Yarns of Italy.

Yarns of Italy was an Etsy store I discovered last month. I placed my first order and was really pleased with the quality of their yarn. That's why I am excited that Yarns of Italy have just launched their new website www.yarnsofitaly.com, where they are selling a beautiful range of Italian yarns.

Best of all they are running a promotion. Free shipping for to the US or Canada, and half price shipping anywhere else in the world! Simply go to their Facebook page to get the codes.

I plan to knit these into a vest.

Sam xox

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Yarns of Italy, have been asked to post this by them, nor am I benefiting from this post in any way. I am simply a happy customer.

My Etsy favourites: Hats.

~ This week I will show you what I'm 'favouriting' on Etsy at the moment ~

~ Here ~

~ Here ~

~ Here ~

~ Here ~

And if you want to try your hand at making your own hat...

~ Here ~

Sam xox

My Etsy favourites: Knitting.

~ This week I will show you what I'm 'favouriting' on Etsy at the moment ~

Here are my knitting favourites...

~ Here ~

~ Here ~

~ Here ~

~ Here ~

~ Here ~

~ Here ~

~ Here ~

Sam xox

My Etsy favourites: Quilts.

~ This week I will show you what I'm 'favouriting' on Etsy at the moment ~

My favourite quilts on Etsy right now...

~ Here ~

~ Here ~

~ Here ~

~ Here ~

~ Here ~

~ Here ~

Sam xox

Beware: Learning in progress.

I've started knitting. Seriously knitting. Like ordering wool online, purchasing a pattern and proper needles kind of knitting. I'm nervous and excited and so very confused by some of the pattern instructions, but with my Paton's Woolcraft: How to Knit booklet beside me (and the internet) I am working it all out.

It's going well so far. I have begun knitting a baby cardigan for my friend who is due in June, which will be winter for us down here. She is not finding out the gender, so I am playing it safe and knitting in a cream/neutral coloured 100% Merino wool. It's hard to make attractive gender neutral baby gifts, I was originally going to knit something up in a dark navy, but thought better of it. I reasoned girl babies could wear navy, however I wasn't sure my friend would think this was ok, so plain creamy beige it is.

It's been fun to see a number of other bloggers out there also pick up the knitting needles for 2012 (or earlier) and creating some beautiful things.

Some knitting Etsy love...

~ Susan Bates Knitting Needles ~

~ Begin to knit ~

~ 9" Boye Needles ~

~ Vintage English bone handled tools ~

~ Circular Knitting Needle Case ~

~ Bakelite knitting needles ~

Are you on Ravelry? I have finally spent some time on this website and it is seriously amazing - a Burda Style of the knitting world (or is Burda Style a Ravelry of the sewing world?) either way, it is a great online community and has taught me quite a bit thus far. My Ravelry profile is 'hand-quilter' if you want to say hi :-)

Sam xox

The earrings all made up.

Some internet searching for 'vintage Christmas cards' found me a delightful assortment of old vintage Christmas images. I settled upon a snow scene depicting a small village and a handful of residents, dressed in their best surrounding a tree.

I printed the pictures off and laminated them to stabilize, then punched little holes in the now 'presentation cards' using a pin to allow for the earrings to attach.

I really am quite pleased with how these turned out. Like I said, a simple search on Etsy for 'resin flowers' will unearth more choice of colours, sizes and styles than you ever thought possible (well, almost!). Cheap to make compared to the price you would pay for these at most market stalls.

Simply change the image of the presentation card for this to be an any-time-of-year gift!

Sam xox

Hand embroidered Christmas tree decoration.

After seeing these hand embroidered Christmas tree decorations on Etsy a few weeks ago, I was tempted to try and make my own. I gathered some calico, stuffing, a scrap of Liberty 'Wiltshire' fabric, and embroidery thread to match. I cut the square just over 3" in size and hand embroidered the pattern. I then hand stitched the two squares together, slipped in a little stuffing, and attached some thread to hang the decoration from a branch of my tree.

Why not have a try yourself?

Sam xox

Pot holders.

