Knitted mobile socks

It's been pretty busy here at Chez Taylor-Dyce, between the dog, the chickens, helping a friend emigrate, helping a friend immigrate and sorting my flat (we had a flood through a bookcase so currently all the books in the flat are in piles around the living room.  Oh, and I gave my desk away now I don't need it anymore, leading to a resort and clean of my study for the first time in 4 years.  Boy, there is a LOT of crap in that tiny room...)



So, in between times I've needed something quick and simple to knit in front of endless re-runs of the American Office.  I love that show to pieces, I've watched each episode at least 5 times, it's really quite tragic.  Since I'm low on money and high on time at the moment, I figured I might restart my Etsy shop, this time just focusing on handmade things.  I want to stock maybe 4 designs to begin with, something that I can make relatively quickly so I'm not making a ridiculous loss on my time and something I can make to a relatively professional standard.  So basically, nothing with zips.



For the moment, I've settled on mobile socks for my first design, using a super simple cable pattern my Mum taught me years ago.  I can knock one out in about 2 hours, using stash wool and buttons.  That's another restriction I've placed on myself for the shop, I can only use fabric or wool from my stash.  I'm planning a stash amnesty post soon where I show the true extent of my hoarding but to be honest, I'm scared that some of you are going to be put off my blog thinking I'm some kind of obsessive-compulsive packrat so I'm saving that for a braver day.



These four little socks are the first trials of my 'design' (by 'design' I mean, 'knitted rectangle').  I especially like the heather green sock, that was a ball of vintage wool from my stash, complete with price tag in pre-metric money.



These have yet to be blocked, which is why they look more wonky than rectangular, but I like the look already.  The last grey photo is with a mobile inside, so you can see how snuggly warm and protected your mobile would be!

My first Sorbetto!

Remember my Summer Plans post, back in the dark time that was revising for finals?  Well, I've finally got round at least one of them!

The Sorbetto top is an amazing free pattern released by Coletterie, I've been planning on trying out a Coletterie pattern for a while now and this seemed like a good place to start.  I've been especially inspired by Did you make that Karen's tops (she's made at least 4 Sorbettos by now, what a machine!), it seemed so simple but with so many possibilities!



This one was for Victoria's birthday and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.  It was my first attempt at bias tape and although I think it looks neat on the outside, the inside leaves a lot to be desired...Still, practice makes perfect, just got to make more for me!



The fabric was a lovely drapey, possibly cotton (I'm so crap at knowing!) which I think was originally Vicky's that she gave to me in a fabric clear-out so what goes around, comes around...literally!

Last of the baby posts

Phew!  Hopefully this will be the last of the baby posts for a while, I've got a few little baby-related projects up my sleeve but for the moment I'm plodding away at the new house blanket and my jumper dress.



Lots has happened here at Chez Taylor-Dyce in the past few weeks, I finished my finals, passed and graduated and now am in job and house hunting mode.  We also adopted this wee man from the cat and dog home, he's a completely mental bundle of energy but he's also adorable (when he's sleeping!).  I'm really glad we got him while I'm unemployed though, I'm exhausted with the contant trek up and down 3 flights of stairs trying to toilet train, I can't imagine how I'd do it if I was working as well!























Badger


 

Exhausted but delighted

I also inherited 4 chickens off a friend emigrating back to the States, they're currently residing at Carolyn's house until we move somewhere with a garden but they are amazing, it's like having little dinosaurs in your back garden.



Photo stolen from Alison's Mum

It's funny, I thought once graduation was out of the way life would return to normal and I'd have this whole long summer of relaxing in front of me.  Sadly though, between dogs, chickens, house hunting, job hunting and all my friends gradually leaving the country, it's been a pretty unsettling few weeks.  I'm not complaining mind you, I'm delighted to finally be done with being a student, but it's definitely been an emotional rollercoaster.  I almost want to fast forward to the part where we're settled in a house with a garden and I have a job and life can go back to a nice, quiet routine.  I don't enjoy change at all, it's really quite tragic.

But!  You're not here to read about my life, you want to know about the crafts!  Well, there is nothing new and exciting here sadly.  It's another crocheted blanket and accompanying lamb.  Still, I'm pleased with how they both turned out and the new parents seemed delighted so all is good in the world.  And it was another little stash-bust, I'm quite proud of myself!

Upcycled nest of tables

This project is so simple, it's barely even 'craft'.  We've had this nest of tables for years, they belonged to Andrew's Gran and he has fond memories of them from being a small child so he's set against me doing anything to them.  I, on the other hand, hate this kind of dark wood and would love to take a paint brush to them but apparently that's out so I've had to think of means of upcycling them without damaging them.



