10 days went by really fast...

It's been 10 days since I last posted! I just couldn't face getting on the computer, so I had a self-imposed little mini break.

There's been a lot of stuff going on around here, and I needed to get my head around it all. Still haven't suceeded ;), but I am getting there...

I am grateful for caring friend's who are there, just when you need them. God always provides!

I have another couple of dish cloth patterns to post here, so keep a look out on the blog over the next couple of days or so. :)

Have a neat day!

D

Piece of Pie Cloth

Materials: 1 ball worsted weight cotton yarn, size 3 1/4 mm needles. I used an unknown ball of cotton that I got in a bag of yarn from the local op shop.

Instructions:
Cast on 15 stitches.
This cloth is made up of 7 wedges, all exactly the same. Then the edge is sewn together, the threads are sewn in and the cloth is complete. :)

Every wedge:
Row 1 and all odd rows: K across the row.
Row 2: K2, YO, K to last st, turn.
Row 4: K2, YO, K to last 2 sts, turn.
Row 6: K2, YO, K to last 3 sts, turn.
Row 8: Bind off 3 sts, YO, K to last 4 sts, turn.
Row 10: K2, YO, K to last 5 sts, turn.
Row 12: K2, YO, K to last 6 sts, turn.
Row 14: Bind off 3 sts, YO, K to last 7 sts, turn.
Row 16: K2, YO, K to last 8 sts, turn.
Row 18: K2, YO, K to last 9 sts, turn.
Row 20: Bind off 3 sts, YO, K to last 10 sts, turn.
Row 22: K2, YO, K to last 11 sts, turn.
Row 24: K2, YO, K to last 12 sts, turn.
Row 26: Bind off 3 sts, K across row.

If you can help out with a name for this cloth, let me know by commenting below!

30/06/08
I've decided I like the Piece of Pie title for this cloth. Thanks SianaBanana and thanks also to everyone else who left a comment with a title idea! :D I imagine if you used a nice creamy yellow cotton this would really look like pie! Yummmm!

You can find a printable version of this pattern here: Free Dishcloth Patterns from sew-funky.blogspot.com.

© SewFunky 2008
http://sew-funky.blogspot.com
etsy store: sewfunkynz.etsy.com

Dishsoap Sack

I have been using pure soap (think Sunlight soap) for washing my dishes for about 8 weeks now. My first soap has finally finished, and so I decided I needed to make a new soap sack. They work fairly well, and are better for the environment than the liquid you buy at the supermarket. Less nasty chemicals.

The pattern is very very simple. Basically, all you need to do is knit a rectangle and sew up the seams. :)

the sack ready to have it's ends sewn up

This is the pattern I used to fit the sunlight soap. Cast on 22 stitches with 5.5mm needles. Work in basic knit for 26 rows. Sew up side seam, turn right side out and insert the soap. Sew up end seams and there you have it!

the old used sack

dish clothy things...

Some of you already know that I'm addicted to knitting dishcloths, and if you read this blog, you may have gathered that without me having to admit it! I almost feel as if there needs to be a dishcloth addict anonymous group... ;)

Here is a couple of cloth and dish washing related items I've knitted over the past couple of days...

idea; knitted dish scrubbies

I have just discovered a really neat idea... knitted dish scrubbies on Berlin's Whimsy blog. This is something I will have to try. They are made from tulle and cotton. I think they would be a fantastic alternative to metal pot scrubbers!

tutorial | Knitting Needle Roll

This idea has been rolling around in my head for a month or so. I needed a better place to keep my knitting needles. So that I could find the right size when I needed one, and also so that I knew what I still needed size-wize. I am so sky high happy about my bernina - it worked like a dream on this project.

So here we have it, the simple knitting needle roll made from a very simple tea towel. :D

requirements;
a nice tea towel, I used a really nice ladelle Dandelion tea towel
sewing machine & thread
ribbon, around 25cm in length
elastic

1. The most important thing to do here, is to choose the tea towel you are going to use.

I like this one, it ended up costing me $1! I kid you not!!!

Make sure your knitting needles will fit nicely (i.e. that the tea towel is wide enough).Then choose some matching ribbon.

