Kopenhagen

If I were a knit designer, I would name this cardigan Kopenhagen. Its color and pattern remind me of the beautiful Art Deco Houses there (plus there´s at trip to Kopenhagen coming up in December - that´s probably why it´s on my mind;-)). Well, acutally, I am a knit designer: everything is designed by me including the lace pattern. It´s my first top-down project and I am a convert already! It´s so much easier to get the right shape and length. And especially for this project, where I was reusing the yarn of this bolero, I could just determine the sleeve length on the go. I used up the yarn almost entirely, only a couple of yards are left. The whole cardigan is knitted in one piece - it took me quite some time to figure out how to distribute the stitches for the collar and raglan shaping. And of course, I also wanted to make sure that the lace pattern is placed nicely and symmetrically. But once this work was done, knitting went really fast.

I am totally in love with this little cardigan, it´s so cute and the mother of pearl buttons just make it perfect.

Quilted Vest

Quilting was not really on my mind until I discovered Natalie Chanin´s Alabama Stitch Book and other modern quilters. While I´m still not ready for a wall quilt or a bed cover, I like the original idea of using up old fabrics and reinforcing them by stitching several layers together like in this sample.
For this vest, I used a grey and a black wool sweater plus the sleeve of a red sweater. The grey sweater had some holes after washing (I tried to felt the sweaters before cutting). I decided to integrate the holes into the design rather than cutting around them. I quilted the pieces with grey thread before assembling the vest together with red thread. The knots on the inside are intended to be visible, by the way... I'm just not entirely sure if it looks like a designer piece or just awkward and handmade? My really fashion savvy sister says it's design - it must be, kind of, after all these hours spent hand stitching!


update - I shortened the back peplum and I think it looks much better now:

Hot Patterns Riviera Côte d’Azur Knit Top

This is Hot Patterns Riviera Côte d’Azur, the top version. I made the top as a kind of wearable muslin for the dress version. I only made two changes: I omitted the front seam and did some shaping at the side seams. I think it´s a great pattern for a knit dress and I will definitely make one for next summer - red would be nice...

Welcome To The Hut

Recently, we bought a bed frame made from Swiss stone pine (Zirbe). Its classic but rather rustic design inspired us to decorate the bedroom alpine themed. I imagined that red and white gingham curtains would be a great feature and when we strolled over the local fleamarket some weeks ago, we found an old bed sheet which was just perfect for this. I ripped the seams open and cut the sheet in half. I first intended to hem it properly, but when I had finished the top hem, I decided to leave the bottom just like it was: with the button holes and buttons visible. The fabric is rather thin and there are several buttons replaced, so I assume it was already intensely used in its first life as a sheet. And I totally like the thought that even though it´s old and worn, it now gets a second spring as a curtain!The second alpiny object I made is this fake fur blanket: it´s a simple piece of fabric bound with another red and white gingham fabric, this time with really tiny squares. It almost feels like being in the Alps each time I enter the bedroom ;-)