The original

The glass tops are removable so I took them off, cleaned them (tea stains galore!) and traced around them onto some paper I had in my stash.  Then just popped the paper back in the table top and placed the glass on top.





Number one: birdies.  Ex-wrapping paper birdies in fact!  Who says being an obsessive hoarder can't pay off?





Number two: a map of Stockholm, stashed for the past 4 years.  That's healthy...right...?  Also, you wouldn't believe it but I spent ages ironing this map.  This is what happens when you store things folded up in boxes, sigh.

I like how they've turned out, it brightens them up a bit.  Ideally in the long run I'd like to do something more like this table, glueing tiles into the recess that currently holds the glass.  The problem with the glass is that it's not fixed in place, so crumbs and liquids can get in and under it.  It's annoying because they're awkward to clean, having to remove the glass each time and clean underneath them, and you can see the crumbs through the glass.  A double whammy of annoyance.  The tiles idea would solve that because there'd be no cracks for the crumbs to get into and under.  I've yet to float this idea to Andrew though, not sure he'll like it...

Source: craftster.org via Amy on Pinterest

Yet more gloves

I was so taken with my stripy nautical gloves for Lydia that I decided to knit myself a pair.  I used the same knitting pattern (Sirdar 5840 for anyone interested) and again used stash yarn, this time purple New Lanark left over from Coraline and blue New Lanark gifted to me from Imogene (hello love if you're reading!).



I'm really pleased with how they've turned out, I didn't have 2 matching buttons of this colour but I liked them both so much individually that I decided to go with them anyway. 





I'm actually quite looking forward to the weather turning cold enough to wear them now!  Which is especially ridiculous given that it's the wettest June since the last ice age.



In other knitting news, I've just started knitting the 'Still Light Tunic' from Veera Välimäki.  I'm struggling a bit with the raglan increases, I seem to have a random selection of small holes, sometimes they're there, other times not.  I've frogged it once though and I'm now going with the 'plough on regardless' method so we'll see how it works out!

Thrifty wedding veil

What can you do with a lace curtain, a glue gun, an old hairband and an assortment of collected broken jewellery?  Why, make a veil for a hen do of course!



A friend from vet school is getting married in September and her hen do (or batchelorette party for those of you reading abroad!) was last Thursday.  It was a civilised affair as she's quite a religious chick, involving afternoon tea at the Botanic Gardens, followed by a film at Edinburgh's finest independent cinema (we saw The Angel's Share for anyone interested, it was brilliant, I would definitely recommend it!), followed by games and drinks. 



I was in charge of 'pin the trunks on the hunk' and 'pass the parcel' and the veil.  Since I'm rather strapped for cash at the moment (graduating is EXPENSIVE) I decided to have a bash at making one and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.



I removed the fabric covering from an old hairband, hemmed a lace curtain from my stash on 3 sides to stop it fraying and created a tunnel at the top for the hairband to slip through.  I glued that in place with my trusty glue gun and then hand stitched a string of faux pearls from a broken necklace across the band. 



It's so long!

All in all, it worked quite well.  I left the curtain long because I thought it was too pretty to cut but the problem with that plan was that it was quite heavy and kept dragging itself off Louise's head.  Design flaw there.



She seemed pleased though.  I maintain that more penises should have been involved in the whole day but I was shot down.  What can you do, eh?

Babies, babies everywhere...

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...2 more friends had a baby!  Carolyn of the lovely blog Connecting.Love.Carolyn and Owen, my old Zoology buddy, produced the adorable Viola back in May and last week I finally got my act together to go visit them. 



Their present of a crocheted blanket and a knitted lamb were the projects that kept me going through the long, dark days of finals revision and it was lovely to be able to finally give it to them.  They were both great stash busts too, the wool stash is slowly dwindling, I'm very proud of myself.  Of course we'll move house and I'll start all over again but for the moment it's good to feel like I'm clearing out.  Even if in reality it's nothing compared to the vast swathes of fabric taking up numerous boxes around the house...





Viola is all kinds of adorable, when you can look cute whilst holding reconstituted milk sick in your mouth, that's cuteness on a whole new level. 









I'm enjoying friends having babies, I have 2 more to go now, one imminently (present done and photographed) and Elaine, of cartoons and card-craft fame (present yet to be decided upon, I've got until December!).  I think I'm done with blankets and lambs for the moment though, new baby patterns need to be explored and conquered I think.