Käthes Schwester

January 24, 2018 by Amanda Jennings in Clothing, Creating, Year of Creating

One of my goals this month was to try Kathe's Sister Hoodie by Konfetti Patterns!

I'm pleased to say that not only did I achieve this goal but I've been wearing it nonstop! Each time I love it a bit more!

A few quick notes:

The pattern is in German but if you've sewn a knit before, there is no reason why you can't do this! It has photos and it's a very detailed pattern. Also, Google Translate is your friend!
Makerist is the easiest to shop with if you use Google Chrome, as it translates the page automatically.
The pattern is meant to be printed on A4 paper. You can purchase it on Amazon *affiliate link* and it's easy to use. I adjusted the paper tray on my printer to A4, then when printing, selected A4 size. Easy peasy.
You have to add seam allowances. This isn't hard and I learned on Facebook that you can measure a highlighter and if the pen measures 1/4 inch, you can just use it and go around the pattern! Super fast!
Speaking of Facebook, there is a wonderful group called International Knit Sew-a-Longs. Everyone is very supportive and it's fun!
Kraft-Tex *affiliate link* is a really neat thing to get and I think it elevates the look of your hoodie. A lot of the patterns on Makerist have cute little details that this stuff comes in really handy for!

I'm hoping in 2018 I'll get a little more confident/better at taking photos of myself in clothes but...that might not happen! *laughs*

The main things I love most are the thumbholes, extra long sleeves, pleat detail and the bust darts.

Pattern: Käthes Schwester by Konfetti Patterns
Fabric: Raspberry Creek Oatmeal French Terry
Modifications: Moved the dart down. Took 1/4 inch off each side below the dart, shortened the longest sleeve option one inch. Size 50 made, I prefer my clothes a bit looser.
Lessons learned: Translating a pattern from German to English, different style of thumbholes, darts on knits!
Sew Again: YES! Absolutely! The pattern has quite a few different views, this is the extra long sleeve with thumbholes, middle cut length. It's long enough to wear over leggings which is awesome! I'd like to do the mini pleat version, regular sweatshirt length next.
Pattern Difficulty: Easy peasy! The only thing that I did incorrectly was I didn't pull the pleated bit up high enough on the shoulder, I think I missed a set of notches in the pattern.

Next up for February is Pattydoo Nelly! I've gotten sucked into the world of European knit fabric and patterns. I think I can easily sew hoodies to wear until at least March, then it may get too warm here! :D

This post contains affiliate links to amazon.com. That means if you click the link and purchase something, I earn a tiny percentage of your purchase without any additional cost to you. All items I talk about are things I've purchased myself with my own money. :)

CHA/Creativation 2017!

January 31, 2017 by Amanda Jennings in Creating, Journaling

Today I thought I'd share with you some photos from CHA and some products I'm looking forward to trying this year!

One of my main creative goals in 2017 is to do more paper crafting. It's a craft that doesn't aggravate my arm like knitting & sewing does and it's a craft that I've always wanted to explore more! Being able to attend CHA/Creativation was super inspiring! I couldn't wait to get back to the hotel at night and write stuff down.

Admittedly I wasn't able to get as much out of the show as I'd hoped. Pneumonia seriously kicked my butt, I was living on cough drops and caffeine which is never pleasant. Luckily most people I met were super understanding and friendly!

We went to Creativation to meet Nina of Waffle Flower Crafts! She had a beautiful sunshine-y booth that was so fresh looking! Ashleigh & I walked around all day on Saturday and met so many people!

It was really fun seeing so many demos and talking to designers. I was excited to see that American Crafts will be carrying customizable 1Canoe2 globes! I think they are so cute- especially the constellation one!

I spent wayyyyy too much time at The Happy Planner booth! The gal we chatted with was such a sweetheart and they had *amazing* planners on display! I really loved being able to flip through them and see how other people use their happy planners. They had 2017/2018 planners on display and some had lavender rings. I want those rings SO BAD because it was such a pretty purple! I brought my planner with me and it was fun to show them how much I love it. #fangirl. ;)

Heidi Swapp had a really pretty booth with very friendly people. We did a demo of the Minc machine which as a magpie, I absolutely loved! Essentially foil adheres to toner parts of your image after you run it through a cute little machine. It's really shiny and wonderful.

