I am lucky enough to have THE sweetest dog ever. Cosmo is actually one of the reasons why I feel in love with Eric to begin with & I have always given him proper recognition for this. A man & his best friend–so hard to resist! Recently Momo has taken up sleeping in our room again & after he gets kicked off the bed at 2:00 a.m. he always looks so pathetic on the hard floor. The guy is 9 years old & this would certainly not do. So a new dog bed has been made for my Momo. I think he likes it…
By Aubry
How many times have we sat down at the sewing machine with beautiful & pricey fabric to try out a new pattern only to not like the finished piece. Perhaps it was too long/too short, maybe we don’t like how one piece looks, or maybe we just flat out followed the pattern wrong! It is so disappointing to spend all that time & material on something that has to be scrapped.
Well, scrap no more! Muslin is your answer. It’s inexpensive & easy to work with & will give you a raw piece to look over & edit. That way when you finally get your hands on that gorgeous fabric you’ve been tucking away your project will come out perfect.
In preparing for spring we pulled out the Shearwater Kaftan pattern by Make It Perfect, (which we will have in stock any day now). Because we have ALWAYS heard that you should make a muslin the first time you sew a new pattern & have never gone that route, we decided to go ahead & make a muslin to see what changes might need to be made. It was a surprisingly pleasant experience! It may seem burdensome to make a piece you won’t wear & will ultimately have to make again, but I didn’t feel that way at all. I mean, I sew not just to make a finished product but also because I love sewing. Working in muslin gave me a chance to sew without the pressure of the final piece. I could examine every stitch (especially since I used red thread, which I do recommend), and appreciate how it all came together without worrying if it would fit. I just sew, sew, sewed! When it was done Phiona & I took turns trying it on to figure out how we would change it to fit our bodies. I decided the chest & shoulder area was too tight, which would have prevented me from wearing the Kaftan. The next one I made a few adjustments to & it was PERFECT! Plus, I had the confidence the second time around that made sewing much more enjoyable.
So lesson learned-even though it may seem like an unnecessary step, making a muslin first is really the way to go!
How many of you make muslins first?
Our stash builder of the week is Melody Miller’s Ruby Star Rising. A bright and unique line inspired by domestic life in the 50′s and 60′s, this fabric is dying to be made into an apron, dish towels, or little curtains to spruce up your kitchen or bedroom. You could even make appliques with transistor radios and beehive adorned ladies. Get it while we’ve got in for just $17/yard.
This offer is good at both our Burlington & online shops and runs through Wednesday February 23rd.
Materials:
1 skein Ozark Handspun
16″ circular needles US #15
CO 30 sts. Join for working in the round:
Work in 1 X 1 ribbing for 2 inches
Switch to stockinette ST
Knit until piece measures 7 inches
Decrease round: K4, K2 together (repeat to end of round)
Continue in stockinette ST for 3 more inches
Break yarn & thread through remaining pieces
Secure & weave in ends
This week we are offering Laurie Wisbrun’s Tufted Tweets for just $7.50 /yard. I have always thought this collection was bright & cheery & just perfect for a kitchen towel & napkin set. Or if you are a quilter & have never checked out Ashley’s quilt that she made–it is quite FABULOUS as well!
This offer is good at both our Burlington & online shops and runs through Wednesday February 16th.
By Aubry
This month I’ve been on a Jane Richmond kick. It started with the Autumn hat (which I made a slew of!), continued with the Oatmeal Pullover & Cuffed Mittens & has now landed on the Nicholas scarf. I just find her patterns to be simple, easy to read & not containing too many tricky stitches. They are also very stylish & modern, which can be hard to come by with knitting patterns.
As mentioned, the Nicolas scarf was my latest conquest. It seems to be aimed more towards men, but I made it in O-Wool Classic in Mulberry & it turned out looking perfectly feminine. The pattern has you knit with two strands at once, which I have always LOVED doing because your final piece turns out bulky & cozy without being too dense. When I started knitting I couldn’t see any pattern forming & kept checking to make sure I hadn’t done something wrong. After an inch or so the ribbing began to form & it looks so cute! The ribbing is much more abstract than your usual run of the mill “K2, P2″ & the scarf looks incredibly unique.
After trying in on for the first time I didn’t want to take it off. It is much less cumbersome than a traditional wrap around & fits under a coat nicely, which is nice this time of year when we are already wearing so many awkward lawyers. Overall this is about as ideal of a winter scarf as you can get & was quick & fun to knit. Another golden star to Jane Richmond!
One of the staff favorites here at nido is Anna Maria Horner’s Innocent Crush in velveteen. It’s plush texture & vibrant colors pull you in & leave you day dreaming of possibilities. We are frequently asked what we would make with the velveteen & feel that the home décor weight could be used for SO many wonderful projects! You could re-upholster a chair, make seat cushions or a sturdy bag. Yet is also has a stretchy quality that works surprisingly well with clothing patterns, such as the Mc Call’s 5975 dress that we are teaching at nido later this month. The velveteen even works great for scarves or a quilt! People are also asking a lot about the care of velveteen, which Anna Maria Horner addresses on her blog here, but you should know that the maintenance is less than you think! You can machine wash it & even give it a light ironing.
The velveteen is versatile, unique & easy to work with, so have no fear! The possibilities are limitless!
This week at nido we are featuring fabric designer Etsuko Furuya’s Echino & Echino Nico collections. Both made from 85% cotton & 15% linen making the fabric itself useful for so many wonderful projects ranging from simple dresses to bags & patchwork quilts. If you have been eyeballing some of this fabric OR haven’t had the chance to purchase any yet now is your chance! We are offering ALL in stock Echino for just $14 a yard–that’s $4 off our regular price!
This offer is good at both our Burlington & online shops and runs through Wednesday February 9th.
Sarah made THE most adorable mittens for my little man! Using the Swans Island worsted weight in Teal & Spring Green & her own pattern, (yeah–she’s good like that!) Sarah whipped up the perfect winter mittens. If you have never used Swans Island yarn before it is a real treat. The yarns is certified organic merino yarn that is naturally dyed & spun in Maine. They are mordented with non-metallic mordents, and then skein dyed with natural substances such as Indigo, cochineal, madder, weld, and other plant dyes. All of the coloring is done in small batches on the coast of Maine. Truly amazing & absolutely beautiful!
Thanks for the mittens Sarah–Franco LOVES them!
