Just the Thing Designs

Just something merry I'm working on

2011-08-04T19:44:00.002-04:00

Here are my crocheted christmas balls (ornaments) that I'm going to be selling at the Made by Hand show in November (see my event section) and when the season changes to cooler weather I will be selling them on my etsy shop.

Magazine I love - Mollie Makes

2011-07-12T11:43:00.003-04:00

Just discovered a great crafty magazine from the UK called Mollie Makes, great photography, fabulous projects and a free craft kit. Check them out here.

http://www.molliemakes.com/

The start of something snuggly...

2011-07-12T11:28:00.003-04:00

I'm starting a little boy's blanket using Bernat Jr Jacquards. Incredibly soft and self patterns. Can't wait to finish it.

Gigantic Granny Blanket

2010-08-01T17:46:00.001-04:00

Here's a pic of another project thing. It's a gigantic granny square blanket. I used 2 strands of Bernat chunky and is about 13" wide. It should be done in another month or so.

New prototype of christmas decoration

2010-08-01T17:23:00.003-04:00

I've started working on some prototype ornaments for my christmas tree. We just bought our first house and will have a christmas tree for the first time. Our last place was too small to have one.

I used Moda Dea self striping yarn to create these beauties. For the mini mini hat I plan to create about 8 or so in different colours to create a nice garland.

Latest scarf

2010-07-30T11:48:00.005-04:00

This is a recreation of one of my most popular scarves I've ever made. I used a more expensive yarn this time because the 'Wendy' yarn I used in the original was discontinued. The yarn is 'Taos' by Tahki Stacy Charles Inc. Made in Italy it is 95% wool and 5% Acrylic.

The new yarn has more colour variations than the original and I think it turned out beautifully. I think this will be on etsy soon...!

I'm working on publishing the pattern soon to share with everyone.

New fav blog/artist

2010-07-15T12:19:00.000-04:00

Elizabeth Cat has some of the most fun, creative and colourful crochet I've seen. Check her out here:

http://byelizabethcat.blogspot.com

New logos

2010-07-04T11:53:00.001-04:00

I finally had some time to create a whole new look for my thing 'just the thing'. I found this great designer Monique Chvatal from whom I bought the owls and house from. I created mini business cards from MOO which came yesterday and they are great.

MOO minicards

Etsy shop icon and banner
I designed the scenery and added a crocheted flower to the owl. The reason why I designed the banner this way is so I can change the scene to match the season.

Baby Blankets in progress

2010-06-23T10:07:00.004-04:00

Well, my husband and I bought our first house and so I haven't had time to blog or craft. The housing market is crazy in Toronto. We started bidding on houses in January and closed on the 9th house we bid on in April. It was very exhausting, especially lugging a baby to 4-5 showings a week.

I haven't even taken my yarn out of the boxes yet. But here are some of my latest projects that I was working on before the move.

Baby afghan made with self-striping yarn. When made using a granny square the pattern comes out quite different.

I bought some clearance cotton yarn from Michael's and I'm creating a striped stroller blanket.

Made with washable wool this is another stroller blanket.

New fav blog/artist

2010-06-01T10:32:00.000-04:00

Sarah London crochet artist. Very colourful and makes you smile.

http://sarahlondon.wordpress.com/

Scarf featured on Michaels.com website

2010-03-27T09:09:00.003-04:00

I was recently contacted by michaels.com telling me that they were featuring one of my scarfs on their Yarn and Needle crafts landing page. They also told me that they have had overwhelming response to my scarf. Too bad this already sold on etsy.

2010-02-24T10:36:00.002-05:00

With some of my scrap washable wool, I've started and almost finished a baby stroller/car seat blanket. I now have to decide on how to put it together. Do I follow a pattern of colours or just put them together randomly. Not sure. I will border it with white.

New etsy listings

2010-02-15T09:06:00.005-05:00

I finally had some time to get my photos up on etsy, check them out.

Painting Feature

2010-01-31T09:20:00.001-05:00

I love geometric/graphic prints. That's why I would of loved to have had my own house in the 60-70's. My husband's taste is contemporary, so to compromise I started making this small geometric painting for a little corner in my sewing room.

I was going to be really authentic and create it using gold, avocado green and brown but thought that blues and greens would be better.

Step 1:

I started with a stretched canvas and stuck blue tape to it to create rows of boxes.

Step 2:
I drew 2-3 squares inside of each box and traced the edge as well

Step 3:

Took 4 colours and started randomly painting the first round of inside the boxes

Step 4:

Took the same 4 colours and painted the second and third round of boxes.

Step 5:

Wait until dry and remove the tape.
Here is the semi-finished product. I just have to fill in the spaces where the tape was.

