I made. He likes things to be very simple and modern. Surprisingly he didn't want any bird embroidery or anything like that. (or, as Bradley just pointed out, a robot! who wouldn't want a robot?) There's just no accounting for taste right? I was happy that it fit, since I don't have a nano to test it with so I was working from a tracing I took of his.

And for all you fellow crafters out there, I know what you're thinking. I have someone who can buy me Japanese crafts books! That's right, he's offered to find some books for me. I've been choosing what I'd like from all the great pictures my fellow bloggers are taking. I would love to get some of the pretty fabrics I'm seeing too (see these pictures), but I wouldn't know where, and I suspect that might be pushing my luck. But if anyone happens to know...

In case anyone out there is wondering what I'm talking about, here's a great site to introduce you to the wonderful world of Japanese crafts books:
Crafting Japanese

These are the ones I think I would like:

title: Machine Made Patchworks
ISBN: 457911020X

title: point
ISBN: 4277311482

title: nuigurumi
ISBN: 4056041792

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Pink embroidered mittens

I've just opened up my shop on etsy.com, it's www.clairelmilne.etsy.com. I've added two items to my shop so far, a pink and a purple pair of embroidered mittens. I'm planning to add more things once I have some more time, but at least now I have it started. It's very easy, I recommend it to anyone else thinking of selling their crafts. While I'm at it, I think I have to work on taking close-up pictures. There just isn't enough time to do all the things I want to do!

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Floral fabric messenger bag

I can't seem to stop making crafts. I became fixated on sewing a new messenger style bag after realizing that my nanna denim/bird fabric bag was rubbing blue marks onto my new white parka (so warm, very cheering in this weather). So I pulled out my bags of vintage fabric and found a floral print I've been meaning to use for years. The thing is, it's new year's day, I have illustration work to do, I'm tired from being up very late, and I can't seem to stop crafting! It's not exactly urgent, I have other bags (believe me) but once I get the idea I can't really wait. I'm not a very patient person. This is also part of the trouble with my sewing, I don't take time to plan it all out, sew the pockets on before putting together the bag etc. And zippers... well I don't really need zippers on the pockets do I?

I should have spent more time choosing the fabric, it's just too floral. I love the fabric, the colours, but maybe it's just too much. The good news is that it works perfectly, it's just the right size for all my illustration papers, travel mug, pencil case, etc. So now I can go to the coffee shop and stop procrastinating.

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Purple berry mittens

Here is my 2nd four-needle berry embroidered set of mittens. These ones are made from Fuchsia Burly Spun 100% wool, with wool embroidery in light bluish purple and light lavender berries. I'm really enjoying the embroidery these days! Next, I am planning to make them in turquoise and then pink - all my favourite colours.

These are for sale at etsy.com

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White winter berry mittens

I just finished these today, they're white wool mittens using a four-needle mitten pattern from Lettuce Knit. They give you the pattern if you buy the wool there. It's a nice smooth, very soft, luxuriously heavy wool called "Blue Sky Bulky" and it's 50% alpaca and 50% wool. I was a little disappointed when I finished knitting them, since they came out a bit too large, and the sample in the store had fit perfectly. So I decided to felt them (by hand) and they shrunk just enough. I also tried them on outside before felting and I could feel the wind through the mitten. Not anymore! These are so dense and warm now. Also, the embroidery works better on the felted mitten because there's a smooth surface without so much texture from the stitches. I decided to embroider a winter branch with berries on them. I'm thinking of making some more now to sell.

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Blue earrings with Swarovski crystal beads

I've started making jewellery again lately. I'm definitely an amateur when it comes to jewellery, but I found a good book which covers the basics and was treated at Christmas with some round nose pliers that I needed and some beautiful Swarovski crystal beads. This is one of the first pairs of earrings that I've made that I really like, the beads at the top are green, dark turquoise and a sort of coppery colour.

