Another Dirndl Skirt

Really, I'm perfectly content to make dirndl skirts all day, every day.  I've made three in the past few (including this version) months, and I'm about to begin work on a fourth skirt for spring.  I lined this version, as the fabric has a kind of waffle-y texture and lets a fair amount of light through, and I used 1.5" elastic in the waistband.  I love that the fabric can pick up both brown and black tones, making this skirt extra versatile.

Second Lives: The Skirt

Back in February The Textile Museum opened it's latest exhibit, Second Lives: The Age-Old Art of Recycling Textiles.  It takes a historical look at cultures across the globe and the ways they repurposed and refashioned textiles, rather be it due to scarcity of materials or money, or as a way to honor a family member.  There are some beautiful ikat quilts, kantha embroidered in ultra-bright colors, and a Japanese farmer's coat made from unwoven old kimono.

Carrying on my theme of making a garment to complement each of the exhibition openings, I, of course, had to give an old garment a "second life."  My grandmother passed away several years ago, and I saved this classic wool, navy-blue, lined pencil skirt.  It has been sitting in my closet for a few years now, never quite exactly my style.  When this exhibition posed me with the opportunity to refashion an old garment, I went straight to this skirt, determined to honor my always-fashionable grandmother.

I began by closing up a slit at the back of the skirt, then cut off about 5 inches from the bottom and re-hemmed it by hand.  But, being crafty as I am, I wanted to embellish it to make it more unique.  I figured my grandmother was my age, 25, in the 1950s, so I began doing some online research of 50's-era clothing and found that a simple loop motif was a recurrant theme. I crocheted this trim with a light blue, sport-weight acrylic yarn in a simple row of single crochet stitckes.  I attached it to the skirt with a machine zig-zag stitch.

I absolutely love the result of this project and I greatly appreciate how the skirt will always carry special meaning for me.  I am truly glad I was able to take my grandmother's skirt and give it a second life.

Birthstone Birthday Afghan

I enjoy making lacy crocheted afghans, even more so when they are simple and repetitive enough to do while watching TV (American Idol, why must you take up SO MUCH of my life?).  I'm not really into fancy color changing, or stitching hundreds of motif pieces.  I like to crochet continuously, resulting in a lovely finished afghan that is ready for use.  I recently came across the Leisure Arts booklet Birthsone Afghans, a full book of twelve single-color, non-pieced, crochet afghans.  Bingo!  This is just what I needed.

I promptly began working on the "March"afghan as a birthday gift for my sister who recently went away to her first year at college.  She isn't born in March (October, actually), but I loved the design of this afghan and stitched it in a light aquamarine color to match her bed set.  I used Caron One Pound (well, actually nearly four pounds!) for this project.  It is definitely a big blanket, but really was great for working on while in front of the television.  I'm very happy with the final product, I absolutely adore the picot edging, it was the perfect finishing touch.

I don't make afghans often, this is only my second, as they definitely require quite a large time commitment to complete.  But I love making something warm, soft, and beautiful, that will hopefully last a lifetime.  This afghan is definitely one such heirloom piece.  Happy birthday, sis!

A Textile Happy Hour: Midnight at the Oasis

The Textile Museum, where I work in Washington, DC, is having a wonderful PM @ the TM happy hour event this coming Friday.  I can assure you it will be a lot of fun, with drinks, silk-road inspired hors d'oeuvres, a scavenger hunt (with some really great prizes!), gallery tours led by DC Improv Theater, and, of course, a craft activity!  I'll be at the craft table all evening, be sure to stop by.  Tickets can be purchased online here.

Crochet at Work

I needed to spruce up my desk space at work, make it feel like my own little corner of the world, and make it comfortable for me get some serious work done.  Basically, I needed to get crafty with my desk.  This wonderful pattern by Linda Permann is an updated version of a retro pattern, and comes from Crochet Today's Sept/Oct 2009 edition.  The crocheted sleeves are slipped around tin cans, and for extra security I hot glued my sleeves to the can around the upper and lower edges.  I also traced around the bottom of each can onto a piece of red felt and glued the felt circle to the bottom of each can to help reduce noise as I throw pens/scissors/supplies back into the cans.