Stay tuned for my next painting project.

jtt

Little boy afghan progress

2010-01-29T09:00:00.001-05:00

I now have 7 squares out of 12 done for my little boy afghan. It's taking longer than I thought but with a 6 month old baby I can only crochet for an hour or so. I think it's going to look good when it's done. I have 2 squares that the colours are off, even though all of the skiens are the same lot number. I'm going to make a pillow out of those.

Another One of my favourite blogs

2010-01-27T09:14:00.002-05:00

This blog is a lot of fun. There's sewing and paper crafts, tutorials and recipies. I'm not big right now on paper crafting but she has some cool projects that might get me started.

Enjoy

http://www.lollychops.com/

Just a new scarf

2010-01-27T08:03:00.005-05:00

I looked in my one of my crochet books and found a new stitch that I love. You single crochet 2, the 3rd sc loop is drawn up through the 1 sc of the series, then skip the next sc and repeat.

Like a lot of my items I didn't use a pattern for this scarf I just made it up as I went, increasing stitches along the edge. Enjoy

New afghan in progress

2010-01-21T07:38:00.002-05:00

I decided to make a few afghans since I have some time now that i'm a stay-at-home mom (for a few more months). For this one I'm using Moda Dea washable wool. I absolutely love this yarn and I'm very upset that Coats and Clark have discontinued the Moda Dea line. You can still find it in stores but probably not for long.

I'm not using a pattern, i'm just making it up as I go.

Things for the Home

2010-01-19T07:52:00.001-05:00

I've been busy crocheting washcloths for listing them on etsy. I'm also working on a prototype of a multi-surface kitchen and bathroom scrubber. One side is a durable nylon cord and the other is soft cotton. I'm still testing it out on my own kitchen and bathroom cleaning to see how well it stands up.

Another item for the home I've been playing around with is crocheted bowls. I've seen them around forever and decided to try it for myself. The cream coloured bowl is my favorite, the brown/orange coloured bowls are a bit wobbly because of the different thickness's of the yarn itself.

2009 items by just the thing

2010-01-06T07:31:00.001-05:00

Here is a visual record of some of my completed projects over 2009. 2010 is looking to be just as busy.

First 2010 etsy listing

2010-01-03T09:42:00.002-05:00

I love my candle cozies, which are now available on etsy.

Top 9 of 2009

2010-01-01T10:01:00.007-05:00

Here are my top nine favorite crochet and craft pictures on Flickr for 2009. Enjoy.

By ArtMind Etcetera

By *Leanda

Made by BeaG

By Lucky Nielsen

By Me, I just love this scarf so much

By Mundo a cores

By Sewdeerlyloved

By AlejandraJacoby

by Maria Cirila

The year of the wedding photo book

2009-12-20T11:25:00.006-05:00

I got married in 2008 and for the past year (on and off) I have been working on an online photo scrapbook of my year of the wedding, from the engagement to the reception. I used picaboo.com to build my book. Because of the price I didn't get it printed until they had a 50% off promotion. I created custom backgrounds for each section like the inspiration, the reception, the ceremony and etc. The background colours matched the colours of my wedding black, white and blue.

Here are a few of the pages.

The custom cover.

The Inspiration

My handsewn dress (it took me 7 months)

The Ceremony

The cover and different sections

The ceremony

My new hat model

2009-12-18T19:14:00.000-05:00

Making baby hats wil be so much more fun with my readily available model. My little boy is now 5 months old and keeps his head up on his own, which makes it easier to take pictures.

Colouring book Christmas gift

2009-12-17T19:14:00.002-05:00

I'm working on a homemade colouring book for my niece, who is 6. I used Photoshop to apply a photocopy filter to an image and voila a colouring book page is complete. I'm going to create about 60 images to keep her attention. Here are some of the one's I've done so far.

My niece and my cabbage patch dolls from the 80's.

My dad's ducks

My niece petting a chicken

My niece as my flower girl in 2008

One of my favourite blogs

2009-12-01T14:03:00.000-05:00

I haven't been reading this blog for very long but it is one of my top 5 blogs to check in on weekly. Attic24 crochets wonderful, colourful things, she bakes delicious treats and is also a busy mom. Check her out. There is also a flickr group where crafters post pictures of their crafts that were inspired by Attic24.

Attic24

Just listed on etsy

2009-11-26T09:50:00.005-05:00

New Winter Projects

2009-11-21T12:53:00.004-05:00

Well in between naps, diapers and other house duties, I managed to find time to work on some projects that have been on my mind lately.

These are wooden ornaments that are going to be on etsy today.

They are actually earring pieces that I painted Christmas colours. They would also make a nice rustic gift decoration.

