unspeakable visions: October 2008

31 October 2008

29 October 2008

market update!

I'll be adding new items from my Floral Retrograde collection for sale throughout the rest of the week-- find them either at The Market or at my Etsy shop.

22 October 2008

elbow patches, hurray

Yep, I sewed some suede elbow patches onto an old cardigan last night. Good times.

I mostly followed these simple little instructions. You could use any material you want, but suede or suede-like fabrics are easiest because you don't have to worry about frayed edges or trying to fold under a hem around an oval-shaped patch. That can be a freakin' pain. It helps if your Mom recently gave you a LARGE bag of leather scraps to play with. Otherwise, I'm sure you can find something suitable by rummaging through the remnant bins at JoAnns or cutting up some Coach/Louis Vuitton/Prada bag. Though I would ask the owner first.

(Oh hey, shout to Sister on her birthday!)

17 October 2008

holiday gift planner

If past years are any indication, I'll probably be scrambling to finish my holiday shopping/crafting right up until the egg nog is being spiked and Swiss Colony petit fours are being devoured.

As a preventative measure, I whipped up a little holiday gift planner that I am offering as a free downloadable PDF. I know, I know, 'tis the season for overwhelming generosity. Actually, just consider this your holiday bonus for the year. And if you have a birthday coming up, let's call this your birthday present too. Because a free downloadable PDF is what everyone needs in these tough economic times.

Click on the image below to download it. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

ps- I know you are all thinking... the holidays?! It's too early! Not even Halloween! Well, Martha has her Holiday edition out so it's ok for me to start thinking too. Plus, the earlier I start the better gifts you all will be getting.

14 October 2008

grand opening!

Stop on by the new website to celebrate the official launch of unspeakablevisions.com, a place to buy handmade goods for you and your home!

12 October 2008

autumn afghan, making progress

I'm making some progress on my autumn afghan, here's the proof. I'm following the Coastal Ripple pattern from Lion Brand, although I'm using Vanna's Choice yarn instead of the Homespun that was called for. Because apparently Vanna is America's favorite crocheter, though I believe I'm closing in on the lead in a few key states and may soon usurp that title.

So, the crochet-a-long is officially underway.

08 October 2008

freedom seams

I don't know how gotten along all this time without french seams. I heard about them, read about them, got spooked by them and ultimately convinced myself they were too much trouble. Well kind gentlefolk, I gave french seams a try the other night and was very pleasantly surprised to learn that they are easy peasy. This tutorial over at Sew, Mama, Sew! does a great job of explaining all different seam finishes.

French seams are a pretty little way of making sure the inside of your project looks as hot(t) as the outside. Ya know--

"Cute lunch bag, lemme see the inside. Oh... it's all gnarly and frayed. You suck."

French seams are a way of avoiding the above situation.

All I'm saying is, french seams rock and they aren't actually hard so give 'em a shot and up the quality of your work by like 46% AT LEAST.

ps- More french seam tutorials at Burda Style, this blog, here, and a video here that I haven't actually watched but the stills from it look promising. See? I'm nothing if not a helpful resource to my readers, every one of whom should a) start sewing if he/she hasn't already and b) use french seams whenever applicable.