Organizing my knitting stash!

One of the things I've been wanting to do for ages is organize my knitting stash. This weekend I went through my entire stash, frogged a couple of projects and then catalogued it all on Ravelry!

While I don't think my stash is that bad, I discovered that I have enough yarn to complete five or six garments at least, and that doesn't include the two currently on the needles, and some odd balls of yarn left over from past projects. 

My next step was to look at my existing patterns and any free patterns that might be suitable on Ravelry and try to allocate my stash to some of these.

I now have seven patterns at the top of my queue lined up to go!

First on the needles is this slouchy hat using some left overs. 

Do you use Ravelry? Is your stash out of control or are you super organized? 

Is there something similar for sewers out there?

Catherine x

Top Five Sewing Misses 2015

2015 had a few misses. However I learnt some valuable sewing lessons along the way. 

Simplicity 6655

First up, my first attempt at sewing a vintage pattern.  I chose this cute pattern, and was so excited about making this. Unfortunately I made a mistake with the sizing as it turned out huge on me, and even though I attempt to fix it, it ended up in the bin and never made it to the blog. Lesson learnt here, make muslin before cutting into precious fabric. 

Sorbetto 

This is a free pattern from Colette patterns.  I was pleased with the sewing I did on this top, but it just didn't fit that well as the armholes gaped and it was too loose around the back. I realised that I should have used my high bust measurement and adjusted the pattern accordingly by doing a full bust adjustment.  Sadly this top has never been worn. Lesson learnt, check if I need to do a full bust adjustment, see my Washi dress.

Bettine 

Bettine - Tilly and the Buttons

I fell in love with this pattern from Tilly and the Buttons after seeing numerous cute versions all over the blogosphere.  I even chose a chambray similar to the version modeled on the pattern cover. Unfortunately the skirt's extreme tulip shape looked awful on me, and again the dress never made it to the blog. This one ended up going to the charity shop.  Lesson learnt  - just because you see loads of cute versions of a dress doesn't mean that it will suit you! 

Lilou dress

I so wanted to love this dress.  This is the most complicated make from Tilly's book, Love at First Stitch.  I learnt how to line a bodice when making this dress.  Unfortunately I did not have enough fabric to make the pleated version, so decided to make the gathered skirt version by drafting my own dirndl skirt from a rectangle of fabric.  I did make a muslin of the bodice, but somehow the bodice seemed a bit too lose fitting on the finished version and I hated the skirt.  Sadly I never wore this dress and this has also gone to the charity shop. Lesson learnt, don't cut corners! If I had used this material for a skirt as originally planned, I might have liked it a lot more. 

Laurel dress

Another dress that didn't make it to my blog.  The fabric I chose was a lovely plaid. Sadly my pattern matching skills weren't up to it and the dress is still not finished.  However, I might try to finish it off as the fit is good.  Lesson learnt - stick to fabrics that don't need pattern matching!

If you like reading about my top five misses, check out the other posts in this blog series over at  Crafting a Rainbow.