Mamma Matryoshka

say hi to Mamma Matryoshka!
And now to her alter-ego...the buxom brunette!
yep...they are one and the same! I've wanted to make a plushie matryoshka for a long time, but never seemed to get round to it!
It was really easy hand-sewing and i hand pieced the sections using paper templates. If you'd like to make one too...download the template piece here.

You'll need six pattern pieces and you sew them up with whatever details you like...see the blonde half below. Cut the material pieces larger than your paper template because you'll need to wrap the seam allowance around the paper piece.
Pink the edges of the details like the face piece etc, so that your outer seam allowances are one piece of fabric thick (where possible)...it'll make your hand sewing much easier.
Add a little face at this point! Smiley of course!
Then iron the seam allowances around the paper templates. Snip into the curves where necessary to make it fit neatly round your paper pieces. (the middle piece below is right side out to show you how it'll look.)
Make a running stitch around the edges to hold the material in place. Keep knots to the right side as you'll be pulling this out at the end.
This is the brunette side at the same stage...
haha! giant cone-head!. Then simply put the pieces right sides together and sew the side seams (careful not to catch the paper in your stitches - just catch the material!). I made each half first and then joined them together with one big seam. Leave a little space at the base and turn it right side out. Remove all your running stitches and the paper should just drop out.
Then stuff and slip stitch the opening closed. This really isn't her best side, but it lets you see the bottom seam.
Then add assorted bows and buttons as required!
lol...i could use her as a giant pin-cushion if i can't think of anything else!

cosy reindeer ears

So this is the second redition of the headband pattern...this time it's not squirrelly forests but reindeer forests.
To download the pattern and instructions click here! Go make one..they're really fun! One word of warning though...make sure you do a gauge test of your knitting tension...i changed the brand of wool i used for this one and even though it has less stitches than the other, it turned out larger!
yay! cosy ears!

paisley pins

These leggings are from a pattern from Burdastyle magazine January 2011. They are supoosed to made with super-stretch knit, and it was only when i started cutting out my fabric that i realised that mine really wasn't very stretchy at all. The first version of these would've cut off my blood supply so i let out the seam allowance quite a bit and they're now wearable! lol!
From these pics it looks like i'm doing aerobics or something but the material is so gorgeous i wanted it to catch the light.
love love LOVE them...i can see these getting a lot of wear!

easy ellen!

Another free Burdastyle pattern..this time the Ellen trousers. I found them super-easy to put together but i'm not sure what i think of the shape of them. I'm really not into tapering-in at the ankles..tends to widen me at the hip....not the way i'd want to go if i had a choice!
And when i don't stand up straight they look a little bunchy.....mmmmm...not sure.
I'm not 100% about the funny pocket details either, but i think they might be growing on me...it's maybe a pattern that i could customise a bit and improve it...i'll maybe try again with a wider ankle and welt pockets....

snake-back rider?

So when SuperD wants to take a break from his hard-core biker lifestyle - he tears up the track on this! (...ahem...who is that laughing in the back?) Yes it is a mini-moto, and about a foot high. These bikers are fussy about their racing comfort and apparently the hard plastic seat just wasn't doing it for SuperD's hard-core biker bum.
No padding at all as you can see....
well not anymore...oh yes he made himself a wooden base, padded it up nice and tight and wrapped it in the ever-classically-stylish faux snakeskin....lol!
One million staples hold this baby together.
O doesn't it look so inviting? lol
You're gonna make all the other boys jealous! haha!

I'f only he had a mini harley...now that would be fun to customise!! I'd put in a bulk order for metal studs and leather fringing and just go nuts!

scruffy scarf!

So i still had a bit of that chunky wool left over and felt like making something a bit more scruffy than the even coils of the previous cowl.

Using 15mm (19US) 24" circular needles and chunky wool, I just cast on 91 stitches and knitted in moss stitch (k1, p1, k1, p1....then next row: k the p's and p the k's)
I love how stretchy and squishy it is...it has a different shape everytime i put it on...
...but it's always just as cosy!!! I haven't taken it off since!

not-so-sure skirt

[Disclaimer: sorry about the awful blurry pics...it was a really dark miserable day with NO natural light!!]

i'm not-so-sure about this skirt...it didn't really work out the way i thought. I had wanted to make a tweed skirt with leather/pleather trim, but i think it might have looked better with just the waistband and part of the yoke, rather than the entire top of the skirt. If you squint it looks like a Barbie doll abdomen (you know like a tanned plastic crotch...not really what i was going for).
The pattern was in the January 2011 issue of Burdastyle magazine and i thought it would be perfect for the tweed-skirt-with-trim idea....buuuuut, i'm just not-so-sure. I'm also not-so-sure about the godet pleat in the back instead of a split. I don't hate it...i'm just not-so-sure i like it.
I do love the fabric though!!

squirrelly forest

So you might remember the squirrelly mittens that I made last year. Well this year i decided that i wanted something to go with them!

A headband seemed like the perfect idea so I just manipulated the simple pattern to draft it into the right shape for a wide stripe. I apologise for the photo...i really should have ironed it before photographing!
It's a lovely easy pattern to do and I find it better than a woolly hat because it warms your ears without overheating your head! lol....although, maybe it's just me who hates that!

Anyway...have a go! It's really easy! To download the pattern and instructions click here.

retro craft rubber duck!!

HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHA!! I was hunting for a bracelet the other day and i came across this little gem which i made 100 years ago. A retro craft from my early teens!!
O yes, what amazingly defined taste i did have....a mini rubber duck floating on a sea of aqua sparkly sequins...
...it's almost magical! HAHAHAHA!!
I'll have to start wearing this again....or maybe not!!!

michelin cowl?

So a super-simple knitting was my first project of the year, done mostly over the holidays while stuffing my face with chocolate. I used the extremely simple free pattern of the squishy snood on ravelry. Which is basically four rows of knit, 4 rows of pearl....and repeat until reach desired level of "squishy-ness"
Then when you coil it up round your neck it sits in lovely michelin-style rolls, which look great in snoods but not in waistlines!!