Fabric finds

Today I've been to my favourite fabric store with very cheap linnens (6 USD/m), wools (7 USD/m), cottons, silks. I've been mainly buying silk today for medieval shirts (my husband is going to sew a shirt for our Prince as a feast gift, but more about that in another post ^^), but I also found some nice linnen for my quilted pillowcases (which I'm going to show you very soon, because I have two of them almost ready! ^^).
Here are the three fabrics, each of them is 0,5 m x 1,5 m, and each cost me only 2 USD! ^-^






I also received today the yarn for the August's project for Bag Me KAL:

Since I cannot buy the handles recommended in the pattern I'll be making my own out of wood and leather.

And unfortunately I have to report some problems from the OPAL socks front... The second sock, maybe because I paid more attention not to have ladders, is knitted very tightly and is smaller than the first one (and in fact fits better my foot than the first socks) .
So, I decided to finish this second sock and knit the third one paying as much attention to keeping the yarn tight, so I have two matching socks... And I'm going to frog the first too-big-for-me sock and use the yarn to knit two very short socks, reaching very low below my ankles (in Poland we call them "small feet").
So, all's well that ends well. ^^

Ladders

When I started my OPAL socks I've told you that for the first time I had a ladders problem (maybe because this yarn is not very stretchy).
I think I found the solution to this! ^^

I worked with five needles (a sock on four needles and the working needle).
When I used my working needle (green one) like in the photo - OVER the previous needle (pink one) - I had ladders.


But, when I started to work with the fifth needle from UNDER the previous needle (pink one), the result was the smooth fabric! ^^


I don't know if you get what I mean, (I hope so), but that's what worked for me, so feel free to try it out if you encounter ladders problem in your socks of mittens. ^^

Sunday planning

Well, I've been doing many things last week but not necessarily what I planned... ^^

Planned for the previous week:
- quilted pillow cases for Sew? I knit assignment - yes, I chose fabrics and worked out the design,
- veil for the medieval Russian outfit - I know that I won't make it in time, so I decided not to start it at all right now, I'll think about it later, when I have enough time to properly design and embroider it, I don't want to rush myselfinto the unsatisfactory result
- embroidered bands for Robert's kaftan - haven't touched...
- embroidered bands for my rubakha - haven't touched...
- kokoshnik - haven't touched...

So, what are plans for?...

Anyway, this week I really must speed up with the medieval pieces of our outfits, because there are only two weeks left! ^^

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I had a really unpleasant conversation with the Post Office lady this morning, when I went to make a claim of an undelivered package. Yes, unfortunately my parcel with the bag for my Pal in Tote Exchange haven't reached its destination yet!... After 1,5 months!...
When I was sending the parcel they told me it's going to take about three weeks to get from Poland to California. And today I've been told in a funny voice that it was a VERY rough estimate, and it may still be travelling somewhere on the way!!! They should've told me this before - I would have changed the type of the parcel or decided on a courier, or something...
Anyway, the lady accepted my claim but said that finding the package may take up to 4 months!...
I am totally devastated, ashamed that my Pal didn't receive her bag yet, and frankly speaking there is nothing more I can do in this situation apart from sending my sincere apologies to my Pal...
Which unfortunately crosses me out of any international swaps, because how can I take part in the swap that lasts, eg.: 2 months, if I have to send my parcel on the very first day of the swap in order to make sure it gets to the recipient in time!... And sending anything by a courier would cost me so much, that I couldn't really afford it... Well, I can only hope now that the package will finally get to my Pal and I'll be able to complete this exchange.

Off to some quilting now.
Cheers, everyone!

Nobody told me...

that making quilts is so much fun!!! ^^

Here is what I've been doing last evening and this morning and afternoon: cutting strips of fabrics!


Here you have:
- top left corner - one full pillowcase ready to be sewn
- next to it - six more pillowcases ready to be assembled
- bottom left corner - strips of different fabrics ready to be picked up and matched with each other
- bottom right corner - circles of fabrics to make pincushions

I had no idea I had so many nice fabrics in my stash! And that's not all of them, I still have some more in red, violet and blue combinations. I thought that I'm not going to like quilting because of the colours-and-patterns mix but now, when I look at them they remind me of the Japanese streetfashion - people wearing colourful patterend clothing in crazy combinations. ^^

But that' s not all, folk! ^-^ Because these are not going to be ordinary quilted pillow cases - I have one more thing up my sleeve but I'm not telling you now!... ^^
Look forward to the development of this story soon!

More socks to come...

Hurray!!! ^^
Today when I opened my mailbox I found the invitation from Rachel from Wardrobe Refashion - it means I got my application in time and now I'm officially the 4-month Refashionist as of today! *^-^*
Expect some projects soon, because I'm full of ideas (and clothes to refashion...).

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Last night I went yarn shopping, and let me proudly present:

yarn for Mameluke Socks


yarn for Norwegian Gloves


And, of course, I wouldn't be myself, if I left my LYS with only the yarn from my list, so I grabbed two skeins of Regia for another pair of socks (yes, I'm becoming the sock monster!... ^^)


And now I'm off to the yarn wholesaler and to get some fabric for the trousers for my husband, I'll post the results in the afternoon. ^^

EDIT: it's afternoon, and I have nothing to show you... Unfortunately they closed the yarn wholesaler where I wanted to visit this morning!... I'll be shopping next week in another place, in the other part of the city, so stay tuned! ^^

Socks, socks, socks...

