Week 30 of Craft project a week: Learning to crochet

This week's craft project is not 'technically' my own craft but I am claiming it as my own seeing it is contributing to something for me.  A while ago I came across a pattern for a crocheted skirt that I fell in love with.  I have always professed that I don't 'do' knitting and crochet (actually, I can do basic knitting I just find it very frustrating and time consuming!)  but I really wanted this skirt.  Usually I can commission my knitting to my mother-in-law but no one in my family actually crochets so I was a bit stuck this time!

Luckily for me, my wonderful and very-crafty-in-his-own-right husband volunteered to learn crochet just so he could make it for me.  Awwwww....He spent a few hours at night on the couch (usually with Gideon asleep on his chest) watching youtube videos until he learnt to do a granny square (right in the picture above).  He has just started to teach himself to do a hexagon which I think he's done quite a good job of.  Good thing too, because the skirt is made up of more than 60 of them.  I predict it might take a while for the skirt to be completed! 

Now I'm busy planning all the other crochet things I want my hubby to make for me.  Somewhere down the track I might get him to teach me how to do it too but for the moment I'm happy to have someone make things for me.  I'm so impressed that he managed to pick it up so quickly (I'm sure it would have taken me a LOT longer!!)  

Week 29 of Craft project a week: A new purpose for an old shirt

I've had a lot of fun with my project this week!  I picked up an old shirt from the op shop the other day with the intention of turning it into an apron using an idea from a favourite book of mine 'Sewing Green' by Betz White.  It was lots of fun taking the shirt apart and then watching it all come back together as something new.  The front of the shirt with the buttons forms the front of the apron and the collar makes the waist band with extra material from the back of the shirt being used for the apron's ties.  I think it's quite funky. 

 

Here's a picture of me modelling the apron.  

I made this apron as part of the Pay it Forward Challenge that was going around on facebook earlier this year (more on that later when I've finished all of my projects for it ;)) 

Week 28 of Craft project a week: a skirt for me!

 This week's project was something for me! I can't remember the last time I made something specifically for me - usually I'm too busy making something for someone else!  I love this skirt though.  It was a lot of work to do the gathering for each tier but I think it looks really effective.  The lace at the bottom and the black trim make it look really good too.  Now I just need to wait for the weather to warm up a little so I can wear it!! 

A certain little person couldn't resist being in the photo too ;) 

Week 27 of Craft project a week: Patchwork skirt

 It must a be miracle - I'm actually blogging this week's craft project on the right day!  It will be nice to sit down tonight and have a night off crafting ;)  This week I finished a patchwork skirt to go with the top I made for Esme last week.  It caused a bit of heartache (although not as much as it did the last time I made it!) and I had to enlist the help of hubby to do some gathering but apart from that it hasn't been too stressful!  I even got around to doing sewing some little flower embellishments on the skirt to match the top this time. 

The completed skirt

Flower embellishments - they are kind of fiddly and time consuming to do but look so good! 

Now that I'm on a roll with gathering, I might actually get around to making the patchwork skirt for me that I've had in the pipeline for quite a while...

Week 26 of Craft project a week: A top for Esme

Nothing much exciting happening here this week.  I just finished making this little top for Esme (and I'd actually already completed half of it beforehand so I was cheating a bit!)  This top is to go with the patchwork skirt which I have made before.  I didn't quite get around to finishing the skirt as well as that's a little more time consuming - hopefully next week! 

A close up of the top