Knitting and WW

There has been lots of knitting. I was so pleased with my vintage button cardi. The buttons from the market matched my Bendigo wool perfectly.
The two cardigans I made up using this calculator:
http://www.woolworks.org/patterns/raglan.html

It is fantastic! I have actually inserted some excel formulas in mine, so I don't have to do any calculating.

I have ordered this wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills and these vintage buttons are on their way (from Ebay). That should keep me busy for a while. Bendigo has some new Aran wool colours coming soon. I was going to wait, but couldn't. Oh well, I can always order some more then.







This is another bargain I picked up from the market for $10!!!!. Keeping me inspired on the eating front. My wine and chocolate intake however is another story!!!!

Vintage finds and more sewing

It was a fairly dull day (weatherwise) today and DH and I decided to go to the local market to get some vegies.
DH was looking at a stall with model cars and bits and pieces. Look what I found at the same stall - Lots of vintage thimbles. So lovely! I have cleaned up the thimbles with Silvo and soap and water- two nickel/silver, one pewter, one bakelite and two copper. There were also two wooden cotton reels. I have been reading how to "sew your own bias binding" and it looks great wound on wooden cotton reels. I will try this out soon. How exciting!!!!
A long stitch holder was also in the packet. I found the vintage buttons at another stall.




We then drove on to another market out of town and I managed to find a piece of Doulton to add to my vintage Doulton Roses collection. This is a really unusual plate. I haven't seen one quite like this before, with the rose in the middle of the plate. Only $20! I was SO happy!!!







More sewing during the week. An ironing board cover, an apron and a new bird cage skirt for Barry the budgie. That's the danger of buying 4 metres of fabric for $2 a metre and then wondering what to sew with it.






I am busily knitting a vest at the moment. "Crisp" by Wendy Bernard. Hopefully it will be finished in a few days.

Congratulations to all those who participated in the 5km run/walk for breast cancer in Launceston (with Rebecca Gibney) today. I wanted to walk it, but I'm not quite up to it yet.

Corinne has no brains

Corinne has no brains, but she does have a bust! (I couldn't wait for help,I was too impatient, so I made her myself this morning.)

Her bust started out like this. Unfortunatey I ran out of the great paper tape. After cutting her off my body I had to use narrower tape and couldn't make as many layers of wide tape as I would have liked. She is OK though.




Then she tried on my new dress which I bought last week and it fitted her perfectly !





















Then she helped me with my Green Autumn Cardi which I finished knitting today. She has been a great help already.

Meet Corinne

I decided I wanted a dressmaker model to help me make clothes. I wasn't happy with the commercial ones I looked at. I wanted one exactly the same size and shape as me, so after much searching on the net, I have made one. I found ideas from articles from 1930's until now and combined them all to come up with Corinne.

I wrapped myself in a layer of tissue paper. I then wrapped a couple of layers of sticky paper (the kind of sticky paper used on the back of picture frames). I then carefully cut up the front of the model and took it off myself. I taped up the cut and stuffed the model with scraps of clothing and wadding. I made a stretchy cover to go over the model (from an old dress of mine) and pulled it over the model, drawing it in at the bottom with a drawstring. I named her Corinne.

I sat Corinne on my plant stand and she was ready to help me make some skirts.

Corinne has helped me make three skirts for work. I am much happier with the fit of the skirts than I have ever been with any skirts I have made with paper patterns. I cut the fabric by taking the shapes from my favourite skirts, then wrapped the fabric around Corinne and pinned seams and pinned darts for a perfect fit. One is a wrap around skirt with buttons, one is a pencil skirt and the other is gathered at the hips. Not a very good pic of them, but I have had some compliments about them at work, so I'm happy.




Now I just need to make a model of the top of me. I think I will need some help doing that. Maybe dear daughter or DH.......





Here is my new peg bag I made.









and This is a veil I made for a girl at work who eloped a couple of months ago and now we are having a post wedding hen's night for her. Hope she likes it....