Halloween

PA310642
Originally uploaded by fairysari

I had camnesia! I think someone must have got a picture of Craig and I in our costumes together, but i will have to track it down. For now, there's just this one of Craig. The vest and shirt were part of the pattern I followed, and I made the tie too, which matches my costume. The hat is something Craig bought on a trip to Austin. There was also a coat, hopefully will turn up in another photo.

Sweet and spicy pumpkin seeds

Courtesy of Martha Stewart. I plan on making some pumpkin tarts tomorrow, so today I made some pumpkin puree by roasting a sugar pumpkin. I left the seeds in while it cooked (just over an hour at 400 F), then separated them after I peeled the pumpkin. From there I followed Martha's recipe pretty closely, and wow! Best pumpkin seeds ever.

Next up on the crafting block

I finally got started on those Halloween costumes. I cut out the pattern for the Saloon Girl last night. I was thinking of putting EL wire in the bodice instead of piping, but now I'm thinking it's not quite the right costume for EL wire. I also got a huge pile of fabric and notions at Fabricland yesterday for the Halloween costumes. (I would be posting a picture now, but my camera has mysteriously disappeared. It'll turn up soon, or I'll use my phone or something.) So I already had some black satiny stuff for the bodice, it's probably el cheapo lining, but its nice enough, and for Halloween its perfect.

We spent forever wandering around Fabricland looking for fabric so that our costumes would match or look nice together, but not be too matchy-matchy. We wound up finding the perfect combination on one of the upholstery fabric discount tables. So I got some shantung fabric in a light khaki green for the skirt of the dress. It matches well with the heavy twill paisley in mustard, green, and rust red that I got for the Old West Dude's vest. The green shantung will probably be used fo the tie on that costume as well, just to tie (aha!) it all together. And I also got a pile of black broadcloth and some interfacing. Still need some material for the shirt for Craig's costume.

I did get a bunch of notions as well, the Saloon Girl dress needs a whole bunch of trims and ribbons and stuff. Black lace in two different thicknesses, green and gold beaded trim, buttons (they're pewter coloured but now I'm thinking they should have been gold to match the beaded trim... oh well....), black satin and green grosgrain ribbon, bias tape, and I actually bought matching thread for once! Still need a few more things, including giant feathers which I'm hoping to get at the Oktoberfest store in Kitchener.

I'm a little bit ahead of myself too, because I've started working on Christmas and holiday gifts already too. So far the idea is to make knitted dishcloths and handmade soaps for friends, thrummed mittens for Craig's family and maybe my dad, this scarf for my mom, and I'm not really sure what Craig is getting yet. I've made one dishcloth, I dyed the yarn and have started the scarf for my mom. I'm hoping to get some roving and some worsted wool at the KW Knitter's Fair this weekend to make the mittens. And I'll get some extra so maybe I can make matching hats if I have a ton of extra time (which I might, seeing as I'm off work until January).

Great time of year

Just back home from Burning Man, off work for a little while, Halloween costume making just starting, and holiday gift making just around the corner. Soon it will be cool enough to think about knitting sweaters again.






Uploading the pictures is taking forever, so there's just a few.

Halloween costumes this year will be a saloon girl and old west dude, using patterns Simplicity 2851 and Simplicity 2895.

It's that time of year...

The man burns in three weeks from today. Which means we leave in two weeks. Which is frickin' awesome! Also awesome is the fact that Beth has decided to come with us, which bring us up to a group of six now. I happen to think that six is the perfect number, since we rented two pickup, and now it makes more sense to get a second hotel room on the way back (only three people per shower!). And we're building a hexagonal shade structure, which will be a living room in the middle, with one tent connected to each side. So now we'll have four tents, then one side will have a truck full of supplies, and the other side is the entrance. Oh and then girls aren't outnumbered anymore! And Beth is really fun and awesome and easy to get along with.

We've got all the sheets cut for the shade structure now, and are in the process of sewing it up now. First have to lay it out in the park to make sure it looks pretty!

Of course I've been busy crafting a whole bunch of stuff lately, to bring to burning man.

I knit a pair of legwarmers out of some leftover colours of Noro. Good for nighttime playa wear, on when its cold, anf taken off easily if its warm.


On the first day while we're building the shade structure, we'll wear white to keep cool. So I made this dress, using Burda 7808. The fabric is so pretty and has an irridescent mandala pattern that I'm sure will look great in the playa sun. Unfortunately the fabric doesn't photograph well.


And I knit this halter top out of Bamboo yarn, with sequins. Daytime playa wear!


And this is the basic slip dress from the book Knitting Lingerie Style. It took a while, but I can't wait to wear it at Burning Man!There's lots more stuff that I have't taken pictures of. Some thing I want to wait and take pictures of them on the playa, and other things I probably won't photograph at all. You'll have to be there to see them!

New bag! Newport!

A little while ago, I ordered the Namaste Laguna bag from Elann. I love love love it. Its big, and its fake leather but super soft, and its a lovely turquoise colour. Its big, its got lots of pockets, basically its the perfect bag for being a purse, and fitting a knitting project in there too.

So when I saw that Namaste was coming out with a new bag, the Newport, I had to preorder one from Dream Weaver yarns. It arrived today (super fast!), I got the limited edition peacock colour. And here is a photo of the bags side by side, the Laguna on the left, the Newport on the right:

Burnin back in mind...

So it's summer, which means knitting is seeming less appealing than sewing lately, especially with burning man just around the corner. Ravelry had taken my blogging urges away, since I can updae all my knitting progress there. But there's nowhere for stuff that isn't knit, so...

I've made a few things already for the playa, the first is a night-time dress. I found the fabric for $2/yard, and it has a one direction stretch. Not sure the fibre, probably some sort of blend. I think it will look really good under black light. I used McCalls 4769 but I shortened it a bit, used snaps instead of buttons (love!), added a bit of velcro to the opening right at the waist, and added some sequins and reflective trim to the back.


I also bought a pair of 3/4 length black shiny almost rubberized tights that look awesome with this dress. Here's a close up of the fabric and trim:



Last year we all got together and made our playa coats one night, then made polymer clay beads and jewelery the next day. I had made a cane, which I actually still have a big chunk of, and it may make a reappearance. This year I wanted to go for a different look, but knew Bryan would probably wnat to make some polymer clay beads again, so I got mostly metallic colours of clay this time. I spent a few hours making some pendants a few weeks ago.



And one with the edge of a measuring tape for scale:



I have more stuff to come - some stuff is already finished or nearly finished, and there's lots more ideas, and lots of great fabric and notions I've been collecting lately. I've got Simplicity 2966 partly done, and this pile of fabric and ribbon is now a dress: