The One with the Yarn

Hi again,
I've been pretty flat out lately getting things organised for my PhD confirmation and the commencement of the clinical study I'm working on, so I have been neglecting this blog a little. Don't worry, I've still been crafting!
About a month ago I placed two big yarn orders online, which was pretty nerve racking as I've never done that before and I wasn't able to get a shade card for one of the yarns I wanted to buy. I ordered from Deramores and Bendigo Woollen Mills and both companies delivered really quickly! The colours are so beautiful and I'm going to be very busy making two blankets. Some of my new wool stash is pictured below:

On the left is pure wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills, and the right is Stylecraft Special DK acrylic from Deramores. Ignore the ugly old lounge, you'll get to see the new one in a minute!

I've started making one of the blankets and it's coming together really quickly! I'm making a Granny Stripe blanket from a pattern written by the very talented Lucy from Attic 24, and it's so simple and pretty. I just love sitting down at the end of a long day and stitching away. So relaxing! Here's some progress pics:

First day:

Pretty stripes! I'm really enjoying choosing which colour to use next!

 Our new comfy lounge with a drapey blanket! 

See those ends? I'm going to have a LOT of weaving in to do in the next month or so!

It's been cold and rainy here this weekend, which is perfect for crochet! Hopefully I'll get this blanket done before the weather really cools down.

Thanks for stopping by! I'll update you on my progress again soon!

The One with the Dress

Hi all, thanks for stopping by! I've just finished a dress I started ages ago but only just finished. I always get distracted by presents I want to make for people and so some of my projects get pushed to the side. This dress is from New Look pattern 6864, which is a great mix and match pattern with different lengths, necklines and sleeve options. I've made a couple of other dresses from this pattern previously, and I find them easy to make and I like the fit of the pattern as is (note that I do use a smaller size for the bodice to the skirt section of the dress, but the multi size patterns make this so easy!). Here is a picture of the finished dress, which is a combination of pattern pieces C, D, I and L:

New Look 6864

Here are some pictures of the dress on (excuse the selfies, I don't have a full length mirror!):

I love the neckline on this one, it's interesting and it's easy to adjust the length of the slit if you want something a bit more modest. The fabric is a poplin from Spotlight, it was on sale for around $5 a metre, so this dress was a bargain :)
I've also completed two gored skirts from Simplicity 1888 but I've got one more to finish, so I'll put them all in the one post along with a pattern review. Thanks for reading!

The First One

To start a new year, I have decided to start a blog to document and share my craft projects. I love to sew clothes (mostly skirts and dresses) and I love to crochet pretty much anything, although I have a soft spot for amigurumi so this blog will probably be mostly sewing and crochet projects. I do also knit occasionally, and I really enjoy baking, so there could be some of that too :) I'm currently working on a couple of skirts, so I'll be sharing pictures of those and a pattern review soon. Thanks for stopping by!