I’ve never wanted to knit a dress. I think that knitting a dress requires far more work than I’m prepared to undertake, so I’m especially impressed when someone knits their own wedding dress. Besides, knitted dresses have kind of had their moment – that moment being about 50 years ago according to…
Goodies from the Buttonmania Vintage Button Sale
Why just buy buttons when you can buy “buttons of the moment”? A few days ago I went to Buttonmania’s annual vintage button sale during my lunch break and spent an hour sorting through thousands of buttons with my colleagues Grace, Jill and Nicole. Not only were there buttons on their original…
Retro Monday – Jumpers from the 80s
I’ve been doing a lot of sorting lately. Clothes, yarn, books and knitting patterns too. My favourite period – fashion wise – is from about 1948 to 1962. So when I started to sort out my vintage pattern collection I initially planned to keep only patterns from this period. I was surprised…
Ballan Harvest Festival Parade
Today was the annual Harvest Festival Parade in Ballan. I’m sure that the number of parade participants is greater than the population of the town because it takes an hour and a half for the parade to pass. There were a few thousand people lining the main street to watch and enjoy…
How to embroider roses onto a knitted fabric
Last week I taught a class on finishing techniques for knitwear. We practiced different techniques for seams, setting in sleeves and weaving in ends. One of the swatches I brought for seam practice had a little rose embroidered on it. Everyone loved the little rose and at the end of the class…
Buttons from L’uccello
I love it when all the knitting and sewing up is finished and its time to find the perfect buttons. For a completed project I always go to Buttonmania and they’ve never failed to find the perfect buttons for me. But if I want to buy vintage buttons without a project in mind, just…