Knit 1, Make 2

Tiny things. Pretty things. Tiny, pretty things. I am a woman possessed by the small and the cute and the sweet at the moment. I don’t believe my sewing mojo has ever been quite so strong.

I happened upon a few new folks to follow on Instagram–check out bobbypinbandit and cloudtori but beware the amazinginess–and the rabbit hole of inspiration has turned out to be deep. It started with a simple sewing kit.

This included my very first appliqué and very first attempt at fussy cutting:

The pattern is Strippy Sewing Kit from the book Scrap Happy Sewing by Kim Kruzich of the Retro Mama blog. It turned out so cute! I love all the little details. I do not, apparently, love bias  binding–nor does it love me–but perhaps with practice we’ll come to an understanding.

Another foray on Instagram–I get bored waiting for the coffee pot to boil–led me to the #tinydresdenparty. I don’t like to use this phrase lightly, but I can’t even. So many variations, so many sweet makes! I had to get in on the fun. I wanted to make a really sweet, pastel dresden.

This is my first effort. I appliquéd it down and then made the circle for the center. And then I discovered the circle is too small.

It just won’t cover all the raw edges. This was a big disappointment, but not to worry, I’ve got more of this fabric on the way–there are so many cute little animals in this print! Undaunted, I set out to make another tiny dresden. I cut the blades from different strawberry fabrics:

The start to this one looks better, I think, a bit more even. I also used a ring from a mason jar to cut the template and fabric, so I knew it would fit. I think this one is going to be a mug rug when it’s finished.

I love it so. These are incredibly fun to make, and not nearly as fiddly as I expected. I used a great tutorial on making these tiny dresden plates, she explains everything and there are templates for cutting, as well. I’m not done yet, I have ideas to make tons more.

In other news, I haven’t exactly been neglecting my knitting. The sweater is coming along, I’m only a couple of inches from joining  the front and back and (finally) getting to the knit in the round part. Right now, it looks like a shapeless mass of fabric:

I’m over halfway on my Canopy shawl now, and I adore how it’s turning out. I had doubts about the pattern and the yarn, but now I think the combination is a match made in heaven.

And finally, I procured some new shelves and separated out the stashes. It’s so nice to have everything laid out and easy to see and reach.

It really is an inspiring space. Every day, I can’t wait to get in there and get a little sewing done before retiring to my knitting. I am riding this creative high as far as it will take me, and at least at the end I will have mug rug or two.

Happy making!