2. Next, make the elastic casing;

Fold over and sew one long edge to make elastic casing.

Thread the elastic through the casing.Sew the end's of the casing to encase the elastic. Make sure to sew backwards and forwards a couple of times to strengthen the seam.Gather the elastic a little bit and sew the other end. It needs to be able to be pulled flat.Trim the elastic ends so that they don't show.

3. Side Seam's;

Pin and sew the side seams - using the tea towel seam as a guide. :)This is what it looks like now:

4. Sewing on the ribbon;

Fold the tea towel in half length-wise to find the mid-point.
This is where you are going to sew the ribbon.Pin in place.sew the ribbon twice (see pic below)
don't forget to reinforce the stitches by sewing back and forth a few times

5. Sewing the pockets for the knitting needles;

Tack, by using a long stitch along the elastic edge.
Take care to pull the elastic straight as you are sewing, so that it is even.
This is what it looks like now;

Begin sewing the pockets.

You could measure here, but since my tea towel had a
nice geometric design. I used that as my guide. :)Make sure you trim the thread ends as you go,
speaking from experience they can get tangled up!This is what it looks like now;

6. The finishing touches;

Unpick the tacking thread.Put your needles into the roll. I left a larger pocket on the side to fit my scissors.TAH DAH!

Let me know if you use this tutorial to make one! :)

the story of my love for bernina

It could be considered rather boring reading... but here goes;

I guess my love for bernina sewing machines began because my mother owned one while I was growing up. Very impressionable I was, lol! I learned how to sew on one at intermediate school (age 10-12) during manual classes. In manual, we learned the following subjects; woodwork, metalwork, home economics (think food!) and sewing. Sewing was my favourite. I learned how to sew my first ever skirt.

When I was 21, my mother bought me my very own bernina sewing machine. At that stage I wasn't really into sewing and it sat in storage for a good few years. When I finally brought it out, about 6 years later, it was only really used for mending clothing. My children were really small and seemed to make a lot of holes in their clothes! ;) One day, my darling daughter Bree decided it would be great to try out what Mummy does, she was about 4 or 5, and she somehow managed to break the machine with her playing. So back into storage it went, and last year I gave it to my sister Rebekah who paid $100 (give or take a few $$$) to get it serviced. It now goes, I used it when I was down in Christchurch in April. It's a great little machine.

If I'd known it would only cost $100 to fix the old trusty bernina, I'd have saved myself a whole heap of heartache over the Brother. The Brother was bought out of a necessity for a machine and cost just under $300. It has driven me to craziness on many an occasion. You see it has major problems with tension, and hates to sew anything thicker than 2 pieces of cotton fabric!

Now we come to my favourite piece of equipment in my craft room. The Bernina Record 730. I found it at the local Sallies for $35! Yes, you read that right, $35. It cost me this week, $78 for a service and goes like magic. Amazing! It seems to me to be similar if not the same as the one my mother used all those years ago. :)

It just goes to show old doesn't necessarily mean redundant!

my bernina comes home!

I finally got to pick up my serviced bernina today and I am in heaven! :) I so love this machine. It may be older than my brother, but it is so so much better!!! Old doesn't mean horrible.


I have already been able to sew the velcro on to some bibs, my brother hates sewing velcro. It has absolute hissy fits over it.

So now my brother is relegated to the shelf and my bernina is on the sewing desk. Serve you right, brother!

While I was picking up the machine, I couldn't resist going next door to the local Sallies. Look what I found!!!
19 full reels and 3 nearly finished reels. All for $8, a bargain! They are mostly vintage sylko threads, which I love, love, love!

Cupcakes & Tea | sounds delicious

If you want to join a fun swap head on over to Rachael Rabbit and join her Cupcakes and Tea swap. It sounded too delicious to miss, so I've joined. :)

hex-a-cloth

A brand new cloth - simple by design - hexagon by shape.


Materials: 1 ball worsted weight cotton yarn, size 4mm needles. I used Sugar'n Cream - Key Lime Pie for this cloth. I was given the yarn in the Spring Fling swap, thanks so much Andrea.