I have been thinking a lot lately about trying my hand at making a pot holder.

This booklet has a number of different patterns that I have been playing with the idea of making. The booklet contains patterns for a number of different styled pot holders, plus a variety of embroidery options. The instructions are a little tricky to decipher in some of the patterns though. The (apparent) complexity of some of the patterns has put me off a little, as I just worry that my crochet skills are not good enough (I am a total beginner).

This is where EmmaLamb comes in...

~ from here ~

Aren't they the most beautiful things you've ever seen?!? The detail is brilliant and the colour combinations are perfect. I wish I had skills like this. I also love how they can be used as a decorative feature on a wall.

My favourite would definitely be Bessie...

~ from here ~

Emma has a beautiful Etsy store and also an inspiring blog.

A lovely discovery...

Sam xox

Etsy eye candy.

Sharing some images of patterns I am loving on Etsy at the moment.

~ From here ~

~ From here ~

~ From here ~

~ From here ~

~ From here ~

Hope you found these as inspiring as I did. Roll on summer I say!

Sam xox

Loving these.

Some of my favourite patterns for sale on Etsy at the moment (if only I had the time, fabric and money!).

~ Click Here ~

~ Click Here ~

~ Click Here ~

~ Click Here ~

~ Click Here ~

A girl can dream right?

Sam xox

My vintage Simplicity 1430 blouse.

I have been feeling in a bit of a sewing slump recently. As fellow blogger Amy put it, I think I lost my sew-jo. I was beginning to get a bit worried, as I really wasn't feeling in the mood to sew much at all. On Sunday morning I sat cross legged in the middle of my sewing room and laid out all my patterns on the floor. I stared blankly at them, trying to select one that I could make in a day and that wouldn't be too much in cost for the fabric.

I really feel like sometimes I am my own barrier, like I build up some of my patterns in my mind to be harder than what they actually are. I know I do it, and am thinking of taking up Tilly's challenge and journaling my sewing productivity.

I think that might give me a little insight into my sewing routine. You see, Sunday morning I was sitting deflated on my sewing room floor, and by that evening I had one blouse completed and three other projects lined up ready to sew. I think I definitely need a happy medium between apathetic and obsessive :-)

As promised, here are the photos of the blouse I made. I used the Simplicity 1430 pattern I purchased from Etsy a number of months ago. Why did I wait so long to sew it? Well, I purchased this pattern early on in my 'discovering vintage' stage and did not understand what "unprinted pattern" actually meant. You can guess my surprise when I opened the envelope to find a bunch of shaped tissue papers with nothing on them but holes of various sizes. It was like sewing Morse code! I was scared half to death and placed the envelope at the beck of the shelf.

After a few months, and much vintage sewing blog reading, I finally understood how to use an unprinted pattern. On Sunday morning I went to Spotlight and bought this black fabric plus a cute floral print for Tasia's Crescent Skirt pattern (more about this later this week).

Sunday afternoon was spent sewing and watching the Formula One Grand Prix. This pattern was an absolute breeze to sew! Seriously, the pattern has very clear instructions and the finished garment has a very polished look to it. The pattern suggested fastening the sleeves with snaps, but instead I made use of self cover buttons for the fastenings.

I also made a few other small changes.

- I removed one of the waist darts so that it better fit my pear-shaped body.

- I didn't include bias tape around the neck as the fabric was so sheer.

- I used buttons on the wrist of the sleeve instead of snaps.

This blouse took me around 4-5 hours from cutting to finish. Like I said, it was a very straight forward pattern, and my size only used 1.2 meters of fabric, which made it a very cost effective sewing project.

~ I am so happy with how this turned out ~

~ Side view - you can see how the waist darts give a more 'fitted' look ~

~ Button up at the wrist ~

~ Bow ~

I have this Liberty of London fabric on my shelf, and I think I will use it to make View 1 from next...

Thanks also everyone who left me comments on my last post. It was really nice to hear your good wishes, and thanks heaps to everyone who pointed me in the direction of gluten free help! You're all gems :-) I will let you know how I go.

Sam xox