Projects I'm working on and have in the queue
A wool sweater, a sink skirt, and a vintage photo that needs a frame.
Happy mid-August!
Over the past few months, my newsletter has become more sporadic, less about real estate, and increasingly focused on crafting and home projects. Which, if I’m being completely honest, is where my true passions lie.
So this week, I’m just giving you a little peek into some of the things I’m currently working on and have in the queue.
The Astrid Sweater
When I came across Knitting for Olive’s Astrid Sweater pattern, I fell in love. This felt like the perfect throw over sweater for mild San Diego winters. And since it’s a Knitting for Olive pattern, they make buying their own yarn for the pattern super easy. No guessing how much yarn I might need or altering the pattern to suit a different gauge. Easy peasy.
The sweater is worked bottom up, holding one strand of merino and one strand of silk mohair together to create very soft and comfortable fabric.
I absolutely adore Knitting for Olive’s merino and silk mohair yarns. They’re among my favorite for their soft feel, responsible wool and mohair standard certifications (RWS and RMS), and relative affordability. Keep in mind, one sweater ended up costing about $90 in yarn (and I got enough yarn for two — one in grey, one in white). But for good yarn, this is well worth the money.
So far, I’ve completed the back and am working the front. Next, I’ll shape the neckline, finish the shoulders and attach them to one another, add the collar, and work the sleeves in the round with decreases down to a ribbed cuff. Then, of course, I’ll wet block. After the grey is complete, I’ll move onto making the same sweater in white. (I needed some simple neutral sweaters!!)
A sink skirt for the TV console
When I moved into my apartment, my landlord left several pieces of furniture for us to use, including two wood cubby units. One is in my partner’s office. It holds records below and his record player and receiver on top. The other operates as the TV console in the living room and we use the bottom for storing free weights, the wireless router, and throw blankets. It’s not my ideal TV console, but it does the job and I have absolutely no reason to go out and buy a different one.
I’ve been wanting to find a creative solution to cover up the visual clutter for quite some time, but since this furniture belongs to my landlord I can’t make any permanent changes like adding doors. So instead, my plan is to make cottage-style curtains and hang them on a tension rod.
You’ve probably seen these on Pinterest before. They’re often referred to as sink skirts for their functional use in kitchens without cabinet doors. These kitchen linens served as the primary inspiration for this project — even though mine won’t hide any plumbing.
My plan is to cut them to size, hem them, and add a rod pocket. Slip into a tension rod and voila! Hopefully they turn out nice. If not, I’ve spent a total of $24 on this entire project. ($12 for a yard of fabric plus shipping, and $6 on each tension rod.)
Vintage photo reframe
We recently found this old picture at my in-law’s house. I think it’s from the ’60s or ’70s, but really I don’t know. There isn’t any information on it. The board isn’t in the best shape, and the picture is curling and detaching from its substate. But I just love the picture, and I think it would look really cool hanging in our house.
I ordered a frame that fits the 13x18 board. I’m not sure if I want to try to re-attach the image or just let it sit in the frame. Presumably the frame will compress the photo enough so that it’s flat inside the frame. So I’m not sure if I will really need to try to glue it down or not.
Another option is to remove it from the backing board altogether and glue it down to a new board. But that doesn’t really feel like the right solution. Updates to come!
What projects are you working on at the moment?