Winter Ready

Several years ago, I found this wonderful coat in my grandmother's closet. It belonged to her years ago. I loved the princess seams and the detachable fur trim collar. I decided to pull it out and wear it this winter.

But I needed a hat, scarf, and mittens to match. So I decided to make a set. I found this yarn at Hobby Lobby, it’s the store brand, Yarn Bee. (As much as I love nice, expensive yarn I am a knitter on a budget and this is a great alternative) I fell in love with this yarn and have bought several different colors for various projects. It is melody bulky wool blend in ivory and is 70% wool and 30% polyester. I also used a gold yarn to trim all three pieces.

I started with the mittens. The sleeves on the coat are a little short (my theory is that the sleeves are actually three-quarter length but my arms are really short so they are bracelet length on me) so I decided to make my mittens a little longer. I skimmed through several books and took ideas from different patterns. The gold stripes on the mittens originally started out as ruffles but I didn't like the look so I decided to stitch them down. This was my first attempt at mittens and I am very pleased with how they turned out.

The hat was next. This was a little more difficult. I knew I wanted a cloche-style hat but I couldn't find anything that I liked. I went through the tons of books I have here at home and finally remembered a book I had tucked away with a hat on the cover. Well, I started out by following the pattern exactly. When I finished I tried the hat on and it was WAY too tall and poofy. So I decided to rip the top out and remake the hat again. This time I took all the increases and cut about 2 ¾" out of the top of the hat. When I finished this time I fit much better. I wish I had done a couple more rounds before I started my decreases so the hat would come down a little bit longer. But I am not remaking the hat again!

After the hat was finished I felt like it needed a flower or something by the ruffle. So I decided to crochet a small flower out of the same gold yarn that I used to trim the gloves and the hat ruffle. I used an old pearl button from my grandmother's in the middle of the flower.

Finally, I started on the scarf. I wasn't sure what I wanted, so I decided to carry the ruffle idea from the hat to the scarf. I also decided to include a few rows of seed stitch before I started the plain knit. The scarf didn't need to be very long since the coat has a fur collar so I made it short so it can be tucked into the collar.
I trimmed the edge of the hat ruffle with a single crochet and the edge of the scarf ruffle with a half-double crochet.

I am now using the same yarn to make some legwarmers to wear this winter under my skirts to help stay warm. I will post pictures when I get them finished!

Birthday Presents

Life had been busy around here. I finished my first summer class on Thursday in Educational Psychology and I now have a week off before I start my next two summer classes in Theater Appreciation and Journalism. During my Ed Psych class I also had a car show in Bowling Green to attend, kraut to make and can out, birthday presents to make, and my cousin's wedding with which to help. Needless to say June was a very busy month around the Crafton house so I haven't had time post anything.

My mother and my grandmother have birthdays which fall less than one week apart. This year I decided to embroider a present for each of them. For my mother, I made a piece she can hang in the bathroom which is decorated with lighthouses. I used a piece of loosely woven cotton in a natural color. I also used an iron-on transfer to stitch by. I am not a very good artist so I rely on other resources for some of my pieces.

After I finished stitching, I framed it in a simple wide black frame with a white and black matte. I wanted to used a white frame with a beach feel to it, however she already has some things framed in black in the bathroom.

The walls have recently been painted blue so the black frame and white matte go really well with the paint.

For my grandmother's gift I decided to embroider a large flour sack towel. I purchased the towel in a pack at Hobby Lobby. Once again I used an iron-on transfer for my design.

I also added a small flower in the top corner that will show if the towel is hung by the corner.

Here is another picture of it folded nicely on the kitchen counter.

I am also working on a knitted lace trim to put on the bottom. It is a Kilgorie edge in warm rose crochet cotton. I am using size 3 Lantern Moon rosewood needles (my fave) and size 3 thread (because that was the only size I could find in a coordinating color).

Here is a close up of the lace design.

I originally wanted to use a variegated pink and white crochet thread but all I could find was a size 70 tatting thread which was a little too thin for what I wanted. But I think the warm rose will work well with the towel and the colors of floss I used.

I will post some more pictures when I finish the lace and attach it to the towel.