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Orange bird hat

Here is an embroidery I did on one of my hats. (I should clarify: I embroidered the bird, but I didn't knit the hat. I was outside yesterday and forgot to bring a hat. I got too cold so I bought one - shame on me! but at least it's 100% wool) I used some more of my stash of wool for crewel embroidery. I love the colour of this hat, and it has a fleece lining which makes it very snug, but I thought it was missing something so I decided to add a bird since I really liked how my iPod case turned out.

Speaking of yarn stashes, I got a little carried away at the Lettuce Knit (30% off all yarn) and Romni (25% off everything) boxing day sales. Here are pictures of just some of the yarn I bought. I am planning to start selling more of my knitted things next year, so hopefully it's not as crazy as it seems. My favourite is the blue in the middle of the following picture, which was a cash-in of a hand-made coupon that came in my Christmas stocking from Bradley. It's hard to describe exactly how lovely it is, the name is Alchemy Haiku, it's very fine, it's 40% silk and 60% mohair, and the colour is called Soft Turquoise.

The following picture is of some beautiful pink yarns: 1. a bit fat nubbly one called "Curly Locks" from Fleece Artist 2. a variegated washable merino skein to make a pair of socks (something I haven't tried yet), also from Fleece Artist 3. two variegated kid merino skeins from Crystal Palace Yarns and 4. three light pink merino wool skeins.

The following picture are colours I didn't want that came in a bag with the pale pink merino above. They are purple, black and light yellow & cream merino wool ~70 gram skeins. If any one would like to trade me for these, please let me know!

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Bike Helmet Ear Warmers

Well, they don't look like much but I think these are a really good idea. They're ear warmers to wear under your bike helmet. The idea is that you might still like to ride your bike when it gets pretty cold, but a hat can be too bulky under the helmet. In case you're wondering how you wear them, there's a picture of someone wearing them on the pattern page. I found the pattern after going to knitty and reading the story "Knit like a man". After that I went to the author's blog and found a link there to MenKnit magazine. The pattern is by Amy O'Neill Houck who has a blog called The Hook and I.

I had been wanting to make these since my friend Adam showed me fleece ones he got at MEC, which they don't seem to have anymore. They knit up really fast, if you're a pretty experienced knitter you can do it in an evening, and when they're done I recommend you block them so that they don't curl. I did it by handwashing them then placing them on a towel and pinning them directly onto my couch. They're small so they don't take up too much room while they're drying.

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Knitted goods - Christmas presents

These are the presents I knitted for my family this Christmas. I'll post bigger pictures on Flickr later on. I know I should take a break from blogging, but I just started a month and a half ago and I can't seem to stop! I even have another post planned for tomorrow...although I will warn you it is a little on the sentimental side and involves a cloth doll. For those of you who won't be looking at blogs tomorrow, I wish you a very merry Christmas and happy holidays!

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Guest Spot - Striped men's mittens by Sarah

Well I'm running out of things I can show you that aren't secret Christmas presents. My friend Sarah just sent me a picture of some mittens she made for her boyfriend, so I'm having a guest spot today. Aren't they great? This is the pattern she used - although it looks like she shortened the thumbs which is a good thing because I thought the pattern mittens had kind of weirdly long thumbs.

She knitted hers on four needles, but I have to mention, I just found out about knitting small size items on circular needles. I don't have very many double pointed needles, but I do have a Boye circular needle kit, so I thought this could really come in handy. I tried it myself, and found it a little bit vexing, but I find knitting on four needles vexing too. I won't explain it again since I found a terrific explanation on someone else's page. If this link expires, just google "magic loop" and you will find the info.

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Striped chunky knit pink and brown scarf

I've just finished this, a really warm wool scarf for the winter. It's so easy I would recommend this for a brand new beginner project. I used Lamb's Pride (is it just me or is that a really cute name for yarn?) bulky yarn, 14 stitches per row, size 11 needles, all knit (garter stitch), switching my four colours randomly. I wanted a plain-jane, vintage looking, a-kid-could-have-made-it style of scarf.

