Aug
2018

I Did A Thing, Vol. 9

categories: DIY

I finally feel like I’m hitting my stride with knitting, and I recently completed a few neat projects. A few things have helped. One, getting more comfortable with reading patterns so that I can make small adjustments to suit my purposes. Two, getting this “dictionary” of stitches – game changer! I keep looking for a book of interesting knitting projects, but haven’t found anything that features the kind of more offbeat projects I want. The internet is hit and miss in that regard; I find tons of cool inspo photos, but few free patterns. I totally get and respect why people would want to charge for their designs but, as a newbie, I cannot commit to buying something without seeing the instructions first and making sure the project is something I can feasibly complete. Sadly, most of the really neat-looking stuff is way beyond my current capabilities … or it involves crochet. I’m not ready to jump into that. Yet.

But, as I said, I have managed to finish a couple of projects that I quite like. One involves a free pattern I found online, and one is based on my own design. Want to have a look?

The Cacti Lover’s Dream

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I fell in love with cacti on my trip to Phoenix earlier this year. This is not hyperbole; cacti are now in the top 5 of my favourite ornamental plants list – and I love flowers, a LOT. Anyway, this project is perfect for cacti lovers who, like me, are afraid of killing their darlings. This free pattern comes in a handy PDF format, and the instructions are easy to follow. You do need to be comfortable with working on double pointed needles (DPNs). This was intimidating at first. I tried subbing in circular needles, but quickly gave up; the largest cactus is only 31 stitches, which I found impossible to knit even on my shortest circular needles. Luckily, working in the round on DPNs, while finicky (for a beginner) is not too difficult to learn. Once knitted, assembling the cacti was also fairly easy. I stuffed them with extra fluffy leftover yarn, which probably wasn’t the best choice but was the most readily available (and cheapest) option. [Side-note: I think I ended up over-stuffing them, which stretched the knit material a little more than ideal. Lesson learned.]

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Sewing the bobbles of the larger cactus together was the trickiest part, and I wasn’t particular “clean” in my finishing work. With that said, unless you’re looking at it closely, the “mistakes” are not very visible. If I were to do this project over again, I would spend more time on this part of it, but on my first try, I was excited to finish and rushed a bit.

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The original design called for crocheted flowers, which was a no-go for me. I poked around the internet and finally found a very simple knit pattern, which I proceeded to adjust for my own purposes and added some beads for extra pizzazz.

The Embroidered Cross-body

This little purse combined a few of my previous efforts, and was super fun (and easy) to make – so much so that I made it twice! The design is very basic – just a long rectangle, folded over to make a clutch with a flap. Rather than sew in a snap, I decided to “weigh” down the flap. The metal ring is actually a “build your own” charm bracelet I got at Michaels; it comes with a little loop meant for attaching a charm, which I used to attach my handmade tassel. [There are tons of how-to videos on YouTube for making tassels, and it’s very easy.] Also from Michaels, I got the metal rings that I attached on the sides for clipping in the detachable cross-body strap; the strap itself was thrifted for $2 at Value Village.

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The floral patches were embroidered on felt, cut down to size, then sewn on (with beading) the knit material. Embroidering on felt is trickier than on muslin, but felt can be cut without having to worry about fraying edges – I learned this the hard way on another project.

I really love the results here; the purse is fairly sturdy for being knit, though of course it’s not intended to carry a ton of stuff. I can fit a small wallet, my keys, and a phone without problem. Once I figured out all of the design aspects, actually completing this project didn’t take very much time – maybe 3-4 hours in total.

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Aug
2018

What I Wore: July 30 – August 8, 2018

categories: style

Birthday Girl

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Just before my birthday, I thrifted this Zero+Maria Cornejo dress and it seemed like a sign. Ever since I read The Cool Factor by Andrea Linnett, I have been mildly obsessed with this designer; I never thought I’d find a piece here in Edmonton, but find this one I did. I love the silhouette and the print, and it’s such a great, breezy dress. I simply had to wear it for my birthday. I think it looked awesome paired with my old (p)leather jacket but, truth be told, the jacket came off almost as soon as we left the house. It was supposed to be a cool, rainy day … except it wasn’t. It was hot AF. Thanks, weather forecast.

Long over Lean

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This used to be a thing and, darn it, it is still a thing as far as I am concerned. This Rachel Roy dress is too short to be worn alone for my comfort level, so I wore it over my Madewell raw hem jeans which somehow work with every tunic-like thing I’ve ever thrown over them. Honestly, they’re magic. On this occasion, the jacket was actually a functional addition; it was supposed to be a warm day but … you know what the plot twist is gonna be, right?

