Marmalade Kiss Sews Curvy

Just a quick one to let you know about a new online shop.

Do you all know the lovely Julia at Marmalade Kiss? Well, a week ago she started up Sew Curvy Corsetry where you can purchase fab corset kits and benefit from all her corset talent, knowledge and enthusiasm.

Go go gadget corset! How cool is that!

Foot long socks in August

A week or so ago I finished my husband socks, Ravelry link here. My first pair ever, and I am very pleased. A couple of errors, but hey, that's okay! The main annoyance to me was the fact that because on the second sock the leg and foot were a couple of rows longer the stripes don't match up perfectly and this notices on the toe. This was purely due to me getting carried away knitting and obviously too engrossed in the trash on TV and then not wanting to undo it.


So B, my wonderful husband, here are your foot long socks. It makes me very happy to have knitted them for you, and very happy that you wear them so well. x

Sewing for Knitting

Brendan took Mil to soft play on Sunday morning and I did some sewing. It was lush. I have not done any sewing for fun for ages, it's all been big thick velvet curtains which has been a bit of a pain, and had me yelling rather a lot.

It seems I have become a knitter. And, up until now, when I take my knitting to the park/pub I wrap it up in a plastic bag. But... no longer!

I made myself a neat and tidy drawstring bag which will hold my wool and notions, and if I am knitting something small like socks, the project and needles too. The idea is that I will also make a rather larger bag which will carry my entire project when I am working on something bigger.

The bag acts as a kind of dispenser for the wool as I am knitting... and it works! Hurrah!

All very simple, but making me very happy regardless. And, the husband socks are nearly ready - update soon!

Fabric used is American Jane's 'Recess' (green and red prints) and Denyse Schmidt's 'Katie Jump Rope' (blue print).

Knitted Hand Towel

We are on a bit of an economy drive at the moment. So I am planning ahead and trying to make gifts for the very important people. My eldest brother is one of those people, and his birthday is today (and so the surprise can now be revealed!).

I had to put my sock knitting on hold for a few days while I completed this. A knitted cotton hand towel. The pattern is a free one and was sourced through Ravelry. I am loving Ravelry at the moment.

The main yarn is Patons Cotton Aran in colourway 3669, and the hanging loop is Debbie Bliss Pure Cotton in colourway 39013. You can link to my ravelry project here.

I definitely recommend this for a quick and fun knit and I am going to knit another one for somebody else. Although, I can't tell you how strange I found it going from 3mm needles to 5mm needles and back again. Very weird, felt like a giant/dwarf!

I am also coming to realise that a label is required with handmade gifts, primarily with washing instructions on. So I dragged out my very rickety typewriter and typed a little label to go with it. Justifies my keeping the thing for 10 years without using it once... I knew it would come in handy one day.

By the way, thank you for your lovely comments about my Big Granny Skirt. I have to admit to being a bit naughty and posting the pictures that showed it in its most flattering and least representative light. I can assure you... although it looks good in the pictures it looks less good in the flesh - amazing what a good angle can do! I have put it in my clothes drawer and feel that one day maybe it will somehow look wonderful. hmmm.

Big Granny Skirt

I think I just spent a long time and used up some fabric I love making what shall now be known as my 'Big Granny Skirt'.


The pattern is the yard sale wrap skirt from Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing. I bought the fabric whilst on honeymoon in North Wales. It was £4.50 for the pair of curtains in a charity shop. Oh, sorry, had you not noticed that the skirt is made of a pair of curtains?! Arrrgh. I look like a bay window!


There are a couple of issues I have with this skirt. Firstly the pattern is far too curtain-y for if not anybody, then certainly for me. I had been bolstered by seeing Janet Clare's gorgeous skirt, but I don't think I can carry it off. Also, there is a lot of fabric in this skirt, having read the errata, and comments from others who have used this pattern, I added in a few extra panels (making 8 in total). I definitely needed the extra panels, but as the fabric is heavy it all feels a bit much. I think it would work better with a lighter swooshier fabric. A quilting weight cotton would have been more appropriate. Never mind.

At least I can start making something else now.

Funnily enough, the next thing on my list is a door curtain for our living room. I seem to be going round in circles here.

Husband socks and goodbye to nappies

Since deciding that I was going to spend some more time making things for the people that live in this house, and since I now have a husband, I thought what could be more wifely than to knit the man some socks? I haven't knitted socks before, and funnily there seems to be a couple of others out there who are knitting their first socks right now also.

I am using Regia Jacquard Color 4-ply sock yarn, colourway 5275 and King Cole Sox pattern. Ravelry link to this project here.

After a couple of false starts, and a bit of YouTube study to turn the heel, I was safely on my way. I think I am going to enjoy making socks again!



And, on Friday we said goodbye to nappies, so Mil has been pantless for a while. We had a great day on Friday, and a not so great day yesterday. But I guess the only thing to nail this is time. But seeing as we were housebound, and the sun was out I got to do a bit more socking...

... and managed to finish husband sock number one! Hurrah. I am very pleased, and love the yarn. I made only one small alteration to the pattern, using a different stitch for the heel. I thought socks would be a horror, but I found the whole process very manageable.

Hooray for knitting! I love knitting!