Even though it's simple, beginners often ask about switching colours. All you do is this: when you are ready to join a new colour just cut off the current colour leaving around 3 inches of yarn, then use a reef knot to join on the new colour. A reef knot is left over right and under, then right over left and under. Then just start knitting with the new colour. That's it. I weave in the ends with a big sewing needle, such as an embroidery or tapestry needle, any needle that's big enough that you can thread it with your yarn. After you weave in the ends (ie. "sew" the yarn over and under loops of your knitting) trim off the end.

Now I just can't decide if I should add a fringe or not. Any opinions on that?

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Pink bird iPod case

I just finished this today, I had crocheted the case a while ago, but just decided today to embroider a bird on top. I guess it's called crewel embroidery since I used wool. I was lucky one day and I found a big bag of scrap embroidery wool at a flea market so I have lots of colours to choose from. I'm still learning how to use my brother's old camera properly so it's not as clear as I'd like - the bird's wing and tail are orange.

I love things with birds on them, I bought a sweet little pin cushion from tania at a craft sale here in Toronto, it looks like this. And I bought a wonderful pink wool bag with an appliqued bird on it from stelle. It's the one on the top of her blog - so my bag is famous. My other famous "bird" bag is this one. I couldn't resist the vintage bird fabric on the front flap. It's a diaper bag but I use it to cart around my art supplies to coffee shops so I can stop crafting and blogging and actually do some illustration!

In other news, I'm going to my 2nd stitch 'n bitch tonight. Last time was great fun, I loved seeing all the projects people were making. My favourite was Sarah's vintage-looking knitting bag, which looks complicated but she says is actually quite easy. She even let me know where she found the pattern so maybe I'll make my own.

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The Second Mitten! the turquoise bag and my Singer

The Second Mitten is now finished (see previous post regarding Boy Knitting). Knitted, that is, but not assembled. This is what the mitten looks like, so now you can see how a double layered striped mitten was knitted in one big piece. I would never think to knit a mitten like this, it seems like a lot of trouble, but they turned out great, and Bradley is really happy with them.

Myself, I finally lined the turquoise bag, and I'm really happy with it. It turned out that the courdoroy lining was thick enough to keep the top part from being too floppy without any use of interfacing, and the colour worked well. I also found a bit of nice stripey fabric to line the pocket. The tricky part with lining a buttonhole style bag was the buttonholes themselves. I did it by cutting the lining in two horizontally, and sewing together the top and bottom of each side while leaving a gap where the buttonholes were. Then pressing it flat and sewing the lining in as usual. The top part needed to be overstitched by hand because it was a stretch courdoroy and the sewing machine was stretching it too much. I could have adjusted the tension, but with my old sewing machine it's not that easy. This is a picture of my beautiful sewing machine! I love it, but it has some limitations. For those who are interested in sewing machines, it's a Singer Lock stitch model 128-13, with the Egyptian scrollwork on the faceplate. I have attachments for zigzag stitching and buttonholes (which I rarely use) and it came in excellent condition with lots of extra feet and the manual at a flea market for $100. I love it. I also have a white Featherweight, but that's a story for another posting.

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Illustration Friday - ImagineThe Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces

I started this drawing after being inspired by this post. It started out as a drawing purely from my imagination, remembering the kinds of pictures I loved to draw throughout my childhood. I remember spending hours completely wrapped up in my drawings, making up stories in my mind to go with the pictures. I was particularly enchanted by fairytales, and this particular sketch ended up evolving into an illustration for one of my favourite fairytales, The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces. In this Grimm story, twelve princesses steal away every night to meet twelve princes who row them across a lake to an underground castle where they dance until their shoes are in shreds. On the way to the lake they pass through an avenue of trees with silver leaves. I've always imagined that this underground world would be really beautiful and magical with gardens and colourful lanterns.

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Illustration Friday - SurpriseThe Elves and the Shoemaker

This is my Illustration Friday entry for the theme: Surprise. I've always wanted to illustrate The Elves and the Shoemaker, it's one of my childhood favourites. I think you know, but just in case you don't, this is the moment when the shoemaker discovers that two elves are sewing his shoes for him at night.

To see it larger, click on the image, and then click again to see it even larger!

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