Summer 2020 Upcoming Projects
I've had a bit of a back-up with my current sewing projects because of mask making and using up all my scraps to make cloth napkins. I've also been in a bit of a rut with knitting because it took me 18 months to fully finish Christmas stockings for everyone, including the dog. After the third or fourth one, I was just really not all that motivated to complete them. But, I just finished the dog's stocking and I'm ready to move on and hope I can find some fun projects to jump into with knitting!
Some of the hold-up has been quarantine. I don't want to expose any workers at Joann's or any other fabric/knit shop just because I need more materials, so I just haven't sought any out. I'm really just going off of what I currently have at home. I don't have a huge stash of yarn or of fabric, but I definitely don't have enough for the projects I want to do. Also, of course, I have two small children, and any projects are difficult to fit in and pretty much only happen when they're both sleeping.
Now that I've gotten all of my weak excuses out of the way, here's a quick look at the plans I'm hoping to complete throughout the summer!
1. Knitting Norwegian socks with fancy yarn
I bought some Regia yarn last year with a gift card from The Yarnery. It's the most expensive yarn I've ever purchased, and it's so soft and beautiful. The colors are lovely and I'm so excited to make a pair of really nice Norwegian-style socks. I'm using a sock pattern from a book I got by Arne and Carlos. The pattern is simple and I'm excited to get back into some knitting that interests me!
2. Sewing a shirtdress.
I really love shirtresses and would like to sew one this summer! I don't have any fabric for a really nice shirtdress, so I'll need to look around for that. I found this at fabric.com, which seems nice and I love the color:
As for a pattern, I've found a few on Pinterest that have caught my eye:
3. Sewing pajama pants for both kids.
My aunt got me some fabric and elastic to make pajama pants for the kids. I'm hoping to start on these next! Rami's fabric is ocean-themed, and Saira's is little horses.
4. Pillowcases
More of a practical project; I want to cover some hideous pillows we got for free with our couch set!
5. Christmas tree decorations
The Arne and Carlos book has tons of patterns for little knit birds and other ornaments for Christmas trees. I was thinking of making some wreaths to hang up around the house for Christmas too! I might try to include the deer antlers from a deer I shot when I was 13. That might be an interesting project, similar to this:
6. Halloween costumes
This is a big one. I made our Halloween costumes last year over the summer, and it took away a lot of the stress of deadlines, since I knew I had plenty of time to finish them. And this year is going to be a doozy: Rami wants to do Peter Pan characters. He wants to be Peter Pan, Saira as Wendy, me as Tinkerbell, and Kamran as Captain Hook. I already sort of have Peter, Wendy, and Tinkerbell planned out, but a Hook costume is going to be a challenge.
With a little searching, I did find this nice little DIY for making a Captain Hook costume:
I may have to keep looking, but this is a good start!
7. Christmas presents
I made a lot of our Christmas presents last year. It was an awesome way to save money and make things that had a little heart. I feel like I shouldn't list any of the gifts I'm going to be making, because maybe some of those people will read the blog! I'll update as I create them and make a bunch of posts going through the process. I have a feeling I'll be making a lot more gifts this year, because I need things to do during quarantine!
I'm really hoping to get into many of these projects soon, and I'm hopeful that these could be fun things to do to get me through this whole pandemic thing. I love having these plans but really just want to get working!
So, what are you working on? Do you have any big knitting or sewing plans?