Pinkfresh Studio was a really nice booth to visit, it felt very calm and sweet. They pick amazing artists to design for them. The first thing I did when I got back to the hotel was pick up this reading themed stamp.

One thing I didn't get to try but I think I'm going to want so badly is the Tim Holtz Stamp Platform. I am AWFUL at precision stamping and I really loved watching him interact with people. He seemed really friendly and genuine. Also, tons of energy which I really love!

It was a really nice time and I'm glad we got to attend! :D

Reading, Baking & Stamps!

January 19, 2017 by Amanda Jennings in Home, Journaling, Creating

I totally got sucked into Seanan McGuire's Toby Dane series. I finished up the fifth book yesterday and instantly downloaded the next. Binge reading a series is one of my favorite things ever, especially if there are a lot of the books already released! The first one is currently $1.99 and I admit, I struggled with it. It has a lot of world building, slow moving, characters with similar names and fae hierarchy that was a little tricky for me to get into. Everyone said the series gets stronger and I agree! I'm now totally hooked. My favorite part is Spike, he's a creature called a Rose Goblin and I won't spoil what it is but if you are interested, the author has a cute illustration on her website. I sometimes struggle with books when the main character just goes through SO MUCH that you want them to just catch a break, I feel that way with this but the lighthearted bits keep me coming back! Also, there is a complicated relationship between two of the characters that I'm enjoying watching progress.

I've gone a really, really, really long time without baking! I think it's mostly because I have a love/hate relationship with my kitchen. It's very dark and has a small counter. But my stove is wonderful! So...love/hate. I made Nestle Toll House cookies today! I added chopped pecans and Guittard White Chocolate chips. I was thrilled that I had everything in the freezer to make them and they go together so fast. I'm in charge of snacks for a trip we are taking tomorrow. ;)

My husband, Ashleigh & I are heading to Arizona for the Creativation Show. Ashleigh designed a collection of super cute Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery stamps for Waffle Flower! We are super excited to work with them, it's really awesome to take something Ashleigh & I both love as a hobby (journaling, planners, etc!) and be able to create products for it with a special company. I've been playing around with the cactus stamps in my Happy Planner. I'm going to do a whole post on my planner because I *love* this thing a ton! I don't love the ink pads I have so I'm hoping to pick some new ones up while we are in Arizona or at least learn about different options!

If I can take some photos while we are there I'm sure I'll do a blog post about the show once I get home. :)

January Project: mmmcrafts Swan a-Swimming

January 12, 2017 by Amanda Jennings in Creating, Year of Creating

Today I unpacked the supplies to make mmmcrafts Swan a-Swimming ornament! I purchased two bundles of wool blend felt from Benzie Design in November to make some of Larissa's swans. I picked the bundle for this pattern (#1) and Sweetheart Ombre! My order arrived super fast and it's been hanging out on my desk since then. I picked up really nice embroidery needles and Transfer Eze, I printed my pattern and pre-shrunk my fabric so I'm finally ready to go!

I'm not turning mine into an ornament, I have a bunch of bag charms on my purse and thought I'd use ribbon to make myself a swan charm! So far I've really enjoyed reading the PDF, it has a ton of great tips and tricks, I especially like the diagram that shows you where each color is used. I love when designers love creating patterns, this is one of those PDFs that you feel like you bought a special mini book and you know you will end up making multiples because the design and thought that went into creating it are wonderful.

This is my January project. Each month I've set aside a WIP or brand new project that I hope to accomplish in 2017. It ranges from little things like patchwork zip pouches, to finish three (in various stages of competition) quilts, to embroidery, a garment and a few home projects. I don't have a ton of extra time and I can only do a limited amount physically can so writing it all down and assigning a full month to each project feels good and achievable! As you can see, January is a little project so I'd start the year off on a good foot. ;) I also picked projects that I genuinely want to work on with nice supplies that I'm looking forward to using which really helped me prioritize.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to narrow down my color options, this is so tricky! Right now all the pieces of felt are drying in our laundry room and I keep walking by and rearranging them. Part of me wants to do something with lots of PINK (Valentine's Day is everywhere right now!) but another part of me loves those ice-y blues! I have a feeling once I decide the colors, this project will go together smoothly in the evenings while watching t.v. The pattern has step by step instructions and a guide to stitches which is nice because I haven't stitched in a long time! :)