Window shopping

It's time for some more window-shopping!

1. This Forever 21 cardigan is quite old I'm afraid, and so no longer available. I'd love something similar though!
2. The fabulous red dress is from Modcloth, and one day I hope to get my hands on it.
3. Temporary tattoos might be my big obsession this year. This darling hare tattoo is from Burrowing Home on Etsy.
4. The cool crow earrings are from Seed and Sky on Etsy and might be just the thing for when I want to spoil myself next time.
5. Finally, the Darcie boots from Dr. Martens. I've been wearing docs for as long as I can remember but I have yet to get a heeled pair. The black patent ones are on sale right now and I want them so much.

Sewing plans

My grandmother gave me this beautiful fabric when I went to visit her. I think it used to be a child's duvet-cover, so there's not that much of it, but I think It will be enough for a dress. I'm thinking a simple, fitted bodice and a gathered skirt. It might be how most of my dresses look, but there's a reason for that; it's both flattering and comfortable!

I thought I might use this Retro Butterick pattern, or something like it, but change the skirt to a gathered one. The scooped back of this dress makes the simple design look so lovely, and that little bow on the patterned dress is such a cute detail. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Shop Love: Tiny Owl's Magic Attic

I don't know about you people but I have a hard time finding knitting patterns I like. I don't want to knit a million scarves, but apart from scarves (and, well, socks) I rarely find patterns for things I'd actually like to wear. A fair isle sweater is on my list of things I'd like to make some day, but I'd like to get just a bit more experience first.

Anyway, I found an amazing little shop on Etsy that I just had to share: Tiny Owl's Magic Attic. It has a bunch of really fun and quirky knitting patterns that I totally want to try out! I'm not sure how wearable some of the things really are (for me), but it's all lovely. I picked out three favourites that I wanted to share.

First up is the Bo Peep scarf. A huge knitted bow? Yes please! I'm intrigued by the construction of this as the item description says: "the scarf is started diagonally to give nice angled points to the ties, then uses clever decreases & increases to make a bow-tie shape". Just tying a scarf in a bow is one thing, but this sounds really neat.

Second: Bunny slippers! I might just have squealed when I saw these cuties. They are knitted flat and sewn together with only three seams "which can be sloppy as you like" according to the description. The slippers are then felted to fit, which is something I'd love to try my hand at.

Finally, these lovely wristees seem like the perfect way to keep little hands warm this winter. They also seem like a great way to combine my love of birds with my wish to learn to knit with several colours. A small motive like this must be a great starting point, no?

That's it for this time, you should hop on over and have a look!

Knitting, part two

I've knitted my first sock, yay!

Unfortunately, it's way too small at the top, I was kind of expecting this as I tend to knit rather tightly, but since it's been some time since I last knitted I figured I could use the practice anyway. I'll redo it with bigger knitting needles, and I'll really try to knit more loosely in the future.

This is what the finished product will look like, barring any major messups:

The pattern comes from the book Classic Knits by Erika Knight. It's been sitting in my bookshelf for years because I'm a huge procrastinator, but one day when I really felt like knitting I discovered I had just the yarn for these socks at home.

Unfortunately, someone else had discovered it too! Hopefully only a few strands on the outside are like this, I haven't examined it very closely yet. There are a few more balls of this in the cellar that I need to dig up some day soon.

I like Classic Knits, I've never followed an English knitting pattern before but the sock pattern was very straightforward and easy to understand. All the pictures are gorgeous, though there are some things I would never make for myself (the chunky sweater that the model is wearing in the picture up above for example, it looks really cosy but I'm not sure I'd actually use it). It's okay that there are a couple of patterns like that in the book though, because I think I paid a total of £5 for it.

Today I found a darling little shop on Etsy that sells the most wonderful knitting patterns, stay tuned for a post on that tomorrow!

Back to school window-shopping

Uni starts up again in September and I honestly can't wait! When the temperature's in the 30s and all I can think about is brisk autumn days and starting to wear tights and jumpers again I feel seriously misplaced. I haven't done anything postworthy for a while now, but I figure some life signs are in order.

I won't be getting any money until my courses have started so I'm pretty broke right now, but I thought we might do some back to school window shopping today!

Cruising around town in burgundy platforms? Yes please!

1. I've been dreaming about a leather jacket for a while now. Preferably slim and not too long, I mostly wear clothes with a nipped in waist and I want it to work with that. This one is from Topshop, I'm not sure it's perfect but it gets the point across.
2. Temporary tattoos are pretty cool, I'm in love with these kitty ones from harrietgray on Etsy.
3. Can you have too many black dresses? I'm not sure I can. This one from Topshop has a really sweet tie neck (this is a Topshop heavy set I'm afraid).
4. I've been in love with this triangle locket for a long time now, it's from Moon and Sable on Etsy.
5. Definitely getting these burgundy plateau brogues as soon as I have some money! From Swedish store Din Sko.
6. Topshop again, but seriously, tights with crosses on them? I'd love a pair, but unfortunately I'm late to the party, they're sold out.

Flea market finds

I bought these pastel coloured lamps and the vase (it looks like a big pink pill, doesn't it?) at a flea market I visited with my grandmother. Along with a tie, a belt, a big jar of buttons and a small glass jar they set me back 35 kr (that's about $5 last time I checked). I love the countryside.

I haven't got a picture of the hedgehog yet, as I keep forgetting to bring my camera when I check on him. He looks frightfully sad and I'm really worried about him, but at least he's still alive. The janitor has given him some cat food (apparently they like that) and said he knew about somebody who takes care of injured hedgehogs so hopefully the situation is under control.

Hedgehogs and knitting

Today I'm knitting. I started knitting a black beret yesterday but the pattern for it was driving me mad so I've put it off for now. Instead I'm knitting socks!

Unlike most socks, the ones I'm making are knitted on two needles and then sewn together. Good for me since the beret is knitted with sock needles and I'm kind of fed up with them right now.

Oh, and I met a baby hedgehog today. He had me a bit worried as he seemed really weak and there were flies sitting on him, but we gave him some food and water and put him in the shade and when I went to check on him later he seemed a bit more awake. I'm going back down to make sure he's doing well soon, if it's not too dark and he hasn't hidden I might be able to get a picture!

Back home

I've been travelling back and forth around the country for a while. It's been lovely, but now I'm glad to be back home.

This will be a short post as I'm pretty tired, but I'm also pretty excited because I bought a bike today! My old one was lovely but kept breaking down so eventually I abandoned it. This one was cheaper than most bikes in this style and seems to be in good condition. The saddle needs some love, I'm not sure if I'm going to recover it or simply sew one of those detachable saddle covers.

I have soo many projects for this autumn! First of all I'm going to write my Bachelor's thesis, which I'm pretty excited about, but I'm also going to try to sew and knit as much as possible. Hopefully I'll have lots of things to post about soonish!