Tag Archives: Ivy And Maude

On growing old gracefully

26/07/2010 7:02 am \ 3 Comments \

Today met my girlfriends for a get-together and debrief after the school holidays…

{You know how when something is troubling you, a good bit of advice is to write a long letter to yourself where you can purge all the negativity out of your system?  Then you are supposed to rip up same letter and toss it out?  Well I just did that with this blog post.  I had written a long rambling lot of introspective balderdash…. I knew it was kinda silly when I wrote it, and even my husband came home and advised me it was not worthy…  the long and short of this is that the “blah blah blah” that was here before is gone from this blog.  If you have already read the first draft of weirdness and scratched your head wondering where was the expected sewing, knitting and fashion, well I apologise sincerely.  Sometimes one needs to vent.  And vent I did.  Sorry!}

Man…  as an afterthought; what on earth am I wearing? back to business… today wearing the khaki and air-force blue colour combo I predicted would be my staple for this winter.  Well, the denim is close enough to the “dirty” blue I’m loving; and the texture and colour of my scarf works just perfectly right for what I wanted, considering I dressed without much thought this morning.  Some of my favourite ensembles have been the result of a rushed thoughtless random grabbing of separates…

Details:
Dress; Cue, found secondhand and refashioned here.
Jacket; Ezibuy
Scarf; knitted by me from various wools
Leggings; Metalicus
Boots; Andrea and Joen; from Uggies

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Undersea-garden crocheted scarf

03/07/2010 5:17 am \ 4 Comments \

Now, I am no crochet-er.  I struggle with each and every stitch.
I think it comes down to this, when I learnt to knit, my mother taught me.  I was taught.  Mum took the time and effort, it was a bonding exercise and fun, I was little, with a thirst for knowledge…
In the crochet department, I was self-taught.  And an adult.  And we all know the old saying about the difficulties of reconciliation when it comes to an old dog and new tricks…
I made this about six years ago.  I saw this scarf pattern in a friend’s knitting magazine (can’t remember any details, sorry) and instantly decided I had to have one.  Armed with a book from the library with the different crochet stitches illustrated in all their scary hand-contortionist detail, some lovely mohair wool (I know I know, mohair, huh?) and a copy of the intermediate level pattern, I set out on my first crochet project with determination but no idea of what I was doing.  Pretty stupid, yes?  It’s one of my failings, to just throw myself into a possibly difficult new project with not a clue of technique and no pre-conception of failure.  I say “failing”, but I guess it is a trait that has got me this far, so shouldn’t rail on myself… 
I did not enjoy making this scarf, mohair is a tricky enough yarn to play with, without trying to manipulate intricate stitches in it with a crochet hook.  I solemnly vowed it would be my last crochet project, but I do still love the look of this thing and I admit it, it would be impossible to achieve this lacy, oldfashioned look, which has an air vaguely reminiscent of “granny” squares about it, while still managing to look coolly distinct from the usual run-of-the-mill scarves around.
A hard earned success.

Details:
Scarf; crocheted by me, mohair yarn
Top; Metalicus
Jeans; made by me, Burda 7863, khaki stretch gabardine
on feet; cropped out, but I’m wearing my daggy old slippers and put on my biker boots to go out later!

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Caramel “loopy” scarf

28/06/2010 5:34 am \ 6 Comments \

I made this scarf a few years ago, not really sure now how many.  Originally I had done a class at Ivy and Maude, and was so inspired I went on to make dozens of these.  Well, maybe a few more than a dozen, anyhow!  I gave nearly all of them away as gifts.
The stitch is a very clever stitch where you wrap the wool around your thumb as you are knitting and then cast the wool over to “lock” the loop in, creating permanent loops.  A friend once told me she had seen the stitch in a very old knitting book, so it’s been around…  I thought for about a split second of trying to describe/draw how to do the stitch on this blog but abandoned that thought; its just too complex for my limited descriptive/illustrative skills…!
The beauty in these scarves is always in the wool you choose.  All the ones I made were out of Colinette Fandango; just bought one ball of this divine all-cotton yarn and knitted up the whole ball in this fashion; bingo, instant beautiful scarf.  The colour ranges available of this stuff are what “make” the scarf, imo.
This one has a mix of caramel, cream, fawn and grey and has long been a favourite (it’s got so thin!!)  I have also made ones for myself in red/pink and one in pastel blue/green/pink.  The other ones I made for friends were all of other colours, I never doubled up on shades.  Didn’t have to! every time I went into the shop there seemed to be so many new fabulous shades to choose from, my enthusiasm would be re-ignited all over again!