Here are my MOD ornaments. I bought them as napking rings and never used them for that. I added silver seed beads and round faceted crystals to add shine to any tree.

Here is the crocheted that I'm working on, I like it better as a purse than I did as a knitted neck warmer.

Here's something that's been on my mind ever since I was working. I used to hate how the ugly security badges would look against a great outfit. I have made my first sample of my fashionable badge covers. I hope to have them on etsy in the new year.

New Baby Hats

2009-11-17T13:01:00.005-05:00

Here are some of the new baby hats I just made for winter.
These ones are made using a wonderful wool/cashmere blend and is super soft against baby's head.

This one is made using self striping soft acrylic yarn.

This flapper hat is made of super soft cotton yarn. I'm going to make this one in another colour.

Progress on my circle scarf and knit neck warmer

2009-11-13T17:26:00.002-05:00

Well I finished knitting my neck warmer and I took it off of the circle loom and it just kept rolling up and I couldn't figure out how to make it stay flat. So I unravelled it and wound the yarn back up. I'm going to crochet it into a handbag. I have some great vintage wood handles that it would look great with.

I have gotton a little further on my hand sewing of the felted wool circles. I am now ready to start sewing the 2 pieces together then after that start sewing the circles together into a scarf.

Until next time....

Beautiful day in the neighborhood

2009-11-01T23:26:00.004-05:00

It was just a beautiful day in the neighborhood this weekend. The sun was out, perfect weather for a wearing a light scarf and a nice crocheted hat. Some of the trees around us still had their leaves and were the perfect colour.

I took the handmade pledge

2009-11-01T20:12:00.000-05:00

"I pledge to buy handmade this holiday season, and request that others do the same for me"

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T21:47:00.003-04:00

This is my son's first Halloween and we didn't dress him up too much since he's so little.
I made the top hat from some old scrap fabric. It didn't fit his head all the way but it was fine for a picture. I added the mustache in photoshop cause I knew that he wouldn't like something on his nose.

2009-10-27T15:29:00.003-04:00

Here is the progress I've made on my felted wool circle scarf.
I've cut all of the pieces and coordinated what small circles will go with what large circles.

I've started hand sewing the small and large circles together, I'm still not too sure on how I'm going to attach the scarf into one piece. I've still got time to figure that out.

I love how this is turning out. perfect for fall

Back to craft

2009-10-23T12:32:00.004-04:00

Now that I'm home, I have time (when my son naps) to start being crafty again. I always have ideas on my mind so I write them down and get to them when I can. Here is what I'm working on now.

An itchy wool neck warmer that I'm covering in soft fabric.

Felted wool that I'm going to make into a circle scarf.

Knitted neck warmer on a circle knitting loom using soft alpaca wool

Crocheted flower pins

Japanese fabric that I'm going to make into clutches or coin purses or a patchwork bag.

Soft cotton/silk yarn that I going to crochet into a hat

It's been so long.....

2009-10-16T12:08:00.000-04:00

Its been such a long time since I've posted anything. Since I've been gone from blogging I've had surgery, hand sewed my wedding dress, got married, went on a honeymoon, got pregnant and had a baby. I'm out of breath. I've started to craft again slowly since I'm home now full time. Even with a 4 month old I still manage to make time to crochet or sew. I have new and great inspiration now with my baby boy that i never had before.

Here are some pics of my year.

My hand sewn french lace wedding dress.

My other handmade details, my flower girl dress where I took the lace from my mothers wedding dress for the bodice of her dress. The bridesmaids sashes and bracelets, the chuppah which we stood under.

My other handmade details, the seating chart, jam as favours, welcome kits for all of our guests, the Styrofoam cake, family tree and wall pictures where we had funny pictures of all of our guests with funny comments at the top and lastly we had custom table numbers that represented our age (table 4 had 2 pictures of us at age 4).

Flying high on our honeymoon in Panama.

Me and my beautiful son.

96 Days to go

2008-02-25T14:20:00.002-05:00

With 96 days to go and after a weekend of putting together invites and adding more stamps due to weight (opps!!) I finally sent the invites off in the mail. It feels so good to get this bif job out of the way.

I just have to send out the invites to our American friends. On my lunch today I went to a stamp and coin collector store and got some US stamps for the reply cards. After I send those tomorrow they will be done.

Last weekend we secured our photographer and DJ, we both fell in love with our photographer. This is only her second year doing weddings but is a full time photographer and has a great portfolio.

