I’ve been sick a lot recently, which unfortunately isn’t conducive to much other than scrolling on TikTok and eBay. I thought I would do a nice little round up of all the ideas I’ve saved to make when I’m feeling up to it.
Ravelry
Now imagine my utter alarm and dismay when I logged into eBay to link to this yarn and found that there was only one ball left from this seller! I was really trying to work on stashbusting before I allowed myself to buy this yarn, but that will teach me to exercise patience. I have only heard good things about the Lang cloud yarns (I’ll have to find it somewhere else) and have been craving a rainbow sweater in the vein of these ones from Pinterest. This pattern is free! I am very excited to do another raglan construction sweater — I love not having to purl.
#2: Cardigan No. 9 by My Favorite Things Knitwear
I have some extra Knitting for Olive Heavy Merino in Navy that I can’t wait to use up for this. I think I will wear the shit out of it. The question is — toggle buttons or no?
#3: Wednesday Sweater by PetiteKnit
I have a thrifted Aerie black turtleneck with so many holes in it that it’s not really wearable or even salvageable for the yarn, but it is one of the most versatile pieces I have and one I reach for very often in the winter. I am excited to make myself a grown-up version. The Aerie turtleneck is oversized so I plan to make this one oversized as well.
#4: Anemone Sweater by Knitting for Olive
I mean, duh, are you kidding me. I will probably make it in a cool-toned colorway. I am waiting for next winter to even think about starting on this one — the thought of doing all this colorwork in the summer is just not the vibe, as the knitters reading this will know.
#5: Raffia bags anyone…
I should do at least one crochet project since it’s summer, right? I have a wedding to go to in September in Austin and this clutch is speaking to me. I’ve never crocheted with raffia yarn but these are too cute. I love nothing if not trying a craft I’ve never tried before!
Sewing projects
#6: This top
I saw this on Pinterest and just think it’s cute and would be super easy. I love the delicate little scrunchie straps. One day soon I will thrift a fabric for this that speaks to me and go for it, it will take 2hrs tops.
#7: Summer wedding guest dress???
I have been scouring the internet for a few months now trying to find something to wear to this September wedding. I don’t really have any wedding guest dresses and have been wanting something cool and unique (hello I am an aquarius) that I will want to wear to a wedding again. Do I have to assign myself projects instead of just buying things? It would appear so. Right now I am thinking of doing a block print with a breezy dress. Please let me know if this concept is too vacation-coded and not wedding-coded.
#8: Tops for work
I would love it if packing for every work trip didn’t feel like a national emergency. To be fair, I was a college student only three years ago, and working at a bench in a lab for a year after that, so my wardrobe is hardly corporate. I am not in the business of making professional-looking pants with belt loops and slit pockets and all that, but I can do something about my top options. These patterns are in French, which is convenient for me and my French minor — time to learn sewing vocabulary! If you want to try your luck with Google translate, links are here and here.
#9: A cute sundress from the same French pattern maker.
#10: Free people-esque romper??
I’m dying to know if those Hotshot onesies are as comfortable as everyone says they are for being kind of (?) ugly. (You see my difficulty with making myself think about corporate-appropriate clothes when really in another life, maybe even this one, I am a mom with a beach-decor bathroom). I’m not in my mom era yet but I think these would be ideal for that ~season of life~. I have them on the backburner for when I find an appropriate fabric, and I’d love to try making both short and long versions.
Home Decor
#11: Patchwork curtains
Our living situation is in a little bit of flux at the moment (I’ll tell you when I know something for sure!) so I’m not super motivated to make any time/money investments in home decor right now. I love this style of curtain though and I think it would be a fun opportunity to learn flat-felled seams. I have a lot of quilting cottons in my stash so I think for this to happen I would need some lighter weight cottons to get the translucent look. The thrifting list grows ever longer…
#12: Quilted mega-rickrack placemats
Cute!
#13: I may be cocky but I think I can make these pillow shams, or something similar at least.
#14: Quilted pillow covers that look like this
Again, I don’t want to commit to a color scheme until I know the vibes of a potential new space, but I really like these quilted rectangle shapes and the white Target throw pillows we have on our couch currently are getting fairly ratty and gray so I’d like to re-cover them. I am learning about myself in trying to finish a queen-sized quilt (I promise there will be a full crafting post when I finish it) that I have the stamina and interest level for small quilted projects, and maybe a full sized quilt once every few years.
I have a million other inklings of ideas that I would like to make but completing all of these that I’ve listed would probably take me to the end of the year at least. If I were a Pokémon, my final evolved form would just be a grandma that makes things for her grandkids all day. The wheel of capitalism must keep turning, however, and I can’t quit my day job to craft and blog full-time (yet).
How are you doing? How is summer treating you? Got any vacations planned? Also, since I clearly don’t have the bandwidth to add more DIY projects — when buying jewelry, how do you figure out what you like? With home decor? I know the answer unfortunately is to just buy things and live with them for a little bit to see what I like and don’t, because that is how my taste in clothes has developed, but that sounds expensive and time-consuming. It’s easier to spend money on clothes because I already know what I like! Anyways, shortcuts and cheat codes are welcome in the comments.
Now I have project inspo, danke
Love this - I'm a fan of the #7 wedding dress! In the right fabric it could even have a bit of a Cecilie Bahnsen vibe (if you're into that - I defs am). Crafting is suuuuch a great shout when you're unwell. I can also vouch for cotton Clara's hoop club for when you need a quick embroidery fix :)
Re: home decor and jewellery, I find these so damn hard tbh. The only thing that's remotely helped has been lots and lots of Pinterest boards and no purchasing until I can see the 'look' I'm after. With home decor as well, I really believe in buying item by item and not trying to achieve a certain theme - if follow your gut and go with things you love, everything will come together in a way that is uniquely you (or at least that's what I tell myself) Ok, thanks for reading my novel x