FO: Cowls

I've started playing Guild Wars 2 earlier this month with my boyfriend, Luke, and while I love the game and love playing with him, it has really sapped my time for making things. In order to knit and play at the same time I have been trying a few fairly simple cowl patterns. I am trying to flesh out my wardrobe (but that is another post in itself) and I think that some of my new cowls will be perfect finishing touches. Even with the warmer weather approaching, I will probably still be shivering, especially when people start turning on their air conditioners.

This is my Pedestrian Crossing Cowl. I love this simple little pattern repeat and I really love the way the variegated yarn came out! This is Malabrigo Rios in Playa.

This little cowl, modeled by my lovely sister, is actually one of my own design! It's called DragonScale Cowl, and is currently being test-knit right now. It should be available for purchase at the beginning of May. It uses angled increases and decreases to form a texture that look like reptile scales. I thought it looked a bit like all of those dragons I have been slaying in World of Warcraft and Skyrim. It's knit in Malabrigo Rios (Again, I love this yarn!) in the Archangel colorway. It seems like the colors in any given skein of this colorway are a toss-up. I was hoping for skeins with more yellow and orange in them, but these were pretty too.

Learning!

I've had a large hiatus recently because of some events in my personal life, moving and starting school, and I haven't had the time to make blog posts. I do really enjoy keeping track of my life through this blog, and I really will try to do it more, even if no one really reads it.

 Late last year, my mom and I decided that we would try something new. Each week of 2013, we would make something new, modify something we had, or learn a new technique. I have loved this so far, and have done tons of new projects in the past month, instead of just one a week. Thanks to Pinterest, I have plenty of new sewing patterns, recipes, and craft ideas to keep me busy all year.

I got a Singer sewing machine for Christmas last year, and I am finally getting around to using it. My first project was a yellow polka-dotted skirt. I made my own pattern by taking my measurements and some simple addition. I hemmed it, sewed it into a half-circle, and attached the elastic. It was super easy and looks adorable with tights and boots! I plan to make a few more in the future, but make a waistband, or learn to insert a zipper.

My mom has been wanted to learn to sew for a while, so the next week we decided to learn to make a box bag together. This is the first time I had sewn a lining into anything, and also the first time I had ever inserted a zipper

I had used a light-weight interfacing, and I wasn't entirely pleased with the finished product. It wasn't quite sturdy enough to be the makeup bag I had intended it to be. My second attempt was far more sucessful.

I love the bright blue paisley print! I used a medium weight interfacing, and finished the seams on the inside, which I had never done before. It is the perfect size and weight to carry all of my makeup!