Check it out:
http://stonefencephotography.com

I promise to have photos soon.
jtt

120 Days until the Wedding

2008-01-31T08:29:00.001-05:00

Well, I haven't done much since my last post. Here's a summary of my progress:

Worked on my dress bodice
I crocheted some more of the chuppah
started the information sheets for the invitations
met with a DJ, photographer and florist and we're doing it again this weekend just to see what else is out there

This weekend after the visit to the vendors I plan to work on my dress and chuppah and start finalizing the invitation wordings.

I also hope to take some pictures so I can post the progress.

131 Days to go till the wedding

2008-01-21T11:03:00.000-05:00

I finally started the chuppah today. I was going to paint on silk but decided not to because crochet is more me. So I'm going to crochet a 5 x 5 foot square using crochet cotton in a v-stitch. The first few rows are going good except my foundation row is tight, I don't want to start over so I might just disguise it by crocheting an edging around it when it's finished. I'll post my progress in photos this week.
jtt

133 Days to go till the wedding

2008-01-19T13:55:00.000-05:00

So I decided to make a lot of things at home, some things my bridesmaids can help with and others like sewing my dress, I plan to do on my own.

Here's an update on what's happening

Wedding Dress - 30% complete

Flower Girl Dress - haven't started just picked the pattern

Ring Pillow - decided not to have a ring bearer

Bridesmaid jewellery - have some ideas in my head, nothing made yet

Bridesmaid handbags - bought the fabric, next step is to design the pattern

Invitations - bought the supplies and I'm going to start making them next weekend with help. I only have to make 50, not too bad

Programs - have the outside paper and the ribbon

Favors - decided we're going to make jam, probably raspberry, strawberry and peach our favourites. They are also going to double up as place card for the tables

Cake Design - i ordered a Styrofoam cake on eBay and got it last week, it's going to be simple white cake with blue gross grain ribbon that matches the ribbon on the invites and bouquets. My friend is a bake and she is going to help me cover it with fake icing or plaster.

Cake Topper - not sure about this yet

New handmade items on my list:
Chuppah - I've narrowed it down to hand painted silk with 2 trees to represent the joining of 2 families or a blue crocheted chuppah to match my colours.

Veil - I'm using my mom's veil because it's still in good condition after 34 years, I'm just going to add some pewter coloured ribbon to match my sash.

Table Numbers - we wanted lots of photos of us around so we've decided to combine 2 ideas into 1 and were going to have pictures of us at different ages that match the table number ie. table 10 will have pics of us at age 10.

Bridesmaids sashes - I'm allowing the girls to where whatever dress they want as long as it's black, has a defined waist and complements their body type. I don't want to make them buy a lime green dress at $300 that they may never wear again so I'm going to make blue sashes for them.

That's it for now, once I have more complete I will post some pics.
jtt

I'm going to learn how to knit

2007-11-14T08:39:00.001-05:00

Well after crocheting for almost 15 years I have never picked up knitting needles because crocheting was so fun and interesting for me. I have my grandpa's knitting needles and endless number of books and patterns to get started.

Every time I go to the yarn store everything is focused on the knitter, the samples on the wall, the large wall of needles with the crochet hooks always in the lower section of the wall and everyone talking about knitting.

I always get confused with a knitter too, sometimes i get the 'Oh you crochet' look.

My friends say to me 'Did you knit that?',
I say 'No, I crocheted it'
'What's Crochet, is that with the hook thing'
'Yes, I'm a hooker'

I love crocheting and it will always be my number one favourite but I want to see what knitting is all about.
jtt

I'm not afraid of Lace...anymore

2007-10-31T10:33:00.000-04:00

After taking the 'Sewing with Bridal Lace' class at the creativ festival this past weekend I'm happy to say I'm not afraid of working with lace anymore.

It's not as scary as some may think and I'm ready to start making my dress now.

I can't post pictures because don't want my fiancee to see it but I will after the big day.

Books Books Books Books

2007-10-31T10:27:00.000-04:00

I love books, especially crafting books. The quality of content and photography these days are so great it's hard not to want them all.

Below are a inexpensive series of crafting books that have great beginner instructions and great photography.

I do have to limit myselft to the space I have on my shelf.

I recently purchased 'Crochet Inspiration', Baby crochet and Crocheted Accessories.

My mom and grandma were big crafters and they both gave me all of their books on embroidery, crochet and everything else. Some of the books are from the 50's through to 80's. All though the basic techniques haven't changed it's just hard sometimes to look at a 40 year old pattern and try and convert it to newer yarns, different hook sizes and things like that.

Pictured above are the Golden Hands series, they have instruction on every type of craft spread over 5 volumes.

jtt

Creativ Festival 2007 in Toronto & London

2007-10-31T06:51:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I attended the creativ festival at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. I have always attended this show to look at new sewing machines and products. The past few years though I've noticed the increasing amount of ready made merchandise and other things that has been creeping into the show. I recall some booths selling bed sheets, ready made drapery, teeth whitening products, jam and party dips, ready made jewellery, herbal remedies for anything that ails you.