The beginning of the month brings us next sock project from the book "Folk Socks" by Nancy Bush - this month it's page 76 and Mameluke socks.


Talking about socks, my OPAL socks are growing, I finished the first one and I'm really happy with the result - the yarn is soft, I love the colour changes, although for the first time I had a ladders problem, maybe because this yarn is not very stretchy. But I just kept my eyes open as I knitted and it looks just fine. ^^



I used the stretchy bind off, namely:

K1, *bring yarn forward, return stitch to left needle; p2tog [new stitch and next stitch on left needle which is a purl st]; put yarn to back, return stitch to left needle; k2tog; rep from * across row.

But it's not very stretchy, unfortunately...

I am a bit worried about my application to Wardrobe Refashion, because I still hasn't received the invitation to the blog from the hostess... Maybe I applied too late?... It was still 31st July in Poland, when I sent my e-mail (exactly 5 pm), but maybe because of the time zone changes it was already 1st August in the US and the applications were closed?...
Well, anyway, I'm going to stick to my pledge and refashion what I have, and not buy any new clothes for 4 months (as if I had the money to do that!...) - a promise is a promise! ^^

Has it ever happened to you?

So, I bought this sweater in a thrift store, because I liked the yarn and decided to frog it and reuse the wool to knit a bag. It's Marks&Spencers, the yarn is 48 % wool, 39% acrylic, 13% polyamide, and has a very interesting shades of light creamy brown and rusty orange (the photo doesn't do the justice at all!)



And now, when I put it on and it fits perfectly, and it goes so well with my Autumn colour scheme (full of purples, rusts, browns and orangy reds...), I just don't want to frog it anymore!... I want to keep it and wear it!...

Colours

Last Friday I thought that I need some knitting for a drive to Ciechanow (2 hrs), so I finally decided to start the socks from a mysterious OPAL yarn (mysterious for me, of course, because I've never tried it! ^^). I took my 2,5 mm needles and cast on - I'm knitting them toes up, because I have no idea how much yarn I need for the over-the-ankle socks and I don't want to be left without the yarn to finish the second sock... So, when I reach half the yarn ball, 'll start the other sock. ^^
Here is the Monday morning stage of a sock #1:

It'll probably be the sole part, because the pattern changes are visible in the middle of the instep.

Today I've been to several second-hand stores and found some great colourful clothing! ^^ Just look at the vibrant shades of purple and orange, how they fit together - very inspiring for me!

It's all cotton and linnen in various forms.

And I decided to take a 4 month pledge not to buy any new clothing but just make them with my own hands (see: Wardrobe Refashion). Starting date is 1st August. ^^

Sunday planning

So, I'm back from the XIII c event in Ciechanow. It was fun, the place is very nice and worth visiting next year. Here are some pictures:

My husband Robert, Igor and Marcin. Igor's tent in the background.


Robert, Marcin, Igor and Piotr, and my tent in the background (and Ciechanow castle, of course! ^^)

Marcin, Igor and me.


And me in maroon dress (I'm secretly planning to embroider it with some XIII c pattern... ^^).

Planned for last week:
- finish sewing the XIII c dress - finished and worn last weekend! ^^
- make a XIII c snood for my hair - well, didn't do it... I will in the future, some time in September because we will attend another XIII c event at the end of Sept.
- Lithuanian Amber Socks - I swatched with bigger needles for my size and decided to add several stitches rather than using bigger needles,
- new lace shawl - I've been checking different patterns, still haven't decided though,

Plans for the coming week:
- quilted pillow cases for Sew? I knit assignment - prepare the pattern, choose fabrics
- buy yarn for the August Bag Me KAL project - Knitting Tote
- buy yarn for the blue bag for Darla
- continue with Opal socks
- embroidered bands for Robert's kaftan - continue and maybe finish?
- embroidered bands for my rubakha - finish, sew onto the rubakha
- kokoshnik - finish the front, design the pattern for the back
- veil for the medieval Russian outfit - design and start embroidery

As you can see, I'll be concentrating on finishing early medieval pieces of outfit because on 19 th August we are having a very important event in our reenactors group - the Annual Feast, so me and my husband want to be fully prepared in new clothes. ^v^

Log cabin pillowcases

Have you ever been in a situation, when you smelled some funny smell and thought "Somebody's dinner is burning..." Yeah, we always think it's somebody else's dinner we are talking about... It happened to me a moment ago, while I was in my bedroom reading craft blogs... But fortunately I came to the rescue just in time to add some water and cream to my pork chops! ^^

I've been thinking about log cabin pillows for a while and I decided that I'm going to make three for the Sew?I knit August project (because I have three pillows without the cases).
And suddenly millions of questions came to my mind...
Are there any rules about making of log cabin pillows? How do I match the fabrics? By colours? By patterns? Can I mix the colours? Or patterns? Or both? Should I use lighter and darker shades of similar colours (I've read somewhere about it)? Should I use rectangular strips of fabric or can I make other shapes as well? Can I freely use my imagination and still call it a log cabin pillow?...

Well, a big inspiration are the creations of this amazing artist, Lisa Congdon. I love reading her blog, I love her modbirds and of course, the pillows she makes!

I have some ideas of what I'd like to sew, it may not be a typical log cabin pillow but definitely quilted and definitely a pillowcase! ^^

EDIT: Okay, I looked through my stash and decided to try two colour schemes (they need a lot of ironing, sorry...)





I may add or remove some other pieces, but I'll be working with those fabrics.