Root Vegetable Fabric

I have a confession. I like fruit so much more than vegetables. I'm not saying I hate vegetables, it's just I like fruit better. I do like some veggies (raw!), even though I'll admit I don't eat as many as I should. When I saw that the Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower was for Root Vegetable themed fabrics, I was a bit puzzled. How would I, someone not crazy about veggies, translate the theme into something graphic and fun? Luckily, some inspiring images popped up on search results and led to this print.



It's titled "Sliced Dots: Earth". You can click on the image above to see it in full repeat or click here. The print is made up of stylized carrot, turnip, golden beet, and red beet slices on an earthy brown background. The dots range in size from 1 to 2.5 inches. Here is a detailed image of the print:

I think this print would be perfect for a fun circle skirt. It would make fun clothing in general, as well as being used for crafting and decor. I also have it on a leafy green background:



I am waiting on my swatches of these fabrics (and more!) to come in. The green background on the one above actually prints a bit brighter, as a yellow green color. This was my first variation of the design, but felt the veggies popped better on the brown background.

You can vote for your favorite root vegetable fabrics here at Spoonflower until Wednesday. There are lots of different interpretations of the theme, and many different styles, so enjoy looking through the great entries!

Past contest results:
 Jack-O-Lantern Plushie/Pillow: "Posh Pumpkin Pillow" 62/65 (Not great at all, but the design was a bit out of the ordinary for me).

Ditsy Prints: "Halloween Doodles: Green" 80/247. This one did way better than I thought it would! I'm waiting on the swatches to come in, before I can make it (and the other swatches) available for sale.

Halloween Doodles Fabric

This week's Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower called for ditsy fabric designs, which are small scale scatter prints. Typically, ditsy prints tend to be florals, but any small scale print that isn't in a defined pattern would be considered ditsy. I entered my Halloween Doodles Green fabric in the contest, just in time for Halloween.



Click the image or click here to see the print in repeat. I hand drew all the wording, characters, and shapes on paper, and then traced them in pen. I scanned it in, cleaned up the image (which took forever because of the stray pixels), and added a background color. Bats, cats, witch's hats, monsters, ghosts, Jack-o-Lanterns, witch's brooms, ghost faces, pumpkins, tombstones, candy, bones, shrieking cats, candy corn, skulls, webs, spiders, broken hearts, text, lightning bolts, hearts and stars make up this design.

There is a design for everyone in this week's contest. It's another big contest, but the eye candy is fabulous. You can vote for your favorites here at Spoonflower until Wednesday. Be sure to check out the awesome designs in this week's contest!

Easy, Pretty, Slouchy Knit Cowl

I love fall and winter. I love the cooler temperatures after dealing with a hot and humid summer. I love the crispness of the air, the contrast between the sky and leaves, and later bare trees. I love being able to enjoy warm foods and drinks (hello hot chocolate!). However, I do not like scarves, which are an (almost) necessary accessory for winter. I do not like how restrictive and fussy they can be. I would prefer a cowl, but could never find exactly what I wanted, which wasn't anything extreme. (I have found that even if I want something REALLY basic, it's near impossible to find). So, I decided to make one. (If you can't find it, make it!)

First, I found the perfect yarn, or rather, it found me. Walking down the craft aisle, I spotted a yarn that I knew I had to use for something. It's color is named Plum Perfect, which is the perfect name for it. It's a dark purple that has just a little bit of red to it.

Next, I had to find a cowl pattern. I wanted something easy to knit but had some texture to it. I also wanted it to be slouchy. I found a great cowl online at KnitPicks. It's knit in the round, has ribbing at either end and the middle, and has diagonal stitching between the ribbing sections. The cowl, named "Meine Kalte Liebe Cowl," can be found here.

It was easy to knit, but it had been a while since I had knitted, so I make some mistakes. The cowl was (relatively) error free, until right before my last section of ribbing. I must have miscounted what row I was on for the diagonal stitching, because it didn't match up with the ribbing. Oops. The cowl still looks good though, and I'll wear it scrunched so the mistake won't be as visible.

The top in the picture was where I ended, so you can see where I made my mistake. I love how it looks though, and it is really warm. It will be great to wear as the weather gets cooler. Here's a close up of the ribbing and diagonal stitching of the cowl:

I will be posting a garment reconstruction project later, and maybe either a decor or Halloween project. I may save the Halloween project for next week, and have a week (or two) for spooky crafts and fabric.