Being a creative person I find that when I pay $15 to enter this show and only about 60% of the floor space is dedicated to new products and demonstrations it's not worth it anymore. I live in downtown Toronto so I'm lucky to be surrounded by great stores that sell anything I need.

The good thing about the Toronto show are the classes. I have taken several classes over the years and they always have experienced teachers and interesting topics. This year I took a 'Sewing with Bridal Lace' course. I was lucky to find it and the timing was perfect because I was starting to make my dress this week. The teacher was from Senaca College here in Toronto and was trained as a seamstress in Europe and has been doing it for 30 years. She has made a lot of wedding dresses in her time. The course focused on making a bodice for a wedding dress using lace and making it seamless. I have been curious as to how all of the lace dresses in the magazines look flawless and don't have seams. Now I know what the secret is and I started making my bodice last night.

If you follow my blog you will know that I attended the Knitting and Stitching show (which I still have to write about) in London, England earlier this month. The show is put on by twistedthread and is a phenomenal show. Quick recap....There were 3 rooms, one for showcases, one for guilds and associations and finally the room for all of the merchandise booths.

Showcase: The room included students from local art schools, accomplished artists from all over Great Britain and Europe and large companies like Rowan which had a great booth with wonderful quilts and knitted blankets on cozy couches and Rowan books and magazines on the coffee table. The student showcase was a fantastic booth, very inspirational.

Guilds and associations: This is the usual thing except there were so many booths dedicated to associations for anything under the sun from all over Great Britain.

'Wendy' yarn I bought at the show and the scarf i made when I got back to my hotel room

Merchandise Booths: This was the second best part of the show, there were booths as far as the eye can see selling everything you need to be creative. I saw yarns, notions, fabrics that I've never seen before. There was a German company named Chaosprint that had fantastic fabrics and paper show below.
The books that were for sale were also fantastic. I saw books there that I only saw in magazines, if I had more room in my suitcase I would of bought some more.

The only thing about the show for me was the price. Coming from Canada and paying $2 for every 1 pound it could of got expensive fast.

Fabric from chaosprint

'Ollie' Fabric from John Lewis Department store

You couldn't take pictures but I had my sketch book and was writing out ideas and sketching them.

Overall the show is Toronto is on a different level then the one I attended in London and hope to get back there again.
Check it out here http://www.twistedthread.com/
jtt

New Template

2007-10-20T09:54:00.000-04:00

Well I decided that it was time for a new template on blogger, something cleaner and easier toread. I choose the plain white one so my photos will POP more.

I also have just added a flickr badge to the right navigation. I love flickr!

My jet lag is slowly going away and i'm getting back into blogging. I have so many ideas since my visit to the uk I can't wait to share.
jw

Update from UK

2007-10-18T18:10:00.000-04:00

I just returned from the UK where I spent 11 days taking pictures, sightseeing and sometimes working.

I attended the Knitting and Stitching show in London on October 11.

Stay tuned for more details.
jtt

DIY Bride

2007-09-14T08:27:00.000-04:00

So, I'm getting married next year and as a crafty creative person I want to do a lot of it myself. Here is my list of things I want to make myself.

Wedding Dress
Flower Girl Dress
Ring Pillow
Bridesmaid jewellery
Bridesmaid handbags
Invitations
Programs
Favors
Cake Design
Cake Topper

I have lots of ideas but need to focus this weekend on the theme and how to incorporate it in every item.

Stay tuned for progress photos

jtt

First attempt at my wedding dress

2007-09-12T12:11:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I made my practice wedding dress. I bought a Vogue pattern and made the dress in about 3 hours. I bought some clearance fabric similar to what the final dress will be and started cutting. My cat had fun jumping on the fabric and not letting me cut or move it.

The dress turned out fantastic and my fiance loved it.

I then went back to the fabric store and bought white jersey for the underneath, platnium satin for the long sash and some cheap clearance lace for the outside. I have been going to all of the fabric stores on Queen Street in Toronto looking for the perfect lace. I think I have found it but it's $75 a metre. So I don't mind spending $20 on 4 metres of clearance lace to practice.

I think to date I've spent about $80 on my practice dress which includes the pattern, notions and fabric.

I'm going to keep looking for lace on my lunches and after work because I didn't want to spend more than $300 on the finished dress.

Off to London, England

2007-09-05T12:53:00.000-04:00

I'm lucky enough to work at a company that has offices in NY, London, Paris and Frankfurt and they are sending me to the London office to work for a week in October. I'm going to stay an extra few days and I'm going to be taking lots of pictures. The last 2 times i have been I wasn't really into photography.