Details:
Scarf; made by me, Colinette Fandango yarn
Jeans; Burda 7863, black denim
Top; Ezibuy
Cardigan; Country Road
Handwarmers; Sportsgirl
Boots; Andrea and Joen, from Uggies in Dunsborough
Bag; Gucci
(New!!) Sunglasses; Ray Ban

News; I decided to join up to Wardrobe Refashion again, for another 4 months.  I may not do heaps of refashioning this time but I’ll be sewing my own (as usual), and staying away from shopping for readymade clothes…
Also I signed up for this: 

‘I, Carolyn (Handmade by Carolyn), sign up as a participant of Self-Stitched-September. I endeavour to wear handmade and refashioned items of clothing and/or accessories and jewellery every day for the duration of September 2010’.

Should be fun!

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Bush jumpers

05/06/2010 10:37 am \ 5 Comments \

Today I have for you two bush jumpers…
(btw, the above title is supposed to be a play on words as here in Australia a “jumper” is what in the US is referred to as a “sweater”…  I’ve lived over there so I am aware of the lingo differences! could fill a book with funny anecdotes of these!)
Reminds me of the old joke from many years ago: What do you get when you cross a sheep with a kangaroo?
Answer: A woolly jumper
Sorry.  I know.  Not as hilarious as it was thirty years ago…
I do have a kind-of funny generation-gap story for today; today Mum and I had morning tea with some of her friends.  Visualise, if you will, mostly retired ladies sitting around a table in the country pub.  Newly arrived lady comes up to the table and says, with dramatic flourish and eyes shining with excitement: “Girls I have some very exciting new for you!!”  Queries of “Oooh, what, what?”  Pause for effect, then “Last night I heard a barking owl!!!”  Cue all-round cries of surprise and delight…  I was later informed that barking owls are endangered, thus the great importance of the announcement.
I expect in twenty years or so I might be very interested in barking owls too.
I knitted this jumper for myself about five years ago, just bought some wool and knitted to my own design. It’s been a while since I followed a proper knitting pattern actually.  A few years later and I feel it is best suitable for the country; warm but not very gorgeous.  I think I made it too wide across the shoulders.  It’s very loose and bulky and feels a bit like I’m wearing a man’s jumper.  Don’t expect any close-ups.

Details:
Jumper; my own design, knitted from Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed in ?Natural?
Jeans; Little Big
Boots: Andrea and Joen, from Uggy’s in Dunsborough

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Mother’s Day

09/05/2010 4:13 am \ 2 Comments \

I know Mother’s Day is celebrated on different days in all the different countries of the world, but here in Australia we celebrate it on the second Sunday in May: which is today!  
My parents kindly had sent me a few photos of some of the items I’ve made for them over the years so I thought it a good day to put up a photo of the Goddess bag.  I made this for Mum ooh, probably about six years ago? I think?  Not sure…  (I’m getting shocking with remembering stuff like that…  I also think this could have been a birthday gift, not a Mother’s Day gift; again, memory not what it used to be and I’ve lost track in my own head of fine distinctions such as these… sad, no?)
This is a knitted bag with a sewn in lining and was made in a class at Ivy and Maude, now part of Calico and Ivy.
Mum looks gorgeous in colours such as these.  All of the jewel and green-y blue colours.  These are “her” colours.  This bag is composed of a mix of eclectic yarns; including some lurex, some mohair, some feathery type yarn, some chenille, some wool.  My favourite section has always been the shredded ribbon yarn around the bottom of the bag, in divinely smudgy and faded hues of putty, indigo, lavender and aqua, reminiscent of a watery undersea vista of a meadow of seaweedy tendrils…
I sincerely wish all the mothers reading this a perfectly looovely day, and I hope your offspring think to remind you of the wonderful person you are in their lives.  If they are teenagers, good luck with that one… (;D) however if they are little you are sure to be presented with lukewarm tea and toast on a tray in bed, and a beautiful handmade card.  I have all my children’s handmade cards safely tucked away and they always make me smile at their cute little designs, hand-drawn decorations and funny salutations.  My youngest son, even up until quite recently, always signed his cards to me with his full name, including his surname, ie.  Dear Mum, Happy Mothers Day to the best mother in the world, lots of love Samuel Smith.  So sweet, as if I would confuse him with another Samuel!
So, Happy Mother’s Day to all of you yummy Mummys out there!!

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