Santa Claus snuck into my house very early this year and left me a wonderful present, a new sewing machine.  A Singer Stylist 7258, to be exact.  My ancient-but-trustworthy Brother sewing machine kept falling apart, and my very basic Singer sewing machine kept driving me crazy with its lack of functions (no auto buttonhole! no adjustable needle position!), so it was time for me to update.  

My new machine actually arrived on Wednesday, but amid all the Thanksgiving preparations, I could only unwrap it and take a glance at all the lovely stitch functions.  I have a long queue of garment sewing projects, but today I wanted something quick and simple to try out my new machine.  

Sometimes I don't want to haul around my entire purse, and my pockets are never quite big enough to hold my phone, keys, and abbreviated wallet, so I decided I needed to make a wristlet.  I could have just bought one, but I particularly wanted one with an adjustable wrist strap for an added measure of security, and apparently all the wristlets I have seen on the market have a stationary loop that is far too big for my tiny wrist.

A quick Google search revealed this free pattern to me, Patchwork Wristlet by Ayumi Takahashi.  I didn't make the outer part patchwork, but I followed the rest of the directions.  I always appreciate clear instructions and photos, and this pattern didn't fail me.  I only had to rip out one seam and it was my own fault for not following the directions.

The wrist strap was my own idea, just a short loop sewn down at one end and the other end threaded through.

Here's a peek at the inside.  Initially I didn't do the topstitching around the zipper opening, but I found that the lining fabric kept getting caught in the zipper head so I had to add it in at the end.  

I'm really happy with how this turned out!  I love my new machine too.  I can't wait to try out all the functions!!

As with much of the US, I've gone through some very cold temperatures in the last couple of weeks.  I finished my new pattern not a moment too soon!  Let me introduce Sunshine & Rain Henley...

Sunshine & Rain Henley is a fitted top-down raglan pullover worked in two colors of sock yarn.  I originally bought the yarns for two separate projects, but suddenly realized how great they look together.  This is my first project using two-color fisherman's rib.  It is a bit time-consuming to work, since you are essentially working each row twice, but I think the effect of the contrasting colors is lovely.  Stripes are my favorite- I think I could live in stripes every day- and the colors changes make the endless sea of stockinette stitch more interesting to me.

Want more information?  Check out the pattern page.

Until next time, Happy Knitting!  To my American friends, Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm so excited to be part of Ravelry's Indie Design Gift-A-Long this year!!  What is the Gift-A-Long (GAL)?  It is a two-month long KAL/CAL (knit-along and crochet-along) of holiday gifts made from patterns designed by independent designers.  

From November 13-21st a very extensive list of designers are offering 25% off between 4-20 of their patterns.  Designers will have a featured bundle at the top of their designer page where you can view the patterns that are eligible for the Gift-A-Long discount.  

Be sure to use coupon code giftalong2014 during checkout.  If you'd like an easy way to sift through all the patterns, you can see Pinterest boards by category, created by the awesome GAL team.

After buying your patterns, knitters and crocheters are encouraged to join KALs and CALs in the Indie Design Gift-A-Long group, which will run through the holiday season all the way to December 31st.  You get to save some money, make presents for all the people on your holiday list, plus you can enjoy some camaraderie with other gift-knitters and crocheters.  Did I mention there are games and prizes as well?  All the relevant information about the Gift-A-Long can be found in the group page.

What is my role in all of this?  Well, I'm offering a discount on 14 of my patterns that I thought would be 'gift worthy'.  Here is a link to the bundle page showing the available patterns.  I tried to make a nice mix of hats, cowls, and shawls, plus a couple of sweaters for the people who are 'sweater worthy'.  Or consider it a holiday gift to yourself!  

I haven't even begun to write a list of holiday gifts to make, so I am clearly behind schedule!  

Below is a collage of the patterns that will be eligible for the GAL discount.

I hope you will join us for this amazing event!

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned I would be getting married again.  To the same guy.  Yes, it did happen, and I am just now getting around to posting about it.  You see, I had an elaborate plan to takes photos with my husband before we went off to church, so I could show you all my lovely handmade dress and the matching sash I made for him.  But as with most plans, it all went awry.  He got stuck at work, and ended up hurriedly changing his clothes in the deacon's office. 

So I ended up taking a few photos by myself.  (A bridal portrait perhaps? haha.)  When I tried to photograph my dress for my previous posting, I found that as a result of using a side zipper, I wasn't able to get the dress over the top of my dress form.  Luckily I am much more squishy than my dress form and the dress fit perfectly and the zipper blended in seamlessly.

I had a bit of trouble with the lighting; my camera really doesn't like it when I wear something with white or ivory while standing in front of a white wall.

I had some tulle leftover, so I fashioned a sash and a fascinator of sorts.   I love having short hair, but it is sometimes difficult to come up with a formal hairstyle, so a fancy hair clip seemed to be a good solution.

I was surprised how easy the fascinator was to make.  I used some of the leftover lining fabric to cut out flower shapes in varying sizes and laid them on top of each other.  I sewed a very small circle in the center of the flower layers and pulled it tightly to give the flower some depth.  For the tulle part, I cut a small rectangle about 7" long and 5" wide.  On one end I trimmed the corners off into a curved edge.  The other end I tightly gathered and sewed beneath the flower.  Both pieces were then sewn together to an alligator clip.

And here we are, flustered and rushed but very happy.