There is also the Knitting and Stitching Show on the weekend of October 12 which I'm going to try and find my way to. I found it in ADORN magazine a couple of issues ago.

I'll probably do Stonehenge and some castles also, not sure how they'll be in October.
jtt

Engaging

2007-08-17T09:24:00.000-04:00

Well, after many years of dating my boyfriend, he proposed to me. Very exciting and my head is spinning now with ideas for making my own dress, accessories and floral arrangements. I have to start sketching and making lists. gotta go now....
jtt

Lead Paint used on Toys :(

2007-08-14T08:05:00.000-04:00

Want another reason to buy handmade? How about toys that are made in a far off place with materials that are harmful to your little treasures.

http://www.etsy.com/category_top.php?top_tag=toys&order=&page=1

There are tons of items. You and your little one will have fun looking at all of the soft fun toys that have been handmade by someone local to you.
jtt

Etsy, Have you been today?

2007-08-06T14:48:00.000-04:00

I started building my etsy shop slowly and now have around 10 items with lots more coming as the seasons change in a month or 2.

Check out my sprouting shop
justthething etsy shop

Never heard of etsy.com, check it out

etsy.com

jtt

Do you need Labels for your crafts?

2007-08-06T13:39:00.000-04:00

I needed sew in labels for my bags, wrist huggers and winter wear. I wanted to deal with someone Canadian so I found Laven Industries in Markham Ontario.

laven.com

They have printed labels, woven, rubber, leather and stickers.
It was very easy to get a quote and get them printed. There is a one-time charge for the plate but if you need more labels in the future it's not very expensive for a run, it depends on what your printing it on. It cost me around $200 for 50m of ribbon with the plate and shipping.
jtt

Do you need Business Cards?

2007-08-06T13:31:00.000-04:00

I needed business cards so I went looking for an online printer based in Canada to do it for me. Have you ever tried those do-it-yourself ones you can buy at Staples? Save your money and get a professional to do it.

I went to impressionsinprint.ca who are located in British Columbia. They have everything you need to set up for cards like specs, program guidelines and much more.

The process was very easy and took about 3 weeks to get my cards in the mail.
The price was reasonable at around $110 for 1000 cards
jtt

Fall is coming

2007-07-30T08:33:00.000-04:00

Well I hate to admit it but fall is coming and I'm making things for the fall line up and the launch of my etsy shop. It's hard sometimes to crochet and sew things that are thick and fuzzy when it's so nice and hot outside. One positve is that when January comes along i'll be working on the spring and summer line up.

Don't forget to check back in August for the August Features for my latest ideas.
jtt

Handbag Feature: July

2007-07-02T15:55:00.001-04:00

I had a ball of turquoise cord that was supposed to be used for lawn chairs and decided to see what it would look like crocheted. I used a double crochet and attached the rattan handles with the extra cord and wove it through the bag so not to stretch the bag out when it was filled with things. I've used it already and have received nice feedback from co-workers and friends. I haven't lined it yet because I'm very impatient and wanted to use it right away. The whole thing took about 2 hours to make.

Stay tuned for the August feature.

jtt

Jewellery Feature: July

2007-07-02T15:55:00.000-04:00

We revamped our living space recently and so I went to Pier1 to purchase some matching glassware. While spending my lunch hour wandering the store I ended up in the table linens section where I always look for place mats that I can turn into clutches anyway I digress. I saw these fantastic napkin rings and was first attracted to the geometric shape then picked it up and realized that it was thin and would look great with a simple black cord attached.

Here it is, the 5 second necklace (if you don't count the opening of the box). This is reminiscence of my high school years in the 90's where long pendant necklaces were all the rage. The second picture are the other napkin holders included in the set.

See you next month for an office inspired necklace idea.

jtt

New: Monthly Features

2007-06-26T10:41:00.001-04:00

Starting in July and every month thereafter I'm going to be featuring some of my new projects that I'm working on. I think there will be 3 sections:
1. Bags
2. Jewellery
3. Paintings

There could be more who knows where the creative mind will take me. These could change along with the seasons. It's so hot in T.O. right now the last thing I want to talk about are scarves and hats.
Stay tuned
jtt

Crocheted Earrings: Update

2007-06-12T10:37:00.000-04:00

Well last night when my cat was napping I decided to finally try and make the crocheted earrings with some fine black metallic yarn. I used a 1.75 size hook and started by crocheting around a plastic ring using just a single crochet. I finished the first one made a chain and then started on the next ring.

It looked different in my mind than what actually transposed. I think the rings were too large and when I made 2 of them it looked too crafty.

