Summer accesories abound

What I didn't tell you the other day is that I started to make the summer slippers because I was waiting for some fabric to be washed and dried, fabric that was destined to become this hat from Lotta Jansdotter's "Simple Sewing".
I was so anxious to make that hat that I had to make something else while I was waiting.

I had seen several cute versions of this hat on the internet and as I went out to garden the other day, wearing Harv's stinky old baseball hat, I decided that I needed a special summer hat of my own. So the next day I went out, bought the book then made meself a hat.
The fabric is some Etsuko Furuya from Repro Depot and the lining is Amy Butler. I agree with others that the crown is a bit big but I am trying to embrace it. I do after all, have a very large head so it kind of works on me.
As for the book, I love it. I love her style and I love that it comes with full sized pattern pieces.

Mail Call

I've had some wonderful mail lately:
1. My first Moo cards. I am amazed at how nice these are! I highly recommend them. I had my blog address printed on the back so I can direct people who might be interested here without saying "GO TO MY BLOG!" I don't like to talk about blogging or crafting too much with non-bloggers or non-crafters, for fear of being annoying or misunderstood. But some people are interested, so this is a nice gentle way to bring them here.
2. This lovely book! Very very pretty...I started reading last night. Even though I know how to sew I still enjoy reading about how to do things. It's the same with other things too like knitting and animation. I really like thinking about the process.
3. Knitpicks yarn to make this pattern. I'm not sure what I was thinking here. I want this sweater but come on! A sweater out of fingering weight yarn? Am I an idiot? I should finish this in about 5 years. You can see that I started a sleeve. What do you think...is that about .0001% finished? I am committing. I will wear this someday.

At Long Last!

I finally had time to make a robot from the Wee Wonderfuls Put-Together Book No. 2! The book arrived in the midst of Christmas gift making madness and I had to work really hard to avoid dropping everything to make something right away. But now gifts have been given and I have time to work on some projects of my choosing. New Year, new robot!

Christmas At Last

Well, what a delinquent blogger I have been. The Harvatine Empire as a whole has been suffering this holiday season. The good news is all of the gifts have been given and now I can share! I plan to spread things out a little bit. I don't want to blow my wad in one post.
To start things off, a frame for my good friend Niamh.
This was modeled after a pattern in "Denyse Schmidt Quilts" but I didn't actually use the pattern. I really love Denyse Schmidt's fabric choices and combinations. They have such a random, haphazard look to them but there is a lot of thought and theory behind each piece. I have discovered this because when I try to imitate her style in a way that actually is random things never really come out very well. I like the fabrics that I used for this but I was strictly using what I had. My stash isn't quite big enough to totally emulate Denyse Schmidt but I try.

Niamh's gift to me was a copy of "Mason-Dixon Knitting" which I excitedly told her over lunch (before she gave it to me) Harv had given me for Christmas! I am sure she was disappointed but I think that it is just great. Here is why: Harv gave me the book because I had it on my Amazon wishlist. I put it on my wishlist because Niamh had been raving about it so I knew it must be good! And here comes Niamh, trying to share this great find with me and I have, in a way, beat her to it! I think it's very sweet. And I am very much enjoying the book.