LIVING ROOM CURTAINS

Ok, this project has taken me an embarrassing amount of time to finish, and I don't even really know why. The curtains and the rods were bought way back in autumn 2016. Can we just stop and let that sink in? Why in the world would it take anyone almost two years to hang up some curtains? I wish I had a good answer haha.

There was a lot of back-and-forthing involved, of course. First, I pinned the curtains and hung up one to test it and decided I didn't like the length. Then that one curtain panel (in the wrong length) hung on the right by the door for far too long, until one day I (I think it was me? I don't even think I can blame the dog or the toddler here?) managed to step on it while I was letting the dog out which resulted in the rod getting pulled off the wall. That one panel in the wrong length migrated to the middle of the rod to semi-shield us from the sun as it sets, and then it just sat like that for even longer. I guess they were never really a priorty as we had a lot of trees and bushes at the back of our garden, but then this summer a lot of them were removed which made it feel a little bit more needed. So that's when I finally decided enough was enough, got Graeme to fix the curtain rod and then sat down to sew.

It wasn't smooth sailing from there either though, of course. The first panel went ok. I decided that I didn't like the look of the long loops at the top, so I folded them over and sewed them in place and then re-pinned the bottom accordingly. But when I tried to repeat the process for curtain panel number two, I learnt that it was a good 5 cms shorter than the first panel! Luckily I pinned and did a test hang before I actually sewed anything! The third curtain turned out to be even shorter, so I had to repeat the process there too. So if you look closely (please, don't haha), you can see that the hemming on the bottom looks completely different on all three panels haha. Luckily, it isn't actually noticable at all though, so it doesn't bother me. I'm just really glad to finally have these curtain panels up haha.

For now I really like it like this, as I love these big windows and I don't like a whole lot of fabric obstructing the view. I don't have any curtains on the opposing windows for that exact reason. Maybe I'll change my mind on it in the future? Just give me like 10 years or something?

CABLE HAT X2

I've been on a bit of a cable knitting kick recently. These two are just the first of several knitting projects involving cables that I've recently finished (stay tuned! September turned into a pretty big knitting month for me haha). These are both going to be Christmas presents and, that's right--I just used the C-word. But we're in October now, so that's ok, isn't it?

Both of the patterns are by Strikkelisa. The hat with the straight lines is the Tykkrillestripelue, and the diamond cabled one is the appropriately named Hat with Diamond Cables. I wanted the hats to be similar but different, so I decided to use the same yarn and color and bobbles for both: Gjesdal Cortina Soft and 8 mm needles. It's a super cozy and chunky yarn, perfect for some cozy and chunky hats.

So that's me officially started on my Christmas presents of 2018! Maybe this year I'll actually be organized enough to not have to stress about it in December? Just kidding, I say that every year. It never actually happens haha.

DIY TRIANGLE & SQUARE PLUSHIES

Oscar has been requesting we read Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen's Triangle and Square (he calls them "Tralung" and "Quare") every night at bedtime for I don't know how many weeks now, so for my seventh project of 2018 I decided to get my sewing machine out and sew a couple of Triangle and Square plushies. Jon Klassen's illustrations are so cute, so I pretty much had a giant smile on my face the whole time I was making these. :)

They were super simple to make, too. To make them, I googled the images and edited them in photshop so that they were the right size. I had no problems finding a front and back picture of Square, but for some reason I could only find the front of Triangle, so I made my own back in photoshop based on the image of his front. It turned out pretty good. I printed everything on unbleached cotton using this technique (ooold post! It's the same I used to make this printed banner), and then sewed them together and stuffed them. One thing that might be an issue with this later, is that the ink bleeds pretty much straight away if it's in contact with water (as you can see on square's back below, where a couple of drops of water dripped from my iron). So if I were to make them again, I might get the files printed via Spoonflower rather than use my home printer, just so it'd be a bit more durable/toddler proof.

Oscar was so excited when he saw them, and in retrospect we probably shouldn't have given them to him half an hour before his bedtime haha. But it was so fun seeing his reaction. There's nothing like seeing the things you make actually get used and appreciated!

CURRENTLY IN SEPTEMBER

recovering from a case of hand foot and mouth disease that Oscar aquired. We also had visitors last weekend, which meant it's spread to both England and Scotland...

enjoying being back at my spinning class! It's been closed for the summer, but it opened a couple of weeks ago and I'm loving have an exercise routine again.

working on my 2018 album. My 2017 album was pretty much my favorite project of 2017, and I'm just as excited about the 2018 version!

finishing up my Science of Well-Being course. I've mentioned this course previously, and I've really enjoyed it. It's also inspired me to look into other courses as well, just for my own enjoyment.

knitting stuff for Christmas. Might sound a bit premature, but when it comes to making stuff for Christmas you've gotta be early! I've already finished off two presents, so that's two less things to think about.

watching the new season of bake off and getting really excited about autumnal baking!

planning a trip to South Africa in February. Guys, life tip: when a friend texts you out of the blue asking if you want to go on a girls trip to South Africa, say yes.

THE SKAPPEL SWEATER

So this was mainly what I was working on while we were driving from Norway to France in August for my friend's wedding. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen me mention it in my stories? Well ladies and gentlemen, I DID finish it on the trip, and I've been wearing it a ton ever since.

The pattern is the Skappel sweater, which became really popular in Norway a few years ago. I totally see why, it's such an easy and quick pattern to knit, and the giant oversized design is so easy to wear. Instant favorite sweater for sure!

I used Drops Alpaca wool in colorway 506 and Drops Kid-Silk in 22 Dark Grey. The color is a bit darker than what it looks like in these photos (the bottom photo is more accurate, color wise). The pattern technically calls for 7 mm needles, but I couldn't find my 7 mm needles when I started it, so I just used some 6 mm needles and adjusted the pattern instead. It's a big, slouchy design, and it's already sagged a bit with use, but I understand that is to be expected and happens when you use the original yarn as well. I've already got a few grey sweaters in my wardrobe, but they're so versatile I always have use for another one!

Sidenote: maybe I should start photographing these sweaters with me actually wearing them?