So I started to free-form crochet a design thinking I would just add a earring post and it would look cool. Well that didn't work either. This is the first time i've used a hook that is so small and I was finding it hard to handle.

Then I made a chain and joined it then I thought why not make a ring. So I kept crocheting the round and stopped at 6. Cut the yarn and weaved in the ends and Voila!

I wore it to work today and it was really comfortable. I had to take it off each time I washed my hands but that's okay. I'm going to look at making a copper coloured one which I think would look fantastic with jeans and a plain tank top.

I'm still going to try the earrings again, but i'll have to re-think it.

jtt

Books: Older than I am

2007-06-06T15:54:00.000-04:00

My mom was a crafter when she was young, she was the oldest and had to do more sewing repairs and things like that. She collected these great weekly magazines called "Golden Hands". She collected all 75 and put each volume in a binder that she had ordered from them. She gave them to me when I started sewing. There are categories like knitting (always the first of each week), crocheting, embroidery, sewing, macrame, toy making, tatting, canvas work, home decor and others. There were monthly books as well but I only have one of those.

I just checked on ebay and there are some available, you can buy them individually starting from 99¢, there are lots of 10-50 for $5-12. As of today I didn't see a complete set.

I love looking through these books and getting ideas. I'm lucky that anything goes in fashion right now and I can still use these patterns. The fabrics/yarns are better today but the basics are still the same.
jtt

Crochet: Scarves for Fall 2007

2007-05-31T12:16:00.000-04:00

I've been working on about 3 scarves for a few weeks and one for a few months now. I've been trying to make things in the off-season so I'm not finishing projects as the season changes. Here they are:

The first one is a very simple single crochet (13sc) using 2 skeins of Patons® SWS. I like it because the yarn was a dream to use and the colours blend so nice.

The second one is using a lesser known yarn to me called No. 31. I bought it at Romni Wools on Crafty Queen Street, Toronto. I used a smaller hook 3.5. 1 skein made only a 24" piece so I might rework this and use a lace pattern or V-stitch instead. Again I'm going to use 2 skeins, 2 different colour themes. This yarn is very nice to work with and it's got some weight to it so the finished product is nice and stays flat.

The last one has taken me the longest to finish. I got the idea from Coronation Street where someone was wearing a great scarf done in all circles in greens,white, red, pink, blue and probably more. I saw this Bernat® Masala yarn and it was green on the outside, when I started making this scarf it turned out that it was variegated to a dark green. Nice surprise. I'm not a big fan of this yarn because it squeaks when you use it.

I don't have a pattern for this so I just measure as I go and attached them with a darning needle.

jtt

30 Year Old Afghan

2007-05-31T12:02:00.001-04:00

Well the afghan isn't 30 years old just the yarn. Like so many other women my wonderful Grandma taught me how to crochet and she was always making granny squares. She would make afghans for grandkids, friends and strangers. When she passed I inherited all of her yarn because I was the only grandchild that continued to crochet. She tried to teach all 10 of us.

I spent about 9 months making this queen size afghan, each square is about 10 x 10in, there are bits of her yarn and bits of mine. I was going to give it to a family member as a wedding gift but decided to be selfish and keep it for myself. I spent so much time on this and I was my grandma's first grandchild and the first one she taught to crochet. I have a tonne of baby yarn from my grandma so I'm going to make another granny square afghan. This time I think I will make the squares smaller or larger...who knows!

I hope to make another one with a more modern look, using only monochromatic colours which I think will look stunning and not so country. I am a country girl born and raised but my new home in the big city is modern and it will match everything else.
jtt

Mola Mola Mola

2007-05-30T11:40:00.001-04:00

What is a Mola? When I was in Panama earlier this year I discovered these fantastic panels which were all handmade. I didn't find out much about them while I was there because English isn't the most prominent language.

When I got back I did some research and found out that it's reverse applique, made by the Kuna people of Panama. They make them for traditional dress and create 2 panels one for the front and back. In the Kuna traditional language Mola translates to clothing or shirt. I bought my to make a bag or clutch

This is one of the panels I bought at the market for $20 US. A good deal considering it's all handmade.

This is a burlap bag that had one sewn to it. There was this awful little Panama patch sewn above the Mola but I took it off when I got home.