Instructions:
Cast on 18 stitches.
This cloth is made up of 6 wedges, all exactly the same. Basically when you come to the end of a wedge, knit another wedge using the stitches on the needle. Each wedge should start with 18 stitches. Then the edge is sewn together, the threads are sewn in and the cloth is complete. :)

Every wedge:
Row 1 and all odd rows: K across to last 3 stitches, P3.
Row 2: K to last st (17), turn.
Row 4: K to last 2 sts (16), turn.
Row 6: K to last 3 sts (15), turn.
Row 8: K to last 4 sts (14), turn.
Row 10: K to last 5 sts (13), turn.
Row 12: K to last 6 sts (12), turn.
Row 14: K to last 7 sts (11), turn.
Row 16: K to last 8 sts (10), turn.
Row 18: K to last 9 sts (9), turn.
Row 20: K to last 10 sts (8), turn.
Row 22: K to last 11 sts (7), turn.
Row 24: K to last 12 sts (6), turn.
Row 26: K to last 13 sts (5), turn.
Row 28: K to last 14 sts (4), turn.
Row 30: K across the row.

You can find a printable version of this pattern here: Free Dishcloth Patterns from sew-funky.blogspot.com.

© SewFunky 2008
http://sew-funky.blogspot.com
etsy store: sewfunkynz.etsy.com

doing better...

At least I think I am... I have been sick with the flu' for getting to be around 2 weeks now. :( But today I felt just a little bit better. I don't have a whole lot of energy, but other than that I feel okay now. YAY!

Thanks to Mr Sew-Funky who kept my blog going while I was sick. I hope he will still do the post on the code for putting wallpaper in the background of your blog. He has been super awesome while I've been sick - vacuuming, doing laundry, the whole shebang! Go Mr Sew-Funky, and THANKS!!!

I have been too sick to craft at all. I've watched a lot of tv (make that, slept through a lot of tv!) and done a whole book full of sudoku! Can you tell I was bored?

Thanks for all your well wishes... I should be up and at 'em in the next few days. My trusty bernina sewing machine is coming back tomorrow - so that gives me a whole lot of impetus to do some crafting!!!

Have a great day!

D

Guest Post: Vintage Wallpaper

The main motivating factor behind re-designing Mrs Sew Funky's blog was finding this website that has samples of vintage wallpaper. It seemed to me that a lot of crafty stuff going on these days was slightly retro - I mean the whole knitting resurgence is in itself retro, right? With this in mind, finding a goldmine of retro wallpaper patterns was an opportunity I just couldn't pass up on. Once I found a design that could be used as a repeating pattern, it came down to colour choice and application. Tweeking the html was the hard part, but I looked at other blogs that had a similar layout an compared the code, then through a little trial and error I was successful. The only issue with the code is that Blogger's 'Add and Arrange Page Elements' page is slightly out of whack, but still totally usable.

If Mrs Sew Funky doesn't get back to posting soon, I might just have to post the code so you can all try tweaking your blogs...

Guest Post: Stencilling #2

The finished product. Obviously I'm not happy with my mistake of not taping dawn the paper protecting the surrounding T-Shirt, but it will have to do - I may even wear it to the Caspian screening on Monday. I have an idea for a similar T-Shirt design, but I'll make sure I'm a little more careful, and might even post my results here next week, if Mrs Sew Funky Allows me to ;o)

Guest Post: Stencilling Tutorial

First up you need a nice black and white design, print it out on paper and grab your Reynolds Freezer paper and you're ready to start cutting!

Sellotape your design to a piece of Reynolds Freezer paper and grab a sharp scalpel.

The main element cut out :o)

Position Stencil on T-Shirt. Note that T-Shirt is stretched over a flat piece of wood.

Carefully iron on the stencil.

The main stencil is ironed on. Now for the tricky part: the FilmGuide lettering!

Everything is in place.

Carefully cover the rest of the T-Shirt so there is no fall out from the spray paint!

Liberally spray on the paint!

Almost finished!

Ooops. It seems that Mr Sew Funky isn't as good at this craft thing as Mrs Sew Funky is! The fallout from spraying has found it's way under the sheet of paper protecting the top of the T-Shirt. We won't know how bad it's going to look until the big reveal in an hour or so!