This is my second pair of thrifted Barbara Barbieri sandals, and it’s even better than the first (seen in the picture above). The grommet details are cool, and the leather somehow did not require any breaking-in period – a feat considering we are talking about strappy sandals. Also, like my other pair, this one has a chunky, square heel (about 3 inches) which makes them as comfortable as heeled shoes can get. Seeing as how I am moving into my “orthopedic shoe” phase of life (sad but true), this is a nice bonus.

Summer Vibes

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This was the top that nobody wanted. I tried selling it on IG earlier this year, then on consignment, and no dice. By the time I got it back, summer was finally here, and I had thrifted this Floreat skirt in the meantime. I thought: why not give this pairing a try? A boxy, cropped top + a high-waisted, full skirt sounds like a plausible combo, right? It’s a slightly “off” pairing, which is my sartorial calling card these days. I added gold accessories to the white and blue colour palette as a kind of an ode to summer (because it shines like the sun, see?) … ah, just kidding. I’m pretentious, but not that pretentious. I just like that weird, snake-like necklace a lot, and apparently I also enjoy torturing my feel with 5 inch heels from time to time. Makes me feel alive, or something.

I also added green resin earrings for a slightly unexpected twist – blue and green, ooh – and because I just got these in the mail and I have zero patience when it comes to pretty things.

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Vacation Casual

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I’m throwing this outfit into the round-up not because it’s inherently interesting, but because it’s a good representation of what I wear when I’m in “parent mode, vacation edition”. Comfy jeans, a lightweight top, sun hat, flats. Actually, these shoes are low wedges but you get the drift. I was excited to thrift these Eileen Fisher sandals for under $10 in like-new condition because they are very menocore in style – just my cup of tea. Unfortunately, they’re a bit too small for me so they’ll be going to my mom, but I may have to start hunting for EF shoes on eBay next.


Aug
2018

What I Watched: Houses Edition

categories: Trifles

I am slightly embarrassed to admit that, apart from making it about 1/3 through Simon Winchester’s Pacific, I didn’t read anything on my staycation vacation. We were busy having family fun during the day, and I was busy recovering from said fun in the evenings. But I did some major binge-watching marathons, and I am here to tell you about it. I know, it’s your lucky day.

There is no way to say this would sounding like a creep – I tried at work, and failed – so I will just come out and say it: I like peeking into other people’s homes. I’m not your typical voyeur in the sense that I don’t care about what the inhabitants are doing, or even who they are; I just like to see how they’ve decorated their houses. Most HGTV shows don’t do it for me, because I only care about the 5 minutes spent on the “before” and “after”; the “how to” bores me to death. Luckily, Netflix has my number and has a bunch of shows that are just my thing … along with a convenient fast forward option for any extraneous “talky” parts.

My gateway drug in this case was a show called Amazing Interiors. The title is pretty self-explanatory; each episode highlights 3 homes that, while unprepossessing on the outside, have interesting and/or unique interiors. These range the gamut from the super fancy (one couple appeared to have bought an entire abandoned building just so they could create a ginormous, swanky penthouse apartment on the top 2 floors) to the weirdly specific (a guy built a sci-fi museum in his basement). None of these places were my style – in fact, one woman’s all pink (and I mean ALL PINK) apartment made me feel nauseous – but I loved seeing their owners’ creativity at play.

After I finished Amazing Interiors, next up was I Own Britain’s Best Home. This was a reality TV show from 2008 or thereabouts in which people competed for … well, again, the title is pretty self-explanatory. I loved seeing the different types of houses (cottages, castles, and everything in between) from different time periods (Georgian, Victorian, modern, etc.) though more often than not, the owners’ interior design choices were disappointing. So. Many. Barcelona. Chairs. I was also not a fan of the show hosts’ chattering, so I skipped over it. It made the whole series much easier to binge-watch. When I was done, I was happy to discover the Australian version of the show which, I must say, featured far more interesting architecture (and interior design) than the original. Were it not for my inconquerable fear of large creepy crawlies, I would be seriously considering a move – every locale featured on the show was stunning, especially the seaside towns.

Last but not least, I also discovered that Joel McHale’s Talk Soup (RIP) has been reincarnated (yay) as The Joel McHale Talk Show with Joel McHale on Netflix. I don’t watch reality TV, but I love watching Joel trash talk reality TV. I also have him to thank for the discovery of reddit/thathappened, which is a delightful way to waste time on the internet if you are so inclined.