Here in Toronto we have the Textile Museum and they are having a workshop on how to make these beautiful panels. I can't wait. They have an exhibition on now called "Cloth that shook the world", check it out.
www.textilemuseum.ca/
jtt

Crocheted Earrings

2007-05-24T17:19:00.000-04:00

I've seen quite a bit about crocheted earrings lately, maybe because I read and surf the net too much on and about crocheting. I'm going to try and make a pair that are not...well awful looking. If you Google crocheted earrings you see some pretty horrid things that I wouldn't wear, but that my opinion. I'll report back on my progress about making a modern pair of crocheted earrings.
jtt

Panamanian Pandamonium - Part I: Intro

2007-05-24T16:31:00.000-04:00

I love Panama. My boyfriend and I were trying to decide where to go on a vacation to get away from here. We both wanted somewhere that we'd never been before but I didn't want to go to the Caribbean and my boyfriend can't handle the long flight to Europe without a cigarette so we compromised on central America - Panama. It's relatively quiet compared to the barrage of resorts you'd see in Dominican and Mexico. We stayed at the Royal Decameron which is a fantastic 800+ room paradise. Getting to the resort is a bit of an experience but well worth the wait.

You get off the plane and have to fill out 2 different immigration cards and they usually run out on the plane so you have to hunt for them before entering immigration. So you go through 1 line, then another then get your bags which are immediately taken away from you and thrown on a truck with hundreds of other pieces hoping that it will end up at your hotel. You don't actually see your luggage until dinner time.

When you leave the air conditioned airport you are hit with a wall of heat. Coming from Canada in March wearing a jacket, jeans and socks it was a big shock to deal with 35 degree heat. There was light at the end of the tunnel there were probably a dozen coolers filled with ice and local panama beer 'Balboa' for the long 2 hour ride to the hotel. They tell you it's an hour and a half but if you stop for food and bathroom breaks it's longer than that. The guide along the way tells you about things that you see along the way and little bits of history about the country and the canal.

Finally you arrive at the hotel and about 300 people are checking into their rooms and finding them. The Decameron is so big you get a map to find your room. There are 11 restaurants, 8 pools and bars everywhere. The beach isn't the softest I've seen but the heat of the sand is a bigger problem than the broken shells and other dried beach stuff. We went at the end of the dry season which runs from December to end of march, so at 9am it's already 33-35 degrees. I can't complain it was beautiful and the people are very friendly. We're going back next March.
jtt

Fall Craft Show

2007-05-21T10:42:00.000-04:00

Well, it finally happened, I got a big package in the mail from the organizers of the craft show this fall. To my disappointment it was just a package with my submission photos and application. I really wanted to participate in this show but maybe the show was a bit too big for my first attempt.
I will try again and make my application better than this one.
jtt

Watercolour Paintings

2007-05-15T14:59:00.000-04:00

I have been busy trying to make bags and jewellery in anticipation of getting into this fall craft show and at the same time trying to get items up on my website but have been distracted lately by my watercolour paintings among other things like my kitten Pablo.

I started last year by making some for my bathroom and just throwing 4 colours together and blending them and sticking plastic wrap on top.

We just moved our house around and decided that the John Gotti picture that used to hang in the office is no longer appropriate for a grown-up house. So I'm about to embark on making 6 paintings for our 3 walls in our new dining room. Here are the first 3.

I love using watercolours because you can make a mistake and just add water and make it into something you didn't expect. I like laying out my colours then adding materials on top to give it a textured look. I've tried plastic wrap, paper towels, leaves, cat prints (not on purpose) and fabric. Almost anything goes you just have to experiment. I like using plastic because it doesn't soak up the colour but the plastic does keep the paint and if you move that same plastic to another section the colour will transfer. I think next I'm going to try and wrap string to a rolling pin and see what that does. I'll let you know what happens.

We had some friends over and they really liked to 3 I did in my bathroom and have completed one large painting for a friends living room. I was over at her house and the room has totally changed, keeping in mind before she had some red and yellow floral prints up which really didn't go with the beige and chocolate brown leather furniture.

I'm going to be putting up some of the other paintings I've done up on my website soon.
I encourage everybody to buy a canvas, have a glass of wine and experiment with abstract art.

jtt

Fall Craft Show Jitters

2007-04-18T15:17:00.000-04:00

I applied to participate in a craft show in the fall of this year and can't wait to find out if I'm in. I've been going to this particular show for years and have always wanted to show in it. It's taken me a few years to get good at making things like jewellery, art, crocheted items and bags.

If I find out this week I'll have 17 weeks to get ready. That sounds like a long time but when summer is approaching, patios are very tempting and having to work in an office full-time to fund my hobby, time will go by very fast. I have lots of stock but my standards have changed over the years and don't want to sell everything in my inventory. I might go through the inventory and touch up or re-sew some things to make them sellable.

If I don't get in (it's juried), I'll have to start looking for another show to be in.
jtt

Welcome

2007-04-16T16:23:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my new blog...stay tuned for ideas, tips and tricks and trends about crafting, fashion and things of that nature.
jtt